My son is 17 and is continually reminding me that he'll be 18 before the year's out and that he wants a motorcycle.

I've never ridden one myself, but I have strong feelings against him owning one though I have kept my remarks to myself. All I have said to him is, "The law requires that you have a license to ride a motorcycle and since you're not familiar with them, I think it would be a good idea to take a rider operation/safety class which I will loan you the money interest-free for if you can't pay for it yourself."

I work with 3 guys that own and ride motorcycles. The youngest is 32, the oldest is 48. I've have asked them how safe it is to ride one in this area and they've all said they ride on weekends and clear skies only and typically on rides out and back on Route 7. They've all said they've put their bikes down at some point though none were seriously injured.

Is there anything left for me to say to my son? (I mean besides, "Ride hard for Timmy Slaw..." or "Drop in at Kilroy's on Wednesday nights..." or "Make sure you only ride an AMF Harley...)

Tell him to start saving his money.

Ralph Pootawn Wrote:
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> Tell him to start saving his money.


...and buy a cemetery plot.

motordeath Wrote:
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> Ralph Pootawn Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Tell him to start saving his money.
>
>
> ...and buy a cemetery plot.


and check off organ donor on his OL

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Don't forget to increase the life insurance you have on him either.

WOW!!!! Wrote:
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> Don't forget to increase the life insurance you
> have on him either.


Why not make a quick buck while you're at it?

Slim Wrote:
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> My son is 17 and is continually reminding me that
> he'll be 18 before the year's out and that he
> wants a motorcycle.
>
>


Why don't you also buy him a case of Four Loko's to go with said new motorcycle?

WOW!!!! Wrote:
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> Don't forget to increase the life insurance you
> have on him either.


Don't forget the case of Four Loko's either!

Just goto Kaotic.com to see videos of horrific accidents involving those things.

Just visit that site. Wrote:
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> Just goto Kaotic.com to see videos of horrific
> accidents involving those things.


Wow.... NSFW... decapitated cyclist, up close video.
http://www.kaotic.com/11611_Asian-Biker-Squashed-Under-Truck--Head-Popped-Off.html

I had my first motorcycle at 16 - 125cc Benelli that I converted (with older brother's help) into a knobby-tired, no battery/lights, expansion chamber exhausted, off-road "thing" (can't really call it a motocross bike though I certainly did things like that with it). I ran that sucker into the ground then turned around and sold it for $125 to a guy who wanted to build a go-kart for his kid - man, that would have been a neat go-kart (4 speeds and manual clutch instead of single speed auto-clutch). A little later in high school I had another motorcycle that I used to go to school in 12th grade, continued to use it into college (though moved within walking distance after the first year so sold it).

Get your kid something small, make sure he's well-trained and ALWAYS wears appropriate gear, and watch him come back with bugs on his teeth from smiling so much.

This is your son's way of telling you he is gay.

you sure about that? Wrote:
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> .


woah! that last one is crazy and sick i wish i saw it happen o_O

I had one in college living in arlington and commuting to GW/work in dc. Its a cheap way to get around but this is a Very dangerous place to ride. The roads are greasy, people don't look around and traffic is heavy. Forget riding on the beltway that is just a death wish.

An extensive safety course would probably help a lot but when he gets in an accident (and he will) it will probably be the other driver's fault. If it were my kid I would ask him to wait till he was no longer living under my roof - might buy you a few years of precious maturity. Im sure Id be dead if I started at 18 (I drove like a mad man).

Finally make sure he gets a big enough bike. Little 400cc shit wont be able to get out of the way around here. Id go for an 800-1200cc for sure.

I rode a Jap crotch rocket for about 12 years and learned a few things, namely there a two types of motorcycle riders....1) those that have gone down and 2) those that are going to go down.

Tell him to get at least a 700 c.c., don't ride in short and flip-flops, and buy the best helmet he can afford, ' cause he is gonna' need it.

I rode a Harley up here for years. I finally gave it up. At least twice a day I had to brake hard to avoid someone turning left in front of me. Add cell phone texting and illegals with no insurance or license and you are heading for a crash sooner rather than later.

your nemesis Wrote:
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> Tell him to get at least a 700 c.c.

These large engine sizes are insanity for a first bike, IMHO.

rusty nail Wrote:
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> I rode a Harley up here for years. I finally gave
> it up. At least twice a day I had to brake hard to
> avoid someone turning left in front of me. Add
> cell phone texting and illegals with no insurance
> or license and you are heading for a crash sooner
> rather than later.


That's the reason my motorcycle stays in the garage, and I'm going to sell it. It is mind blowing on how many times that shit happens, just in one day of riding.

I went through that phase when I was 17 or so. My parents said hell no, since one of their high school friends was killed 2 weeks after graduation on one.

Now that I'm older and aware of my mortality, I would not allow my kids one either. But once they are 18, they can do whatever they want. Same for your son. I know one guy who got killed on one while stopped at a light (the car ran the light and plowed into him head on), one friend shattered his pelvis (his fault) and I saw a rider dead on top of a car (head through the windshield) a few years back.

Three of my neighbors ride, but only on the weekends and only in the back roads. One had to lay down last fall because of some assclown pulling in front of him.

No thanks. If I'm going to get into a wreck, I want some metal and airbags around me.

__________________________________
That's not a ladybug, that's a cannapiller.

rusty nail Wrote:
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> at least twice a day I had to brake hard to
> avoid someone turning left in front of me. Add
> cell phone texting and illegals with no insurance
> or license and you are heading for a crash sooner
> rather than later.


The above, and all the negative replies about sums it up. I road trail bikes in my midteens and got a road bike when I turned 18. A few years on the road was way more than enough, and that was before cell phones became common. No way is it worth the risk in this day and age. I certainly would not have one as a primary vehicle.. Good Luck!

I had a bike until I moved here; then got rid of it. I have never seen an area more unaware or uncaring of motorcyclists than DC. I attribute it to drivers who are self-important a-holes, soccer moms in a hurried panic, and day laborers used to poorly enforced traffic laws and nonexistent driver education in their home countries.

Not Quite Wrote:
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> your nemesis Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Tell him to get at least a 700 c.c.
>
> These large engine sizes are insanity for a first
> bike, IMHO.

+1. I started on a 250 ninja, it was plenty for a first bike.

who would admit to being a "yuppie"? it means gay white panzy ass

andd who has such low selfesteem to identify with their car?

wtf dude-time to grow up

i started on a 492cc buell i'd recommend a honda knght hawk as it was my first motorcylce i owned but its a very good starter bike don't let these other twits with the pictures scare you there are draw backs to being on a motorcylce but they're easily avoided if the driver is responsible most of them probably worn't paying attention and thats their short coming. get him to go through the class and advance class for cyclists if he passes then he should be ok but always make sure you have some kind of ensurance just in case motorcycles can be very touchy..

Look up the term squid when it applies to motorcyclists. It's what they look like after the crash.




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NtUv9 Wrote:
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> who would admit to being a "yuppie"? it means gay
> white panzy ass
>
> andd who has such low selfesteem to identify with
> their car?
>
> wtf dude-time to grow up


Yes yes, I know I am a gay white panzy ass. And I would be the person who has such a low self esteem to identify my self by my car.

you really shouldn't feed the animals with your responce, you know some people want to argue on the internet but for me i see no point in it because at the end of the day they're still retarded. no offense to those with any mental disabilities as of course.

Slim- I suggest you buy him a dirt bike to feed his need and take him to the mountains to go riding, you should join him as well. After a few ejections he will get the idea real quick how fast shit can go wrong. If he goes further with his quest for a street bike (and he will) he will have learned some very good skills as to how a bike reacts when you are traviling at high speeds.

Most people I know who bought a bike at 18 totaled it the first few months. Friends that grew up riding dirt bikes tend to not ever crash and have more awarness of what is going on. Just my take on it. Let him crash out in the woods and not on the streets where a car can run you over. No mater how good of a rider you are it is only a mater of time before you dump it or someone hits you.

Yes, learning to ride in the dirt is the best advice..But sometimes You just can't fix stupid.

^ Good advice. He should learn to ride off road first.

At the same time - it may not make a difference because its usually not the person on the motorcycle it is the folks driving cars.

I road dirt bikes into my teenage years on a dirt track and off-road with a group of guys. Then my family moved and there was nowhere to ride so I moved on.

Within 5 years of everyone graduating to street bikes - 7 of the 12 guys I road with were dead and it wasn't their fault. The first to die was my best friend - the best rider in our group. Car crossed the double yellow on a turn and that was all she wrote.

kids have a hard enough time not killing themselves in a car when they get their license. if you want your son to be around past the age of 20, dont let him get a motorcycle. if he does, make sure he checks off organ donor on his license becuase if wont be long before he is a donor. nova is not the place to ride a motorcycle, much less learn how to ride one here.

I had a few street bikes for about 5 years around here and luckily never had a serious accident. I have switched over to dirtbikes as they are way more fun and 100% safer, especially with the zipper heads that drive around here. They used to turn in front of me everytime I rode as well. Do not let him get one unless you don't want him around long!

Make him buy a nice suit when he buys his bike. Soon enough he's either going to wear it at a friend's funeral or his own. I rode for 20 years or so, had to lay it down a few times. Busted an ankle pretty bad. Lost more than a few friends.

But it is something awesome that you can't describe.

He'll be dead before you know it.

If you love him, do all you can to make it financially impossible for him to do this, otherwise say good bye every day like you mean it because chances are pretty good he'll be dead long before you.

It isn't the riding that's the problem, it's the other drivers in this area.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/07/2013 07:14PM by Johnny Galt.

My primary advice is to have him finance it completely on his own and make it more expensive by mandating safety gear. No matter how smart they are, there's a lot of stupid going around at that age. We all were there and we all were stupid. If you disagree, you're in denial.

I got a bike at 21 years old because that was the only legal/insured transportation I could afford. I had a few close calls. Distracted drivers have made it much more dangerous for commute riding in traffic. If he only wants it for leisure riding out west, it might not be so bad.

If he somehow pulls it off...

One piece of safety gear I recommend is a headlight modulator.
https://www.kisantech.com/view_product.php?product=P115W-D
They go inline with the headlight bulb and are easy to install.

He should definitely take the motorcycle safety course. That course saved my life by teaching me things that I otherwise would have had to learn the hard way. They also teach you to be an amazingly defensive driver.

Start out with a 500cc or below bike. A 250cc is plenty. Try to get a cruiser style instead of a sport bike style.

I have a passion and love for motorcycles. all of my life i have owned a street bike or dirt. I have my motorcycles in the garage now, they are for sale.
I will buy another one when I move out of this area.

I have had way too many close calls and getting rear ended by a person who was texting.
I was lucky enough to bounce off the car coming in the other direction and not getting run over. I guess lucky means only having broken bones, not in the spine.

Your son will get into an accident, Damn good chance someone will take him out because they are on a cell phone, or just a 3rd world driver.

Get yourself a life insurance policy!

I fully agree with everything in wnrsm's post.

wearing the gear and learning through the Motorcycle safety foundation (MSF) course are huge.

I've ridden in different cities, but NoVA is pretty bad. A lot of unattentive drivers, new and young drivers, and just a whole lot of traffic.

The biggest thing to worry about is his ego. I've been riding for a few years (26) and the #1 reason I've watched friends go down is because they were riding beyond their skill level..trying to be fast and look cool.

Overconfidence kills new riders.

People always want to upgrade to a bigger bike after a few months because they think they've mastered riding. 600cc sportbikes can get you into a lot of trouble and when a panic situation (think merging cars, turning cars etc) occurs, they simply haven't developed the skills to respond quickly and appropriately.

I don't know what those guys were thinking saying he needs an 800-1200cc bike, that's absurd. At least when talking about modern day sportbikes. Maybe they're thinking of older standard/ harley type bikes. But a new rider has no business on 1000cc sportbike.

the ninja 250 and now the newer ninja 300 are plenty powerful for a new rider. They still accel. faster a WRX STi 0-60, and are more than enough to keep you up and ahead of traffic without giving you 100ft of torque that will put your son on his ass.

Talk him out of it. Once he gets a taste, he will likely never stop riding. My last accident was totally my fault and almost killed me. I STILL got another one. Collapsed lung, broke every rib on one side, shattered scapula, dislocated shoulder. In 25 years I have totaled 3 bikes and it all started because a friend showed me how to get his old Honda out of gear without stalling. I have seen a lot of young riders die in NOVA including some I know. The only way for a younger rider to avoid serious injury is luck. They are too unexpierienced to anticipate and avoid other people's mistakes. I have had many close calls since I have grown up and learned to ride properly, but when I was young and out of control, it was just a matter of dumb luck or Gods grace depending on your beliefs. Talk him out of it. If you can't talk him out of it, beg him to take safety classes at NOVA AND track courses at Summit Point

Motorcycles are the neurosurgeon full employment gift from the goddess. One can be the most responsible, safety conscious rider in 5 states and suffer not one scratch for 20 years. Then some drunken shytstain going 75 in a 35 zone ends your life on the spot. In one of those "square" automobiles you have some metal between you and that impact. Fifty years of safety engineering in your favor. Maybe just enough to survive in recoverable condition.

Your son will soon be an adult. If he wants a motorcycle let him demonstrate his emancipation and pay for it himself. Save your money to help with his medical or burial expenses.

If you object to what he wants to do grow some balls and say so.