to ask for your ideas helping my ambitiously inventive/aspiring mechanic son

So you have a local Repair Cafe? Many towns do
Perhaps he could help/shadow one of their repairers

Ha was a bit of me as a kid, always in my dad's workshop hindering him & coming up with some sort of project! & when he died I put some of those same tools in my own workshop & I encourage my daughter to use them with me, tho she's a bit young.

As well as the bicycle idea & repair shop one, is there a friend locally who tinkers with stuff?
I'm sure there's no chance we are in the same town but someone like me who's got a ton of stuff to finish on a race car & just had to refurbish an old machine etc & wouldn't mind a little helper.

Model railway? My 18 yo ds is studying mechanical engineering at college and loved his model railway as a child. There is usually a local group, as well to meet up with and build projects.

I'm not sure all the 'take it apart and see how it works/fix it' ideas work so well nowadays if there's any electronics with complicated circuits, microcontrollers, embedded software etc. It probably has to be somewhat simpler, more mechanical systems rather than a modern TV I'd have thought.
And at this age I'd be quite cautious about safety - e.g. anything which uses mains power rather than a few batteries would, imo, need some supervision by someone who knows what they're doing.

It occurs to me that one area of 'transportation' which might be more accessible is boats - wind power, or rather simpler engines.

Oooh Repair Cafe sounds a brilliant idea, must check if we have one locally! Never heard of it before.

Re possible ADHD traits as well as the learning style you mentioned that he is forgetful, distracted, creatively makes grand super ambitious plans but then often does not follow through or finish projects he is actually working on, and obviously it sounds like he has this slightly unusual “special interest”. These could all fall into ADHD territory. Just something to have in the back of your mind perhaps as time goes on.

My son was the same. Some of his ideas: a meat tenderiser made from the trunk of a Christmas tree; a go cart made from the motor from a washing machine; a petrol driven music keyboard. Never finished anything. Wouldn't take instruction.

He's now 19 and studying for an MEng in mechanical engineering at a good university. He loves his course and is doing well.

Try not to be anxious and controlling about your child's special interests. Let him experiment in his own chaotic way. That's what childhood is for. If he get's frustrated that's ok too, it's all part of the learning process.

Please watch Sara Davies's new show The Big Idea Works. She takes ideas from the public and turns them into workable products.

Hmmm tricky! I see the issue! But he sounds amazing. My brother was a bit like this as a child, he once took our (working!) TV apart - no permission sought and the whole family was annoyed with him when we wanted to watch TV and found it in pieces! But he put it back together again super quickly. He said he just wanted to see how it worked 🤣

Have you come across learning styles? I didn’t really realise different people learned in different ways until coming across this idea as a post grad… your son sounds like a “kinaesthetic learner” who basically wants to learn “on the job” by actually doing practical stuff rather than read or listen to theory or even watch someone demonstrate it.

Some of how you described your son sounds like he may have ADHD traits and it’s worth knowing that there is an association for ADHD with this learning style.

Really ideally you need to make friends with a mechanic or something! Genuinely it’s worth asking around in your community as to whether there is anyone with these skills who would be willing to advise you on what to get for him that is safe and realistic at this age, and ideally even do a few practical sessions with him, you could offer to pay them as a tutor. You might even find a tutor locally online who is able to support this sort of thing if you know what to search for? I think not quite engineering or mechanics exactly or at least not the academic aspects of it… the right YouTuber might be helpful too!

Is he dead set on a motorbike specifically?! A motorbike feels like a really big project to me (and expensive!) but what do I know, it may well be possible if someone with these skills right knowledge can advise! I think it’s really sweet that he thinks his mum and dad must surely know how to put together a motorbike from scratch having gone to uni 🤣🤣 Bless him! I hope you find a way to encourage him with this interest.

Do you have a Repair Cafe locally? https://www.repaircafe.org/en/

Its where people with broken stuff are matched with a skilled volunteer to troubleshoot and repair.

He might be able to hang out there and meet some mechanically minded folk.

What about buying him something broken to fix, from ebay as "spares and repairs", you could get anything, even if he can't fix it he could work on diagnosing the problem.

What about faulty console xbox/playstation controllers, if he already has access to one of those consoles at home. He can use the ifixit website to work out the problem and buy some parts and tools required to perform a repair. Other parts you can get on amazon and ebay, again you could let him source the part via online research.

An example repair:
https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/Xbox+Series+X%7CS+Controller+(Model+1914)+Back+Housing+Replacement/160496

Sounds interesting to be honest and you sound like a great parent going out your way to thoughtfully help him.

These are all great suggestions, but also wanted to suggest Saturday Club when he's older. There are a lot of engineering options and he'll meet like minded kids.

Do you have a science, engineering or transport museum near you? They sometimes run summer holiday clubs or workshops for secondary age children, so he could join in in a year or two.

Maybe go to your local tip and see if there's anything he could take to bits?

This reminds me of my DS, now an engineer. He had a Haynes model engine as a Christmas present and quickly built it when he was 9.At about aged 10 he wanted an old petrol lawnmower he saw advertised locally. It wasn't working but he stripped the engine down, cleaned and fixed it and got it going again. He fixed a few more over the next few years and sold them on. He was helped at times by his mechanically minded Dad.

Get him an old child's bicycle and the Haynes manual on bike maintenance and then give him specific tasks to do e.g. tighten the chain, adjust the brakes, replace the tyres and inner tubes etc

At 10, with a manual, he should be able to work it out for himself if he is keen.

I am not mechanical at all, but during lockdown, I taught myself to service a mountain bike this way.

Thank you this is really helpful, and the show sounds like a great idea for some family TV time

If you have a UTC (University Training College - a secondary school specialising in engineering and based on projects and employer input) near you he might be able to join them in Year 9. They run a full curriculum so he would get GCSEs and be set up for engineering as an apprentice or university course.

They are likely to have information on how to get in so he has something to work towards. As a PP said, the Engineering Institutions have outreach programmes so you can try the IET, the Civil Engineers and the Royal Aeronautical Society if he likes planes.

You could see if there are any robotics or 'maker' clubs in your area which take kids his age.

I think he's at a frustrating age where he doesn't yet have the theoretical knowledge and practical skills yet to fulfil his ideas, or accurately assess their reality. (Spoiler alert... the perpetual motion machine ain't going to happen!).

Appropriate kits really can help him develop the practical skills - I think my DD was 11 or 12 when we got her a soldering iron, and kits that needed soldering not just the click together stuff. Then she did gcse electronics so by the time she was 16 she was able to design robots, either using microcontrollers or (more challenging) from scratch with basic components.

It won't be too long till your son is at secondary school, hopefully he'll be able to go to one with tech facilities.

If you dont want to keep spending lots of money on kits and activities, lots of the UK engineering institutions have free resources available on their websites as well as various annual challenges he could get involved with.

Eg.
https://www.imeche.org/careers-education/supporting-teachers/resources-and-activities

https://education.theiet.org/

Perhaps your son might like the tv show "Wheeler Dealers" (it's the mechanical equivalent of homes under the hammer where they buy a clapped out banger, fix it up and re-sell for a profit. You see Ed (a very competent mechanic) take things apart and out them back together again and explain what he is doing and why.

There is an annual "Engineering Open House" thing each year too. I can't remember when it runs, but lots of universities and engineering/tech firms open their doors to the public so you could see if there is anything near you running something you could go along to see.

https://www.greenpower.co.uk/greenpower-categories

Formula ‘Goblin’ is age 9-11 by the looks of it 😁

DC’s school take part in a national electric car competition. They basically build an electric car at school, then I think there is a day they all trundle off with their cars to a track and race them. Note I THINK this is what they do - neither have mine have shown any interest in it, but I’m told the kids who do it, love it. Looks like it’s secondary school only though which won’t help your DS at the moment, but maybe see if you can find anything similar?

www.schoolscience.co.uk/thegreenpowerchallenge