Kawasaki Sportsbike Riders Club - Australia - Online Forum

first of all hi.
i am about to turn 17 and want to get into riding a bike. i love the idea of it and think it would be great fun, instead of being stuck in a car like everyone else.
however my parents completly disagree. they both work in hospitals and i get the, i dont want to see you in there one day, treatment. i've had a chat with them saying i will be sensible and would always wear safety gear, but no success. does anyone have any suggestions on how to convince them. or to somehow work around them. as waiting till im 18 is going to kill me.

thanks.

Mate that sux, no suggestions but I hope you can get them to come around... from me to you to pass on to the folks...
its a lifestyle not just a ride!

Dawn Patrol wrote:........ does anyone have any suggestions on how to convince them.....

yep - just sit them down to a viewing of Mad Max. If that doesn't convince them, then your stuffed.

What worked for me a long long time ago was to sit my mum down and explain that I would be far safer being in control of my own bike than I would be sitting on the pillion of someone who would be trying to show off !

Worked for me

Rossi wrote:What worked for me a long long time ago was to sit my mum down and explain that I would be far safer being in control of my own bike than I would be sitting on the pillion of someone who would be trying to show off !

Worked for me

yea..then u werent allowed on the back of ur wife's bike right??

dunno how to say it mate..my parents werent that supportive (dad use to ride, and my mum's hubby at the time i was 17 was an ex-rider) so it wasnt impossible..i just went for my license without telling them..then saved up and bought the bike... they didnt kno abt it till i rode home on it...hahahaha

prob not a great idea tho... try either the "im in charge of my own destiny and whats meant to be, will be" speach, or the "buy a bike and keep it at ya mates place" trick (a few mates have dun that)...

I copped the "Not while you live under this roof." Lecture from my parents when i was 17 so I waited till i moved out.

If your parents will get ugly over it biding your time may be your best option.

Once your out of home your folks will be so pleased to see you when you visit they'll refrain from being overbearing.

Now every christmas i send my folks a new picture of me on my current bike mixing it up with other riders at QR.

They don't like it, but if they want their son to stay in touch they keep their dissapproval to themselves.

Sorry to hear that Dawn.

I have two kids, and neither of them has any interest in the bike after living with me.
No matter how I try and encourage them they won't even pillion on one.

I really understand your parents concern, I would be worried about my kids on a bike- it is dangerous, no way around that. But life is way too short to not do the things you are passionate about. You will ride one day if it is really your desire.

I must say that even though I am now 40, my parents do not want to talk about the bike, see me on the bike, or know when I am out on the bike. Even though most of the rest of my family has died of cancer. I always shut my dad up by saying 'At least I'm not sitting around waiting to die of cancer.' Tough, but true.

Live life like their is no tomorrow.

i do some work at the PA hospital here and bris and its there are that many people surgeons, doctors, nurses that ride bikes. i think if you could get them in ya mum and dads ear they may listen to some older guys views on riding before giving you a chance to have your say....

Dawn Patrol wrote:first of all hi.
i am about to turn 17 and want to get into riding a bike. i love the idea of it and think it would be great fun, instead of being stuck in a car like everyone else.
however my parents completly disagree. they both work in hospitals and i get the, i dont want to see you in there one day, treatment. i've had a chat with them saying i will be sensible and would always wear safety gear, but no success. does anyone have any suggestions on how to convince them. or to somehow work around them. as waiting till im 18 is going to kill me.

thanks.

as a parent (and grandparent)...whats being said is just dumb reasoning

there are a far more ppl admitted to hospital casualty/triage from CAR road accidents
than bike accidents
so what they also gunna do...?
stop you getting a car too coz they also see the result of car accidents on a daily basis?

same reasoning...we don't wanna see you in here one day
did they ever let you ride a pushie..? same thing

its just dumb


cheers
Smitty

Yeah, my mum is still pretty negative about me riding but has reduced it to just rolling her eyes once she realised it wasn't just a phase I was going through. My dad is pretty cool with it in a "you should do what makes you happy" kind of way and loves the Z650

...and don't try to argue the safety statistics bit, they don't want to hear it and it won't change their mind

Dawn Patrol, I think your on a tough mission...

My mums cousin was killed on a bike when he was 16, so I was pursuaded away from road bikes at every stage. Hell, I didn't even get support for a dirt bike - and we lived in the country. In the end I saved up and purchased a paddock basher myself (I was 13). Taught me a lot about saving for what I wanted, and riding in the woods gave me bike skills which I still use today.

I never had a road bike while I lived at home, and got lectures from mum when I finally got one on the road despite the fact I was 23, owned a house and had two kids. I'm not sure my parents thought it was a faze I would grow out of, but wanting something I couldn't have for so long just made the urge stronger. Perhaps that is your only possible bartering point.

When it comes down to it, bikes are dangerous and us riders are seen as hoons. What ever each individual rider may be, we are all tarred with the same brush. Also, and this is hard, try and see things from a parents point of view. We spend our lives protecting our children and they want to do something dangerous as it seems fun. Habit is to protect them. Ask all you friends who drive how many crashes they have had, and what injuries they got. Now ask the same number of bike riders how many crashes they have had and what injuries they got. The rider has little protection and has more chance of getting hurt than a car driver in a similar accident.

I'm not saying don't ride, and I would never try and pursuade my kids not to ride - but I can understand parents worrying about their kids on bikes.

I think the biggest issue you need to recognise is not the how well/sensibly you will ride a bike, but the lack of road craft / traffic experience you have. You could be the most proficient rider but if you cant read the traffic early enough to not be in a dangerous situation, you're chances of being involved in an accident are greatly increased... I came into riding after many years of driving which helped me with this.

This probably wont help convince your parents but it will show that you're not going into this blindly.

other things you could do:
- do some of the various training courses (braking & cornering, superbike school etc)
- look at "tamer" looking bikes (ER5, ER6N etc) so your folks wont think you'll be a road racer
- put a focus on getting the protective gear right and wear it at all times (leathers, boots etc)

Either way - good luck and hope to see you out there.

It's a tricky one...

I've ridden bikes pretty well all my life and I was at the RTA the minute I turned 16 and 9 mths to get my bike L's. My son has ridden and raced on dirt since he was 10. I taught learners myself for a number of years and would even dare to say that I think I'm safer on my bike than in my car.

Quite hypocritically though I would shit myself if he come home and said he was going to get a road bike. I wouldn't stop him though.

I think the best you can do is to really get into your learner course, certainly the riding skills but most importantly the roadcraft. Talk to your parents about the type of stuff you learn in road craft and practise it religiously. Show them that you've got the right attitude to riding and at least that may help them come to tewrms with it a bit better. Most importantly don't ride like a nutter and get whatever training you can.

Good luck with it.

Heres an angle:
My parents said as long as I do a course then I can get my licence!.... yay .... that was 23 years ago & there was no compulsory rider training, mate I thought that was the best trade off ... they even paid for the course!


BTW got my car licence 5 years later & the awareness from riding the bike helped heaps with the transition into cage.

ok well do they know teh licencing system of perth?

if its the fact that they are scared of you being on your own, explain that while you are learning u have to be shadowed by an experienced rider so u will have an extra set of eyes watching out for you, helping you and instructing you on how to make your riding safer...

maybe get involved in a local group for a few social things and then tell your parents that u have met some reliable sensible guys and girls who are willing to help you find teh ropes.. also inform then that you will go to x amount of professional lessons to teach you the basics of motorcycle control..

i know when i got my licence, my dad rides, brother rides, grandfather rides, mum pillions, so i thought saying i wanna ride would be easy.. wrong, dad put down all these conditions for me.. i had to pillion with him so many times and go through bike maintenance and slow speed control with him, then have my unrestricted car licence ( waited till i was 20 ) then do my L's and then ride with him for first few weeks till he was confident i could handle the bike in all conditions.. he even made me ride in the rain as he said i cant controll teh weather and one day ill be out and it will just rain on me.. now he is confident in my riding and doesnt stress to much..

my mum is worse she is still not happy i ride but accepts it as its a family thing, lets say she is alot happier when i am pillioning...