Hello All,
just wanted to canvass some opinions.
My son is a fan of Moto GP, he races Karts so is a bit of a petrol head. He wanted to do his CBT to begin his motorcycle Journey, My wife is not pleased, I totally get it and I have mixed feelings about it myself, he’s 18 just so he can make his own decisions, currently without paying for them financially 
I feel a bit guilty and wonder if my love for bikes has exposed him to unacceptable risk, all sorts of scenarios are running through my head!! Anyone been through this? Any thoughts or opinions gratefully received .
Cheers All 
All normal parents worry about their children doing all sorts of activities as they grow up. Im 61, my daughter is 38 and I still worry about her. Ill probably still be worrying when Im at deaths door .
Life has risk attached . Riding a motorcycle is more risky perhaps than not riding a motorcycle but it is not unacceptably risky .
You say you love bikes , do you ride ? If so is this a case of do as I say not as I do ? If he goes ahead make sure he gets well trained ,has a well maintained bike and uses the best safety equipment possible.
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Yes I have ridden for years I am an advanced biker and have just bought my first Moto Guzzi.
I agree children come with worry and stress attached as part of the deal.
I just wanted to see how other people thought about it
My kids both rode when they were younger, initially sharing a Suzuki X1 50cc until the younger one was 17, when they got a CG125.
The kick-off was the older one getting a Saturday morning job. She suggested a moped, ideally a geared one rather than twist-and-go. Mum wasn’t keen at first but when she realised she’d be giving a lift every Saturday morning she changed her mind.
My approach was to start them off on a quiet carpark before they did their CBT’s, and then accompany them until I was happy they were “safe” on their own. We also worked out some routes into town which avoided the main roads. The 125 was OK but a 50cc bike is very vulnerable on a fast road.
Ian
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Same war initially here. I am into bikes since “ever”, wife - not at all. First to ask for a bike was not the eldest - and not the son! It was practical side, a mean of transport for a summer job for a uni student. Mum was devastated, I was delighted, but far from relaxed. She found a bike on a marketplace, I sorted it out, she did her CBT(mum angry), we did our first trip(mum angry), then another one, then started above mentioned job, did her first mistakes, telling about them every evening, when we could discuss how to avoid to repeat them. Then she did some mistakes when I had to ride to her workplace, to fix things out. So, some effort/guidance from my side was needed unevitably. Mum gradually settled down, but then, daughter decided to take her bike to uni, a hundred miles away! I have to say, I wasn’t convinced…
But she did it, even if her satnav got dead and all she had to rely on was a paper tape sticked to the fuel tank with road numbers: A50 South - A5 East - A449 South… She made it! And what a pride, when you can watch your kid getting independent not only in the way that she chooses what shoes she wears. BUT: I am a real moto man, and we made countless trips with our sidecars, overseas and local, since she was 7… So, background was well prepared! Now younger son gets into it, a bit different piece of cake, eager to perform, not so careful, hungry for power. I have to guide him differently and prefer to take him for a really long weekend trips, where I can watch him over longer distances. Oh he moans about 10bhp 125, but once given 30bhp 500cc, you should see him overwhelmed before he’s put second gear… Fortunately the losses weren’t substantial:)
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I’ve been riding motorbikes since my school days but still secretly pleased that neither of my son’s got into motorcycling. Hypocrite or what?
However, they just find other dangerous things to do like kayaking over waterfalls and through seemingly impossible white water.
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My father rode bikes, he stopped in the 1950’s when he had two near misses in a week! Think how empty the roads were back then! I believe it was also that my sister came along in 1954 and he thought it was becoming too dangerous. He took up car rallying!
He always advised me against bikes, but from my Puch Maxi at 16 I never looked back, apart for 3 years during my 1st failed marriage when I got into Series 1 Land Rovers, my wife of the time had come off the back of her younger brother’s FS1E, broke her arm and didn’t tell her parents, silly woman it set unaligned.
Jump forward to my kids, I was at a VMCC meeting with the chief Essex MC cop and his boss in traffic, and after a chat the floor was opened for questions. I asked about the minimum age for pillion passengers, thinking of my kids. He said there was no lower age limit but they must reach the foot pegs and be able to hold on.
When these conditions were achieved I used to take them to school on the back of my Triumph, coolest kids in the school and coolest divorced dad too! My son grew up and bought a bike and progressed up to a Kawasaki 500, which he came off on a sharp bend writing off the bike and badly damaging his leg. The leg is better and after two years without a bike he is still wanting another but having just bought a house he doesn’t have the funds…yet.
My daughter is better on public transport, she lives in London and doesn’t see the need for her own vehicle, two or four wheeled. She was quite happy to be pillion on the back of my son’s bike.
Sorry for the rambling, to the point. I have encouraged my children and they both have a love of bikes, but they are now both grown ups and make their own decisions. Currently neither has a bike and I don’t expect this to change soon. My encouragement included proper clothing and training and leading them in these things by my own example.
The next generation will do whatever they like with or without your encouragement, in fact if you try and stop them they will probably want to do it more!
Best of luck, Chris
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Thank you all for the replies.
Whilst I have reservations it’s mostly his mum who’s not best pleased.
The plan is CBT see if he likes it, then it’s a bit more complex, he is 19 next and I am unsure whether he should sink funds into a 125 or wait a few months and get an A2 license.
As I said I am an advanced biker and I have stipulated that he must come out with me for a while after his test or CBT.
Not to bombard him with info but observe and correct where needed.
I have given him several pointers
Never accelerate into danger, never put your bike where your eyes haven’t been and if you can’t see round a corner, slow down until you can and of course, can you stop on your side of the road in the distance you can see to be clear, If he gets some of those basics right he can build from there, you can’t really teach experience.
Again thanks all for your considered responses
Much appreciated
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I have been on the Essex Police bike safe course about five years ago and found it beneficial even though I have been riding a bike for 50 years now. taking a wide line into bends and not cutting corners was definitely the best advice I took away and it has now resolved a long lasting bad habit.
Best wishes
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Just to clarify: to take part in A2 exam he MUST have valid CBT, so you won’t avoid the cost. What I have done, we postponed his CBT in the way it will still be valid when he turns 19. And yes, A2 bike is already waiting in the garage…
I meant the costs of buying a 125 cc bike and insuring it nit the cost of a CBT
My daughter did her CBT with 90-1 training in Coventry. They offered 1 hour “taster” sessions off road. Not off road like motocross but in a Rugby club car park wobbling around cones and being advised. After 2 of those, she did her CBT and has a little bike with L plates. Remember completing CBT won’t compel your son to ride a bike, but it will give him that option if he wants to. No CBT, no bike. CBT then he can choose. And one of the taster sessions was free as they deduct it from the CBT cost. If I remember rightly wasn’t a huge cost. I think the taster sessions were 30 quid each and the CBT was 130 reduced to 90 after one of the 30 quid payments was knocked off. Seemed like good value to me. I’m sure if you’re nowhere near Coventry then riding schools up and down the country probably make similar offers. My younger daughter turns 16 next May and we’ll be doing it all again.
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I meant 120 reduced to 90. The 2 and the 3 are too close together on the keyboard for my old banana fingers!
There are several benefits that don’t seem to have come to the fore, here.
Mental, as riders we all know, either with or without realising it. When we go out on the bike it is like a mind reset, because of the concentration levels required. When you get back, problems often have a different, more solvable solution.
Driving, instructors are often aware very early that a pupil is a rider, because of awareness on the road both other road users and road conditions. This is something that is a life saver.
Together with good training, preferably ongoing, it can lead to a long, happy life on the road.
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Might be worth getting him to do offroad/ trails first. Many roadskills to be learned here. He can learn to fall off at low speed first. Reflexes will sharpen in cases of dodgy/ slippery roads. Wife may be more favorable if she sees him learning good control over bike. Hopefully racing karts will satisfy the “need for speed” which is where most youngsters run into problems on the road
As a “Back to Biker” albeit a car driver for 40 years I’m reading the Police Roadcraft Hand Book which is excellent and this video is again excellent!
With the state of driving standards and road conditions being terrible I did ask myself “What on Earth” am I doing returning to motorcycling?
However, applying what I have learned and “trust nobody” is the way to go.
Every time I’m in my car I imagine that I’m on my motorcycle.
Hi M001
Thanks for your reply.
I am an advanced biker and recommend advanced training to all.
However, we need to move away from the mantra, everyone is trying to kill you.
The vast majority of motorist are not, they are human just like us and make mistakes.
See this video as an example
It will really help many riders understand why drivers don’t see us. All motorcyclists should always consider their road position to enable them to be seen.
Also this video I use this technique
very regularly and it really works
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When I started riding back in the 80s, I took a Star Riders course, where for a number of weeks every Sunday a group of us were trained how to ride a bike safely and proficiently. As well as being good fun, the guys who were providing the training instilled valuable knowledge on how to reduce risk. If my son or daughter ever wanted to ride, I would look to find a similar training scheme, and offer to pay for it for them. As many others have said there are risks everyday just being alive, however I firmly believe that to truly live then you have to expose yourself to a certain element of risk, but just be aware of that risk and do your best to mitigate it.
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Hi DB100,
I’ve been riding for 45 years, and around 11 years ago did Bikesafe which led me into doing advanced riding through the IAM. Highly recommended. I do feel that driving standards have fallen in the past 45 years since I passed my motorcycle test on a CB250N, which I changed for CX500 “plastic maggot”. Traffic densities have increased inexorably, & driver distractions also. These days many drivers still use mobile phones, surfing social media etc whilst driving. If you filter through slow moving traffic you will observe its endemic. Also most kids never ride 2 wheelers - they go straight into learning to drive. I didn’t start learning to drive until I’d passed my motorcycle test, & the experience of riding makes me a far more observant & competent driver. So whilst not all drivers are out to kill us, I subscribe to the philosophy of treating every driver as an idiot until they prove otherwise - ie the technique of defensive riding
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Hi DB100 - Thanks for the reply with you being an “Advance Rider” your son is in good hands. And yes the term " Everyone is trying to kill you" is perhaps a tad “strong” but some days it can seem like that. I’m studying the Police Roadcraft handbook and watching many videos on Advance Riding like the ones that you have uploaded, thank you.
I wear a white crash helmet with a “Hi Viz” motorcycle vest with idea to be a visible as possible, unlike some riders being all in black and simply blend into the background albeit they do have their day time running lights.
Seeing motorcyclist in shorts and T shirts recently including the pillion passenger during this spell of hot weather is alarming to see to say the least!
Looking to attend a bike safe course and taking it further would be good.