Teach a boy to ride!
 

Well my Ex divorced me after 18 yrs and took off with my buddy...yep I sure miss him! in the process though she took the kids and all the house stuff, I told her I wanted my tools,guns,clothes a couch a TV and Id be fine.

I moved to the neighboring town so I could be close to the kids, well as they got their drivers license they opted to not come over as much or on their weekends, I understand they got things going on.

Last August my oldest showed up with everything he owned in his truck, He got into it with her over the lawn and she told him to go live with your dad. I think she need his room cause her sick father had moved in two weeks earlier!

Best thing that ever happened to the boy! I told him I'm not your baby sitter it's on you, get a part time job and finish high school, your responsible for your own outcome so be smart about it, I'll help when you need it.

He flips burgers at Whataburger and mows lawns while preparing to start college at this point has been not one spot of trouble.

He had been slowly showing some interest in the bike and what I'm doing with it so I asked him " Are you ready to learn to ride?" and he said YEAH! so I took him to a close field and we went over everything and within 45 mins the boys was taking off without stalls 80% , and coming to a stop fairly smooth, shifts got better.

A sign in the field did jump in front of him breaking a mount point on the tank plastic, bent the blinker, popped out a reflector, and bent the foot break. we rode it back to the garage for some nascar style repairs and went back at it!

I just stood in the field and told him ride till your done.... When he finished it was completely dark and he was riding it a lot smoother and faster.

I asked him what he thought and he said he now understands how people wreck there bikes and it was a lot different than he thought all the while wearing the biggest smile ever seen:tup: A moment forever locked in both our minds I'm sure.

Times like these are rare so I thought Id share with you guys!

Awesome! So when is he ordering his? Lol

We just finished mowing and he told me he was going to wait till after his first semester so i said we could put one on layaway and have it payed off at that time. he told me he was looking at bike late last night and as soon as we finished mowing he asked to ride. right now he's in the field behind my house riding solo for the first time and yes I'm a little nervous!

Awesome ! I truly believe in starting them very young ,but waiting until he showed interest is perfect .

Nice, glad things are working out for ya. I almost spit my tea all over the monitor when I read "yep I sure miss him!"

Sounds like the boy has a good work ethic.

I would think riding about 6 month off the road with high speed experiences would be adequate before full pavement ridings . Then take the course and endorcement.. Going from no experience to 6 months experience should be enough . HOWEVER keep a watchful eye on his propensity for doing stupid stuff on a motorcycle, it doesn't translate to full street ridings and is DEAD serious stuff when dealing with traffic. Good stuff!

Sorry about your divorce. I am kin to some Cravens in Waycross Georgia. They spell it a little different.

Don't forget to teach the importance of gear.

From somebody with a broken body.

Sounds like some great father and son time! Like everyone else has said, get the safety gear and take the riders safety course!

Enjoy the ride!

A complete blessing in disguise, Although things like that are tough to get through I was fortunate enough to meet a wonderful little Filipino gal whom I've been married to for 2 yrs now and she is a major upgrade in every way!



I bought my wife a helmet that's too big for her but fits his head nice so he's been wearing it with boots and jeans in the field, he does need gloves because he has rubbed the skin off his thumb knuckles, I told him it's ok to loosen your grip a little but I'll pick up some gloves for him. I think that will do until he is ready to take it to the street but that will be a while.

good for you! my boys didn't learn until they were in their late teens. I taught them on my VX800 riding around a very large church parking lot. I completely understand that first look! :)

Those little scrapes and bruises will help him learn to respect the bike on what he can and can't do. :)

Yep, and the first few pins in his right ankle will let him understand what proper riding boots are designed for. :tup:

Lets just hope he learns that before anything like that happens. lol Broken ankles tend to hurt for a long time. Don't ask how I know. :ohno:

Mine are anchoring tendons. I have yet to break a bone, and instead hurt everything else around them.