The offspring...

[Jaynnus]

So my son informed me today that he wants to get his motorcycle license....











and I cringed. I'm such a hypocrite.

[SteveM]

No you're not, you're just a mom.

Once you get past that, teach him all the right lessons and improve his chances.

[DucDave]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8J2 Safari/6533.18.5)

I completely identify..

[Falko]

As a parent, if you didn't cringe you should question yourself.

[breakdirt916]

busa

[Talus]

No you're not, you're just a mom.

Once you get past that, teach him all the right lessons and improve his chances.

How old is he?

[Jaynnus]

How old is he?

15 going on 4

[06gixgirl]

Well, at least he has a good instructor, can't ask for more then that.

[Doc]

Well, at least he has a good instructor, can't ask for more then that.

Do you really think he will listen to his mom?

Good Luck Jane!

I am grooming my son to ride but when i think about it I cringe too.

[Slyder]

It's like drugs, he learned it by watching you.

Mom's fault. But it's a given. It also works the other way, buy your kids 4 wheelers and dirt bikes and someday soon your yard is gonna get destroyed and someday in the future he'll take his graduation money and buy a motorcycle... that you told him not to buy with his graduation money

[06gixgirl]

Do you really think he will listen to his mom?

Good Luck Jane!

I am grooming my son to ride but when i think about it I cringe too.

True...kids don't listen to their mom's no matter what. at least i don't have to deal with that.

[freeskier]

my mom has ridden since she was 14, raced in mexico for 5 years, nearly lost a foot and to this day has no idea i owe or ride a bike. atleast he was honest

[Danz19899]

My parents were crazy bikers back in the day so when i decided I wanted a bike they were cool with it. actually co-signed on BOTH my bike loans even after I totaled the first one . . . . . .

They were hesitant at first on the second bike loan then I reminded my dad of the the brand new bike with 17 miles on it he brought home in pieces when he was my age lol

Like father like son lol

[gadget]

I'll trade you my 16 year old daughter for your 15 year old son.

[Chippertheripper]

i'm really interested in hearing how this goes.

[PinHead]

Casey wants his too. Ugg!

[Expat]

My son has been riding since he was 3.
He announced he wanted a street bike a few months ago and hasn't let it go since!

So, the dilemma, do you scratch the itch now while it's minor or ignore it and know it may come back later when you can't do anything about it?

I picked him up an EX250 and he took to the road last week.

We made a signed contract saying he could only ride with me until he has completed his MSF course and even after that, he will be on a tight reign.
I bought a bike to bike intercom so I can give him pointers and directions while riding.
In addition, he will hopefully be doing a trackday with me in July.

So far he is doing great racking up close to 150 miles last week.

Yes, I had knots in my stomach thinking of him riding on the road and asked myself the what if question a thousand times but came to the conclusion it is safer to educate him now while I still have some control over the situation rather than to wait and have him announce "hey dad, check out my new ZX6R"!!

Any suggestions on other safety measures welcomed!!

[csmutty]

If you wanted to show him the basics sometime Jane my DRZ125 is always available.

[cbr_chick_nh]

I remember mentioning it to my father that I wanted a motorcycle... he didn't like the idea... So I went out and bought one by myself, didn't tell him until it was sitting in the driveway. He was mad it wasn't a Harley, mom was mad it was a bike...

You have the opportunity to make sure he starts out right

[Sheppo]

I was 19... brought my first 'street' bike home. My bags were on the front porch in under an hour. Sat and talked with my dad for a while, listened to his fears, he listened to my reasoning. We came to an agreement. He loves all my bikes now, especially the old RD, but he still doesn't really like me on the road.

[mi1knc0okies]

When i was like 14 and i got introuble i had to move the cones around for my dad on the weekends he ran the msf course. The upside to that is i got to ride after baking in the sun most of the day. My dad knew one day I'd want a bike becuase he exposed it to me extreamly young but by doing so he also taught me all the things i needed to know to stay safe on the road. Now I talk trash to him cause I'll out ride him!

[tonyd]

I had dirt bikes growing up but My parents made it an easy decision when I asked about a street bike. They told me if I had enough money for a bike and insurance I had enough to pay for college instead of them picking up the tab.

It Sucked not to have a bike in college, but was great not to have any debt when I was done.
And They smiled when the the first thing I did after getting my first job was buy a bike.

Looking back I am glad I couldn't ride street until after I matured a bit. If I rode the way I drove when I was 19 I would be dead.

[Ken C]

The cringe never really goes away, even after your offspring becomes a proficient rider.

[Jaynnus]

The cringe never really goes away, even after your offspring becomes a proficient rider.

After the cringe...I immediately thought of you Ken and the great family pictures of you and your family riding together and thought maybe I finally have a kid that I will have something in common with. The cringe is still there...

Now to get him on a dirt bike this year so next year when he is of age, he can get on a street bike and come to my MSF class. He has not been on a bike since he was 6 or so and had no interest at all.

[mzdagrl]

After the cringe...I immediately thought of you Ken and the great family pictures of you and your family riding together and thought maybe I finally have a kid that I will have something in common with. The cringe is still there...

Now to get him on a dirt bike this year so next year when he is of age, he can get on a street bike and come to my MSF class. He has not been on a bike since he was 6 or so and had no interest at all.

Make him ride bitch too.

Seriously, it is great experience for him to feel how the bike will move around under him, and it is important for him to trust the machine (which you REALLY have to do as a pillion). Good luck.

As a side note, I can't wait for the day my little girl wants to ride with me. But I will worry the whole time when she gets her own.