What Have I Started

This is excellent news.

 

I'd be asking myself 'How mature is he' - does he know not to get angry, will he speed in front of his mates etc etc. The room and tolerance for making mistakes is a lot less than it used to be. On the other hand when will they learn - how will they learn. Don't want to wrap them in cotton wool. A difficult riddle to solve - damned if you do, damned if you don't.

 

That's teenagers in general though. All we can do is prepare them the best we can. The rest is up to them to learn through (hopefully not too harsh) experience.

 

How do you feel about it
My son shows no interest at all about riding bikes although he loves MotoGP
I couldn’t argue against it if he wanted to ride as I’ve always had bikes all of his life

 

Dirt bikes are a great learning tool. I started when I was ten.

 

I think you have started a very good thing. I agree with ODA -start him on a DP bike so he can get some off-road riding in. It's a great way to learn about riding.

 

Not saying he shouldn't..........I just remember how impulsive I was at that age. And how many twats that are texting at the wheel these days. Probably offset by less drink driving but it makes you think when it is your own flesh and blood. I've got fourteen year old twin boys and would have to give it a great deal of thought when it comes to it........................

 

I just saw this thread, @Judd Dredd. You have started something and I'd say you started something good! And, hey, what did you expect by riding two up with him? I love that he said he wants you to help him buy it for his birthday implying that he will pay part. He sounds like a responsible young man already. Dad's influence?? And just remember this...........

 

i would not let him have a 50 at 16,1 would let him have a 125 at 17,i think 50`s are a liability on the roads to other road users and to the riders themselves

 

Biggest liabilty to riders of any cc bike is the idiots that drive GERMAN CARS

 

£39.99 isn't too bad for a chinese import tbh.
I'd have upgraded it to twin front disks for £43.99 though.
I presume thats with a full tank of fuel and the first 500 mile service (if it makes it..) also??????

Seriously , great news!!

 

Well .....there you go then

 

Beat me to it dilligaf

 

It is a dilemma mate, my Son always loved bikes & was on the back of mine as soon as he was big enough to reach the pegs.
When he was about 11 I bought him a TY80 trials bike taught him to use the clutch & gears & after a while took him to some schoolboy trials meetings. He had a go but never really was totally at ease doing competition trials, kept the bike a year or so & then moved it on.

Fast forward to when he was 16, we lived in a village & he went to college in the Winchester which was 8 or 9 miles away, so he needed transport, so we got him a twist & go scooter. He got knocked off that twice in a year by impatient & bike blind car drivers, luckily he wasn't badly injured & it didn't put him off bikes . At 17 I bought him an old CB 125, took him to an industrial estate over a couple of days to refresh him on a geared bike, he bloody loved that little bike, it never let him down and it had just enough speed to keep him out of trouble on his daily commute, it also cemented his love for bikes.
He passed his test a few months later, he wanted a restricted 600 as first big bike but I said no, instead steered him to a DR400 Suzuki, took him off road riding as well as tarmac, he got a good sense of throttle control and what happens when there is a loss of traction. He moved onto an SV650 once he was allowed the extra power, went to Germany with me and my mates on that, all this time I had been coaching him on how to ride safely but make progress & after a year on that he moved up to a Gixxer 750. He ended up being a very competent rider, did trips to France & down to the Alps with my mates, they all joked that they could tell he was my nipper by the way he rode!
Eventually he sold the Gixxer to fund a year long trip to Australia, whilst I enjoyed the times we had spent riding together there was a hint of relief when I didn't have to worry about him coming off any more. That was more than 10 years ago now & marriage & the usual associated expense of setting up home etc means that he can't afford to run a bike as well as a car.

Sorry mate, that went on a bit, but your original post made me all nostalgic about that experience with my own nipper!

 

Both my sons have took after me both been riding since they were 17 both in there thirties now eldest a bit of a nutter on a bike wonder where he got that from youngest quick but doesn't push the limits and yes i still worry when there out on the bikes now i know how my parents felt with this nutter out on his bikes what goes around comes around how true that saying is.