I agree, though previously I wasn't in favour of ABS, believing that it would make my lads less skilled with braking. But the benefits of stopping safely in an emergency outweigh all that. I just need to drum it into him that even with ABS he still has to allow for safe breaking distances. 'Looks like I've got a few weeks of motorcycle instructor-ing ahead.

Nice bike.

with both parents bikers we had little chance of saying no to my youngest when he wanted a bike.

He now rides my old bike a Honda hornet 600, he has designs on his Dad's blackbird.

I have always used Hondas for commuting as I found them more reliable but the Ninja has street cred with the lads.
I hope he has many fun years and no spills

My eldest has owned a Honda CBR250 for a few years now and it's served him well, a nice bike. The Ninja looks amazing. Youngest son's mates want one too but most of their parents wont let them. I'm just following the tradition that my parents set: motorbikes then cars. Great for seeing them through their uni days in the most cost effective way plus they acquire their motorcycling skills early on.

As a biker for many many years I would do literally everything to dissuade my kids from riding a motorbike. I just cant imagine them on bikes, it will be bad enough in cars.

Feel the opposite way to Chris955. As someone who has also ridden bikes since being a teenager, I would rather teach my daughter to ride her own bike, than have her riding on the back of someone else's bike. At least that way she can make her own decisions on speed etc.

Good luck to the son of the OP, have fun, and stay safe.

ps, if you ride around without the proper gear on, your a muppet. Don't be that person.

Thanks. I completely agree. The world hasn't changed so much that we are justified in depriving our children of the pleasures that we enjoyed.

PS: I also spent a fortune on protective gear for him, worth absolutely every cent.

I wouldnt want my kids on bikes either riding or pillion, its just too dangerous nowadays. This is from the perspective of someone who rode for many years, also my wife rode for more than 20 years. Fortunately our boys have no interest in riding bikes.
Agree about the gear, it saved my leg years ago.

That is a baseless statement.

point in case of protective gear, my son's mate has just come out of surgery, he was going slowly and someone pulled out on him he avoided them but came off. He was running late so didn't bother with his Kevlar jeans just wore ordinary ones. if he had worn the Kevlar he would have been bruised but no deep cuts.

There's some reasonably-priced motorbike safety gear coming up at Aldi next weekend (the 9th).

http://files.ozbargain.com.au/upload...24319/aldi.pdf

@Paul, they also have some good running gear at Aldi.




For those reading this in the UK.

I have a kids Motocross helmet, if anyone is interested. Size L. Good condition. It's got to go before the end of August as I'm not taking it to Oz.

Email or PM me if you need more info.


Cheers.

Not here in Australia as far as I've noticed. Here they have new gadgety/equipment product lines every couple of weeks, similar to the "When it's gone, it's gone" sales that Tesco used to have. They try to be seasonal, for example: just before the snow season begins they have all the skiing gear, etc. They also have themed foods from time to time, for example South African foods.

From those motorbike gear ads, the short cut boots look okay. Not so sure about the rest.

is the young fella into dirt bikes? would be a good option for his height, xr400 is an awesome bike and he could have a ton of fun on the trails