My Son tells me he wants a moped.

[Taipan]

My Son turns 16 in february. A few of his mates have been coming round on their peds lately and now my Son tells me he wants to get one.

I've always been keen for him to get out of bikes what I do. But now the days here I'm full of mixed emotions. I'm really pleased he is going to get a ped and yet on the other hand I'm more than a tad scared for him.

TBH I think this may be down to Ms Taipans almost horror that he is going to take to the road on a bike as she is naturally worried about him. Although he is a sensible lad she keeps saying its not just him in the road though is it.

Been looking round for a cheap ped for a Xmas prezzie for him and the Mrs notcied me looking and has asked me not to get him one and wait to see if he feels the same come february. Hmmmm.

Anyone else got a kid who rides a bike. Was you nervous or just proud and pleased? Was your Mrs, or Mr, on side or against it?

[RiceBurner]

If his mates are on them, then he'll be on them with or without your approval.


Give him all the support you can, and he might just respect you enough to listen to any riding advice you give him then, instead of ignoring you and riding like a tit.

[Makman]

My little girl wants a pink Speed Triple... she has a long wait for that (she is 5). My son wants a Nissan Skyline R34 with turbos and tricked out suspension - he can pay for it.

Get the scooter and give him pre-CBT Training and reall drill the need for life savers etc.. into him. That is all you can really do. I would make sure it was "de-restricted" too, as being stuck to 30mph is rather dangerous! Good luck.

[Lostboy]

Yes I have and my advice to you would be "don't buy a ped, buy a proper 50cc bike".

Mine was keen on the whole ped thing so I said no, but if you ride a proper bike we'll then move along to a 125 and get your test done when you're 17. He now has car and bike licences and the vehicles to go with each (at 18!) and his driving instructor said he was one of the most competent pupils she'd ever had as he not only had road sense but knew about clutch control and understood gearing as well. Find yourself an old Suzi TS50 or Aprilia/Derbi etc. and go that route.

EDIT: OH, and make sure that they get lots of off-road, pre-CBT running around in as well. Makman's right, it's really valuable.

[Fraggle]

Your talking about a 50cc ped right?
If he was my kid I would want him on a 125. A top speed of thirty miles an hour is just too slow on some of the bigger roads.

Oh and i know that you will buy him a decent helmet and gloves and a jacket and maybe even some draggin jeans. You will proberbly even buy him a high viz waist coat and hope that he wears it, maybe he will on really dark roads (when his mates arn't looking).

Good luck and go out with him and try and improve his road craft.

[Bobzilla]

Wait til he's 17. As said, being stuck at 30mph is very dangerous IMHO. And derestricting it for him is very illegal, and will land him with no licence, no insurance, an invalid MOT and several offences to disclose to future employers. He won't thank you.

[Londongal76]

And make sure he's in full safety gear - if you ever see him with his strap undone, helmet up on his forehead, and without boots jacket and gloves make sure he knows that'll be the last he sees of it.

[DefTrap]

Originally Posted by RiceBurner

If his mates are on them, then he'll be on them with or without your approval.


Give him all the support you can, and he might just respect you enough to listen to any riding advice you give him then, instead of ignoring you and riding like a tit.

That's what I'd do. I'd also make it entirely clear that fecking about would be met with my disapproval.

A 16yo lad here was killed at the weekend, riding his ped at midnight w/o lights. A motorist rammed him from the rear and he went thru the windscreen, helmet came off because it wasn't done up.

[Taipan]

Oh he'd get training alright. He wouldn't be going anywhere on his own, even with a CBT, until i'd seen him demonstrate he can work out busy junctions etc.

He'd also know damn well that I'd take the bike off him if I caught him doing anything stupid on it. He also knows I'd help him in any way with a bike providing he rides it properly.

TBH he is a sensible lad and i dont think he's the knee down wheelieing kind. I'd more worry he'd bin it trying to keep up with his mates. Be a tough one on the safety gear though as I dont really use it. I bought him a crash helmet fairly recently as he has been on a few rides with me. The boy loves a road trip!

When he was a kid I bought hima Q50 and he took to it very naturally. We rode a bike from Sheffiled recently too and he is very good on the back of a bike. I've never had to instruct him to lean with me or hold his weight off me etc. Had a few "pecks" when braking but thats all.

I've just put an offer in on a bike and if I get it i'll start training him on it. I'll also take him out on the back of me so he can get some more road experiance albeit from a pillion POV.

£300 3rd party only for him. Not too bad I thought. I can't help thinking of how excited I was at getting my first ped. But I also remember our mate Chris being killed on his. Ahh the juxtaposition of parental pride and fear!

[a_morti]

My uncle got his son a brand new Peugeot scooter. He paid half, and his son had to pay half from working in my uncle's restaurant. He treats it as he should, it's a prize possession. Also because it was bought brand new he isn't daft enough to derestrict it as the warranty is then invalid. There was also subsidised insurance on it.

It's a good way to go, depending if your nipper has a way to earn.

[Helmet]

As previously said, I would get him something 'proper' with gears - scoots are just too easy to ride without care IMO and is why so many kids do

Get him an old fizzy or AP or something - he'll be safely in the back yard frustrated with it in bits at least half the time anyway

[mallett]

Originally Posted by Londongal76

if you ever see him with his strap undone, helmet up on his forehead, that'll be the last he sees of it.

Selective +1

And keep the fucking mirrors on.

[Screwdriver]

Another vote for an offroad/trailbike moped rather than a scoot. Along with a lot of offroading and general falling off on dirt.

Screwd.

[MyLittleStudPony]

Get the lad Kappa'd up and bezzing round on a sweet Speedfight.

Dopeheads on mopeds!

[Strider]

we bought my son his cbt/training as his 16th birthday present, rest of the family all chipped in to buy him a bike (Derbi GPR50 cos he wanted a geared bike) was nerve wracking first time he went out on it even though I was following him but then he's had worse injuries playing rugby than he has on a bike. Due to girlfriend and lack of money for both he has a car instead at the moment.