So my 17 year old son comes to me waving a motorcycle magazine...

For dirt bikes/dual sports: nothing bigger or more powerful than a 400 cc four stroke - preferably no bigger than 250 cc four stroke (avoid two stroke as a starter bike IMO).

For street bikes: Nothing bigger or more powerful than Honda's CBR500R.

Make him buy an awesome set of high quality, CE approved riding gear (the usual things plus a neck brace, spine/chest protector [either a one piece off road suit thing or one the ones that goes inside a street jacket] and knee/shin guards plus elbow guards) and make sure he wears all of it, all the time, no exceptions.

Get it in his head from day one that other vehicles is the most dangerous aspect of street riding; always ride as if they are all literally trying to kill you (expect them to stop suddenly for no apparent reason, be totally blind to you, cut you off, pull out in front of you like idiots, etc.), because (as you know) there will definitely be times when they do, whether intentionally or not.

Make sure he knows what to expect when it comes to gravel, mud etc. on street surfaces (especially leading up to stops, or in corners), and be extra aware when traversing blind corners (prepared, for example, to quickly swerve out of the way of a boulder, small child, or moronically parked car).

Lastly, don't be afraid to make him work for it somehow for maybe two or three months (yard work at your place or wtf ever); this will help instill respect for the machine and a greater appreciation of it.


P.S. I'm not a father but my niece and nephew - 5 and 7, respectively - have enjoyed some light pillion trail riding on my DR200 a few times. I hope to buy them a CRF 50 soon, but money is pretty tight.

Since nobody else is going to ask, what motorcycle magazine was it?

That's what I was going to ask!

Gee, does anybody expect their teenage kids to actually work, earn, and save enough money to buy their own vehicles anymore? Kids who don't know the value of a dollar will never understand it… until it's too late.

One -- I believe it was Cycle World -- John Burn's piece on the new Enfield Continental GT. The boy -- Finn -- had pretty bad GT lust until he sat on one and discovered that café racers demand really long arms.

And Two: Finn will be paying for said bike his bad self.

Builds Character and Motivation. ;-)

That's to bad, that would be a good bike to learn on and it looks great.

535cc
30bhp

....but so is this.

After researching what it was like to ride...and talking to a guy that runs our local Enfield dealership...who says that the majority of his customers throw out the stock pipe and put on a power commander before they take delivery...

The SR started to look better and better.

Noobs just want to ride...they don't want to dual track learning how to rebuild their bikes, too. I agree the GT is beautiful, gut apparently its a total paintshaker on the highway...and my boy wants to strap on a bedroll and see this country. Just not the right hammer for this nail.

The SR will just be a ride, replace oil and tires, repeat kind of hammer.

That's my boy.

...and the racks and saddlebag mounts that were made to fit the models that were sold in the 70s and 80s are still made and still fit.

I was faced with the same dilemma twice. Neither one of them rode the street very long.





No regrets at all. Both boys had their share of injuries, but they learned a lot about who they are. That you can't bullshit a lap time. You are as good as the clock says you are, and that natural talent only takes you so far. The rest is all work. They really learned about the hard work part and enjoyed its fruits.

Tell him he can buy whatever bike he can afford, and if he wants to be into bikes he's going to need a pretty good job. But you'll buy him a nice helmet and jacket when he buys a bike.

Two of my grown children asked me if I would teach them to ride a motorcycle. I said go take the MSF course and get back to me. That was ten years ago. Never heard another word about it.

Good on you.............the best advice I was ever given was "Be the father you wished you had".

The real awakening was when I realized I was acting like my Dad........:eek1

Bought my son a PW50 when he was 7. Next followed other dirt bikes and we rode most weekends. He's now 16.

B.C. has a graduated licensing program which takes several years to complete.
He has his L for passenger vehicles and takes driving lessons as well as driving with me.

He has his motorcycle L as well. I enrolled him in a motorcycle training course and he has done great. We ride several times a week and he really enjoys it. I just bought him a new helmet that's matte black and Hi Viz. Amazed at how it stands out.

Riding, doing maintenance, working together has really allowed us to stay connected.

I've never had to deal with a son asking about getting a bike, I'm the 17 year old who got one. What worked for me is my parents got me a small off road dual sport -xl125, and I just drove around on old fire roads and back trails. By the time I had turned 16 I had gotten my licence, taken my safety course, and with the guidance of those who are already riding got all the proper safety gear and had purchased my first street legal bike. The part that had eased my parents mind is that since I had bought a dual sport I would spend the majority of my time on dirt roads, away from the highway and all the cars. The most dangerous part on a bike is not the rider, it is other drivers. Go where they are not, and it will be much safer.

When I turned 17 and wanted a bike, my father said "NO WAY!! ONLY A FUCKIN' IDIOT WOULD RIDE ONE OF THOSE THINGS!" (...he said that about everything I wanted to do, not just bikes)
Sooo.....
A couple of weeks later my mother took me to pick up my first bike, a used Honda 90 street bike. From there I was on my own. I took it out on the street and taught myself to ride it. Musta done something right, because I'm still here after 14 bikes and over a quarter million miles of riding.

But what worked for me doesn't necessarily work for everyone.

What he's 17 and you haven't gotten him a bike yet :huh

Seriously though, why not just send him the MSF and see how he feels after that?

Same for me from my step-dad. Was told that I could have a bike when I could afford to buy one. You'd be amazed how much money a 14 year old can make with a willingness to work hard. Had a beat-up old Yamaha 125 within two months and had to learn how to ride it by myself out in the desert.

I am going to lend my son the 27HP Vespa P200....

If that don't cure him of wanting to ride a motorcycle, nothing will.

How did that go over with Dad?

THAT...is a whole 'nuther story!!
We lived in a rented two story house. My father NEVER went in the basement. So I kept the bike down there. I think I had it almost two months before he found out about it.....
He owned a little corner grocery store in the neighborhood....and I worked there part time, so everyone knew me.
Seems that one of his customers saw me on the road with the bike and said to him (cheerfully), "I didn't know that your son had a motorcycle!"
That night the shit hit the fan big time. His yelling could probably be heard down the block. But my mother always stood up for me. She told me to go to my room and then she fought it out with my father.
My brother told me years later that he heard the argument and that my bike almost caused a divorce!!
But the bike stayed. He never once looked at it (or any of the others that followed) and never talked about it.
(I think I was up to bike number seven by the time he died.)

It didn't help my popularity any that I eventually taught both of my brothers to ride on that bike. They each went on to get bikes of their own. Now there were THREE motorcycles in the family.

Later, my buying a small sports car and learning to fly an airplane brought on similar outbursts!!
I prevailed each time.