18 year old wants a motorbike

[Jackielaffertyiscold]

Does anyone here have a teenager with a motorbike/moped?

My 18 year old wants one, has no interest in a car and never has.

It terrifies me

He wants a scooter, he has passed his test already and has savings that he’s planning on using to get it with

He’s wanted one for years, there’s no discouraging him whatsoever

All you can do is make sure he has the best safety gear you can get. Armoured trousers and jacket to protect back, elbows, hips) proper biker boots and a good lid that fits properly bought locally from a quality bike shop so he can try it on.

The neighbour's 18 year old got a bike. 3 months later he rode into a skip on the roadside and now doesn't have the ability to wipe his nose.

I’m sorry, I’m another with a cautionary tale. My close friend’s nephew was killed on his seventeenth birthday riding the shiny new motorbike he’d just been given by his dad to spite his mum (bitter divorce).

His mum has been on suicide watch ever since.

I agree with getting the proper high safety standard equipment and that he wears it all (even in hot weather). My biker OH has been riding for 50 years and is horrified when he sees people in shorts/sandals etc - if they come off their skin will be peeled off and left on the road. Make sure he gets the best he can afford and get him to check the safety standards. You won't be able to stop him getting a scooter but you can make sure he's as safe as he can be - perhaps he'll be a fair-weather biker and can be encouraged into a car when the weather turns? Offer to help him with it financially if he does seem tempted! Oh, and he needs a full-face helmet.

Boots are less important on a scooter than on a motorbike.

If a motorbike falls on your leg, it can crash your leg and foot - because your legs and feet stand to the side of the motorbike.

Scooters tend to have some kind of footrest space dug inside the scooter itself, so, if you fall, the scooter is less likely to crush your foot with its weight. E.g. look at this picture of a Vespa: www.motorcyclenews.com/bike-reviews/piaggio/vespa-lx125/2005/

By the way, the UK has a population of ca. 64m people and only 1.2m motorcycles registered (including 125s and automatic scooters, regardless of size).

Yes, motorcycles are dangerous, but the fact that, every time someone brings up the topic there are so many people who know someone who got in serious if not deadly accidents, well, it kinda surprises me, it is statistically rather odd, in a country with so few motorcycles. I wouldn't be surprised if some of those stories were made up.

For example, in London in 2019 there were 31 deaths among motorcyclists. Yes, they are all indescribable tragedies, but you'd be forgiven for thinking that every single mumsnetter knew everyone of those 31 personally, from the tone of some of the messages.
content.tfl.gov.uk/casualties-in-greater-london-2019.pdf

Quoting death stats isn't helpful, they don't take into account the serious accidents which lead to lifelong disability. Decent boots and protection pads don't protect against head, neck and spinal injuries. Standards of driving on the roads are now adversely affected by them being overcrowded, drugs and increasing numbers of elderly drivers as result of an ageing population.

OP I would strongly dissuade him from getting one, not from fear of death, but the head/spinal injury side of things. I nursed quite a few bike injured people and I don't like them one bit. You don't really learn to fear them until you've seen the life ruining disability they can cause. Do you have anyone who can talk to him about it as children usually ignore their parents.

Urgh. I’m in the same situation and this thread hasn’t helped at all. He’s 18, pays board and is financially independent. Our relationship is good and we can always find a way through disagreements. On this though, he’s steadfast. Wanted one for years. While I am pretty robust, on this I am beside myself.

@Jackielaffertyiscold did your boy get the bike? This is an ancient thread that’s been reopened after four years. Just wondering.