So, my 20 year old son comes home for Father's Day all excited about wanting to buy a motorcycle. Other than a few, very limited experiences on a dirt bike, he has no riding experience. He shows my wife and I page after page of bikes he likes and shares with us all of the advice he has received from friends who ride or who have ridden. Everything he shows us is a crotch rocket.

Well, other than a couple of years with a Honda 500 Four back in the mid-1970's, I have no experience either. So, I cannot be be terribly helpful myself directly. However, life experience tells me that I need to broaden his vision a little, so the following day I took him to our local Harley dealer for him to see and feel something different. BTW, when I first asked if he had looked at Harleys, he replied something to the effect "Dad, Harleys are for old dudes like you".

Long story longer, we go to the dealer and I introduce my son the the sales guy and give him the back story. I tell the sales guy to show my son something appropriate for a new rider and to make his best case for a Harley over a Japanese bike. He directs us to the Sportsters and had him sit on the different models they had on the floor. Clearly, if my son had a MC license, they would have let him test drive any of them.

Most interesting to me was that the sales guy spent more time getting me to sit on a variety of bikes than he did my son. I guess he assumed I had deeper pockets. I kept reminding him that I was not the one shopping, but he kept directing me to different bikes he thought I might like. I had a ball.

Before we left, he talked to us about the rider's class, he showed us the bikes they use for the classes, he introduced us to the owner of the dealership and other key people there. Suffice it to say, we were both impressed with the experience and my son no longer thinks that Harleys are only for old dudes like me. If he had the money today, I believe he would be riding a Nightser as soon as he could complete the riders course. And, if I wasn't afraid of killing or maiming myself on a bike, I would be riding a Fat Boy Lo.

Long introduction, but that is how I ended up here to do some research for my son. I want to make sure he makes a wise decision so I need to educate myself before I can help him. So, I've spent the past few days reading and learning and I wanted to say hello and thanks for sharing your wisdom and experience so freely with the green horns.

Great site and good people.

 

Welcome from middle (Dublin) Georgia. Whole lotta info on here!

 

Welcome from Freindly Manitoba. Happy belated Fathers Day

 

Stick around.... you'll be glad you did.

 

new here to but welcome.

 

If you want him to buy a Harley just get him to ride one. I was riding rice burners until I was 20 then I took my first ride on a 72 sporty. I'll never forget that feeling. I was hooked. I bought a 74 sporty 2 weeks later. I've only owned Harleys ever since. Good luck and welcome to the forum.

 

Welcome, from Raleigh.....
Look into your local community college system. They usually offer MSF-beginner rider class, for less than the H-D rider's edge.
What ever you, and your son decide... PLEASE do take the course.

There's no shame in buying a used metric bike for a first bike..... YES... the H-D will likely "retain value" better than a metric... but after 4-5 years the metric will level off, and your son can buy a bike, ride it a while, to discover his own personal likes and dislikes, and then buy the best bike, that suits HIS needs

 

Welcome aboard from New York.

 

Welcome aboard from New York.

 

Welcome to the forums. And as stated above, you should BOTH take a course. I'm planning in re-taking it (it's been over 20 years) and my wife will be joining me. (It was her idea - she wants to be a good passenger, so she feels if she takes the rider's course it'll help her.) Who knows, you might like riding

Also as stated above, nothing wrong with picking up a metric. Or, he could rent a few different bikes and get a feel for them.

-Jim