Would you encourage your kids to ride?

[Big Phil]

Been thinking about my time on bikes and how so few youngsters now ride, most on here seem to be quite senior like me😂

I guess, like many on here, I got my love for bikes when very young riding the likes of Bantams and Tiger Cubs down the old unused railway lines near where I grew up probably staring at 9/10 years old. Had to hide them from the old man who hated bikes as he thought they were death traps. Used to share ownership and keep bikes at a mates house who's Old Man didn't give a rat's arse. Suppose from the age of 14/15 he relented and I could keep a bike at home. Then at 16 after begging and pleading with him he got me a Casal Phantom 5. I had convinced him it had better brakes and wasn't as fast as all the FS1E's that were around to make him feel better. In fact it was faster than any FS1E or other moped at the time, but did actually have good brakes. That's when I found total freedom riding everywhere with my mates. However, my Dad would go nuts if I was late home as he would worry non stop along with my Mum. At 17 moved on to a RD200 as he wouldn't let me have anything bigger and again he and Mum worried themselves sick. At 18 he got me a car and sold my bike from under me. A few years later I got married had kids myself and realised why my parents worried so much. Never got a bike again until my boys were all in cars. I was a bloody lunatic on road with my mates at 16/17 and we raced everywhere we went, coming off numerous times. God only knows how only one of us got severely injured, never mind killed. My mate thankfully did recoverer from shattering his pelvis, ribs, wrists and tibia amongst other things spending months in a chair. That was actually the first time I realised how lucky we had all been and it calmed me down. That's also when my Dad sold my bike!

I stayed way from bikes completely when my boys were growing up and would never encouraged them to ride for the above reasons. I knew exactly what I had put my parents through and couldn't face it myself. Have I been a selfish sod or have others done the same and is that why so few youngsters now ride?

[Mick_J]

My parents hated bikes and would not let me have one as long as I lived at home.  I so desperately wanted a bike I left home and joined up, after initial training the first thing I bought was a bike, a Honda CB175.  Taught myself to ride and went on to own over 40 bikes over the years, I currently have 5.  In those days (70's) bikes were cheaper than cars to buy and run so it made sence if you were strapped to start out on two wheels.
Today things are different, it's cheaper to drive a car than a bike and from what I see lads (and all young people) are all about status and looking good for your mates (cars must have mags instead of wheels etc) and clothes especially trainers must have a fancy label on them.  If all your mates drive cars why buy a bike, (peer pressure is vary powerful thing when you are trying to fit in).  I didn't give a rats arse about what my mates had or thought, I wanted a bike.
There is a lad across the road from me bought a bike, his mum didn't want him to have a bike so much she actually bought him a car but he only wanted a bike and that's what he did, when I asked about what his mates thought he said I do take a lot of flack at college about being a biker but I don't care, I don't really like cars.  I think it's part of the youth culture, they must have labels on their cloths, an I phone, fancy trainers and all that does not mix well with being wet on a bike.  Just my view, no kids but have 6 nieces and nephews, all driving cars.

Back to your initial question, if I did have kids I would have encouraged them to ride as it's given me a great deal of pleasure in my life.

[northern]

My son will be 15 in few months.
un- or fortunately, he is quite opposite of me. I was trying to teach him wrenching, but quite soon notice it's not his thing. So, before he starts heit this, I retire from this idea.

He like my bikes, but not dreaming about them. If he decide to ride bikes, I will not be against it, but will make everything possible, he will be prepared for this. Not just license, but advanced training. Not 1000cc bike to 18 year old child.
Something smaller, and away from city streets for as long as possible.

[Blubber]

We have a daughter, now 10 years old. She likes being a passenger on my bikes. ( As did my misses) I would not be against it if she took up driving but dont have high hopes of it actually happening. She does like the speed as we noticed years ago when we went out on a duo cart.

For me it is a yes.

[Kiwifruit]

My wife wanted to learn to ride. I said no as l don't  feel she would be confident enough. She always sticks to the speed limit and is very conservative in her driving. To my mind getting on with it is important. I will get up to speed quickly and try to create my own space to ride in. Sometimes riding at the speed of the traffic is important. Holding up traffic can be annoying to others and thereby  dangerous. Being assertive was encouraged at the weekends riding course.
So being a hypocrite l don't believe she could keep herself safe, yet l expect her to ssit on the back of the bike l'm riding but never on the back of a bike ridden by anyone else.
My son is 30 so he can do as he pleases but would be encouraged  to get as much coaching/instruction as he could.

[DP1400]

Nice intro to the thread Phil.

I`ve neither encouraged or discouraged our kids to the world of two wheels, and as time has gone by they haven`t taken the plunge, and have cars now. I`m relieved to a point, though i honestly think that the better drivers out there are, or have been motorcyclists previously. We are a unique breed and learn quickly from our mistakes.

On the afternoon of 12th April 1976, whilst wringing every last horse out of my RD250, i managed to get the entire thing airborne, hitting an oncoming car head-on at just over 80mph. The ensuing mess left us both smashed to bits all over the road. My RD was taken away never to see the light of day again, and i was taken in the opposite direction to those incredible people who i certainly owe my life to in the nearest hospital. I was barely alive upon arrival but they `did good`! Meanwhile, representatives of the local Plod were knocking on our front door at home. It was the call that every parent dreads. I`ve felt so bad about it from that day to this, and thats possibly why i`ve never actively encouraged our kids onto two wheels.

Much against my parents wishes, (no-one had owned a motorcycle in our family), i invested all my savings in a one year old gold Yam `SS50` in 1974 on the premise that i needed transport to my new (and first) job. That did the trick - just! So I was free to do my own thing at last, and that was it, my obsession with riding began.

I consider myself lucky in that a couple of dozen close mates chose two wheels over four and stayed loyal even after us all passing our car tests! Of course in the mid `70`s it was a case of two stroke or four. I`m glad to say in our group only a couple of lads opted for the slooow CB`s! I think its true to say that every colour and model variant of GT; RD & S1 250`s could be seen outside our `local` in town most days. Mine was a Blue RD250A. A couple of RD200`s and even a new example of the now super-rare GT125 made up the rear. Of course we gradually passed our tests, then the real fun started with bikes in the 350 to 750cc bracket being bought. By then i knew enough about Kawasaki Triples to know that nothing else came close. I collected my 3000mile mint 400S3A from Daytona Kawasaki, Ruislip, one evening in early September 1976. The 45 mile ride home will remain with me forever and my two and a half years of happy ownership will still make me smile for years to come! I put 38000mls on that bike in all weathers, every day, and it never left me stranded once.

Following the birth of our first child in 1990 i vowed to pack up biking so i sold my bike. I lasted 10 whole months without one(!), then spring happened, a time which drove me mad without having a bike in the garage. Then i cracked and a nice silver CB900FA happened....and from that day to this i`ve never been without at least one bike in the garage.

I luv my bikes, the kids luv their cars.....everyone`s happy !

[Big Phil]

I do hope we get a lot more stories like those already posted. What a pleasure to read😍

[SA14]

I got my first bike at 17. Mum wasn't happy (no Dad to put his foot down) but she wasn't the type to forbid anything preferring to use guilt i.e. "I'll be waiting and worrying every time you're out on that thing" she'd say. I was influenced by my friend across the (quiet little) suburban street I grew up who bought a green with yellow stripe Z650 with 4 into 1 at age 17. I was in awe of that bike and then his mongrel Kwaka 9 with hand made buffalo skin seat and garage rebuilt engine and pillioned as often as I could until I bought my own brand new metallic red GSX250 but what stuck me and still sticks with me to this day was his warning to me. He said "take it easy and don't kill yourself because it hurts like farque when you come off...and you WILL come off!" HIM I listened to.

I guess if kids have the right peers it's ok because had my Mum said that I would have just brushed it off as "duh" but when my mate told me that in a serious tone I listened and have never forgotten it. Back those days I remember thinking "I'm riding on 80 grit sandpaper" and now with this new 14 I still ride in fear of the slide and so far it's kept me off the ground except for this one time on the 250 when I thought I'd try a wheelie...whole other story. 

[grog]

Good stories, brilliant. 👍 I was lucky, everyone came to my house. Old Man loved bikes and we had a 8 car shed. Ill tell full story one day.