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Lurch

Lurch

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http://www.theridersdigest.co.uk/precious-children-revisited/

Article about children as pillion. Have a read and have a comment. If you do comment please state if you have your own kids and which age group.

Personally I don't understand the uproar. If a kid wants to do it, then let them, but don't ride like you're Rossi, take it steady. If they want to go fast, they can buy they're own bike when they're all grown up :)
 
I can see both sides of this story, I personally wouldn't on the road until 11-12+ and I'd be cautious as hell of other drivers as wouldn't want anything bad to happen. I don't have kids yet, but I'm a godfather of two twin girls just over a year.
 
I don't know if I'd feel comfortable on public roads until they are around 10 or so. But my kids are super little. I might come around as they are older.
 
Age seems to be a feature here.

What's a 10yo got that a (say) 7yo doesn't? Why not wait for 14yo?
 
I will be picking my daughter up as soon as I have a bike with a pillion seat. She is only 7 and she asks me every day when I am going to pick her up. I'm not doing any major traveling but like to and from school (+/- a mile) I see nothing wrong with it.
 
mykb93 said:
I will be picking my daughter up as soon as I have a bike with a pillion seat. She is only 7 and she asks me every day when I am going to pick her up. I'm not doing any major traveling but like to and from school (+/- a mile) I see nothing wrong with it.
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I'd be worried that a driver "didn't see me" and knocks me down. I'd rather that happened riding solo.
 
So there might be a SMIDSY.

Kids from the age of 4 have bicycles, some parents put their kids on tandems or bicycle trailer things. Is any of that acceptable do we think?

With regards to age and holding on, I don't think there's "an age", but you'd have to be certain the youngster was able to hold on, and that they would do as their told, although I suspect that a kid is more likely to do what they're told over an adult :)
 
RoadSprock said:
I'd be worried that a driver "didn't see me" and knocks me down. I'd rather that happened riding solo.
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Well that's a chance you have to take every time you leave your house these days. It doesn't matter if you're on a bike or walking.
 
My dad rode around with me on the back of his Harley when I was 5 and my daughter rode around with me, including some 200+ mile trips, when she was 8 or 9, so I personally don't have a problem with it. ATGATT applies and you have to remember you are responsible for more than just your own life when you do that and drive accordingly.
 
RoadSprock said:
I'd be worried that a driver "didn't see me" and knocks me down. I'd rather that happened riding solo.
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That is a possibility. Your kid could be walking down the street as well and a freak accident happens and s/he gets run over. Things happen when they happen.

Personally as long as there is due care to protect your child involved, that is all there can be done.

We have similar laws in Singapore where kids below the age of 10, and is too short to flat foot the pillion footrests cannot be allowed on a motorcycle. But it creates a problem for the lower income families who cannot buy a car, but still need to transport their kid faster than a bus or train allows.

It's less of a problem in most other countries in the west because cars are dirt cheap (blood and sweat of the Chinese factory workers heh) and usually not excessively taxed. And it's also not an issue in poorer countries in Asia outside of Singapore, because they don't have laws on this anyway.

Wish age wasn't the restriction. Should have been more of due care (helmet,jacket,kneeguards, a backrest installed, additional footpegs to fit child's height.)
 
Reize said:
That is a possibility. Your kid could be walking down the street as well and a freak accident happens and s/he gets run over. Things happen when they happen.

Personally as long as there is due care to protect your child involved, that is all there can be done.

We have similar laws in Singapore where kids below the age of 10, and is too short to flat foot the pillion footrests cannot be allowed on a motorcycle. But it creates a problem for the lower income families who cannot buy a car, but still need to transport their kid faster than a bus or train allows.
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Yeah absolutely but the chances of a freak accident compared to the probability of a motorcycle accident?

Also can't the bike be 'adjusted' i.e. Raising pegs by chopping & wielding etc?
 
I think people being people tend to react on things they perceive as not the norm. Fear of the unknown etc. Like the author shown. Step outside the "west" and whole families are getting around on 125's. That said, dad isnt squiding corners like Miller with fam on his back
 
I have a 7yo boy, and - at this point in time - my opinion is that I would never take him on a ride with me, regardless of how old he is. I would never forgive myself if something happened to him. You can be as careful as you want, but as statistics show, in the majority of accidents where bikers are involved, the biker is not at fault (here in Belgium anyway). You have zero control over other traffic, and you're so vulnerable on a bike, I don't even want to think about anything happening to my son while riding with me.

If he wants to ride a bike of his own when he grows up, I would have no problem with it, provided he goes through proper training and wears proper gear. But riding pillion with me? Nope.

That being said, I don't judge other people who take their kids on motorcycle rides.
 
As long as you are aware of the precious cargo you have on the bike and take extra precautions to avoid any potential situations while on the road, I don't see any problem having a child as a pillion. This applies not to just a child, but to any pillion you have, wife, GF, BF, or etc.

People nowadays are just too full of f--king sh-t and want to bother about what other people are doing even if it doesn't effect them at all. "It's SOOOO dangerous to have a child on a motorcycle!!!!" says the driver that texts while driving with their kids in the car.

I really feel that people should just mind their own business and stop trying to f--k around with other people's sh-t.

:eek:
 
I really don't care either way. I don't have kids of my own, but I probably wouldn't take mine on a ride simply because I don't like riding two up.
 
Personally I wouldnt let the two snot eaters in my house ride on the road with me
They are 3 and 6, both boys

The 6 year old cant concentrate for shit and always tends to drift off.
the 3 year old , well he has the arms of a trex, no ways is he getting them around my moderately sized waist.

at a recent bike show, they had a mass ride where i saw two kids, under the age of 4. The dads had them holding on with some sort of waist band velcro thing. Tried to steal the kids but the band held them on good. So thats a thought?

The most important thing is, gear that fits.... Must be worn all the time
 
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