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Riding With Younger Children


Mary#17

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My daughter has rode with me since she could sit up on her own. In front between me and the tank until she was just too big to fit there anymore then to the back.

Just around the neighborhood at first then our little town finally longer faster rides when she was good at holding on and leaning and such.

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Slowly around quiet back country roads just a little bit, because it makes me too nervous. Not really expecting danger but its the what if and living with it later if something bad did happen.

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Slowly around quiet back country roads just a little bit, because it makes me too nervous. Not really expecting danger but its the what if and living with it later if something bad did happen.

 

Pretty much my thoughts as well.

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Slowly around quiet back country roads just a little bit, because it makes me too nervous. Not really expecting danger but its the what if and living with it later if something bad did happen.

  

Pretty much my thoughts as well.

I get those thoughts and concerns, I really do. My mom says the same every time she finds out my daughter was on the bike with me.

Here's the thing though, she's going to do it sooner or later with or without me. I'd rather it be with me because I know my skillset. If not with me she'll get a ride sooner or later from the punk kid at school that thinks he's Matt Maladin or the neighbor boys douche bag father with the Sportster that thinks he's Evil Kanevil.

She's rode with me for years which in turn has made her a great passenger, there's no one I'd rather have on the back now. She likes to go fast and she knows how to lean. She's been on several of the Coshocton rides and I've passed a number of people here with her on the back because they were going too slow. But again I know my skill and limit as well as her ability.

Everybody is different and you gotta do what's good for you and your kid but I look at it the same as many do with guns. Expose them to it now under your supervison so there's no urge later when you're not there. Can something happen? Hell yes. I am scared to crash with her but if it happens then atleast we will be together when it happens and we'll go together doing something we love together and I wouldn't want it any other way.

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My kids ride with me ... 13 and 15.T They have been riding off and on for 2 years. I go slow and safe. But I don't crawl. I know there's risks, but riding is fun.

 

I'm buying my girls track bikes when they turn 16. They will ride the track with me for a summer and then decide if they want to navigate the street jungle.

 

Riders ed courses and track day schools should have them being skilled and responsible.

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I have taken my daughters for rides around campgrounds and our neighborhood starting at about 2 years old. I put them between myself and the gas tank. When they get older and bigger, I will put them in the passenger seat. I believe Ohio Revised Code requires any passenger (under 18 years old) to have a helmet. I bought a DOT approved half helmet foe my girls from clearance area at Iron Pony.

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Edited by Connie14
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I've never had a child on any of my bikes but with four nieces and one nephew, I know at least two of the nieces will want to go for a ride when they see the Duc (it'll be the two who wanted to learn how to surf) - my nephew, on the other hand, probably not.  

 

Of course, I'll be nervous and won't go far from home nor very fast - probably just up the road in the neighborhood and back the first time.  

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When I was little, maybe 2 or 3 my dad would start up his old Honda 750 and if the noise didn't scare me, he'd put me on the tank with my hands on the bars and feet on the valve covers. When my sister and I were in 3rd and 2nd grade respectively, he would pick us up for lunch on Fridays and put us both on the bike, one up front, one in back, both with little helmets on. As I got older and bigger I moved to the pilion and we would go on longer and longer rides, sometimes all day. He would hit some pretty technical shit sometimes too. They are some of the fondest memories I have from my childhood.

Nowadays, you put a kid on the tank of your bike and putt around the block, someone calls the cops and they arrest you and take your fuckin kid away....

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My nieces ride with me around the yard...

If we are on the scooter, I slide to the back seat and they sit in front.

If we are on heather's cm450, or on the xr200 they sit up on the tank with their feet on the crash bar.

sometimes i Iet them control the throttle...

It's rare, but if they really want a ride on the xx, I'll pop them on the tank, but they have way more fun on the other bikes... xx isn't well suited for slow jaunts around the yard.

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I read Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance  two decades ago

read it again when my son was born.

Wont take him, weighed it, would love to take a ride around lake erie- camp up on pelee point, before he turns into the i hate my life teenager

But stats are stats, he's my only. So...

he did spend hours in front of my on my ATV riding around the farm. 2-3mph sissy stuff, just riding. loved it

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Basically, my oldest (13) has been on a motorcycle on his own since 4. From about 3 on, he's been on the front of the scooter in the pits, around the block, etc. at around 5, we would ride the scooter and do wheelies and stuff. On the front of the dirt bikes, etc.

When he was 10-11, he was riding on the back of my RC8 and SMR demos. Now at 13, he's an awesome passenger. We hit higher speeds and he never over reacts. But again, he's been riding for 9 years on multiple bikes as a rider and passenger. Always helmets being worn. He's grown up around it and it is as common as your typical kid who plays catch with his dad in the back yard.

He now takes out our 2-1/2 year old on the scooter and his dirt bike. Slowly in the yard. I take him on the scooter also.

It's how you bring them into it that counts. It's also how they experience it that will help or harm them in the future.

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The grandkids were 8 or so when they first rode on the back bringing the bike down from the barn (the driveway is blacktop and its maybe a couple hundred ft behind the house).  At that time their feet couldn't touch the rear pegs but were supported by the saddlebags.  When they grew so they could reach the pegs the began rides up the street and back.  Now they are 11 and 12, can reach, so we go on short rides around town.

 

Always with helmets and protective gear.

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Well we got a PW50 for my 3 year old son and a TTR50 for my 6 yo daughter so they will start their riding career this year.  We have been considering a bike with a  side car. We would retrofit the side car with a harness and a roll bar so that takes care of my son but there's not enough room for two.  The back of the bike doesn't have a back rest.  I don't think she's ready for the back yet so we may have to put off the purchase until next year. We wouldn't be riding far. Just to eat or to car/bike shows that are within 10 to 15 minutes away but we'll see. I need to chew on this for a while. :)

 

Thanks for all the replies.

 

Mary

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Every time you throw a leg over you assume a degree of risk.  All of us have decided that the fun/benefits of riding a motorcycle outweigh the risk.  I am more than willing to accept the risk for myself, but not for anyone else especially my kids.  

 

Kids don't understand this.  A youngin' will easily understand the fun part, but cannot comprehend the risk until they reach a certain age...and that is going to be a different age for every kid. 

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Kids don't understand this.  A youngin' will easily understand the fun part, but cannot comprehend the risk until they reach a certain age...and that is going to be a different age for every kid.

This is true. In my case though, she clearly understands the risks. She has crashed her quad a couple times as well as visited me in the hospital and assisted my recovery from my get offs. On top of that she hears the stories I bring home from work and has been at the station a few times visiting me when a call came in.

Not all kids get exposure to the bad side but its safe to say mine has seen more of the bad than many adult riders

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My son knows that a crash could kill him but of course he cannot fully comprehend that yet.

Having said that, I'm not raising him in a bubble, or wrapped in cotton wool. He has been on my bike, been climbing, camping, horse riding, karate (green belt) and all kinds of other dangerous stuff.

Nothing I do will guarantee he lives to a ripe old age. Protecting him like an expensive porcelain sculpture will ensure he grows up to be a pussy, though.

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The backpack idea is silly in my mind.  I've seen numerous crashes where the rider tumbles a good bit.  Tumbling with a child on the back makes me feel there is more risk of hurting them vs. them separate from the rider.

 

In my opinion, if you are that worried about injury, sell the bike and buy some bicycles.  Then again, I've seen some serious injuries with kids and bicycles.  Better invest in bubble wrap and a padded room.  That's a lot safer...

 

The age is a concern based on the ability to understand holding on and staying put.  I get that.  But, if they are growing up as riders and you are doing your job in teaching them the skillset needed, they shouldn't have issue riding on your bike by age 9-10.  Kids understand a lot more than we think they do.  Try the scooter/dirtbike deal and ride on the back with them on front.  Get them to understand the fundamentals and the safety aspects and you'll be fine.

 

Don't do the back pack.  Hinders your movement and I can only imagine when you tumble, what they will get strapped on your back.

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