Congratulations

Congrats to my son Mark for finally getting around to getting his bike learners today.
He did the 2 day course had rang me yesterday saying he can't work out why he waited 4 years
So we're keeping an eye out for a good used bike. He likes the ER6 I'm leaning towards a GS500.
He currently has access to a Hyo 250 which is better than nothing.
It will be good to ride with my son one day

4wheelsagain wrote:Congrats to my son Mark for finally getting around to getting his bike learners today.
He did the 2 day course had rang me yesterday saying he can't work out why he waited 4 years
So we're keeping an eye out for a good used bike. He likes the ER6 I'm leaning towards a GS500.
He currently has access to a Hyo 250 which is better than nothing.
It will be good to ride with my son one day

Great news 2 of my sons have their license but only one has a bike at the moment ( bandit ) / nothing like riding with one of your kids / more like mates really .

Good on Mark there 4WA. Hope you have a few good rides together. Any bike is better than no bike.

Good news! It is good when they share the joy of 2 wheels. My boy started on dirt bikes at 6, progressed through the Yammy YZs seemed to enjoy being as far off terra firma as a landing ramp would allow, before discovering road bikes. He can ride circles around me now and tends to either have the back wheel or the front wheel in the air an alarming amount of time. He's 23 now so nearly there (through that "i'm bullet proof" risk period). The only down sides been that I seem to be the mug servicing the bikes...

@NTBill wrote:Good news! It is good when they share the joy of 2 wheels. My boy started on dirt bikes at 6, progressed through the Yammy YZs seemed to enjoy being as far off terra firma as a landing ramp would allow, before discovering road bikes. He can ride circles around me now and tends to either have the back wheel or the front wheel in the air an alarming amount of time. He's 23 now so nearly there (through that "i'm bullet proof" risk period). The only down sides been that I seem to be the mug servicing the bikes...

Get him to help with the service it`s good fun /I took my kids down to work with me from a young age & now they`re good at doing mechanical things etc with their hands & now we get to hang out together as well doing stuff now the have grown up .

@paul wrote:

@NTBill wrote:Good news! It is good when they share the joy of 2 wheels. My boy started on dirt bikes at 6, progressed through the Yammy YZs seemed to enjoy being as far off terra firma as a landing ramp would allow, before discovering road bikes. He can ride circles around me now and tends to either have the back wheel or the front wheel in the air an alarming amount of time. He's 23 now so nearly there (through that "i'm bullet proof" risk period). The only down sides been that I seem to be the mug servicing the bikes...

Get him to help with the service it`s good fun /I took my kids down to work with me from a young age & now they`re good at doing mechanical things etc with their hands & now we get to hang out together as well doing stuff now the have grown up .

We have a system. My background is a fitter machinist and mech engineer. He's now a qualified chippie. I do the mechanical stuff, he hangs doors and fixes the house. It works. I can still whinge about it tho.

@NTBill wrote:

@paul wrote:

@NTBill wrote:Good news! It is good when they share the joy of 2 wheels. My boy started on dirt bikes at 6, progressed through the Yammy YZs seemed to enjoy being as far off terra firma as a landing ramp would allow, before discovering road bikes. He can ride circles around me now and tends to either have the back wheel or the front wheel in the air an alarming amount of time. He's 23 now so nearly there (through that "i'm bullet proof" risk period). The only down sides been that I seem to be the mug servicing the bikes...

Get him to help with the service it`s good fun /I took my kids down to work with me from a young age & now they`re good at doing mechanical things etc with their hands & now we get to hang out together as well doing stuff now the have grown up .

We have a system. My background is a fitter machinist and mech engineer. He's now a qualified chippie. I do the mechanical stuff, he hangs doors and fixes the house. It works. I can still whinge about it tho.

I think you got the better end of the deal

Thanks guys. Mark is 22 and has grown out of the invincible stage in cars but I think bikes and their freedom could see a re-emergence for a while. I've asked him to keep away from the tourist roads for a while

Good stuff 4wheels took me 11 years to get my shit together and get my license a mate used to ride me around on his dt 200r when we were 17, he always told me to get my license using his bike. I never bothered until my wife said why dont you get a road bike. My boy is 2 and a half shortly. I am teaching him to ride his xr50. I hope I can teach him to ride with respect for people and himself. If he goes well he may well be on a race bike shortly.

4wheelsagain wrote:Thanks guys. Mark is 22 and has grown out of the invincible stage in cars but I think bikes and their freedom could see a re-emergence for a while. I've asked him to keep away from the tourist roads for a while

And bikes are good for our health.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Health-Benefits-of-Motorcycle-Riding&id=6835790

go the GS500..... Proven record....

You can always give him your yammy to ride. It would make a good learners bike .

@chips wrote:go the GS500..... Proven record....

+1

@Hammy wrote:You can always give him your yammy to ride. It would make a good learners bike .

Don't worry mate I reckon he already has his eye on it
One day when he's fully licensed but without a bigger bike he will probably mount a convincing argument for a ride

Ride with respect. That's a good angle reddog GS500 with health benefits. I like that too.

On a serious note. The best advise you can give a new biker is: Be aware of what is going on around you, and, Always expect the unexpected.

Congrats to your son.

When our son got his learners we bought him a '96 KLR650 with 17" rims. It was a great bike for him to learn on, being 6'2" there weren't many LAMS bikes (that we could afford) that he looked comfortable on. And as an added bonus when he dropped it (which he did a few times) the damage was minimal.

Very well done to your son mate. His life just got so much better.

The other good advice is to ride your own ride. If riding in a big group don't count on the rider in front making the corner etc

It took me a while to sort this out when I first started riding road bikes, these days I ride my own lines instead of following. If I feel I'd like to go faster or slower I do, not because someone else is doing so.

..and yes a GS500 is a very affordable machine and should be a great learners bike

GS500 for the win

Congratulations to your son.

We went with the Ninja 650r for my partner as it will be more of a long term bike for her and after 12 months we will register it as a full power bike.

For your son i couldnt agree more with a GS 500. he will want bigger and flashier in 12 months time

GS500.Pprooven, cheap, dime-a-dozen
ER6. Nice allrounder even for a taller, heavier bloke from my experience and can mix it with the faster bikes if asked. If you can power up once off LAMS then that's be a good thing

Perhaps also look for a 2nd hand GSX650FL then there would be 2 bandits in the house
Not sure if Suzuki has signed up to enable it to be powered up after LAMS time tho (a pair of side cutters and less than 5 mins and it becomes a GSX650F, who's to know)

@dhula wrote:GS500.Pprooven, cheap, dime-a-dozen
ER6. Nice allrounder even for a taller, heavier bloke from my experience and can mix it with the faster bikes if asked. If you can power up once off LAMS then that's be a good thing

Perhaps also look for a 2nd hand GSX650FL then there would be 2 bandits in the house
Not sure if Suzuki has signed up to enable it to be powered up after LAMS time tho (a pair of side cutters and less than 5 mins and it becomes a GSX650F, who's to know)

I agree mate but it will come down to $$
He live in Melb and as a commuter the GS gets my nod.
I think the GSX is too porky even in full power spec.
I ride with a full power ER and they are seriously under rated by most.

riding with my lad is one of the best things I do...its a real treat and I can understand fully your excitement ..well done to the boy....

this is my sons ride..he loves the cafe racer style...and its not too quick..which I love

@Tommo1965 wrote:riding with my lad is one of the best things I do...its a real treat and I can understand fully your excitement ..well done to the boy....

this is my sons ride..he loves the cafe racer style...and its not too quick..which I love

Thats a sweet ride Tommo.
More info please

cheers 4WA

yamaha SRV renaissa 250cc 1997, they were made to look retro..Jack { my lad} has done a few more mods..proper clip ons and a remote front brake reservoir...Ill take another picture once he has some more heat tape on the headers, as he recently removed the tape as it had oil stains on it ..check the link out..some more info there

http://www.srv250.com/