What's the best way to teach my 9yo how to ride?

[f4iguy]

Ok so I bought him the XR80 with the manual gearbox. He has ridden a 50 automatic a couple times before. I was thinking of just starting him out going in a straight line between point A and point B, then the same thing with a shift in the middle. Then setting up cones in a circle or slalom.

Any ideas? He can be hard to teach sometime, hopefully he'll take to this quick so we can hit the trails together.

 

[Patman]

Find and open field (lots of people tend to fixate on objects they don't want to hit and then hit them because you go where your looking). If it's grassy be sure it's not wet. Personally I'd work on very short stop and start manuvers first so he gets the hang of what is required to stop properly if he gets nervous or in a jam. Then work on the turning. I think the last thing would be the shifting. Bike control is much more important than being able to increase your speed by shifting.

My 9 year old is currently moving up as well. He's been riding since he was 4 1/2 so we've got the control thing covered. He rode my trials bike a couple weeks ago and has pretty much got the hang of the clutch (just got to remember to keep it in when stopped and NOT have a death grip on the front brake). Biggest thing is keep it FUN and if you start getting upset with his progress just take a break or you won't have somebody that wants to ride with ya' because they're afraid of getting ya' upset if they make a mistake. :D

 

[dell30rb]

When I got my Xr80 i just started out in the driveway. Clutch control will come in time. How is the traning going?

 

[JWW]

Not sure of your location but I took my son out to EL Mirage.

As far as shifting and clutch control I would put the bike on a stand and have him shift through the gears. Ohhh I would do this with the engine off.

Not sure if this is a good idea or not but maybe with the bike on the stand, start it up and let him engage the clutch a few times. Again I dont know if this is a good idea since the bike might catch something and take off.

Luckily my son jumped right on and took off. You never know your boy might surprise and adapt right away.

Good luck
Jeff

 

[Jaybird]

If you bought your Honda new, then get out the paperwork and read it. They usually include a booklet that covers everything you should know about starting a kid riding. It even includes a section that asks the kid to sign signifying he understands and agrees to his/her responsibilities.

Be prepared to do your part as well. Your first mission is to make 100% certain your child is mature and mentally able to handle the responsibility. Some kids are ready faster than others and forcing something on one who isn't ready can be much worse than waiting.

Good luck, and BE SAFE!

 

[JWW]

Excellent advice Jaybird

 

[stangale]

Besides the most basic things - always keep it fun and never bawl him out if he's slow or when he crashes....
1st. Show him one control at a time - tell him about it and have him tell you about it so you know he knows. (For instance, show him the front brake lever, master cylinder, brakeline, caliper, pads, disc and explain their roles -then have him show it to you.
If you don't do this - then when you say "Let the clutch out slowly." how is he supposed to know what a "clutch" is or does or where it is or how it works? How will he ever get comfortable with all the elements of riding without understanding and doing each one individually?
2nd. Have him play, mess around, push the bike around, lube chain, put air in the tires, bounce on it, etc. WITHOUT the motor running.
Let him get real familiar with the thing.
3rd. Go to a very big wide open area with no obstacles. Give him a push and have him stop using just the front brake until he can do it smoothly. Do the same for the rear. Then do the same using both.
4th. Push him and have him stop with more precision ("See if you can stop smoothly with your front wheel on that big leaf over there.") Do these steps as quickly as he can smoothly and easily do them. If it takes 5 minutes, fine. If it takes 10 hours, he may not be the next Ricky Carmichael. (Joke.)
5th. Push him aound with the engine running but in neutral. Make sure he's not going to accidently grab a handfull of throttle when he's trying to turn or/and slow down. Do it until you both know he can do it easily.
6th. Demonstrate and narrate pulling in the clutch, putting it in 1st, letting out the clutch slowly while applying a little throttle etc. patiently and repeatedly. Show him how to do it wrong i.e. popping the clutch/making it stall. Then demo starting off in 1st, getting going, pulling in the clutch, using the brakes to make a full stop.
7th. Have him do what you just did until he can do it easily and smoothly. Don't mix him up with shifting gears yet. Don't send out to do a triple!
8th. Actually do this first but start applying it now. Get Gary Semics book and if you want to get it all - get his videos too. (GSMSX.com) Read "How to use this book" and start him on the chapter "Body Position" and proceed onward.
When you read this book you'll learn stuff you never knew that anyone could know! You'll be much faster/ safer and so will your boy.
Best,
Stan Gale
Los Angeles

 

[sfc crash]

bring him to DW '02,when i got out on the track,take him over where he can see me ride..and say"ok son,now watch this guy ride,and do the exactl opposite":aj:

 

[CAL]

Originally posted by stangale
Besides the most basic things - always keep it fun and never bawl him out if he's slow or when he crashes....
1st. Show him one control at a time - tell him about it and have him tell you about it so you know he knows. (For instance, show him the front brake lever, master cylinder, brakeline, caliper, pads, disc and explain their roles -then have him show it to you.
If you don't do this - then when you say "Let the clutch out slowly." how is he supposed to know what a "clutch" is or does or where it is or how it works? How will he ever get comfortable with all the elements of riding without understanding and doing each one individually?
2nd. Have him play, mess around, push the bike around, lube chain, put air in the tires, bounce on it, etc. WITHOUT the motor running.
Let him get real familiar with the thing.
3rd. Go to a very big wide open area with no obstacles. Give him a push and have him stop using just the front brake until he can do it smoothly. Do the same for the rear. Then do the same using both.
4th. Push him and have him stop with more precision ("See if you can stop smoothly with your front wheel on that big leaf over there.") Do these steps as quickly as he can smoothly and easily do them. If it takes 5 minutes, fine. If it takes 10 hours, he may not be the next Ricky Carmichael. (Joke.)
5th. Push him aound with the engine running but in neutral. Make sure he's not going to accidently grab a handfull of throttle when he's trying to turn or/and slow down. Do it until you both know he can do it easily.
6th. Demonstrate and narrate pulling in the clutch, putting it in 1st, letting out the clutch slowly while applying a little throttle etc. patiently and repeatedly. Show him how to do it wrong i.e. popping the clutch/making it stall. Then demo starting off in 1st, getting going, pulling in the clutch, using the brakes to make a full stop.
7th. Have him do what you just did until he can do it easily and smoothly. Don't mix him up with shifting gears yet. Don't send out to do a triple!
8th. Actually do this first but start applying it now. Get Gary Semics book and if you want to get it all - get his videos too. (GSMSX.com) Read "How to use this book" and start him on the chapter "Body Position" and proceed onward.
When you read this book you'll learn stuff you never knew that anyone could know! You'll be much faster/ safer and so will your boy.
Best,
Stan Gale
Los Angeles

Good tips. I just taught my two brother in laws how to ride Sunday afternoon. They are 11 and 13 and have never sat on a dirtbike, but have ridden auto 4 wheelers. I started with explaining what the clutch was and what it did. I then showed them how to start the bike. After that they had to start the bike any time they killed it. Then did some "do's" and "don't's" demonstrations. I then made them do some drills. Like taking off and stopping 20 times in a row...so they could get the feel of the clutch and coming to a stop. Then had them follow me around and do what ever I did. If I sped up...they sped up. If I stopped...they stopped. If I stood up...they stood up. After letting them get a little used to the clutch, I started working on body positioning. We then had to stop and go to church, but we are going to continue with it this weekend if the weather is good. We did all of this in an open field and on my little GP track. I had just as much fun as they did...and got to see a few wipe outs as well. Susprisingly enough, they both got up from crashes and were ready to take right back off.

 

[homey]

When I was about 5 years old I would ride on my dad's gas tank and hold onto the handlebars. I was able to see how to shift, when to shift and how to stop. My dad could tell me when I should stand up and what to do in certain situations. I found this to be helpful when I got my first bike (XR75) when I was 6. I think it is an excellent was to get the feel of a motorcycle.

 

[HiG4s]

Some of the things I stressed when I taught my son was, when ever you feel like putting your feet down instead stand up, only put your feet down when you stop. And the bike is not important if you are going to fall, don't worry about the bike we can fix it later.

 

[TransAm77]

When I learned to ride (about 9 years ago, on a 1979 Suzuki As50), my dad had gone over all the controls with me, and told me what and what not to do with them. He would walk along side of me while I idled along in first gear, making sure I didn't fall, or grab the front brake whille turning, etc... After he was confident (and I was too), that I had the hang of it, he would let me ride around the yard by myself while he sat on the patio and watched. When he taught me how to shift, he explained when to upshift and when to downshift, and the use of the clutch. Basicly he walked me through the whole process. I have tought my friend and my cousin to ride using this method (both on an old '75 Elsinore 250), they are now getting ready to purchase their own bikes. The thing I tried to stress the most was safety...like always wear a helmet, etc.

 

[Jeff Gilbert]

Here's the way I tought my daughter

She made the move to a KX60 from a KTM50.

The 1st thing I did was to adjust the front brake so it would not lock up the front wheel, she likes the front brake a lot. Next I adjusted the clutch lever so she had to pull almost all the way in and let it out very little, this kept her short little fingers from slipping off the lever.

After explaining what all the controls were, starting on a slight incline I taught her to use the clutch by putting her feet down and let the clutch out slowly while giving some gas. As soon as the bike started to move she was to pull the clutch back in. We repeated this drill 10 times.

Next we let the clutch out just enough but not letting go of the lever so she had to walk her feet along while sitting on the bike for a few steps. As soon as she had gone a few steps she pulled in the clutch and stopped.

After that we worked on stops, 10 to be precise. The drill was to go a few feet in 1st gear and stop as fast and smooth as she could without killing the motor.

It did take a while for her to begin to shift up and down but starting and stopping was never a problem. After she did get to the point where she was shifting she would haul butt. One day I was behind her while she was flying down this dirt road coming up real fast on a hard 110 degree left turn, I was thinking "this is gonna be bad!" As she started the turn she realized she wasn't going to make it and there was a barbed wire fence starring her in the face. Her butt came off the seat and she was in full attack mode with the elbows up and weighting the front wheel, clutch in and both brakes on. She stopped about an inch from the wire fence, man was I glad she pain attention to her riding lessons.:aj: