Good Idea or What Am I thinking?

At the start of next year, my son turns 8, and I would like to start going on rides with him. One big problem-his feet cannot touch the foot pegs. So, I would have to create brackets to raise the foot pegs. So, is this a good idea, or am I jumping the gun here?

When l was first a passenger, l sat on the gas tank and rested my feet on the valve cover of Dad's CB-750. I cherish those memories.

How mature is he? Does he comply well with commands and have a sufficient attention span?

I started my son riding at 8 because (i) he was big enough to reach the passenger pegs on my R11RT (which are considerably higher than the passenger pegs on an airhead RT); and (ii) I had confidence in his mental skills/attitude. I also had an intercom for constant communication.

Once you've decided whether or not he is "ready," the height of footpegs is incidental (as long as he can *solidly* reach them -- a minimum requirement to ensure he can control his lateral movement). Blocks or other means can be installed to obtain the desired height.

The real question is *he* ready (as opposed to you wanting him to be ready ).

BTW, watch out for sleeping -- kids have low endurance. For anything over a few minutes at a time, my son was positively locked in place by the trunk and armrests on my K12LT and by my back (filling the front gap between the armrest ends).

Is it even legal in your state? The whole child / booster seat thing would make me think that Youth & Child Welfare would knocking at your door for endangerment.

I'm not picking on CA or any other state, but I would first check local laws.

From what I've read, he must be able to reach the foot pegs. There is no minimum age. My son was born early and has been small ever since. As far a mental capacity goes, I think he would be OK on a short ride-half hour to an hour. I know that's not much, but it's enough--in my mind--for a beginning. He has also expressed interest in going with me, so this is not just dad trying to force something on his kid.

Mark, I agree with you about being "locked" in. When he is old enough, it's my intention to have some sort of backrest--whether it be just a backrest or part of a top case. I think that's important, especially at his age.

This link was provided on another forum, but it does provide some good insight.

https://www.ninjette.org/forums/showthread.php?t=210634

Model the best behavior!

From my experience with my father I know I learned a lot of behaviors from my father growing up. Some were careless and unsafe. I took me sometime and exposure to other ideas,examples and mentors to change my habits. When this question was posed a controversy in Canada was getting started. See link below.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2166199/w...otorcycle-in-calgary-raises-safety-questions/

Some of the best memories shared between me and my children are of their early rides on dad's motorcycle. Raise the pegs and go ride, the safety of you and your passenger will be determined far more by your thoughts and actions on the ride than on any specific piece of hardware you might buy. For younger riders, a harness is sometimes helpful if they tend to fall asleep but for an 8yr old I'd just make sure they have a backrest available, either a bona fide one or some luggage behind them. Examples of harnesses include http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com/motorcycle/Kids Harness but there are many others available via google or amazon.

But do raise those pegs--it's important for a passenger to be able to stabilize themselves on a footrest.

Best,

DG

Check out Tourtec for peg risers.