I have a 17 yo daughter and a 14 yo son who want to ride with me. I happen to have 3 bikes. I told my daughter she could ride one with me if she took the class and obviously my son has to wait till he is 16. I know that the younger they are the more apt they are to have accidents but Im thinking if they take the course and ride with me they should be fine. Your opinions?

 

All my kids have been passengers on my bikes and have gone for long rides with my wife and me.

My older girls might like to ride, but none have really shown much of an interest in learning and I'm not going to push them into it... They are happy riding bitch

My oldest son is almost 13 and he is full size (5'9" 225) and really can't ride comfortably as passenger. He has said that He'd like to ride when he gets older.

What I was going to do was get some dirt bikes or enduros and teach him to ride on trails, just to work of the basic skills and until he is 16. Then I'd have no problem in letting him ride with the family or in a group for a while... He'd be less likely to pull a jackass stunt with lots of supervision as well as learning etiquette.

Kids do stupid things all the time, I know I did and you probably did also when you were younger. With good examples and practice, kids should survive them also.

Also, riding motorcycles is far more dangerous than is riding in a car as well as having less margin of error. Riding has actually taught me to be a more attentive driver that pays more attention to what others are doing as opposed to me "just trying to get where I'm going." As long as you can control their propensity for speed and reckless behavior long enough for them to develop their skills and situational awareness, they should do fine.

 

I have 5 grown kids, 4 girls and 1 boy (boy was the middle child). They have all grown up riding and all but 1 girl now has their own bikes and the 1 that doesnt rides with her husband. All but 1 are married and spouses ride also.

I bought each one that was interested their 1st bike. Range from a Honda 250 in 88 for the oldest at 13 to a Dyna for the son when he was 15. After the 1st, they were on their own. Now they all have Heritages to Ultras.

The oldest grand child (girl) is 11 and has already has PawPaw get her an 883 she liked. She is doing most of the wrenching herself with her dads help. With 5 more grandkids behind her, this could get expensive.

On a side note, last year we all hooked up with my dad who is on a trike, and made the journey Galveston then to Padre and back up through the hill country. 4 generations, 12 total bikes (no the grand daughter didnt take hers) and 2400+ miles in 12 days. It was a great time that will never be forgotten and probably never be done again by my family as dad has had some health issues this year.

Remember those times as they slip away all too soon.

 

I let my son ride my Harley when I just bought it ..I think its cool..i had him riding from a kid ..his 1st bike was a Yamaha ttr 125

 

My son started out on a GXSR when he was 17, he's now 27 and bought a 1200 sportster custom 2 years ago. Always worries me when he rides but hey he's got the fever also. Can't stop them from living. Was glad when he got rid of the GXSR however

 

Absolutely. That's what I did with mine. Better to start them out right with a lot of guidance. Less chance of them forming bad habits.

 

I agree. Course first.

 

I don't know that I have ever been asked permission from my children to do anything! That being said -

I never asked permission from my parents to ride, fly, boat, sail or anything else. I might add that my father was even surprised when I announced one day that I was engaged to be married. His response (privately, after the fact) was that I never even came to him to discuss it. I was brought up, as were my children, to be able to be a free thinker. I may have asked for opinion but never for permission.

As long as they are able to take care of themselves and go about doing things logically and safely (as safe as possible) I don't think it is my place to dictate how they should live their lives. If they would choose to ride, I would hope they would come to me first to ask about how to go about it logically and safely. They hold no fear of me (I would hope) just respect for my "experience".

My children have amazed me at their abilities to soar beyond what I have ever been able to accomplish. They are for the most part, free spirits on the cusp of setting the world on fire!

 

Nope...because I don't have any!

My ex had a son who was under 10years old and he rode with me back in the 70s.

 

My son is 38 now and he rode crotch rockets for a long time. Thankfully, he lived through the stupidity of youth just as I did. He is without a bike right now, but every time he is able to get home we get my bikes out and get some good riding in. I really enjoy riding with him.