My son was 5 when I started tooling around with him on my Goldwing. We finally got the permission slip from mom when he was 8 to buy him a bike (TTR 90), and then he moved to the TTR125 for a couple of years. He is 12 now and wants to be like dad, so he now has a Honda Rebel 250. We are fortunate enough to live in a large housing development with miles of paved roads. Hell, the only mode of transportation around here for some people is a four wheeler, so nobody complains. I can't wait until he is old enough to do the long father and son journey. By then he should be road ready.
Riding with kids
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I have very mixed feelings of kids riding on the back. On the one hand it's a very cool bonding experience and most will never encounter a problem (accidents or such).
Unfortunately, we had a 9 yr. old girl loose her life on the back of her granddad's Harley last week. Her GD was riding along a major two lane minding his own business when a 89 yr. old woman did the left turn in front of him. She thought she had enough time to make the turn!!!
Damn it, these older drivers are killing more and more younger people because we don't have an adaquate system in place to yank their driving privledges before they kill someone!
This will be the next big battle as our population ages. Get ready to lobby your politicians to actually do something about this. Tragically, it will take many more deaths to wake people up!
BTW: the GD is ok, he received minor injuries and yes, I cried when I listened to the father of the girl (his only child) express his grief.
Very tragic.
Unfortunately, we had a 9 yr. old girl loose her life on the back of her granddad's Harley last week. Her GD was riding along a major two lane minding his own business when a 89 yr. old woman did the left turn in front of him. She thought she had enough time to make the turn!!!
Damn it, these older drivers are killing more and more younger people because we don't have an adaquate system in place to yank their driving privledges before they kill someone!
This will be the next big battle as our population ages. Get ready to lobby your politicians to actually do something about this. Tragically, it will take many more deaths to wake people up!
BTW: the GD is ok, he received minor injuries and yes, I cried when I listened to the father of the girl (his only child) express his grief.
Very tragic.
USAFFJR
Well-known member
My son has been riding with me for the last year or so (since he was 5). I had a Bandit 600 that he couldn't ride on. I sold the bike less than a month before I was to move to Japan only to get my assignment cancelled. So there I was, without a bike. This was last summer and, as the gas prices spiked, so did the price of bikes. Seeing that I sold my Bandit for way less than it was worth just to make a quick sell, I didn't have a lot of cash to buy a replacement. I ended up with a Virago. It had a sissybay and my son could actually touch the footpegs. We bought him a helmet, motocross gloves, a jacket and sturdy boots. He was off for his first ride and loved it. Of course my wife followed us the entire time... 
Fast forward to now. He's 6 now, but I don't have a backrest yet, so taking him on the FJR makes me nervous. We went for a longer ride this weekend, and he did fine, but I was still nervous. Already ordered one here on the forums. Just waiting for my turn in the queue!
Fast forward to now. He's 6 now, but I don't have a backrest yet, so taking him on the FJR makes me nervous. We went for a longer ride this weekend, and he did fine, but I was still nervous. Already ordered one here on the forums. Just waiting for my turn in the queue!
SacramentoMike
Not Safe For Work
I won't offer much advice; you already know how dangerous it is and how careful you must be. I just want to share one memory, speaking of the bonding aspect of this. I must have been in kindergarten. My dad rode a Harley for the Syracuse Police. In the winter they added a sidecar and kept riding.
We lived about two miles from my school, and one day he was giving me one of the rare rides to school in the sidecar. There was just a single seat, of course, and though I wanted to ride up on the bike with him in the worst way, that never happened. And by the way, in the '50s this was possible. Now, pretty sure no way.
Anyway, about halfway to school he gets a call on the radio. An emergency. "Hold on tight and get down low," he tells me, and off we go. We came screaming up to school with all the kids milling around outside, just before the morning bell. He comes to a fast stop and I jump out, and off he goes again, red lights flashing, siren blaring.
I still remember the kids just standing there, staring. A very special memory.
We lived about two miles from my school, and one day he was giving me one of the rare rides to school in the sidecar. There was just a single seat, of course, and though I wanted to ride up on the bike with him in the worst way, that never happened. And by the way, in the '50s this was possible. Now, pretty sure no way.
Anyway, about halfway to school he gets a call on the radio. An emergency. "Hold on tight and get down low," he tells me, and off we go. We came screaming up to school with all the kids milling around outside, just before the morning bell. He comes to a fast stop and I jump out, and off he goes again, red lights flashing, siren blaring.
I still remember the kids just standing there, staring. A very special memory.
oldryder
Well-known member
I have been taking my daughters for rides for years. I started them when they were large enough to reach the pegs but I also made sure there was a backrest. There were rules about how/when to mount and dismount and they HAD to wear gear.
Now they're both teens, 17 and 15. the older one loves to ride and has her own bike now, the younger is content to be a passenger.
They told me last year the high point of their summer is the annual cross country road trip we take. in years past it was one at a time on the GL1500. This year it will be me and younger on the wing and the older on the FJR.
We've been taking advanced riding classes (racetrack) together and it's been great fun!!!
Now they're both teens, 17 and 15. the older one loves to ride and has her own bike now, the younger is content to be a passenger.
They told me last year the high point of their summer is the annual cross country road trip we take. in years past it was one at a time on the GL1500. This year it will be me and younger on the wing and the older on the FJR.
We've been taking advanced riding classes (racetrack) together and it's been great fun!!!
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