pillion age?

what are peoples thoughts here about the age of a pillion you would take?
My son whos 11 (12 in may) wants to get on the back He is fully aware of the dangers etc as i did talk to him about them. I know he wouldn't mess around and would sit still... well id only know for sure when hes there
To me i think 11 is ok but just wondering on others thoughts really

[fastdruid]

As long as they can reach the pegs its fine legally.

I certainly went on the back well before I was 11.

Druid

I was 11 when my dad first took me on the back of his 1992 GSXR750-WN



(yes, those colours...not that bike though)

And I bloody loved it.

my daughters 5 an can just about touch the pegs give it another 2 years and ill have her on the back, she cant wait, if i could raise the pegs then i would be happy to have her on there now,

[dizzyblonde]

My son has been sitting on the back with his feet firmly planted on the pegs for years. Hes very tall.

AND sitting is as far as he'll get! He may be eight and be able to sit comfortably and legally on the back, but he is in no way of an age mentally to be able to sit on the back of me or anyone else whilst moving.

Every child is different but I know my son just wouldn't be able to cope with it. He wants to be valentino Rossi, bless , but he ain't going to be that if hes scared when you lift it off the sidestand!!

[Spiderman]

Age is a number, you know how "mature" your son will be and how well he will listen to your instructions so go for it.
I'm sure you're not gonna do anything daft or dangerous to show off while hes there either so go for gold and have fun.
Obviously i'd suggest giving him some kit too, even oversize stuff is better than nothing in the unfortunate even that something happens, which i'm sure it wont. But best to be safe, eh.

And hopefully another new biker gets the bug

Originally Posted by Spiderman

Age is a number, you know how "mature" your son will be and how well he will listen to your instructions so go for it.
I'm sure you're not gonna do anything daft or dangerous to show off while hes there either so go for gold and have fun.
Obviously i'd suggest giving him some kit too, even oversize stuff is better than nothing in the unfortunate even that something happens, which i'm sure it wont. But best to be safe, eh.

And hopefully another new biker gets the bug

no chance that i would be doing anything stupid/showing off. yeah i was looking at HG and round places for kit but most of it for kids seems to be motocross based, which i know is better than nothing. Although looking through new HG they are doing limited amount of kids textiles... well when they do get a delivery time.

[Luckypants]

My son was 11 when he first went pillion with me and then did so frequently until he learnt to drive. My worry was always how strong his grip would be on the pillion rail in an emergency and would he be paying enough attention to react? I got my answer in his first summer as pillion, when a bike coming the other way ran badly wide near (the old) Squires. We stopped, the other bike went into the field, I got my answer and was happy to have my kids as pillions from then on. That incident taught my boy a lot about anticipation and concentration, made him a better rider / driver IMHO.

Get the best gear possible for them and make sure it fits. It is relatively easy to get hold of good second hand kit that other motorcycling kids have grown out of. I still have his first leather jacket

Out of curiosity how long have you been riding? I just wondered if your signature was an indication that you`d not long passed your test?

Only wondering cos if you were a relatively new rider then I`d be wanting some experience before taking a pillion of any age.

Man if I had kids when I get married, I dunno if I'd ever have it in me to take 'em on the back. Not because I wouldn't trust my riding after a decade or so, but

a. the wife would probably kill me for even mentioning it
b. plenty other ways for kids to enjoy themselves. I'll keep the bike for my own guilty pleasure, and leave the car for taking them places. If they wanna know about riding later on then I'll be all for it, but I couldn't handle having an off and my kid ending up worse off than me.

...awaits the 'but would you allow your kids to walk to the shops, go on rollercoasters, ride a bicycle argument'. lol.

The flip side to that is though, man I wish my dad had a bike and he rode me to school on it, that would have been super cool to be honest.