So I wake up on Saturday at 8am. My 6yo has jumped in to my bed. He lies there head in hands looking at me when I open my eyes. He smiles. I say: "Morning Vinny". He says: "Bike daddy". I close my eyes and think this will go away if I try hard enough. But I can feel his eyes burning in to me. I open my eyes again after unsuccessfully trying to go back to sleep, and yes, he is still there. Smile on his lips he says: "Bike daddy!!!" No, he does not have a speech problem, he just knows that nothing else needs to be said.
I have this oldish and very "pre loved" Suzuki DS80 in my garage that needs some work. We had a look at it in the week and I promised him that it would be his and we would together fix it in the weekend. And 8am on Saturday is weekend. I give him that.
But then I think about it: A 6yo that wants ro ride, that is prepared to give me a friendly nudge to get started. That wants to work on the bike! So I get up, have a V and we get started.
4 hours later we have together washed her, cleaned the carbi, repaired the muffler and refitted so it is not loose, repaired the chain adjustement so it stays where we put it, cleaned and greased the chain, aligned the front end, fitted side covers and seat properly and put some air in the flat tyres (why are they always flat at the bottom?). Also fixed the brakes. And some other small jobs.
Kickstart shaft is round, so kicking is out of question. We push start her in 2 gear, and she roars (well ok, as much roaring that a 80cc 2 stroke can do...) in to life.
He has never ridden a 2 wheel bike before. Or one with gears and clutch. So I show him what to do. But I can see that he is too eager to worry about what I tell him. He just wants to ride! So I leave her in 2nd gear, he jumps on and I push him and let the clucth out. He happily takes off and rides round and round on our section. Until he gets too cocky and ends up in to a tree (see pic). But no harm done, he laughs and thinks it was a blast.
So back on and off he roars again. As the sun goes down later he still is going round and round. OK, so he has had stops for toilet, food, petrol and drink. Also two small crashes. (Note that his hands are to small to pull the clutch and his feet are a fraction too short to reach down, so he does not stop. Just screams to me when he needs to stop!) I come and stop him as it is getting too dark. He jumps off and asks me: "Cant we put a light on it?"
When we put the bike away and go in he tells me that he wants to go and race motocross tomorrow. When I explain that he needs much more practice and also some proper gear. He says: "Why do you have those goggles on when racing?" I explain that it is so that you don't get dirt in your eyes. He looks at me and with a straight face says: "But if you are in the lead you don't need them!"
Today Sunday he has used her in 3rd gear and we have been to the beach. He tells me that he now can race. "When can we race?". Not yet son I say. "Next week?" he says, and then asks: "If we race far away how are we gonna get the bike on the plane"...
Yep. It was worth having 4 boys, as the youngest has inherited it. You go Vinny!!!
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