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I have almost always thought of everyone here as family. But now it is really starting to turn out to be a family site for me. My brother Eric who lives in the Seattle Area who hopefully will be riding sometime soon.My brother Nathan who lives in San Diego who rides an '04 Bonnie. Two more brothers (both living in Salt Lake) and all my siblings will be here (BTW, I'm the oldest).

Soren

That's cool Soren, reminds me of when we want to get together to ride, (family) we sometimes get 4 or 5 bikes on the road.

mike

Funny aint it?
I have NO family that ride.
My brother has never even been on a bike.

None of my immediate or extended family (cousins / nephews etc) own bikes.

I must get it from my Dad, he had a scooter but that was many years before I was born.

The stories of "Family Winslow" got me thinking about somthing. As a new father, I wonder: At what age can one introduce the sport of motorcycling to a young child?
Now, I was not raised with the sport, I learned to ride, later in life... But, I honestly believe there are lessons of responsiblity and bonding to be had here.

Those of you who were around motorcycles for as long as you could walk... what were your experiences? What do you feel were the benefits? Were there issues?

Please, bestow upon me your didactic experiences... you aging flatulent curmudgeons.

Well my old man used to ride Triumphs god rest his soul he died in 2000. My brother still rides and used to own a couple of Triumphs, but has gone to a BMW 750 and a Suzuki 1100, no one else in the family rides at all from both sides..

Must be in the blood from the old man

My kids got short rides as soon as they knew how to hang on. Longer rides began as soon as they could reach the pegs and properly fit a helmet. All 3 of my kids ride now, and I just got the best compliment from the 23 yo son. Seems when he started to ride on his own I wouldn't let him get THE BIKE... a Yamaha 600 R6. He had to start on a Kaw Ninja 250 at 16. He just last week got his R6 after having about 5 other bikes. His words to Mom... "I'm glad Dad didn't let me get this bike when I was younger, it would have been too mch to handle."

later, Tom.

Only one in my famly besides me that rides is my nephew.
Hes got a couple Harleys. My oldest brother keeps threatening to buy a Harley wants a big tourer. I keep telling him he'd be better off with a BMW but he looks down and spits each time I say that.

My older brother used to have a bike years ago. I got my first bike at 14, a Honda CB 100. Now that I have an eight year old son, I'm really not that anxious for him to start riding. I'd rather he be at least 15 - 16 before he gets on a bike. Or maybe 25, since I did so many stupid things on bikes between the ages of 16 and 22 that I'd really rather not see him repeat. Some people will disagree, but I have heard a lot of stories of young kids getting seriously hurt on ATV's because they were riding stupid and then they were not strong enough to push the ATV off of them afer a crash. One kid drowned in a couple feet of water - got stuck under the machine.

Well I've personally done both - had fun and rode stupid. Sometimes it is hard to tell especially when you are younger. Now that I'm older I ride stupid a lot less.

Start them in the dirt when big enough to handle a bike. The skills they will learn are transferable. They'll learn balance and traction. They'll learn how to think fast to a developing situation, and most of all, respect for the machine. This all happens under your tutelage and guidance, or who knows what direction.
I learned riding trials, which is relatively slow and technical. Never broke a bone in hundreds of crashes. Every one was a learning experience.
JMHO

My Dad who was never a rider helped me buy my first Kawasaki in 1972, somehow the middle brother got skipped and the youngest rode dirt bikes all through the late 70's. Now all three brothers ride, although I'm the only Triumph owner in the family as my brothers were lured into the HD mythology. We're looking for our first family ride this summer if we can get the rest of our family schedules to cooperate....

I finally got approval from my better half to take the BRC course. Just gotta come up with the dough to pay for it...which should be around 2015 at my current rate. But I'm not giving up on it!

"Please, bestow upon me your didactic experiences... you aging flatulent curmudgeons."

Well, since you asked so nicely.... (?)

I am the only one in my family that rides. I started out riding dirtbikes when I was in my teens. I had 2 buddies who rode and they talked me into it. Those were some of the best times I ever had - we rode in the woods, not on motocross tracks. Today, all the places we used to ride are either covered with houses or verboten to dirtbikes...

My son started out with a minibike - an OBO (another story) which he bought with his own money and which I completely
rebuilt for 10 times what he paid for it... My Dad had some property where he could ride it, and my son rode it around age 7 thru 9. It was the culprit in the "Mother's Day Massacre" (again, another story)..

At age 10 he wanted a dirtbike, so against his mother's wishes, we checked the ads and the local dealers and eventually found a used KX80. After new tires, a new exhaust, complete servicing, buying all the gear, etc., he rode that for about 3 years. During this time, his cousin who was a year older, and several friends of both of them, were riding in AMA sanctioned motocross races. My son joined them with dreams of being the next Mad Mike Jones - but he was always at the young end of his class and didn't fare very well.... We had some good times however and he gained some valuable life lessons. We even met Travis Pastrana when he was in his formative years.

Once the "dream" was dashed and all the young hooligans found other interests (girls) riding was pretty much forgotten. When I bought my TA in 03, he was 17, and he began to show an interest in street bikes. Then one of his buddies with a crotch rocket got smashed up pretty bad, and the interest waned quickly. Today he's 22, and while there's still a glimmer now and then, he has other interests (girls) that take up his time and money....

If your child shows an interest, I would recommend starting off with a minibike or a small dirtbike. Having a safe place to ride it is a necessity, and be prepared to spend a lot of money and time. Safety gear is an absolute essential for young kids, but it's expensive and they outgrow it faster than you can pay for it. If there are other kids nearby - friends or relatives - who ride, that's a big plus.

The important thing is to make sure the child really wants to ride, and isn't just trying to please Dad.

"flatulent curmudgeons"

Best. Band name. Ever.

Your answer in is your question Grasshopper.

Quote:

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Those of you who were around motorcycles for as long as you could walk...

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I would say, when his feet can touch the ground while seated on the bike, is a good time to start.

Check out Honda's CRF50 for a reference point.