17yr old son wants a bike.

Discussion on Advanced and Defensive Driving. IAM, RoSPA/RoADA, High Performance Course. All associated training. Motorcycle training.

Postby Red Herring » Mon May 04, 2009 9:28 am


Generally if you are going racing then leather is a good idea as it's best for abrasion and on tracks you can slide an awfully long way! On the road you tend to get stopped by something so long slides are rare, but good padding and CE armor can save a lot of minor injuries and make big ones less severe. Textile jackets and trousers these days are well made and have plenty of protection, they also have the advantage of being weather proof so are more versatile than leather, however do make sure they fit properly because if they are to lose the armor can get pulled out of place in a crash. Bottom line is the best protection on a motorcycle is the nut holding the handlebars, make sure it is properly adjusted... :D
Red Herring
 
Posts: 914
Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2007 9:55 am

Postby trkkshotbry » Fri Oct 08, 2010 9:01 am


By all means let the little darling have his motorcycle.

On a bike the motorist is much more aware of and also a part of his / her environment.
The manuverability of a bike helps it to avoid accidents. The seating position puts your eyes up higher than most cars helping with awareness, and their economy of operation helps defray the added cost of insurance. My kids all started on dirt bikes at age 6 and it has helped them with their coordination, self confidence and self reliance.

The same instincts that will help save you in a car crash will help kill you in a bike crash though. Stay loose and ride the bike. Tell him to remember he can go through any gap as wide as his shoulders and that obstacles are to be avoided at all cost even if it means riding through an area vehicles are not supposed to drive through. Ride the bike. A bike can accelerate harder than a car and turn a little bit harder than a car but can only stop about 90% as well as a car due to the smaller contact patch on the road. And that's with an expert rider onboard A quick swerve and hard braking is much safer than hard braking followed by an attempt at a swerve. The suspension is already nearly bottomed out by braking forces and throwing a quick swerve into the mix can really upset things when the suspension tries to regain its balance. Follow through follow through follow through. Make your best decision about how to handle a surprise on the road and then ride the bike. Do not ever let it carry you where it wants to go as that is seldom ever a good destination. Eyes up, look where you want to go not at what you don't want to hit. Break out of the panic that grabs you when an emergency presents itself and ride the bike. Have I said ride the bike yet?

It takes nerve and trained reflexes to safely avoid many of the dangers a biker faces on the road so training and practice off road should be a requirement before useing a bike for regular transportation.

In the end only you and/or your son can decide if the reward is worth the added risk. My wifes father is a physician and his opinion was that motorcycles were good news only for organ recipients, until he met me, watched his grandson grow into a healthy, active drug free young man with exceptional maturity and risk assesment skills that can only be attributed to his love of riding. Bikes are wonderfull machines capable of seeming to defy the laws of physics but only if the rider has his act together.

I'm a motorcycle safety instructor here in Oklahoma and I love helping new riders gain mastery over their mounts so my comments are biased so I will end with my favorite catch phrase.

Everybody dies but not everyone actually lives.
Mans laws only apply to those who cannot afford to break them. The laws of physics are inviolate.
trkkshotbry
 
Posts: 11
Joined: Thu Oct 07, 2010 9:11 am
Location: oklahoma USA

Previous

Return to Advanced Motorcycling Forum

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest