Should I let my (almost) 16 year old son get a bike?

[topangster]

Hey y'all:

So, my 15 1/2 year old (step) son is very determinedly trying to talk me into letting him get a bike instead of a car for his first vehicle (he wants a 250.)  Here in California, once he turns 15 1/2 and does the MSF course, he can get a learner's permit from the DMV that allows him to ride during the day, on surface streets.  He's not permitted to ride at night, on the freeway or to take passengers.  These restrictions legally stay in place until he's 16 and can get his actual license.

I'm of two minds on this.  On one hand, I LOVE to ride, and the idea of introducing him to the sport and riding together is very appealing.  He's also a natural athlete (already 6'1", very coordinated), and I suspect he will quickly develop good skills.  Having a bike would also enable him to easily get himself to school, baseball practice, girlfriend's house, etc.  We live in a mostly rural area (Topanga Canyon), so most of his riding would be on canyon roads or in the suburbs.  I would also take him to do Keith Code's school as soon as he was old enough, so he really knew his fundamentals.  And he'd have access to a car when the weather gets crappy (only a short part of the year here in So Cal.)

On the other hand, I know what an idiot I was at that age (I totaled my Toyota pickup at 19, and the only reason I didn't do it sooner was dumb luck.)  Although I was more rational than many of my friends, I still liked to show off and took stupid risks.  I also partied way too much.

I never had a bike back then though (just for a minute in my early 20s, and I sold it pretty quick.)  Riding is a more recent love of mine.  I shudder to think of what would have happened had I been on a bike instead of in my car when I had my one serious accident.

Now, my step-son is a pretty level-headed kid, gets good grades, isn't into drugs, and has a much better level of self-awareness than I did at his age.  But he's still a TEENAGER, and the words TEENAGER plus MOTORCYCLE kind of freak me out.  Even though I'm addicted to my own ride...

So, here are my questions:

Have any of you allowed your kids to start riding on the street at this age?  If so, what made you decide to do so?   What policies or ground rules did you put in place?  And what are the results?

Conversely, have any of you decided NOT to let your kids start riding at this age?  If not, why? 

I realize that to some of you, this is probably a very stupid question with an obvious answer (LET THE KID RIDE, DAMMIT!)  But I don't want to irresponsibly give him the green light on something that he may not really be ready for.  I'm sure you parents out there get this.  Thanks in advance for your thoughts...   

Topangster

[Popeye the Sailor]

I ain't no parent, so take what I say with a grain of salt.

Not terribly long ago, I was a teenager. I was level headed, well coordinated, got good grades, worked hard, and wasn't into drugs.



I got a car.



I was a f'n idiot. Complete moron.



My future kids? Unless they've been riding dirtbikes with the old man since forever, probably no.


You could also add the caveat one moving violation and the bike goes away.

[somegirl]

I'm not a parent, but I'd recommend against it.

He needs to learn about handling traffic first.  That is best done in a car (something used, and cheap).

IMO, it is too much to expect someone to learn both the coordination needed to ride, along with learning how to deal with traffic (especially on California roads).

How about a used car and a dirt bike?

I guess another compromise could be a scooter.

[707soldier]

Answer is No, stall as long as you can.

[mbalmer]

My 16 year old son also wants to learn. No way for him. He doesn't make all good grades and he talks like a "teenager" about driving/riding. I won't let him drive anything until he gets at least a 3.0 GPA and nothing below a C. If your son is level headed and responsible, what the heck? Why not? If  you suspect he's "normal" and will push his abilities and take risks than forget it. You know your son. Maybe have some strict rules to go along with riding. First offense is the last...blah blah blah.

I wish my son were more responsible. I would love to ride with him. He just doesn't give me enough reason to trust him .

[eyeboy]

i rode a dirtbike for a million years before i got a streetbike... and i had three of those before i got a car... and i was a jackass everytime i got into my parents car...

i'm thinking its a lot to ask a young person to handle the risk and responsibility of a road bike as a first vehicle...

best to screw up with a few tons of steel around you.

but that's just my .02

[roy-nexus-6]

I'm not a parent, but I'd recommend against it.

He needs to learn about handling traffic first.  That is best done in a car (something used, and cheap).

IMO, it is too much to expect someone to learn both the coordination needed to ride, along with learning how to deal with traffic (especially on California roads).

How about a used car and a dirt bike?

I guess another compromise could be a scooter.

+11tyb 

[DY]

NO.  thats all I heard throughout my teenage years.  Even though I really wanted that Ninja, i knew deep down inside that the risks would outweigh the happiness a bike would bring me.  Looking back, I'm glad my mum stood her ground on that one. 

[LA]

I am a parent and a pretty good one at that. Like I tell my kids, if you have to stop and ask yourself, "am I doing the right thing" you probably already know the answer. The answer here is NO!

My fifteen year old daughter has already picked out a Ninja 250 at the local shop. She has been riding a dirt bike for several years now and has a real knack for it. I was not the one who got her into bikes, but both she and her older brother grew up riding with me and love it.

Good luck here. One part of me wants to let my little Rachael, 5'10" - 125 lbs. and beautiful, have a bike, but the rest of me says, "what the make the beast with two backs are you thinking"?

Good luck again.

LA

[Bigbore4]

Both of my kids ride, one is an enthusiast.  Both had been riding small dirt bikes around the yard since they were little, but no serious riding.  Oldest son got his drivers license late, and so far has just renewed his MC learners permit.

Second son got his drivers license the day he turned 16.  Within 2 weeks he got his MC learners permit with our blessing.  He did have many thousands of miles behind the wheel, we did some serious road trips.  We live in a rural setting so traffic volumes are fairly low and a good place to learn.

First year I let him ride my XT600.  He rode the wheels off it, and beginning of second season went down and rashed it up good.  He lost a few bucks worth of hide where gloves meet jacket sleeves etc.  The message is GOOD GEAR, WEAR IT.  Every Time.  After my wife didn't kill me, we started looking for another ride.  I set a horsepower limit of 60.  Lots of old Japanese cruisers etc out there but they are not cool.

We found a Yamaha SRX6 and fetched that home from down near Arkansas.  Cool looking bike, decent handling and only around 45 HP.  He fell of of that once but nothing too serious, and he had the gear on.  Most of it anyhow.  He received a world class a$$ chewing in front of the cop and paramedic for skimping on the gear on a hot day.

I went riding with him after a couple years on that and realized he was taking the bike to it's limit.  We talked about stepping up and agreed on a sub ~80 HP limit.  That's when the Monster bug bit.  He found a deal on CL, 95 M900 with less than 3k miles.  We bought it and he spent a summer riding it and working the bugs out of it.  Once it was running good I rode it and dang if I didn't need one too! I have a 96!

Besides rain at Road America there is one constant in motorcycling.  If you ride, you will fall down.  Accept it and prepare for it.  Wear the gear, good gear.  Start small, learn to ride, I mean really learn to ride.  Mine has fallen off the Monster a couple times, and I am sure he aint done yet.  One of his buddies picked up an old 650 twin Yamaha and they learned together.  So far so good.

Oh ya, the rules.

Motorcycle key was the first and most effective form of negative reinforcement for any transgression.
NO TICKETS
I defined his riding area, geographic limits
No crossing the 4 lane divided at an uncontrolled intersection etc
WEAR THE GEAR

He's 19 now and just finished great first year at college.

I also knew a guy bought his kid a 600 sport bike as a first ride for a rank novice.  That didn't work out so hot.


Did I mention good gear, wear it?  Every Time!

[hyphen]

Realistically you should have him drive a car first to familiarize him with traffic and how hectic things can really be.  I live in the valley too and even Topanga Canyon can get a bit crazy at times.  Many of my friends bought their bikes at around 16-17 years of age and every single one of them totaled their bikes and got into serious accidents.  Of all my close friends that ride or did ride (about 6), 4 of them got into serious accidents before reaching 21.  One of them took his cbr f4i into the canyons and slammed into the railing, breaking his leg in 5 places, suffering a concussion, cracked ribs and had to be airlifted out.

It may have been a while since some of you all were teens, but not that long ago for me.  And I very much remember how invincible I thought I was.  I would advise adamantly against allowing a teen to ride a street bike, no matter the displacement.  Get him a car and if budget allows, get him a dirt bike.  When he reaches 18 or 19 (preferably later still) then consideration for a bike should be in sight. 

I think of bikes like guns.  They should be trained to properly use and respect them from a very very young age if you want them to own one as a teenager. 

[Porsche Monkey]

There is no way I would have survived having a street bike during those years. I barely survived having a fullsize truck. I did so much stupid shit when I was that age  trying to impress friends or just myself I am suprised I am still here. I grew up riding dirt bikes, three wheelers, and four wheelers but would have gotten into way much trouble on a street bike. Just my $.02. Great thread by the way.

[El Matador]

Hmmm...

 I'll speak from my experience, and take from it what you will.

I got my first street bike when I was 16. It was a CBR 600. My parent's didn't buy it for me, I got it through my own means. By that time, I had several years of dirt riding beneath me, and almost 2 full years of driving on my own.

I was valedictorian of my graduating class and was never into drugs.

That said, I was pretty stupid. The 600 was a terrible choice for a 1st bike, and I'm frankly surprised I have all my limbs still with me.

I am pretty much the only person in my family with any interest whatsoever in motorcycles. I know that if my dad had ridden, and he would have taken the time to teach me how to ride and how to do it properly, I would've avoided several "incidents". That is the way I was taught how to drive (when I was 12) and I have not had any accidents to this day on my car, and I am not a conservative driver.

If you dedicate the time to teach him how to ride properly, and do the schools with him and take him on rides, not only will you be able to teach your son how to be a conscientious rider, but you will also be able to "shape" his abilities the best way you see fit (as well as some pretty damn awesome bonding time).

What I would recommend is getting the bike, but keeping the keys. Only allow him to ride with you, on sunday rides and such, until which time you deem him ready for riding solo. This will not only allow you to watch his progress very closely, but it would be a good compromise (he gets what he wants, and you get what you want)

If he truly is the level headed kid that you say he is, things will be fine, Of course he will go down, eventually, but if you drill the importance of good gear into him, he's gonna be fine in case of a get down.

a huge +1 on the traffic violation thing.

Cheers,

M

[Porsche Monkey]

Do you think he could respect riding a bike the same way you do?  What about when peer pressure is involved? 

[Dareduc]

i would have to say no. you know your kid best, you will make the best decision. take him to the dirt, take him to the track, find a balance.... good luck.