Would you let your son or daughter ride on the street at 16? If not, what age is appropriate? My son is turning 16 in June and wants to ride to school. He has raced dirt bikes for years and can ride either of my bikes on our dead end road. I love the thought of him riding with me but it also scares the hell out of me!

 

I wanted an Interceptor 500 BADLY when I was in High School. I never got one because I wasn't allowed. Mind you, I was riding my friend's Ninja 900 at the time, on occasion, but never had my own.

I'm glad I didn't have my own then.

 

I don't have kids but I remeber my dad let me start riding his bike around the neighborhood when I was 14ish. By the time I was 16 I was riding on the road regularly. I am sure he was scared but I think it made me a better rider. I think it gave me more respect for the bike because I didn't want to take chances or wreck the bike. I'll be 30 this year and we have been riding together since I was 16. We leave the 31st for our annual deals gap trip...we actually stay in Elizabethtown on the return trip.

 

Hard choice. I've been riding bikes since I was around 8 or 9. I rode a Kawasaki 100 to high school when I was 15. I have 4 kids and none of them ride bikes. I'm sorta glad I didn't have to make the desicision. My dad didn't have a problem me riding on the street. But it drove my mom crazy.
I would lean towards letting him ride.

 

In Oklahoma I had my motorcycle license at 14. The law said the bike couldn't have more than 125cc, I couldn't ride at night, I couldn't ride on an interstate, and I had to wear a helmet. These rules were lifted when I turned 16. I feel like they helped keep me safe from myself as I only occasionally violated them. Maybe give your 16 year old some basic rules and hold him to it...

 

My dad was all for it. Bought a basket case '83 Honda Magna when I was 15. Spent the year putting it back together, then got my license at 16. Had to take an MSF course to get a mc endorsement before 18. Been riding ever since. Dad can't ride anymore, but I have the memories of several rides we took together.

 

No 16 year old is responsible enough to ride on the street.

The fact that one has been riding dirt bikes since they were 3 doesn't make them an experience street rider.

When riding dirt bikes you don't worry about being a defensive rider.
On the street you have to ride defensively or you get racked up.

Being a responsible street rider takes maturity and discipline and not many 16 years olds have either.

 

I remember how I rode my Yamaha 400 and Kawasaki 650, dangerously. I never felt so relieved when we sold my 18 year old son's CBR 660 for college money. Especially after he told me he's been over 120 mph on it. Good luck with that decision. All kids are different, but not that much.

 

Hell yes he is old enough to ride on the road.
I started riding on the road at 16, on a Harley - complete with hand shift. I also had ridden for quite a few years already on dirt bikes. On dirt is where you REALLY learn to ride.
And better for him to start out on a Harley than a Ninja etc. You have to assume that whatever he is riding, he WILL ride it at full speed when he can get away with it. It's the way teenagers are. (Some of us take an extra 40 years or more to grow out of it.)

But be sure to have him take an MSF or similar rider training course, then get him into an advanced rider course as soon as he is ready. The skills you learn and practice there are real lifesavers.

 

At sixteen you can drive a car so why not ride a bike, if you know how.