How old does a little person have to be?

[ManDownUnder]

OK,

Understandibly my little boy wants to be just like his Dad, and one of the things he wants to do with his Dad is ride on the Motorbike.

He's way to small for it right now, but it does raise the question - how big/old is big/old enough?

Is there a legal definition of how old/big?
MDU

[James Deuce]

OK,

Understandibly my little boy wants to be just like his Dad, and one of the things he wants to do with his Dad is ride on the Motorbike.

He's way to small for it right now, but it does raise the question - how big/old is big/old enough?

Is there a legal definition of how old/big?
MDUThere's no legal definitions, and I've seen 2.5year olds on KTMs at junior motocross.

However, bear in mind that the Human brain doesn't accurately compute approach vectors and relative velocity until approx 10 years of age.

Having said that, heaps of established motorcycling heroes got their start at an early age on the dirt.

[Motoracer]

I bought a GSXR 250 from a "funny fella" a while back. It was crash damaged so I got an ok deal out of it. When I asked how it was crashed he said, he gave it as a gift to his 9.5 year old son who was quite big for his age. Apparantly, he didn't get further than the driveway...

[bungbung]

MDU, I am assuming you mean how old <u>to ride as a pillion</u>. I don't think that there is a legal age your pillion must attain. Common sense would say he needs to have long enough limbs to comfortably reach the pegs, and grab rail (if any). He will need enough strength and stamina to cope with the loads of riding; helmet on neck, grip strength etc. with a comfortable margin. So short rides, careful in the colder weather.

Of course I don't actually have kids, so I'll now turn it over to a more informed member...

[James Deuce]

Good point Bungbung.

Frosty's yer maun MDU. He has a 10 year old that goes for rides with him as a pillion

[Kwaka-Kid]

my old man will confirm this (if he ever sees this) but i THINK i was around 3 when dad started taking me for our section rides (on the back of a Z1, around the quater acre section, around hte house up the hill around mums garden etc etc, i remember begging him often to take me around the section) and on the road on the back when i was around 4yo, i was not a big/tall kid, infact possibly the opposite? I dunno, i could barely touch the pegs and the helmet wobbled around on my head, it was all good though! had heaps of fun... To be perfectly honest i was actually scared sometimes when dad took off really fast, i used to prefer being on the Z1R as it had a packrack, the other bikes i was always worried about slipping straight off the back, we sorted that the trick was he would tell me when he was gunna, and often take the left hand of fhte bar and grip one of my hands hard - so if i did fall off i guess hed be left with my arm as a suvineer? :P those were the days! Being picked up from school as a primary schooler on a bike... heeellll yeah!

[ManDownUnder]

bugger - yup... I meant as a pillion...

I think I am too young for the 900 but the licencing authorities were dumb enough to let me ride it so what the hell..

[ManDownUnder]

Being picked up from school as a primary schooler on a bike... heeellll yeah!


HELL YEAH! A nice touch ... wish my Dad had done that for me. (The fact he's never been on a bike let alone owned one kinda made that option unlikely).

I think I'll pick the litle guy up on the bike sometimes... never thought of that... sounds cool! Wait till he's 6 or something... and when I get to that "less disapproving" stage should I broach the topic at home
MDU

[FzerozeroT]

i remember not being able to reach around dad (he's not rotund by the way) so he would zip open the pockets on his leather jacket and i would hang on there, must have been 6 or 7, and wheelied down the kapiti motorway when i was about 9 by my uncle on his GPZ?600 two stroke kwaka, explains the kawasaki/2 stroke thing eh :)

[dhunt]

I use to take my little sister on our Trail bike every day for a ride when she was about 2 1/2. Use to put her on the back with another brother sitting behind her so she was squished in the middle. She use to love it. Stayed off road though, so didn't bother with helmets or anything and didn't really go faster than about 80.

David

[Motu]

I think the issue with really young one is them falling asleep and that it's better to have them in front of you,legally with foot pegs and something to hold onto.

[speedpro]

I've been up and down the road with the little fella on the front since he was about 3. He got the hang of the throttle pretty quick and was even turning the indicators on and off. On the mighty MB100.

I used to pick up the girlfriend, 15-16years old, outside McKillop Girls High on the mighty Z1 with loud pipe and covered in road grime. That was always good for the evils from all the car driving Mums.

[Hitcher]

There is no law about age of pillions. The law requires a motorcycle pillion to be able to get their feet on the pegs. These do not have to be the manufacturer's homologated pegs either. If you want to fit pegs that junior's feet can reach, that will be just fine as long as they are securely fixed to the bike. The law also requires the wearing of a secure helmet.

[FROSTY]

send me an e mail or pm MDU--Ive been carrying my son since he was 2 years old -I have a special seat ect for him.

[Milky]

I think that we - me and PT - started getting pillion rides on the bikes at age 6 or 7. These were generally longer rides, not just to school and back, but to see relatives, friends etc. I think if the kid is able to sit still for a while, and doesnt mind not being able to see anything, then it should be ok. I used to hang on around the waist of the rider, mainly because I wasnt big enough for the grab rails to be comfortable. Just try it on short rides, and make sure that they have some sort of prearranged signal to you if they want to stop for a toilet break/to throw up/to wake up.
I used to get motion sick on some tighter, twistier rides when I couldnt see my way past the rider, and I can tell you that throwing up in your helmet is not a nice thing to do :puke:

[Wenier]

I used to get motion sick on some tighter, twistier rides when I couldnt see my way past the rider, and I can tell you that throwing up in your helmet is not a nice thing to do :puke:

OOO that doesnt sound good i luckily havent managed to make myself regret any nights of drinking with that yet. And since im the first to have bikes in my family never really been on the back of one.

[Posh Tourer :P]

I used to hang on around the waist of the rider, mainly because I wasnt big enough for the grab rails to be comfortable. Just try it on short rides, and make sure that they have some sort of prearranged signal to you if they want to stop for a toilet break/to throw up/to wake up.

If they hold round your waist, it's easier for you to know what they are doing, and they are less likely to suddenly decide they are scared and sit up straight. The holding onto the waist thing serves many functions, especially for new riders. For new pillions, I'd always get them to hold onto the waist, unless they *really* dont want to.... In which case they probably wouldnt go....

[FROSTY]

Good point Bungbung.

Frosty's yer maun MDU. He has a 10 year old that goes for rides with him as a pillion
Um jim --nope not 10--hes 5 been riding with me since 1
--just up and down the street.
On a propper ride since 3
But never just on the bike.-He has a special bike seat
that he can't fall out of but that he can jump out of if he needs to. (you can see it in my profile pic)
and I have blocks that lock onto the rear footpegs so he can reach them.
-For a jacket -theres a crowd in Chch that makes kids jackets for $80 -and theyre propper leather jackets.
For gloves he wore BMX gloves -to be small enough to fit.
For his legs he wears a bibn brace ski suit .
Boots are a worry but girls leatherfashionish boots protect his ankles.
The helmet was the hardest part. The neck needs to be able to support the weight in an impact. Origonally he had an open face polycarb lid with a chin piece witha weight of 1.0 kg.
He now wears a shoei composit helmet. that is only 1.5kg and fits him perfectly.
I have been pulled over a few times by cops but only to look at the setup.
The law is slack but specific.
Correctly fitting helmet is compulsury.
Feet must rest on footpegs is compulsury.

[FROSTY]

I think the issue with really young one is them falling asleep and that it's better to have them in front of you,legally with foot pegs and something to hold onto.
Um motu I dissagree -I prefer the carseat on the back
The kid tends to sorta lol around and its hard work riding around em
On the back in a seat I found he just falls forwards onto me and thats as far as he goes He cant really go any furthur so i can focus on riding.
Mind you thats only my opinion not like fact

[ManDownUnder]

...and I can tell you that throwing up in your helmet is not a nice thing to do :puke:

Never done that, but I did do a thread about sneezing in your helmet... from personal experience.

Not good - NOOOOT good!
MDU

[boris]

i have seen on the net somewhere a car type seat made for the back off a bike.It bolted on like a packrack/topbox.My parents had only a motorbike and sidecar when my oldest brother was born.But it was in 1950,s England.

[toads]

I think slowly does it, let him have a ride around with you in the back yard from say age 3 onward every now and then and once he's about 6ish he'll be no sweat as a pillion, the main thing is he needs to be able to hang onto you consistantly, my younger kids tend to let go randomly which is scary, ( they are 10yrs) however my son who is now 16 started riding a 50 cc 2 wheeler around the paddock at 8 and was thrill seeking soon afterwards, they tend to either like that stuff or not like it, we also had a homemade go kart which all my older kids used and fought over, it went like stink and was great fun

[FROSTY]

I must agree with toads here. I was very very lucky with baby bikie. He was bassicly hanging out for a bike ride almost from birth. He used to get almost hysterical if I headed off without him.
With him it wasn't a matter of if he went on the bike but when.-The when was dictated by his ability to support a helmet
It may be your lil fella hates the bike at first.
A good freinds daughter was like that. She wouldn't go anywhere near the nasty smelly motorbike.
A few months later she sat in BB's seat and a week later we went for a ride.
She loved it -but I think if i'd pushede the issue she would have hated bikes for life.

[Motu]

Um motu I dissagree -I prefer the carseat on the back
The kid tends to sorta lol around and its hard work riding around em
On the back in a seat I found he just falls forwards onto me and thats as far as he goes He cant really go any furthur so i can focus on riding.
Mind you thats only my opinion not like fact

Well,I've never really had that problem,but I carried them when younger (off road) on the front,when older they went on the rear on the road,on the dirt track the girls went on the rear of bikes,in front of me on quads,because of more side force.


The going to sleep bit and carrying in front was told to a couple of friends by traffic cops,and one of them gave up taking his boy for a ride when he nodded off a couple of times on the back.We took my daughter in the sidecar from 2 mths,she was never awake - she was asleep just from kicking the Norton over,open megaphones and all!

[FROSTY]

Well,I've never really had that problem,but I carried them when younger (off road) on the front,when older they went on the rear on the road,on the dirt track the girls went on the rear of bikes,in front of me on quads,because of more side force.


The going to sleep bit and carrying in front was told to a couple of friends by traffic cops,and one of them gave up taking his boy for a ride when he nodded off a couple of times on the back.We took my daughter in the sidecar from 2 mths,she was never awake - she was asleep just from kicking the Norton over,open megaphones and all!
sounds like you and me have the same idea--start em young.-breed the next generation of bikers

[ManDownUnder]

The going to sleep bit and carrying in front was told to a couple of friends by traffic cops,and one of them gave up taking his boy for a ride when he nodded off a couple of times on the back.We took my daughter in the sidecar from 2 mths,she was never awake - she was asleep just from kicking the Norton over,open megaphones and all!

Apparently it's a common thing with really small children (i.e. babies). Noise and stimulation makes them nod off.

Case in point - I did the shotover jetboat thing - V8 thundering away. The baby right at the back of the boat went from wide awake to out like a light by the time we reach 1/2 way. I laughed and pointed it out to the driver who just said "yeah - they do it all the time"

It's something to be aware of on the bikes for sure.
MDU

[Kwaka-Kid]

they always told me i had the mind of a 3yo, i guess what proves it is that im always falling asleep at the bars...

[James Deuce]

Um jim --nope not 10--hes 5 been riding with me since 1



Sorry - he looked 10 in the photo :)

[James Deuce]

they always told me i had the mind of a 3yo, i guess what proves it is that im always falling asleep at the bars...
That's odd. I fall asleep in bars too! :apint: :apint: :apint: :apint: :apint: :apint: :apint: :apint: :apint:

[FROSTY]

Sorry - he looked 10 in the photo :)
Holey cow mate --hes got a big enuff head as it is.
I aint gonna tell him he looks 10 :devil2: