My little girl wants to ride

[splatt]

The last time my family went camping I heard the thing that I had been wanting to hear from my little girl for a while."Daddy I want to ride the motorcycle by myself". She saw her cousins that are her age riding my oldest nephew's XR50 and wanted to do it too. I feel that she's not quite ready but when she is I'll help her the best I can. She might even show the boys up.

Steve

 

[High Lord Gomer]

Cool! I would make her wait and want it a bit more. I got one too soon for one of the kids and, since it was always there, he was never very interested. I think having to wait and/or work for it stimulates the interest.

 

[TheGrinch]

Cool.

 

[firecracker22]

:cool:

 

[nephron]

We should get together Splatt. My daughter's 2 and wants to ride the KX500 alone. ;) They say little girls have more sense than boys...yeah, right. More ballz, maybe. Mine's nuts with serious brain biochem abnormalities--will try to jump down the stairs if you're not looking (on occasion).

I don't know. We'll give it a year and start her on the KDX50. How old is your daughter, Steve?

 

[1350CFM]

That's cool, It was a great feeling watching my son ride for the first time at 5yrs old. If I can add a nugget of wisdom....I believe your better off skipping the training wheels(on the dirtbike). It's my opinion that if your child doesn't have the skills to ride their bicycle without training wheels they don't have the mental capacity nor the skills to ride a dirtbike. If they REALLY want to ride a dirt bike they will learn to ride their bicycle without training wheels REAL FAST!

 

[gwcrim]

My daughter's 2 and wants to ride the KX500 alone.

Heh... I told my 7 yr old boy that he can ride the 500 when he can start it.

My 4 yr old daughter doesn't have too much interest in riding herself. But she loves for daddy to ride her around. I figure once she learns to ride a bicycle, she can try the mini if she wants.

Then there's my 15 month old boy. He already sits on the bikes and goes 'vrooom vroooom'. I can see trouble a comin' with him.

 

[XRpredator]

Pred2 has almost outgrown his TTR90 already, so it will be ready for Buttercup in the next year or so. I thought hard about getting her an XR/CRF50 (there was a helluva buy at the local shop), but I decided she needs to master her bicycle first. Plus, like Gomer said, I'd like to make her want it just a little more.

Then maybe if she gets riding momma will want a bike for herself . . . :)

 

[bbbom]

Both of my kids were able to ride their bicycles without training wheels before I put them on the bikes.

My son started at 4 1/2 and my daughter at 5. The boy had the 74MR50 so he had to learn the clutch too but it didn't faze him. Actually, I think starting out with the clutch helped him. My daughter got rid of the training wheels when she was 5 so that's when we found her a bike. We went with the auto for her though because she was smaller, not as strong and not as "into it" as my son.

We got tired of dealing with the LEM, great bike for a track but useless on trails with hills so we dumped it and brought out the MR - she had to learn the clutch. I feel that for trails, the earlier they learn to use the clutch the better. Karl's daughter has been on PW's since she was 5 or so and now at age 11 anything big enough for her has a clutch - she was really frustrated until she got it figured out.

We have to work harder to keep the girls motivated to ride. We always take along snacks for a trailside picnic and we are full of encouragement. We also make sure to have help available, either one of us or my son or one of his buddies that seem to join us quite often at any possible tough spot. They usually don't need the help but they know we are there if they do.

The girls are quite competitive and like to "race" through the trails. Sometimes it's pretty scary for us sweep riders watching them battle it out but they seem to do fine (so far).

One thing to keep in mind, when they are little, they don't always remember brakes and such! My daughter took off while I was starting Karl's daughter's bike and as she picked up speed on the hill, heading for her brother on his bike and Karl yelling "brakes, brakes BRAKES" all she could do was say "aaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" a run into her brother's bike - she forgot where the brakes were!

So always go over ALL the controls the first several outings!

gwcrim, you might be surprised - my 11yo wanted to ride Karl's AF and we told him he could if he could start it (he is 5'2" and 110 lbs) he fired it up and took off! :ohmy:

It did give him a bit more respect for the bike though - a bit more power than his 80!

 

[splatt]

Nephron my daughter will be five in a couple of weeks. Until this year she would ride around camp with someone if they asked but this year she was the one doing the asking and she wanted to ride on everything we had. Right now she's not able to ride her bicycle without training wheels and her brothers PW80 is a bit too big for her for now anyways. But when she is ready she can ride all she wants then I have to get the wife on a bike. Thats going to be the hard part :yikes:

Steve

 

[nephron]

Splatt--get your wife an E start TTR125. I did, and now we ride together (as much as possible). She'll love it, because it's obviously easy to start and restart hot and has very little power. Soft suspension, etc.

As far as the girl is concerned, keep in mind that girls develop, oh...I suppose you could say 'neuromuscularly' faster with advanced coordination in that age range. My 2 y/o has been jumping on the tramp for about 8 months, can catch a mod sized rubber ball from about 8 feet, etc. My son trips over his feet looking at them. Too bad we condition women in our society not to develop that potential. Wasn't there a study a while ago suggesting women have markedly better hand-eye coordination when tested in a fighter jet apparatus?

 

[jcramin]

I got my daughter an XR50 with training wheels for her 3rd birthday last November along with a full set of gear and she was riding that day in the yard fallowing my directions on turning and using the gas.

If they can fallow directions and understand how to make it go and stop I think its fine to let your child start to ride no matter what age.

 

[firecracker22]

You have no idea how jealous I am of your daughter(s). I didn't really learn until 21--I had a Trail 70 as a kid, but I think my father took me out on it maybe twice. The rest of the time we just rode circles through the pasture, and nobody ever sat down and gave me any instruction after the very first time. He didn't want to spend the time to help me learn and so I didn't stick with it.

 

[jcramin]

I had a trail 70 when I was little too but we lived at the end of a street with nothing but woods around us so I rode all day every day I could untill I was about 13 then I stopped riding till about 4 years ago when I was 35. Now my wife and my 2 sons ages 9 and 12 ride along with my 3 year old daughter. Its awsome having the whole family invoved in somethin we all like. and its just increadable to see the smiling faces of the kids.

 

[bbbom]

Too bad we condition women in our society not to develop that potential.

(Sorry to hijack your thread Splatt but the idea that women can't, won't, shouldn't..................ride, or do other "boy" things, really bugs me! It also bugs me that men can't won't shouldn't...................do "girl" things).

As far as the female perspective I think it's getting better with more girls getting involved in sports and more women involved in what would be considered "male" sports, activities & careers.

Unfortunately, the majority of the women we see portrayed as "model women" in the media are far from athletic or even real. My 9 yo is a very athletic, strong beautiful smart little girl but she tells me she's fat - she's not fat, she isn't stick skinny, she does have muscle but she doesn't like it because everywhere you look you see the ideal woman as a skinny weak helpless beauty queen.

With some of the women such as Gabriella Reece, the Williams sisters, and other successful female athletes finally being given media coverage (although still not as much coverage as the all important swimsuit models, not talking coverage in the sense of covered up here) hopefully the image of strong, independant, confident women will become more acceptable.

Fortunately for me I grew up surrounded by girls & women that were athletic and not afraid to enjoy it - I still play lunchtime basketball with the guys and I just turned 40 (I'm smart enough to stay out of the rebound moshpit with guys 20 - 50 lbs heavier than me). I worry about my daughter though because she is a natural athlete and she loves competition but she also listens to her little friends who don't like sports and don't want to do "boy things".

She loves to dirtbike but I see the influence of her friend's and their parents there too "you let your little girl ride AND RACE dirtbikes?" Next thing I know she doesn't want to ride because none of her friends do. So far we've been lucky to find other families with kids and even girls that ride. It also helps when my son's friends tell her how cool it is that she rides and then they bring up their little sister's to ride.

For the last couple years I was the only woman and the only mom really involved in our dirtbike club. At our Annual Kid's Ride the only girl's were our two and me. I am happy to see that now there are 3 or 4 mom's at our club meetings, one mom volunteered to host the last Kid's Ride and there were a fews mom's and girls riding at it (we didn't make it due to soccer).

I think they figured, hey, if SHE is doing it and having fun I need to give it a try! I am absolutely elated that everywhere I look there are more women doing the things that I do - construction, dirtbikes, sports, everything. And the cool thing is I also see dad's doing "mom things" - field trips, class parties, caring for the kids!

So, what does this have to do with YOUR little girl (and even your wife) and riding? Give her the confidence to step out of the mainstream thinking that there are boy activities and girl activities (do the same for your boy if you have one). Let them have the confidence that they CAN do whatever it is they want to do even if it isn't dirtbiking!

Back to our regularly scheduled thread:

Help your daughter get the hang of the bicycle without training wheels then find her a nice easy little bike remind her where all the controls are and let her rip! Do the same for momma, in fact bring them both over for Father's Day and they can see a bunch of other little girls and momma's riding and having a blast! :yeehaw:

 

[gwcrim]

My lil' gal of 4 says that dirtbikes are boy things. I keep telling her that anyone can ride. I sure hope she takes it up.

But I ain't going on any field trips..... :)

 

[bbbom]

But I ain't going on any field trips..... :)

Yep, sure thing - we'll check back with you in a few years crim and see how you hold up on THAT one! :nener:

 

[dirty~d~]

That's great news Steve. :yeehaw: My father used to cringe everytime I said "Dad, guess what I want to try?"

So what did you have in mind for her? A pink CR500? :)

 

[splatt]

So what did you have in mind for her? A pink CR500? :)

She likes pink but I don't think she can quite reach the pegs yet.
She's kind of funny her cousins on my side of the family are all boys with her being the only girl. On my wife's side there is only two boys and a boat load of girls. Around the boys she can be as rough and tumble as the rest of them but around the girls she is as girly as it gets. In fact a couple of weeks ago she about knocked her 9 year old brother out hitting him in the head with a rock.
Nephron-- The TTR125 is to small for her she's 6' tall I was thinking a TTR225.
bbbom--no apology nessesary I agree with what you said my 20 year old niece plays softball for EWE was on SPU's rowing team played all sorts of "boy" type sports in high school and her 13 year old sister is also into all kinds of sport as well and neither one of them fits the female jock stereotype

Steve

 

[firecracker22]

TTR225! Don't do that to her! Yes it may be the right height and have electric start (overrated, anyway) but it is SOO heavy it will crush her if she falls. Do a survey in the women's section--or hold tight until I get my project done--and see how many had TTR225s, and how many kept them very long.

An XR200 is a slightly better choice. At 6' she could ride damn near anything. KDX might be a good bike too. If she really starts, let her talk to me!

Good points Bbbom. I too get tired of the bikini model stereotype. I always hear stuff like "Her arms are too big, it's gross" or "She's manly" when I hear guys talking about female athletes. No matter how good you do, you are still judged by your appearance. And with the VERY contradictory ideals of tiny skinny waists and huge breasts, women are damaging their physical AND mental health to attain these ideals! Women's sports, both motor and otherwise, are gaining momentum, but it's not enough.

 

[XRpredator]

. . . have electric start (overrated, anyway)

hey, there ain't nothin' wrong with electric start!

Splatt: you may just stick with the big TTR125 or maybe a CRF150, because even though she is tall, newbie chicks like being able to touch flat footed with both feet. I know this because momma, who I guess is fairly tall for a girl at 5'9", was not a fan of the seat height on the Earth Pig XR400. Of course, I didn't notice because I was able to touch fine, with my ogrenomics.

Also, e-start for a noob is a good plan, but it does spoil them. ;)

 

[jcramin]

My wife is 5 foot tall and she rides a DRX125L and she now wants an Electric start CRF230. She can only touch one foot on the ground at the time but she said with electric start thats all she needs.

 

[splatt]

XR-She can touch flat footed on my YZ250 but that is way too much bike for her right now. As far for electric start I want that myself.

Steve