Youth and Motorcycles

By Mirage  

I started riding when I was 16 years old as it was the quickest and easiest way to get to high school. Driver’s Ed be damned as I was cruising around my area close to a year before anyone else even had a car. The local pizza place that I had walked to for years during 6th period lunch was dead to me for, now that I had wheels underneath me, I went to the other pizza place about 3 miles away. Hey, I liked pizza a lot back then OK? Not only did I have my independence but I was also honing my riding abilities in the process. I learned a lot during that period of time and continue to this day to enhance my skills with a mixture of street and track day riding.

Of course times change and new laws have been enacted since then which has raised the age to obtain a motorcycle license to 18 (or 17 in some states). Knowing today how much enjoyment I receive from riding and interacting with the motorcycle community as a whole, I would’ve easily waited another year or two to get a motorcycle license if so required.

I’m sure you’re probably thinking “Are you kiddin’ me? What were your parents thinking by allowing a 16 year old to ride a motorcycle and then turning him loose on public roads? That's a recipe for disaster!” Well let me put your mind at ease as “back in the day” motorcycles, while being sporty and powerful were far from the high-speed beasts that are available at dealership showrooms today. After I received my permit I enrolled in a 3 day motorcycle training course and once completing that course successfully I had a fully endorsed motorcycle license. Even though I was young and impressionable (I swear I didn’t inhale) I still understood the dangers of the sport and as such started out on a less than sporty machine – a 1983 Honda Custom 650 CX. With a whopping 64 hp, 37-44 ft. lbs. of torque (if my memory serves me correct) and weighing in at ~450 lbs., I wasn’t blowing the doors off of anything but a big-rig.

To celebrate my new found freedom I remember going to my local dealer (Al Gore didn’t invent the Internet yet) to buy myself a new helmet. Although a good purchase at the time in hindsight I should’ve saved that money (my other helmet was adequate but it just wasn't a race replica model) because once I received my first insurance bill I understood what the category of being male, not married, under 26 and riding a 600+cc motorcycle to and from school and work really meant.

Regardless of the cost I wasn’t about to stop riding and took on a second job to pay for everything and anything related to my bike. Perhaps I was the exception to the rule of understanding what class of motorcycle was appropriate to learn on and that some structured training to operate said vehicle was necessary. If so I’d gladly wear that badge with honor because I gained a lot of insight about motorcycle riding from those instructors and to this day I can still hear one of them saying to me: “Look through the turn and not at it!”

Now does everyone need to go through a rider training course to be a good or even great rider? Not necessarily but the old thinking of “I have a friend of a friend who can teach you to ride in an empty parking lot in only 20 minutes” just doesn’t cut it. Plus not everyone is hard-wired to ride two wheels right out of the gate although I will concede that having young reflexes and the ability to complete new tasks with a short learning curve is possible.

Even if you have the next MotoGP, WSBK or AMA star under your roof would I advocate them starting on a super sport or GOD forbid a liter bike? Absolutely not. I’ve met people three times that age who shouldn’t be riding those types of motorcycles for a variety of reasons. Would a Kawasaki 250R, Suzuki SV650, Honda Rebel or the like be more fitting? Absolutely.

The problem is that the latest “shiny and go fast” motorcycle models draw the most attention and is what every true blooded youngster wants to pull up to school, work or their friends house on. You can’t really blame them can you? Think hard when you were that age (go on, I'll wait) and, while being part of the Chess club helped your ambitions to get into that ivy league college, most likely you not only wanted to fit in but more importantly impress that special someone.

Unfortunately that marketing sword cuts both ways by bringing in the highly coveted demographic group of 18-34 year olds but ultimately creates a disconnect of the appropriate rider skill set for a particular motorcycle. This is where guidance and patience must take the lead in order to instill a good foundation of motorcycle skills for young riders.

It’s apparent that the motorcycle industry realizes that the youth market is what will sustain them for many years to come so they’re offering more rider friendly motorcycles (i.e. beginner type motorcycles) that a young person (or even an older person who’s been on hiatus for a few years and wants to get back into the saddle again) can ride comfortably, safely and improve their skills so they become a better rider.

So does youth and motorcycles mix or is it a molotov cocktail ready to explode? From my experience there's nothing wrong with being young and enthusiastic to ride a motorcycle as long as it's tempered with the awareness that there’s a lot to learn. When I asked for the keys to go out riding so many years ago I’m thankful that my parents gave me the opportunity to do so when they could’ve easily said “No.”

Now, if you have an older motorcycle that’s been sitting in the garage collecting dust then this would be the perfect time to break out the tools and finish that project together with your kid(s). Not to mention that there’s nothing better in this world then experiencing the open road with the one’s you love.