Fighting the fight

I am in a constant state of "trying to convince my parents to let me have a motorcycle". But I think I've finally found a way to make it happen. I pitched the idea to my mom last night as she seemed like she would put legitimate thought to it, which is a big step. My idea is that I would essentially build / restore a bike from the ground up before I ride it. I pitched this idea in the hopes that it could demonstrate my genuine love and interest for the mechanical side of bikes, not just that they are cool as hell. In an ideal world this plan works and I am now tasked with building a bike. Essentially what is the cheapest and easiest to work on?

Any UJM that you find cool.

Personally I would sell it as you found the best more reliable bike you can on Craigslist from a owner who always did dealer service. Work and make the money yourself. Remember gear is going can cost just as much as the bike, you don't have a 50$ head so don;t buy a 50$ helmet. Take the MSF as well and if you have friends that track low power 250cc get some time off the street with them as well.

FYI Bikes DO NOT tolerate hack work, in a car you roll to the edge of the road in your big cage when something fails. On a bike in a corner you go over the handlebars. You really need to be on the ball to rebuild one correctly and they do not tolerate modifications to trail and rake and still ride well IMO.

I can understand where your parents are coming from. I have both family and friends who have had catastrophic injuries on motorcycles, and my mother-in-law is a nurse and has seen all manner of bike carnage come through her ER, so I've had to promise not to get a bike until my kids are grown.

Would it be easier to get your parents to let you start off with a dirt bike that you could learn to ride on but stay off the streets?

In reply to nderwater:

That was what I was going to suggest. I learned on a dirt bike. I transitioned to riding that same bike on the street a few months later. Get a dirt bike that you can make street legal. It will be fine on anything other than the interstate. Look for Yamaha XTs, Suzuki DR (and DRZ but likely too expensive), and anything with lights from Honda. Keep the CCs under 400 and you should be fine. Also, single cylinder bikes are hands down the simplest to work on. UJMs (old Japanese bikes) are great but they can still be a pain to work on with multiple cylinders and OLD electronics.

As mentioned. If you have $1500 to spend, plan to use at least $300-$400 on good equipment. You need good boots (really preferably riding boots), gloves, a real riding coat, and a QUALITY helmet. Clearance stuff from good brands is perfectly fine.

That's more or less kind of what I unintentionally did. A few years worth of watching me wrench on hopeless project bikes before I had something that was actually functional and street legal seemed to help acclimate my parents to the idea.

Buy something that is pretty well functional as is but maybe needs some cosmetic work. That's my advice, having made many poor purchases during my college days. Japanese is highly preferable, the fewer cylinders the better. And get something common that they made metric E36 M3 tons of. Waiting months for the one part you need for your poor orphan bike to show up on eBay, only to overpay for what is essentially now scrap metal, sucks.

Also, what wearymicrobe said about maintenance. You need to treat the bike like an aircraft mechanic would a plane, zero tolerance for anything but perfect. The consequences of a small failure are much greater on two wheels.

Did you take the MSF course yet?

In reply to clutchsmoke:

I'm currently trying to find dates that work

In reply to nderwater:

The only problem with a dirt-bike is that I've got nowhere to ride it

edit: I could probably work something out with my friends, a ton of them have family "farms"

Haha!

I'm looking in to doing the same thing for my wife to be comfortable with me riding. I really love the idea of building a naked Goldwing. It's relatively cheap buy-in and after lots of work and customization how can she possibly go against me riding it?

Gotta watch doing that. My dad used to bring home things for me to tear apart or stuff already tore apart so I can figure out how they worked. One thing he brought home was an old motocross motorcycle with most of it in milk crates. Really. This was early 70's (yeah, I'm old) and the project was a 68 Montesa 250 Diablo. Almost had it back together and running when it disappeared while I was in school. Thinking back on it, probably a good thing. Worn out motocross tires, no front brakes, no fenders. Was an accident waiting to happen. He then got me a 1956 Mustang, sort of like a Cushman. When he found out what I used as a speedometer I got a real motorcycle with a speedometer, Suzuki TS185 enduro. If nylon jacket puffed, about 25-mph. Jacket fluttered - 35. Tearing eyes meant about 45-50.

Good luck.

I'd say Honda but the hold their value better than the other 3 Japanese bikes. A KDX would be a good option. Anything you get will have a carb. Also, dual sport tires aren't cheap. As said, don't go cheap on equipment or parts. And keep it small. A light, nimble bike will be the best. Heck, you'll be surprised how fast a 125 dirt bike can go.

Don't fool yourself - motorcycles are extremely dangerous mixed in with car traffic. I understand wanting one and won't discourage you from it as they're a ton of fun but even managed with safety gear the risks of injury or death are way worse than in even the worst car. Motorcycles are involved in something like six times the number of fatal accidents compared to cars.

(13 fatal accidents per 100,000 cars vs 72 fatal accidents per 100,000 motorcycles in 2006 http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/810990.PDF)

Motorcycles are dangerous. Only people who don't want to die some other way should ride them.

In reply to Huckleberry:

Everyone dies, but not everyone dies young.

Remember, it's better to be shot out of a cannon, rather than squeezed out of a tube.

In reply to NoPermitNeeded:

We've had this conversation before...

I am going to try to not go "old man" on you. All I can say, is that if my kids were in a "constant state" of "trying to convince me" to let them have something I didn't want them to have, I'd get pretty frustrated.

I've been a 15 year old young man. I did have a motorcycle at that time, but I was hospitalized for it. I am very fortunate to be alive, and I sure have a lot of scars as reminders.

I know it's hard, but you will feel a lot better if you chill out a bit. Learn about mechanics and road safety with a vehicle your parents can approve. Don't force them to be the enemy all the time. Develop patience.

You won't regret it.

There are thousands of cool vehicles that your parents could be supportive of you having. Don't pressure them. Give them some time. Go autocrossing, or rallycrossing in a car with seat belts. Prove you have the skills to handle a vehicle safely. Make it easy for them to support you.

OK ,you said you have not taken the motorcycle safety course.

Do you have a driver's permit? Are you enrolled in Driver's Ed?

Alabama doesn't permit 15 year olds to drive a car (exception- if they have a permit and are enrolled in driver's ed). Minimum age for a motorcycle is 16 (15 year olds can drive a motor driven cycle- under 5 hp).

So, help me understand... you said you can't ride off-road. Are you asking to drive on the roads?

Your parents would have a heck of a lot easier time supporting you if they were able to be in the vehicle with you (in accordance with AL law).

In reply to SVreX:

I have my permit and am taking driver's ed in school. If I'm going somewhere with my parents it's me who's driving. Their main issue with the motorcycle is safety which is a battle that I can't really win. I haven't taken a motorcycle safety course because I can't find any dates that work.

In reply to NoPermitNeeded:

That's good.

You still gotta give them some space, and time. Show them you are responsible before pushing for something they are not ready for.

Have you done any controlled performance driving? Autocross? Rallycross? Performance driving school? Have they ridden with you?

Be patient. You've got a lot of time in front of you.

In reply to SVreX:

I would love to find someplace where I could do some stuff like AutoX or RallyX but I can't find anywhere in the area. Our local SCCA branch lost its locations.

https://bham.craigslist.org/mcy/5820301289.html

I found a friend who would let me take it out to his family's farm and ride, once it's built of course. What do y'all think about this?

In reply to NoPermitNeeded: Not too far north there is an active chapter and club with autocross and rallycross. A lot of the folks from around there come up to Huntsville.

In reply to wlkelley3:

That's awesome, what's the name of it?

In reply to NoPermitNeeded: The SCCA chapter is Tennessee Valley Region (TVR). The affiliated local club is Twickenham Auto Club (TAC). Check out teamtac.org. SCCA rules. If you're a minor (<18), need minor waiver w/parent signature.

Agree to purchase and pay for a life insurance policy naming them as the beneficiaries.