[TwistDzixxer]

Ok i am only 15 but i really want a bike. I know alot about what bikes can do to you if u take them for granted. I am a die hard sportbike fan but havent even rode one myself. I bring up the subject to my parents and all i get is "hell no, you'll kill yourself on it." They are so close minded about the bike because my Uncle died in a bike accident shortly before i was born. I know if i were able to buy a bike on my own my parents would most likely beg me to get rid of it or disown me. Proably both.

Its not that my parents dont think that ill be safe, its just the people on the road with me(assholes who run over riderz for laughs). So what should i do, suck it up and not get a bike or wait til im 18 and under my own roof to get one with of risk of losing my family? I would love every second of having a sportbike but dont want to be shut out by my parents, what would u guys do if u were me?

p.s.- my parents are not strict in anyway i have a suzuki RM 125 that they bought for me they just think streetbikes are the anti-christ.

peace, TWIST

"oohhh F**k that hurt, hope nobody saw that..."

 

[Marine]

suck it up till your 18 is the best advice I can give you. Nothing is worth losing the trust of your parents...you'll learn that as you get older.

Till then...just save save save so when you do get a sport bike you don't have to take out a loan to get it. !!!!

02 ZX6R (Yellow)

 

[Unreel]

Respect your parents wishes...you have a long life ahead to do what you want to do. Once your 18 get your sportbike but until then keep logging time on your RM125 becuase there is no replacement for riding experience of any kind. Good Luck.

 

[TwistDzixxer]

thanks for the replies. my rm125 is plenty fun right now, at least until it is fixed. but i think my parents would still be really upset if i were to get one anyway even if i was 18. soo i dunno ill stay on the dirt for now, but i know if i have the money when im older the bike will be on my mind. anyway thanks peace

TWIST

"oohhh F**k that hurt, hope nobody saw that..."

 

[Weezy]

Have you run the idea of starting on a dual-sport bike, and/or taking a rider safety course? Worked for me w/my parents many moons ago

 

[TwistDzixxer]

i havent really looked at dual sports much, but i would absolutely take the rider safety course. but if the parents see i wanna take the course they will know i would be one step closer to getting my ride, soo i think they would be almost supporting me to get a bike,and they are totally against that. good idea but fat chance. thanks for the advice though, maybe i coulod throw the dual sport idea at them. dunno peace

-Twist

"oohhh F**k that hurt, hope nobody saw that..."

 

[ndb]

quote:Ok i am only 15 but i really want a bike

You lack traffic experience my friend...Your parents' concerns are real...Its illegal but if i was your parents, i'd let you drive a car in traffic for a couple of hrs and see if you think it'd be safe for you to ride your bike in that same traffic...and this is assuming, you're in the 1% of 15 year old's who dont do stupid shit as the rest 99% do....You can still do this as a sport..take some class, then track class and tell your parents, you only ride your bike at the track...you'd have a lot more fun, be a hella better rider in a short time....At your age, you're gonna be paying $$$/year for insurance..use that $$$ for track time instead...take it out on the street once you gained some traffic experience driving car...well, maybe then you wouldnt wanna ride your bike on the street anymore. There're people who quit street riding altogether after riding the track for a while.

 

[diirk]

There are some great ideas here.
1. Dual-sport...good idea.
2. MSF course...excellent. I think you get a discount on the course if you're under 18, and they provide the bike. Check out http://www.msf-usa.org/pages/MAIN1.html
3. Track time...very good way to get experience. Also, you can start off with something like a Ninja 250 or EX500 and have fun.

Diirk
'99 ZX6R
'02 Raptor
'01 Wolverine
'87 Radian

 

[brickman]

my son just turned 15. i got him his first street bike when he turned 14.a cbr600 then i got him a zx6r he loves the kaw.he has also rode my zx12r 1 or 2 time on the track.

 

[TwistDzixxer]

hell yea brickman, wish my dad had the same mind set as you. rock on

"oohhh F**k that hurt, hope nobody saw that..."

 

[bladecutter]

You never mentioned where you live. There are various laws in effect in different places that will dictate how much freedom you have when it comes to driving/riding.

For instance, here in NYC, you can't get a permit for a car until you are 16+, and you literally can't drive on the streets in NYC (all 5 boroughs) without an adult during the day, or at all at night. Right now there's stuff in the works to limit even that.

As for the M/C liscense, its a little more vague, but I believe the rules are similiar.

Other places the rules are fairly lax.

Anyway, the desire for a m/c is a fairly strong one, but for someone with little to no experience driving at all, it can be an extremely dangerous one. I started when I was 13 because a "friend" up the street had a Yamaha Riva scooter that he couldn't get working, and I was the youngest monkey wrench in the neighborhood. 2 parts later, and the bike was working, and we were riding for quite a few months. Illegally, of course.

I still think my parents (i.e. father) gave me some money to fix it up because they never thought I would get it to work. My mother still hates the fact that I ride, 15 years later. The severe accident back in '98 didn't help my cause, either...

The best thing I can recommend is that you and 1 or two frriends buy a real junky bike, like a late 80's or early 90's standard or cruiser. Really beat up, and needs work to get it running. All of you pool your money together, buy a shop manual, and slowly fix it up to the point that you get it running, and roadworthy.

Then slowly pratice riding it. As soon as you guys are able to register and insure it on your own, figure out how to split the use of the bike, or better yet, start the same process over with a couple more bikes, until everyone in your group has a ride.

The slow and steady thing will build up the parents confidence in allowing you a little more leaway to ride. Plus, the out of sight-out of mind saying is also applicable.

Whatever you do, don't harrass the parents, and don't lose faith. I didn't get to fully own my first bike until I was off on my own in Colorado, at 21 years old. It was worth the wait, plus, I got a good portion of my dangerous/stupid driver phase out of my bloodstream by then.

Be careful most of all.
BC.

 

[Homer]

Hell, I am 29 and I am still doing stupid shit... and don't tell me that "you grow out of it".. otherwise you wouldn't have gotten a sportsbike in the first place would ya ? <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

I think the truth is (and at one level or another we all know it, yet some of us might be in denial), is that riding on the street is dangerous. Yes, there is a disturbingly high probability of an accident (if you haven't lowsided yet, you are not riding dude ), and yes, there is also a rather noticeable chance of getting killed. And yes, it is a helluva lot of fun to do (riding , not getting killed methinks .

So it is a choice, but I agree that it is one that you should make until when you are really aware of th consequences. And I know that when I was 18, I wasn't.. I am not even sure I am yet actually..

So your parent's concerns are extremely valid. On the other hand, when you turn 18, if you can answer yes to the question "am I willing to take the risk of dying today to go out and ride my bike" with conviction, go out and get one, and have fun.

Sorry if I sound too ominous and grave...

 

[Crazy4My6]

quote:
There are some great ideas here.
1. Dual-sport...good idea.
2. MSF course...excellent. I think you get a discount on the course if you're under 18, and they provide the bike. Check out http://www.msf-usa.org/pages/MAIN1.html
3. Track time...very good way to get experience. Also, you can start off with something like a Ninja 250 or EX500 and have fun.

Diirk
'99 ZX6R
'02 Raptor
'01 Wolverine
'87 Radian

I agree with Dirk: one thing I might add is if you take the safety course with your father, perhaps, he would have a better confidence in that you will know what to do when presented with adverse traffic and environmental influences. You could probably ride with him if he's down like that or if you want to be seen with your dad. Is that cool?

I am a new rider and have already looked into going to a closed track to "have some fun". Not that I don't have fun around town and on the highway, but I wouldn't want to try something that may cause me to lowside with a Big Rig on my butt or fail to negotiate a curve and become road-kill.

I can definitely appreciate the enthusiasm, but safety is first and always respect your bike.<img src=icon_smile_cool.gif border=0 align=middle>

Bring it!

 

[99zx6r]

Hey TwistDzixxer hope you get a bike man. I'm 17 and my dad never wanted me to get a 600 for some reason and get a 250 but my mom would allow it b/c she has had many high powered motorcycles when she was a kid, I just recently got my 1999 zx-6r a month ago and I wish I could take it to bed w/ me. I've been riding dirt for about 5 years now and it has helped me learn to manuver the bike better and do stunts, right now I'm tryin to get it up in 2nd gear but havent got it yet. I havent found a good place to pratice it but when I start to do 2nd and 3rd gear wheelies I'll start to put up videos of me. I think I love the street better now but he only bad thing is that I live in South Florida and I got all of these cotton heads w/ 5000lbs cadilacs that cant see 25 feet in front of them. I almost get hit everyday by one of them, but the good thing is cops dont even bother goin after bikes down here just as long as ur under 120.

P.S. I'll have pics of my bike up soon. I got a few good wheelie pics I wanna put up

 

[thewhitmores]

I'm probably gonna get flamed for this, but I don't think they should even sell a sport bike to a male under the age of 30. Man, we do some stupid shit and the ratio of stupid shit to logical shit seems to go down as we age a bit. I wish I still knew the website, but the AMA did a study that showed the ratio of motorcycle related deaths declined in proportion to age, level of education (college, not riding) and funny enough, the level of income. As these things increased, the likelyhood of an accident and especially a fatal one declined drastically. Also well over 50% of motorcycle related deaths included alcohol on the riders part! One other thing, don't they have laws in the states where you guys are buying superbikes for your 14 year old kids? Around these parts you still have to be 16 to have a driver's liscense.

 

[Enemy Zero]

The only thing I have to say about this is: INSURANCE WILL KILL YOU! I am 22 and have one accident that State Farm paid out 3,000 to fix my bike and now I'm lucky to find full coverage under 5,000 a year. My best advice is to wait a little while and get some more experience. I started riding when I was 14 and know how much I wanted to ride a sportbike back then (my father rode a Ducati 900ss CR). Dirt is a great foundation for riding because you won't be scared when you see gravel or dirt on the road. I whole heartedly believe that no matter what age you are you will disrespect the power of your ride and it will slap you in the face. At 16 I can't believe the DMV issued me a Car license let alone a Motorcycle one too. If you have any doubts about what happens when you think you aren't disrespecting your bike, read my story in The "how many times you been down" section to see the freak accidents that can happen.I support people that want to ride, and I think it's great you have a genuine interest in the sport, but keep in mind that we've all been there and know what tinkerings happen in the mind when you go out for a ride and the group you are with start trickin' on their bikes. No matter how old you are, you end up out there becoming one of them. I must say good luck to you, and I do hope you get your bike, just be wary that it can put you out for good in less than a heartbeat. If anyone told me when I was 15 that I would be dead by 22 I would have laughed at them, and it almost happened. Just please, oh please don't be another short sleave jackass when you ride. Use some common sense and wear gear.

Ken - Yellow '02 R

 

[thewhitmores]

Amen brother, well said!

 

[red_roc_ket600]

I think age only has 85 percent to do with it. The other 25 is lack of options on what bike to choose. Yes there are lots of stupid young drivers. But, you can't get rid of them. What they should do is make the persons insurance rates higher that mest up, not the rest of the good riders. If they did this, then nobody cwould omplain except for the one whos rates went up. Also, like I said in another post I made, there should be more options to choose from for younger riders. Personally, I would like to see more sportier bikes in lower cc's. If this were possible, us kids at 16 and older and even adults can learn at a better pace and then move up to a 600. Not only will we be ready, but our insurance won't be as high.

RE[]DE[]\[]-|-

 

[dj dunzie]

I think everybody is different. I had a street bike when I turned 16 and never had too much trouble with my parents. But I guess I was FAIRLY responsible for a 16 year old. But I also think traffic is different today than it was back then... there's more cars on the road, more old people who pull out in front of you, more young people swapping lanes quickly and without looking.

My thoughts on riding safe:
1) Ride in a pack... you have more fun and the group is very visible to cars
2) Expect people in cars to do the wrong things
3) Slow down in the city and especially at intersections
4) Know your limits... track days will help this IMMENSELY
5) Respect the weather
6) Good riding gear
7) Careful about riding in blind spots
8) 2nd gear wheelies in tight subdivisions ain't smart
9) Bike courses and track days and even off-road / motocross helps the learning curve
10) Don't put chicks on the back... solo seats ROCK

Just my humble opinions again... I'm no Nicky Hayden, but a pretty good 17-year sportsbike vet...

 

[Klijnsoon]

He man I'm 26 and it good advice for me. 16 for a licence is crazy iresponsible like hell. what where you planning of buying?? TL1000R?
But no everyone is like me so, respect your parents whishes and eh..............buy a bike!

I will go the way I came, Screaming and coverd in blood.