Riding with kids

[bsoder]

Anybody else out there ride with kids as passengers? I ride with both my 5 year old daughter and my 8 year old stepson.

We use this harness this helmet.

Honestly I thought more people would think I am crazy for taking kids this age out on a bike but we get nothing but thumbs up from fellow riders and little more respect from the cagers. Anyone else have any thoughts or ideas on riding with kids?

[flyingminno]

Well It's good that you're using the harness and everything. As far as opinions, I'm biased. My dad took me out regularly, commuting me to and from school about 20 miles away. So I loved it and it's what started my love of riding.

[bsoder]

Same here. I grew up on the back of my dad's bike. Had my first bike when I was about 8 years old. That probably explains why I prefer to be on 2 wheels and don't think it's the least bit crazy to take my kids for rides.

[jspansel]

I think it goes by how comfortable you feel with your kids and if you trust them. I would love to take my 5 year old girl on mine, but 1. she cant really get a good footing on the pegs, and 2. I just dont think I could trust her back there. She gets really excited and wired up too easy. It would kill me if anything were to happen, so its just not time yet. Maybe in a year or two she will be ready.

[dart1963]

Thanks for posting this great info. Though my kids may take a couple more years as well, like jspansel, it's good to know this info.

I can honestly say my Dad scared the crap out of me when I was younger, he just set me on his bike and revved up the engine, I was like "get me off this loud, scary thing....." HA, well it took me years, to finally buy one, thanks to jspansel I finally did. He rolled into work on his rebel 250 and got me sorta interested, great price and great gas mileage, I wasn't into cruisers though so I didn't buy, then the day he came in on the FZ6R, I was set on it, it was a "sport bike" with features for a new rider. Looked great, had an awesome "rice sound", (quiet when idling, purred at rev) yet comfortable, and with the hp for my 200+lb body without me over doing it for my first bike. I called the wife that night and she was like "if you want it, go for it", took out my 401k loan the next day ('cause I knew it would take a couple weeks), took my msf course a couple weeks later, then bought my "other love".
My kids love watching me take off for work in the mornings, so, the "scary loud thing" is out of the way, my youngest son asked where the "seatbelt" is.... this thread is exactly what will help me get them to ride. If I had the money, I'd love to get them a little 70cc dirtbike to get into it, but for now, they'll just have to settle for short rides with me, once I can get these tools to make the ride safe and fun for them.
Again, thanks for posting up these details on safety gear for kids. At my age, safety is number 1, especially when it comes to my kids.

[bsoder]

You guys are dead on - safety is number 1 when you are riding with a kid. We started slow just going around the neighborhood with frequent stops for a kind of after action review. My daughter had a hard time remembering to hold on so until we found the harness I put her in one of my large sweatshirts and tied the arms around my waist. I wouldn't recommend it for a long ride but at least they can experience it and you'll know how well they do before spending money on gear.

[neshi]

Only with my little sister 14. Though i did teach her how to ride on my VX535 she is really good and cant wait for the next two years to get her permit.
Anybody else teaching siblings/children how to ride?

[FZ6Rmibmo]

My thanks for the harness info in the original post.

I've taken my 6-yr-old out a few times and I ride carefully on back roads when I take her, although I worry about the weight of her full-face helmet versus the strength of her neck muscles should we ever find ourselves on the ground. So I've decided to look seriously into one of the motorcycling "neck braces." Leatt sells high end units, and my daughter is within the spec height and chest size for a size small brace. They're pricey, but probably well worth it if they work as advertised and ever had to be counted on.

Does anyone have any experience with Leatt or any other neck injury prevention units on kids?

Thanks.

[bsoder]

I don't want to sound like a salesman for the harness I linked to before but it actually has neck support.

[streetmaster]

I've got a pair of 6 year old, boy/girl twins & they're both itching to go for a ride with me.
Unfortunately for them the law down here prohibits pillions under 8.
Just as well. I'm gonna have to save up for two sets of gear as my son is about 3" taller.