used 250 ninja or SMALLER cc bike. learn to use the bike not just ego power. all the gear all the time. minimum of balistic jacket and pants, leather boots, gloves and a helmet. first time caught riding without ALL the gear, ride the bus for a month. 2nd time, sell the bike!
no shorts and tennies ever. that goes for you also Dad, be a GOOD example. both my brother and I started on a Honda trail 90. sweat dries faster than skin heals. most of my scars are from bicycles not motorcycles.

 

What sort of motorcycling/offroad experience has he had already?

The thought of riding a bike for the first time in traffic under his control for the first time seems a bit much too soon.

I know many have done it but there may be a better time for it down the track when he's comfortable in traffic in a car and can prove himself to handle a motorcycle competently.

I've been riding continually since I was 4 - I'm now 37 - 22 years on the road and I'm glad for my previous experience before hitting the tarmac.

 

Same with me. I'd been on a dirt bike since I was 8 years old, racing MX from age 12 to 16, so when streetbike time came along at age 16, I was all systems go on an RD350. I was really hazardous to myself in a different way.

But that was me.

This kid never rode before? I wouldn't do it. I would get him on a dirt bike for a year or so first. Let him learn the dynamics (and make the mistakes) on the dirt, far away from cars and drunks.


BTW, I don't have kids, so disregard as necessary.

 

Same with me. I'd been on a dirt bike since I was 8 years old, racing MX from age 12 to 16, so when streetbike time came along at age 16, I was all systems go on an RD350. I was really hazardous to myself in a different way. .......This kid never rode before? I wouldn't do it. I would get him on a dirt bike for a year or so first. Let him learn the dynamics (and make the mistakes) on the dirt, far away from cars and drunks.
BTW, I don't have kids, so disregard as necessary.

+1. And I do have kids, and an extremely level headed one, much more so than I was. A year of riding a dual sport off road (no lights on it) would go a long way toward rider education. At the end of the year put the lights back on if you're convinced he's ready.

I had people tell me (seriously) that they didn't think I would make 20, and I was conservative compared to the guys I ran around with. And I had alot of off road experience.

 

Unless he has had some years in the dirt I wouldn't let him ride on the street unsupervised at 15,16 or even 17 to be honest. If he is a motorhead and has been riding a while with some crashes etc. to make him realize what can happen then a different story. If not then as a father of a very young boy right now, I would personally say no way. He may be very self aware and responsible but he still only 15 1/2 years old and really has no concept of self preservation yet. Thats just the nature of life. At 35 I barely have any....

If he is set on it and you are willing to invest the time then I would suggest letting him get it and then riding together. I would allow him to ride with you and learn with you, then once you feel he is capable and has enough sense to ride on his own let hiim fly.

This is a difficult topic for sure, I have a 2 year old that already is infatuated with motorcycles because of me but my plan is to get him in the dirt early if he wants to ride. By early I mean 3 or 4 years old. I figure that way I can teach him right from wrong and how to respect the ride because I figure he would otherwise turn 18 and do whatever he wants without having the knowledge I can impart to him. As a parent this is a difficult topic when worrying about your child. Goodluck in your decision.

 

Get him a little dirtbike and let him hurt himself a couple times before even considering something for the street.

 

Topangster,


You pose a weighty question. Myself: I got onto the roads on 2 wheels as soon as it was legal & in retrospect it was too soon -the risk is too great. If I had children of such age [I don't] I would actively discourage them road-riding for as long as possible. Hypocritical? probably...wise? I think so.

If you can divide the issue onto 2 parts you may have more success. That is: separate the bike-riding male thrill-seeking enjoyment from the practical get-around-town necessity/convenience for emerging adults. Also you state you are footing the bill -this should give you extra authority/leverage in this issue [not so in my case]

In short: if your son is dead-set keen on riding get him & yourself a pair of off-road bikes & get some quality bonding-time happening. Hope fully this will satisfy the male thrill-seeker in him. Keep him off-road as long as possible. Buy a cheap car for the getting-about necessity & make sure he knows it is YOUR car over which he has use privileges -but you can demand he spend $x on routine maintenance regularly & he does NOT have the legal right to sell it at a whim [to fund him & his mates wasted weekends in Tijuana for eg;].....Anyways...this is the approach I intend to use on my kids when they come of age -so let me know your approach & the results please!!

Tough question -Best of Luck!


:think:

 

No, he should focus on things like school..

Let him get a bike when he is 18 and has already accepted into a university.

 

+1

IMO, don't let him do it. Drive a car for at least 3 years first to get used to the other idiots on the road. Then get on a bike.

+1

Listen to these guys...
Sure I wanted a bike at 16, would I have killed myself? Absolutely!
If you want your sun to live till he's 18, let him get one then.

 

IMO, don't let him do it. Drive a car for at least 3 years first to get used to the other idiots on the road. Then get on a bike.

 

As a young guy speaking I would say no... I'm 19, i've been driving since 16 and just got a bike this year so say 3 months of riding. I have the equivalent of the US MSF or whatever it is course. A 16 hour on lot course that concluded with a road ride with the instructors. This course was outstanding and taught me much of the stuff that i'm sure has made me a confident and still living rider. I am way way to cautious comparitively with the people my age, I see these guys whipping in and out of traffic and doing 100 on 50 roads and always up on one wheel (be it the front, or the back) and I just cringe, I drive about 7-10 over the speed limit (remember this is KM's not miles) and on the highway last weekend I was up to about 20 over the speed limit which wasn't even the speed of traffic and I was thinking it was a bit nutty....

To get back on topic I would say that If it were my child, and it's not and only you can make the decision I would say no to the road riding. I learned to drive in a car and I still made a couple stupid mistakes and I think i've been a quite safe driver...the difference is if you make a mistake in a car your insurance goes up and that's often the only consequence, you screw up on a bike, you're dead or injured no question.

I think some of the other suggestions by people such as the dirt bike, or the father son riding only are a great start, and funds permiting i'd suggest those in tandem with a car. I know far too many people my age through mid thirties that do stupid stupid things on bikes and if a 32 year old is that irresponsible it can only be worse with a 15 yo. Also another thing to think about is whether you want to admit it or not he's coming up on drinking age and even one beer with a motorcycle is leaps and bounds worse than in a car...just some food for thought..best of luck with your decision.

 

I bought my daughter a bike when she turned 16. My other daughter will also get a bike when she turns 16 (maybe her sister's if she moves to a bigger one).

Tom

 

I learned to ride at that young age in the early '70's without the benefits of riding in the dirt first. But I also learned how to drive farm equipment at 12 years of age. As with many other things about that era, it was way different than it is now. Traffic was not like it is now and so on. If it were me, as so many others have said, a dirt bike would be a great way to learn the fundamentals of riding without the hazards of other vehicles, in particular cars and trucks. Getting road experience in a car would help learn what operating in traffic can be like before transitioning to a bike. A most difficult time, no doubt, for you and him right now. Be careful in your decision and best of luck to you both.


"in God we trust"

 

I would have to say no. You mentioned you live in canyons and that is reason enough for me to say no. If you absolutely must buy him something, something smaller than a 125cc so that he can learn the basics; even a 125cc in the canyons can you in trouble real fast if you don't have the basics down.
I don't find athleticism a very strong argument, because if he doesn't know the basics first all the athleticism in the World will do him no good.

 

I think it would be a wonderful bonding experience for you and him, and he needs to learn to ride at a young age because his brain is still developing and needs to be "hard wired" for riding now. If he rides a bicycle a lot, then he's going to be able to transition to a motorcycle fairly easily. I would get him lots of training, and also get him a dirt bike in addition to a street bike. He needs to get the muscle memory in place now while his brain and body are still growing. There isn't a lot of traffic in rural areas so that wouldn't be such a big problem. Also, you can make sure he wears all the gear, all the time, and he'll be safe, even if he crashes. Alslo, take into consideration what his mother and biological father wish for the young man. It's better to make to make this a group decision than to take it on yourself.

 

I bought my first bike the day I turned sixteen.

My dad just looked at me and said:
"Everything you do has consequences. You make a mistake, then you will sort it out by yourself." What do parents know in any case when you are sixteen.....

I crashed that first bike within 3 months - dad just looked at me all messed up and walked away. I had to deal directly with the police, insurance companies etc. He just kept quiet and watched. He was kind enough though to drive to the chemist and buy antiseptic so I could sort out my road rash that night. The next day I had to limp to school, dad refused to take me. He just smiled and reminded me that this is one of those consequences that I did not plan for and that I now have to deal with it by myself. AT least I got loads of sympathy from the girls on the bus - bonus

Two weeks later I was on a new bike again. (I made all the payments, dad paid for nothing) I drove that Kwak until my final day in high school without a single incident before selling it on.

I cant tell you what will be the best thing to do sir, I can only tell you how I learned a life lesson that not all would agree with on how it was parted with to me. The only thing is that luck was on my side that day. I could easily have been killed in that accident - but that is one of those consequences you have to learn about as a kid.
I had two friends who did not walk away from their accident but were killed on impact.

You have to decide for yourself

SF

 

WOw! I must say, I'm impressed with not only the quantity of responses already, but also the content! For a "bike fanatic" site, I too, expected more responses advocating letting the kid ride.

That said, I also am strongly against it, and I let my boys ride. To explain -

I am 42 years old, and started riding dirt when I was about 10-12, trail riding on a 125 motocrosser. I strongly believe you learn bike control better off road than on, as the constant front wheel gabbing in ruts, slides on loose soil, etc...are all more safely learned when you aren't dealing with traffic.

My two boys, now ten and thirteen, both started on a Yamaha TT90, and when my younger one outgrows it, some other kid will learn the basics on that bike. Meanwhile, as my boys progress to bigger/faster bikes, they will hopefully have a good handle on control long before hitting the street.

Start your son on a 125-200 four stroke dirt bike, go riding with him, guide him along, and let him mature on the safer ground than the street. After a couple years of that, while he also hits the road in a car to learn traffic and defensive driving with some steel around him, then let him take and MSF course and ride the street on a starter Ninja 250, when he's 17-18.

My two cents, for just what it's worth...

 

I agree with the general consensus as well, its too young to be on the streets if he has never ridden, such as going dirt trail riding, etc. I started in the dirt at around 5 years of age, and grew up riding dirt bikes, including a little bit of MX racing as well. The lessons I learned growing up riding ( and crashing) dirt bikes I could never put a price tag on. I wouldn't trade them for anything, as I firmly believe these lessons have been what has kept me alive on the street. And even so, I still managed to have a street crash 10 years ago, despite believing that I could handle any situation. Things happen to even the most experienced riders.

Have your son learn to drive a car first. Then a few years later, when it comes time to get on a motorcycle, he will be a safer street rider for it. He has yet to deal with city driving, traffic, defensive driving, etc. If he makes a mistake in traffic, it is usually more painful on 2 wheels than it would be on 4 wheels. Let him make the mistakes in the car first. Its a statistical fact that younger ( 1st time drivers) motorists are involved in more traffic accidents than older ones, so why not tip the odds in his favor by having him learn in a car.

If he insists on riding a bike now, why not get 2 used/reasonable dirt bikes, one for him, and one for you. It would be a great way for him to learn by trail riding, and a way to spend quality time together. You never know, you yourself may pick up some things by trail riding off road with your son. Its so much fun, and needless to say safer way to learn riding basiscs.

Just my 2 cents.

 

I guess it depends where you live.

Here, lots of 16 year olds have bikes, and none have cars (got to be at least 18 for that). And even once you are old enough to have a car, there is still paying for it, and lessons, so most under-20s ride bikes as their parents usually won't buy them cars nor pay for lessons (which are very expensive).

Tom

 

i agree with most. The street is no place to learn to ride these days. Unless you live in a very small rural town with little traffic. I grew up in a small town with little traffic. I was not allowed to ride at night when the "good 'ol boys" went to drink'en and rode with other youths together on 50 cc bikes. It was great fun and the worst that happened was some road rash. I would never let my son learn to ride here in orlando. He will start on dirt then track when 16. If he wants to ride a bike in college when he's 18, it up to him.

 

Im also looking at this from am younger point of view w/ no kids but
at 17 i got a 74 honda CB360T. I never owned a dirtbike but i grew up around bikes and had some riding expirence in my driveway + backyards. Drove it around for a year and got my license on it as well, + it wasnt anything i could really show off on either though.

Id say its all up to you, gotta remeber this is the bubblewrap generation of parents trying to save their kids from all the stupid shit they used to do, but also should judge how your kid is. I would lean toward a dirtbike first though.

 

I had a street bike before I owned a car. As my dad and mom both rode and raced bikes (Dad was a class A enduro rider back in the 60's, Mom wasn't quite that fast) it was in my genes. We lived in a very rural area which is hard to find these days.

My son is 18, and last year I bought him a Triumph Daytona 600. He also has ridden snowmobiles, four wheelers, and dirt bikes from the age of 5. Before he could go on the street he took a MSF course and a trip through Keith Code's school. He's done very well, fell over at about 3 mph once, but other than a bruised ego everything has been great. He also carries an automatic rifle and jumps out of airplanes defending our freedom, so two wheels seems pretty safe in comparison to that.

You know your son better than anybody on this board. Some people aren't ready for a motorcycle at 35 let alone 15.

 

i'd steer my son towards a dualsport type bike.best fun for dollar,good resale and safe in the fact they don't make you want to ride very fast on the pavement.

 

This is how it worked when I was 16. Dad owned ALL of the motorcycles in the garage. At the time he was riding a Nighthawk and he bought an old Suzuki GS450A (Automatic) for me to ride. Here is the catch- I could only ride with him, I didn't ride alone on the road for about 2 years. Dads bikes, dads rules. BUT this worked very well, I used the car for basic transportation and had the bike for pleasure riding under his supervision.
For the record I had been riding dirt bikes since I was 7 so I had lots of seat time but no road time. Actually the same rules applied for the dirt bikes until I had some riding experience.

 

I know it's tough when it's your kids at risk but I'm glad my Dad didn't try to stop me having a bike at 15.....

I have 4 sons, eledest is 14 and I bought them a 60cc Moto-X and a quad for them to play with/learn on.

When the time comes my approach will be to let them have road bikes if they want but try to give them all the training etc that I can - How can I (morally) stop them? why would I?

Anyway I can't imagine that they would do any thing more dangerous/reckless than I ever did....

 

I think the concept of speed is something that takes a while to register, especially in a teenager. Virtually anything will go 60 mph today. There's little to no grey area with bikes and getting off will hurt, especially on the road. There are way too many distractions for other drivers today, compared to yester-year. So rural driving is, ihmo, only a bit safer than urban driving.

I'd surround him with a lot of steel and a very small motor, that he earned and paid for. Like a 4 cylinder pickup truck. After a year or two, talk about a bike and the number of dents in the truck. As for athletic talent, ask Ben Rothlesberger how much talent you need to avoid hitting someone that cuts in front of you. He'll have plenty of time to ride in his 20's, 30's ..... and 80's.

 

This is an outstanding thread. I've got no kids so I won't venture an opinion, as I imagine when it's my own flesh-and-blood on the line, I may think differently. However, reading the responses has given me a lot on ideas and considerations for the spawn I release on the world.