The least enjoyable ride ever...
Discussion
... Has to be going out with your son / daughter (son in my case) for their first ever ride after passing their CBT.
Even though we both had the Cardo's on and he rode pretty well, if a little slow. I hated every single millimeter of that 20 or so miles that we covered!
Now I understand why my mother absolutely hated the idea of me getting a motorbike when I was younger.
Even though we both had the Cardo's on and he rode pretty well, if a little slow. I hated every single millimeter of that 20 or so miles that we covered!
Now I understand why my mother absolutely hated the idea of me getting a motorbike when I was younger.
zzrman said:
I'd suggest that he does IAM or ROSPA now. Why wait until he gets a bigger bike?
The training school we used is excellent so before I am comfortable with him going out on his own I am going to get him some additional training there.To be fair to my son, he is a really sensible lad and I have zero worries about him doing being an idiot on the bike, I just want to be satisfied that he is safe on his own without someone there to keep him right.
One encouraging thing that did happen though was he stalled the bike a couple of times at a set of temporary lights. He stayed calm though and realised traffic was behind him so he just rolled the bike forwards and to the side of the road in a safe position until he got himself set again and it was clear for him to go.
His actual riding was pretty decent to be fair, gear changes were nice and smooth, anticipation was reasonable and when he remembered to lift his head up his bike handling and cornering was nice and smooth. He just had the current playstation generation fixed stare 12 inches ahead of him that he needs knocking out of him. He must have been sick of hearing me say through the headsets 'head up, look ahead, keep your eyes up and looking for the exit of the bend at all times'
zzrman said:
I think if you have a licence to ride you can join your local group.
Most don't bother with a 125 licence. There's no point. Ride on a CBT, then take an A2 test.As for doing Rospa/IAM on a 125, you'll never be able to keep up on a 4 stroke 125. A desrestrited 2 stroke, absolutely but they won't like you playing loose with the legalities. No harm in asking though.
When my son went out on his moped and I followed him, I didn't find it too stressful. I knew he was sensible (or as sensible as a 16 year old can be) and he'd very obviously listen to what he'd been told when doing his CBT. Like all parent's I am worried that my kids stay safe and don't get hurt but I'm also aware that they need to learn.
For me, the worry was when he went out on his own as not having Dad behind him was the time when he was more likely to do the "less sensible" things and the other road traffic didn't have a to deal with a f
king great big BMW if they wanted to try and "bully" the slow moving vehicle in front of them.
As it happened, as soon as less than good weather arrived he decided that 2 wheels were not for him and stopped using the moped, moving to a car as soon as he was 17.
For me, the worry was when he went out on his own as not having Dad behind him was the time when he was more likely to do the "less sensible" things and the other road traffic didn't have a to deal with a f
king great big BMW if they wanted to try and "bully" the slow moving vehicle in front of them. As it happened, as soon as less than good weather arrived he decided that 2 wheels were not for him and stopped using the moped, moving to a car as soon as he was 17.
black-k1 said:
I understand where you're coming from with regards to mopeds but, living in the countryside meant he needed transport to have a social life. That meant the options were either a push bike or a moped. I'm not sure a push bike is/was a less dangerous option than a moped.
Yep. Also experience at a slower pace can be very beneficial. Any experience at all.Unfortunately we had a number of crashes and one fatality amongst the new 125 riders when I was a lad. It's a big step up from a push bike to something that will do 70mph+. None of the moped riders that graduated, had serious crashes, although many went from moped (as transport), straight to a car.
black-k1 said:
I understand where you're coming from with regards to mopeds but, living in the countryside meant he needed transport to have a social life. That meant the options were either a push bike or a moped. I'm not sure a push bike is/was a less dangerous option than a moped.
Push bike is safer I think. But there are times I wonder! As you know I use a bicycle to get to work. 99% of the time you're fine, but the 1% does make you wonder. NS400R said:
black-k1 said:
I understand where you're coming from with regards to mopeds but, living in the countryside meant he needed transport to have a social life. That meant the options were either a push bike or a moped. I'm not sure a push bike is/was a less dangerous option than a moped.
Push bike is safer I think. But there are times I wonder! As you know I use a bicycle to get to work. 99% of the time you're fine, but the 1% does make you wonder. OP, just think about the future. My dad was you 15 years back with me on a 50cc scooter then 2 years later the same with my brother. Skip forwards a few years and we have all just bought bikes again (after a few years without). We've been loving the ride otus together, Southend last weekend we a laugh, once everyone is allowed out again properly I think we're going to go over the France for a couple of nights. Great fun!
As far as Mopeds go, I'm glad I had mine. The years experience was well worth it, on something I wasn't going to do too much damage on. 30mph is decent enough to get about, I could get around town and to my mates houses out in the villages.
As far as Mopeds go, I'm glad I had mine. The years experience was well worth it, on something I wasn't going to do too much damage on. 30mph is decent enough to get about, I could get around town and to my mates houses out in the villages.
My least enjoyable ride ever was today, a 15km commute on my wifes Vespa 250 GTS.
Normally no problem but about 2km from Auckland harbour bridge it started to absolutely pour down, my ride to that point is quite sheltered so my next surprise was the huge gust of wind and the flashing signs warning of 'gusting winds, extra caution required' all while peering over the side unable to make out the sea 75m below as my visor wouldnt clear inside and out.
Now Kiwi's are awful drivers at the best of times but when you add in rain & wind, oh dear.
I made it to work but think the Vespa will be parked up for a few days while this weather sorts itself out
Normally no problem but about 2km from Auckland harbour bridge it started to absolutely pour down, my ride to that point is quite sheltered so my next surprise was the huge gust of wind and the flashing signs warning of 'gusting winds, extra caution required' all while peering over the side unable to make out the sea 75m below as my visor wouldnt clear inside and out.
Now Kiwi's are awful drivers at the best of times but when you add in rain & wind, oh dear.
I made it to work but think the Vespa will be parked up for a few days while this weather sorts itself out
My son passed his moped CBT on his 16th birthday on a twist and go. We spent the next day understanding how the gears worked (me running up and down beside him), the following day we went out.
We've been out a number of times since and each has been great fun, although somewhat slow and a bit nerve wracking in the beginning - showing him the lines around corners or following and then having a chat about it is fun. It's also made me think a bit more about my riding as well especially when doing 20mph round corners I would have normally taken somewhat faster !
16 year olds on mopeds are the future of motorcycling, and to hear them constantly dismissed and "wait until you're 17 and get a 125" type comments is quite sad. A moped will always trump a push bike or the bus at 16 and can lead onto a life time of bike ownership if / when they get the bug...
We've been out a number of times since and each has been great fun, although somewhat slow and a bit nerve wracking in the beginning - showing him the lines around corners or following and then having a chat about it is fun. It's also made me think a bit more about my riding as well especially when doing 20mph round corners I would have normally taken somewhat faster !
16 year olds on mopeds are the future of motorcycling, and to hear them constantly dismissed and "wait until you're 17 and get a 125" type comments is quite sad. A moped will always trump a push bike or the bus at 16 and can lead onto a life time of bike ownership if / when they get the bug...
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