Ducati Monster Forum

In all seriousness, i have two young children (under 10) who both really want to go for a ride.  My view is that around my neighborhood (25 mph speed limit) it is probably no more dangerouse then riding thier bikes.  Not talking highway, just a short ride on quiet back roads.

I grew up riding on the back of my Dad's bike in rural NH and used to LOVE it - some of my best memories with him.

Helmets seem to be a challenge too...are there good, reasonably priced childrens helemts out there.

Just curious.

Tim

I will give my boys (7&10) a ride around the block every now and then, but have never taken them beyond that.  I did pick up my 16yo from school on it once or twice but her school is less than a mile down the road.  I have seen people going down the freeway with a small child holding on and it is always unnerving to see.

This is a tough question.

One of my fondest memories as a child was that one time that my daredevil uncle Park took me for a ride on the back of his bike, on the quiet streets around Candlewood Lake in Connecticut.  I still have a picture of me, wearing a helmet (backwards) that was twelve sizes too big.  The memory of that single motorcycle ride is, I think, a big part of why I bought a motorcycle (and later, two, then three) myself many years later.

On the other hand, my mom was nucking futs to entrust her cherub to crazy uncle Park.  Even low-speed crashes (with or without gear) can be fatal, or break bones, or require skin reassignment.  And as you point out, there's the issue of finding a proper helmet.  Plus the different mental and physical maturity of the rider: telling a 4-year-old to "hang on tight" just isn't the same as telling an adult that.

So: best of times, formative in a lasting way, but carrying dangers that are unique to the passenger being a child.

Doing a search for children's gear right now.  I know that it's out there...

Oh great, I'm the second vote and both are "restricted by court".

I actually bought my duc as a replacement part for my kids.  It's noisy, annoying, expensive and has a bad temperament.  But the number 1 reason it reminds me of my kids is the sound of the dry clutch.  It sounds like the clothes dryer used to when the stones, nails, pennies & marbles fell out of their pockets.

Check this little gem I found for riding with kids:

http://www.childridingbelt.com/enghome.htm (http://www.childridingbelt.com/enghome.htm)

Has handlebars and everything  :o

Children's Helmets
http://www.bikersden.com/shop/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=37 (http://www.bikersden.com/shop/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=37)
http://www.helmetshop.com/CategoryProductList.jsp?cat=Childrens+Helmets (http://www.helmetshop.com/CategoryProductList.jsp?cat=Childrens+Helmets)

Children's Armor
http://www.bikersden.com/shop/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=24&cat=Children%27s+Leather+Motorcycle+Gear (http://www.bikersden.com/shop/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=24&cat=Children%27s+Leather+Motorcycle+Gear)
http://www.babybiker.com/ (http://www.babybiker.com/)
http://www.jtsbikerclothing.com/cgi-bin/products.pl?c=14&cat=kids_clothing (http://www.jtsbikerclothing.com/cgi-bin/products.pl?c=14&cat=kids_clothing)
http://www.eagleleatherstore.com/store/product/13425/Kids-M.C.-Jacket-Pink/ (http://www.eagleleatherstore.com/store/product/13425/Kids-M.C.-Jacket-Pink/)

I have not had a passenger on my bike, period.

I did, however, see some idiot influencing the way his kid view safety gear the other day.
Cruiser bike (I wanna say a Honda), guy was wearing a wifebeater, half helmet, shorts and tennis shoes. His ~9-10y/o daughter was wearing a short sleaved shirt, shorts, tennis shoes and a 3/4 helmet.
WTF?

FWIW, there are some studies which have found a higher probability of accident the closer you are to home........something about "comfort zone" and not being as alert as when you are further away/in unfamiliar surroundings/traffic patterns.


here is one example
https://www.chase.com/cm/cig/advice-and-planning/page/june02caraccidents.html
just my .02

+1 on the passenger (never)

I have also seen the young daughter on the back in shorts, tennis shoes, tank top etc. Drives me nuts.  >:(

Nasty.

[laugh] Fixed...

We have a small child and she loves motos. In fact, it was one of her early words. We have chosen to explain why she can't ride our motorcycles when they are moving (we do let her sit on them in the garage). She knows that she will need to wear full gear and can identify it for us even better than the alphabet and numbers. She knows that when "I get bigger" she too can have boots, gloves, helmet (full face), jacket, and pants and ride with us. I don't have a magic age for this though... I am guessing we will know when she is ready.

That being said, every time we go to a cycle shop where there is gear she runs right over to the gear and starts trying it on. At two and nine months she is informing her daddy and myself that:

 "I am not bigger yet, but when I can wear this gloves and helmet, I can ride on your motorbike, ok?"

She wants a pink helmet and red riding gear... I do hope that changes-  [roll]

when she can reach the passenger pegs and can hold on correctly (holding on correctly is both a size and a mental thing) then of course she's coming out for rides.

We saw something similar last week...guy on a sportbike with a little girl on the back. She could barely reach the passenger pegs. Both of them wearing shorts, sandals, t-shirts and dirt bike helmets. She had goggles, he had sunglasses.

As soon as my god son is mature enough, responsible enough and strong enough to hold on and big enough to reach the rear pegs he is coming with me.

My dad's friend used to have an old Honda cruiser.  One of my fondest memories was the 2 times he took me out on that bike just around the neighborhood.  The motorcycle bug hit me at that moment when I felt so free just being in the air.  I want to share that feeling with the ones I love.

I saw my friend take his 6 years old kid for a ride and I was just scared just watching it.  I don't know what the kid was holding on too but his dad is a fat ass  ;D and there is just no way the kid can wrap his hands around his fat stomach. 

This is a tricky question.  I too grew up riding on the back of my dad's bikes, and was even stuffed inside his jacket for 40 miles when I was 1-1/2 years old.  My 8 y/o daughter loves to ride.  I've had her on the bike occasionaly since she was about 6.  We stick to surface streets with the least amount of traffic, and fairly short rides (under 15 miles).  Fairly recently she went on her longest ride yet, lots of stops, but by the time we got home was about 100 miles. The ride included some twisty stuff, and brief speeds up to about 65 MPH.  She's a better rider than my ex ever was, and moves her body position to the inside of curves.  Biggest problems for us is finding gear and fatigue.  She does get sleepy even on fairly short rides.  She's been asking to make longer rides, but we'll need a different bike, better gear, and she'll have to be able to ride without falling asleep first.

I know people probably can't understand my decision to bring her on the bike.  I do weigh the decision heavily, and when she's with me I am more alert than ever.  What goes through my head the entire time is "Precious Cargo".

On the old dirtbike I'd sit the nieces and nephews  on the tank and they could hold on to the crossbar while I did a low speed circuit of the yard, but that's about as far as I'd go until the kid was a decent size to be able to wear full protective gear and then only my own kids. Even then you'd pick the time and place, to minimise any risk.

Some states have laws regarding passengers.

effin lawyers.

I got into motorcycles because my Uncles and family friends would take me for a ride on the back of their bikes. They always insisted that I wear jeans, a long shirt and at least tennis shoes (I know, not appropriate gear, but it was a long time ago). As such, I'm all for giving kids a ride, but it does annoy me to see the parents with their kids on the back in shorts, no shoes and a t-shirt with a loose fitting small adult helmet on them.

Great point - sure in the Commonwealth of MA its illeagal - our car seat laws are pretty strict to the point of being a little silly.

Thanks for all the input - my kids may end up riding their own dirt bike before they take a ride with me as a passenger.

I take my oldest (7) on the back of my 'busa, and go tot the rockstore, etc. She has a properly fitting Arai helmet, gloves, riding jacket and A-stars boots.. We use the Child riding belt, and it works great.  This little girl used to ride with me a a toddler in her Bjorn harness in a helmet and neck brace around my flat track, on the front of me, facing foreward. Her third word was Wheelie! She loves it, and asks me for it every day. I take her to school a couple times a month, when I have time.

My youngest, 4, rides in front of me, on my Vespa or on my Zuma. Arai helmet, good jacket, and high tops, with dirt bike gloves.

Taking my oldest to the rock store the first time was truely on of the hightlights of my life, and I cant wait to take my youngest there...

Will

In NH a passenger must be able to reach the passenger pegs with their feet and be able to reach their arms around the operator to hold on.

No more sitting the kids in front. :-\

In CA, and most other states, you can ride a child in the front of a step through type scooter.

The thing that took so long to get her on the bike was getting both feet solidly on the pegs. With the harness on, she is SUPER secure.

I think Im taking her on sat! on the new Monster 1100!!

Couldn't help myself... These are all great points... appreciate others experience because I know we will continue to get the "When can I ride?" question.
+1 on precious cargo... I have to admit to hearing myself say that when I ride solo and I think of cranking the throttle-

(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2488/3719419624_0d32aae634.jpg)

(http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n85/dietrichpfeifer/DSCN1143.jpg)

I've taken my 13 year-old son out a couple times. He prefers my little Honda 250 cruiser to the Ducati though. The Duc is a little intimidating and less comfortable for him. I'm going to look for a mid-70s Honda that's more comfortable for me and compromise.

I voted "always" because there was no "Love to, but depends" to choose instead.

I'm super glad my dad and uncles were not so cautious.  I can't remember how many rides I received.  I also had my first dirtbike at 9 years old and I didn't own a helmet.  My mom and I laugh about that now......

I need a "maybe" option.

My daughter has wanted to ride with me for a while. My response was when you can reach the pegs we'll see. She's gonna be 8 at the end of the month and can definitely reach the pegs at this point. The Corbin I have for my ST has a backrest which makes me feel a bit better about having her on the bike. Of course, she'd still need gear before I'd consider it.

I'm torn because, it's something I get so much enjoyment out of, but there's that risk there. I'm OK with it for myself, but I'm not certain I'm ready to make that decision for her. If my wife signs off on it (a big if, I think), I'd like to take her on some short rides. I agree with others that even at this age, holding on appropriately and not nodding off are concerns for me. I'd like her to have the experience of riding, though and memories of having her dad take her for a ride on his bike.

Now it seems like kids have to wear a helmet to play checkers!

only when you play x-treeeeem checkers

Who are we to say that these people shouldn't ride!?!   ;)

(http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll176/nordog59/kidsonbikes.jpg)

Besides, safety can be taken too far.  I actually new a BMW technician who broke an arm (or was it a leg?) after servicing the "Safer Cycle" shown below.

(http://i288.photobucket.com/albums/ll176/nordog59/safer.jpg)