First of all, I have had a number of motorcycles:
1971: 71 Yamaha 100 Enduro (sold in 79)
1982: 81 Honda 500 Enduro (sold in 83)
1983: 83 Honda VF750F Interceptor -the first of the racing bikes (traded in)
1984: 84 HD FXST - This I still have, the gas tank which I designed is my avatar.
1989: 79 HD FLH -restored (sold in 99)
1989: xx Yamaha 400 - thrown away in 90 when I wrecked on it.
1989: xx Hasquvarna 360 - given away after wrecking on the Yamaha
2000: 00 RoadKing (sold in 03)
2006: 05 Buell Blast bought for the kid who's 16 now.
2006: 06 HD VRSC-R my first ever impulse purchase the tag was only 13,495.
Here's some background from where I'm coming from:

I have only had one bike since 03. I loved the RoadKing manners, but I'm not a bagger kind of guy. I had to sell it because I took a paycut in the airline business.

I bought the Buell on Ebay. It came with only 135 miles and since it was right next door to me, I paid Kelly bluebook for it. The idea of the Blast was a light bike with not a lot of horsepower the kid could ride for a couple of years with me (and only me - no solo riding and no riding with any friends without me). I wanted a bike that wouldn't get him in too much trouble too fast. I wanted a bike that would turn and stop, and the Blast turns well, and stops even better.

So far, the kid's put about 750 miles on it. He likes riding it a lot. He likes riding behind the Softail better than the Street Rod because he knows if I take a corner on the Softail, he can do it. The Street Rod is such a great turning bike that I take corners too fast on it for his level of feeling comfortable. He's just getting the hang of leaning through the turns and on our last ride was proud of himself for keeping the throttle on constantly in the turns. He's only leaning the bike about 10 degrees - 15 max and it should do at least 25 degrees on the lousy roads we have here (the book says 30 degrees before it scrapes something).

The only problem with him riding behing the Softail is that he never gets to hear his bike. (I'm running a thunderhead 2 into 1 exhaust.) This isn't a problem with the Street Rod because I'm keeping that bike stock - completely stock - I've chased my tail long enough on the Softail to know that once you start modifying a bike there is no end to it so buy what you want and live with it.

What the kid really wants is the jap look with the Harley sound. He grew up around my bikes and wants to ride and while he was scared of my straight pipes as a wee little tyke, he loves that sound now. He wants to go fast and likes the new look of the jap stuff. He isn't interested in the Sportster line which I thought might be his next bike. Right now we're both really impressed with the Buell Firebolt.

However on the Blast, he's already too big for it. He's got a two-hour butt and complains about the seat (which came with the lower edition). I ride the bike around town on my errands because it gets great gas mileage and I don't worry about overheating that little engine when there's only one cylinder and it's right up front. When I do ride it, I can appreciate how delicate it feels and remind myself to take it easy on the back roads we ride.

Now here is my dilemna:

Do I slug it out with a bike that's really too small for him for this riding season and upgrade next year to the Buell XB9R or toss it in now?

If I get the Firebolt now, I can ride the Street Rod and he can know he can more than do every turn I can do.

Or is the Firebolt too much bike for a kid who's only got a month of riding in?

I would say it's too much bike for someone with only that much experience. I have ridden a blast and that thing is so light weight that it can be tossed around. It is also much more forgiving with the gearing and you can get it to crawl. Like you said the kid is not 100% comfortable with cornering yet.

You are taking a chance. He might be completely fine on it, or he might get in trouble. You never know. If you want to be on the safer side, then keep the blast for another season. If not, then go with the firebolt.

Only you can know for sure if he's mature enough to keep himself out of trouble with the Firebolt. That's a lot of power for someone with only a months riding under his belt.

xb9r and firebolt i think are bad choices for a younger rider. way too powerful.

I'd stick it out with the Blast for another season. As you know, he's still got a lot more learning to do. I bet he'll really appreciate the Firebolt when he gets it then.

He just wants the Firebolt so he looks kewl in front of all his friends, the blast isn't kewl enough for kids, but sometimes you have to start at the bottom to work your way up, instead of the other way around.

Sorry kid if you want it that bad, you would work your a$$ off to prove it's the real deal.

Thanks for the comments. I let the kid read through the thread too, but he doesn't want to put his 2 cents in. He did crack a big smile on Xllent01's "kewl" comments so I think we found the source for why he's not totally pleased with the Blast: it's not a grown-up bike.

Still, he needs to start out small and while I worry about him riding on the road with a "little" 500cc bike, I rode all over the Philippines on that Honda 500 which is pretty much the same thing. We're planning some road trips and while I'd like to have him on a more competent bike, the opinions you all have expressed are right on: he's not ready for it yet.

So I guess I'm jumping the gun a little bit. But I really like the Firebolt having been smoked by one through the turns while I was on my Softail a couple of years back. I'm happy with the Street Rod in that sense because now I can stop and turn too. As a matter of fact, when I got back on the old Softail, I thought I had missed the brake pedal the first time I went to slow down a bit.

I think the solution lies in getting the stock seat back on and giving him a little more padding, changing the bars around, and getting rid of the Mickey Mouse ears mirrors. In that regard, the bars aren't your typical one inch variety - does anyone have a good solution that'll give it a more cafe racer look and feel? I was thinking a set of drag bars would get him hunched over a little better for that crouch rocket riding style.

I think the solution lies in getting the stock seat back on and giving him a little more padding, changing the bars around, and getting rid of the Mickey Mouse ears mirrors. In that regard, the bars aren't your typical one inch variety - does anyone have a good solution that'll give it a more cafe racer look and feel? I was thinking a set of drag bars would get him hunched over a little better for that crouch rocket riding style.


On the money. I'll also say that he sin't exactly ready for a big Buell. I test rode a Fire bolt after I had been riding my XL1200R for a few thousand miles - more bike than the blast and a lot more miles than he's got under him, and that Firebolt was an ANIMAL. If you're not used to riding a true sport bike, the handleing can kill you - it turns so much differntly than a cruiser, and I' sure different than a Blast as well. And the power is just retarded. You're talkning getting on a bike that weighs about the same as what he has now, completly changing the riding position, and damn near TRIPLING the horsepower. Not a good combination for a new rider.

Now, to answer your questions...

There are a lot of things out there for his bike. The mirrors are awful... hit a local bicycle shop for some cheap but effectinve barebd mirrors. The brand I have are "Mirrorcycle", and I think I paied $15 for the pair. This is a popular add-on for the buell guys - they're small and low, but still have a curved lense for good visibility.

As for the bars, 1" is only rin of the mill for us HD riding - the entire sportbike world runs the 7/8" bars that Buell has, and there are a not of things out for him. There's a style in particular that really mimicks where a clip-on would sit, but a little higher.

http://www.bellacorse.com/images/bcc039.jpg

These are the 1" kind (edman is running them on his Sportster), but I have seem the same bend on Ebay in a 7/8" size for a lot less money, so start there. I have the "M-Bars" on my bike which are essentially the same thing, just a hair higher, and the riding posiion is much better for turning. I think he'll bennefit a lot from them.

xl1200r:

Thanks, that's a great idea. I looked on Ebay and found a couple of sets of drag bars, but going out in the garage and looking at the Blast, I can see they're not going to work with the tank and lock-to-lock movement.

The M bars might work because they move the hand grips forward, but I don't see any in sight for now on Ebay in 7/8ths of an inch (I mic'd the Buell bars at .882 inches).

I think I can modify a bar to do what I want if I can find someone who can bend bar symmetrically. I need 10 inches of spread across the attach points to clear the fork tubes and about a 4 inch "rise" to get the grips in front so they don't interfere with your tank or knees when turning and a good 120-130 degrees of bend back to get the grips on a comfortable clip-on angle.

If you sit on the bike and just extend your hands over the current grip location so your forearm is resting on them, this puts your hands a little above the turn signals. This should make for a more aggressive riding stance and give the kid some more feeling of control, especially if I increase the overall width from 27 inches to 28.

Any one come up with any good solutions to the handlebars that they like?

Another idea that is done a lot it just turn the bars upsidedown. Doesn't cost a thing and take almost no time, and if you don't like it you can always put it back.

I don't think you'll find the M-bars in 7/8", you'll have to do the Ace bars (what I pictured above)...Let me see if there are any right now...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Motorcycle-handlebars-clubman-cb750-cafe-racer-bars-cb_W0QQitemZ4637617639QQcategoryZ35587QQrdZ1QQcmdZ ViewItem

Try those. You'll want to mount them upside down according to that picture in order to get them to sit like the ones on the Triumph I posted earlier. The ones on ebay aren't quite as agressive as the ones i showed you before, but I think they should work in the same way.

Trust me, going from a very wide and tall bar to what I have now, it will be a totally different bike for him.

the bike have no competence, people do. I would have your son ride that bike until he can outride the bike, then cautiously move on to the next echelon. Many wrecks dont involve other cars/bikes, many are just the bike outrunning the rider, or the bike capable of more than the rider is.

.....I worry about him riding on the road with a "little" 500cc bike, I.....
When I started riding, I rode my Buell Blast for 1600 miles in a couple of months. Sometimes on the highway at 85mph.

Hauling my 250 carcass all over Missouri.

It is pretty peppy.

(Remember, back in the 1970s, 500cc was a good-sized bike.0

Sounds like your son hasn't taken the Beginning Riders Course.

If not, try the one at the H-D dealer - they use the Blast and he'll be very confident with his bike.

I agree on too much bike for the little guy. But hell, go out and get him and s1 lightning and find someone that has done an 883 to 1200 conversion with new parts, put the 883 top end on the bike and the ignition ( hampering the power) tell him he can have the top end when he turns 18 or proves that he can ride responsibly with the power he has.

He will be happy with the bike ( hell I want one they look mean as all hell) but you will have taken away enough power to keep him out of some of the trouble the rest of us have found ourselves in, while learning how to ride.

He would be the only kid on the block with an 883 s1 lightning too i bet ;)

Yeah, it really sounds like he has not done the MSF course. If you haven't, it might be a fun thing for you guys to do on a weekend together. From what I have heard it even helps experienced guys a lot, and will get your son more comfortable going through corners.

Having had a blast for a while, and my father still has one.... Some other thoughts.
The stock "boat anchor" exhaust sucks for both power and weight. He could change that one (keep an eye on ebay for one of the aftermarket v/h or kerker exhausts) They are louder, but will add some power without going to the full extent for the first year of riding.

Chack out badweb.com as well for some handlebar ideas, a lot of the guys there have done the whole cafe thing, and have pics posted. I ran a set of lower sportbike bars on mine with some aftermarket mirrors (cheap emgo stiff...but I would not reccomend the ones I had...they flopped after about 400 miles)

The taller seat has more foam in it, or add foam/gel pad to the one you have. There is much debate on the Corbin and Seargent seats for these as to which is better for the long run... But a Gel pad worked good for me on 400 mile rides.

On to the rider 750 mile and a month is not much...taking the MSF or riders' edge course certainly will not hurt anything, and can be a big help. The R.E. runs on Blasts...so that might be worth it. The Blast was one of the best turning bikes I ever had, scraped the pegs regularly... and with even the stock dunlop tires, it will hold the road. It sounds like your son is not yet ready to movr up until he gets comfortable on this bike.

Oh yeah...FWIW, I regularly rode mine over the mountain passes at 75mph, my father rider his as a commuter 30+miles a day at 75...his is stock and gets 65MPG regularly (mine was modified...so did not to that good) So it is certainly enough bike to get you where you need to go until adding a passenger. Which is why I got the sportster when my son got old enough to ride pillion.

Mav

Thanks guys, and I agree on all counts.

About the bars: I found a Bikemaster clubman bars that might fit. They have a 4.8 inch center which will fit the triple tree clamps and move forward and down with a 6 inch pull back to give the right downward angle. Turning the existing bars upside down might work too.

About the MSF course: I took the course in the eighties in the Philippines (Clark Air Base - USAF) and it was great. I have the kid signed up for a class that starts May 31st. At this one, they use a Honda street bike of some sort even though they run it out of the Harley dealership here. When I went to get the Blast inspected, the dealership guys said the Buell was actually a better bike for a beginner so I feel comfortable with my gut instinct with the Blast.

About cornering: we went out in the country and found a good flat hill top stretch with a normally "bad" corner. It was a good 70 degrees of turn on not so great pavement. The road was one of the typically poor back roads here and had no paint whatsoever. (A nicer road will have a yellow centerline and good roads have yellow and white paint. Pennsylvania doesn't spend much on their roads in York county.)

There was a good 1/2 mile run up to the turn in either direction and plenty of visibility up and down the road with no obstructions along the road because there were just farmer's fields on both sides. The speed limit on this road was 35 and there was no special signage on this particular turn.

We ran up and down that corner for over ten miles. I took the Blast through at a normal 35 turning right on the inside of the curve, and came back at 37. This was not all that comfortable, but it could be done. I did it in second gear and noted the engine sound. I then instructed the kid to do the same because I just "proved" it could be done and had him do it in second as well. (That way I could hear if he was doing the speed.)

After he did that, I upped the speed - 37 on the inside and 39 on the outside which he repeated. I then did 39/41. It took him a couple of times to go through at that speed. It really was not all that comfortable on the little bike.

Next I had him go in at 35 and hit just the back brake to 30 while in the turn. Then I had him go in at 35 and use both brakes in the turn to 25. Finally I had him go in the turn at 35, brake hard with both to 20 and pitch the bike from each lane's respective outside tire track to the inside tire track simulating him going into a turn that was tighter than his speed would allow.

After going through all that and a lecture about putting your butt on the bike and then making sure you put your butt where you want it (a lesson they drummed into me in USAF basic flight school), he's done a bit better.

I'm still teaching him panic stops and slow racing but haven't gotten him to a full brake application yet. I'm not so sure the Blast won't do a nose stand - that brake on the front is very strong - and I don't want him doing a face plant on the pavement even though I have him in an Arai helmet and Joe Rocket jacket and gloves.

Yeah, I get nervous taking the kid out on the street. He's always in my rear view mirror and we're using a whole set of hand and foot signals like we used in the Philippines to run the formation and pass information - but there's dog gone little I can actually do for him if he gets in trouble so I gotta be really careful what I do - he's still not got his situational awareness up to where it's got to be - that's where the upcoming course might help.

Thanks folks.

Found this stuff for bars and pegs, might be interesting:

http://www.crossroadsperformance.com/ecommerce/os/catalog/index.php?cPath=25

Also...
I'm still teaching him panic stops and slow racing but haven't gotten him to a full brake application yet. I'm not so sure the Blast won't do a nose stand - that brake on the front is very strong - and I don't want him doing a face plant on the pavement even though I have him in an Arai helmet and Joe Rocket jacket and gloves.


That brake might be strong enough for it, but those teeny weeny 35mm would make me a little nervous if that ass end started to come up!

I put City-X bars and hanguarrds on my Blast.
If my wife hadn't taken it over from me, I would have added banke rearsets......

Sounds like you are doing a great job teaching him the ropes. It is a little scary seeing him behind you knowing if he gets into trouble theres nothing you can do. The lessons you are giving him will see him through.

My wife rides a Blast with Crossroads rearsets on it and lower than stock bars. It works very nicely and it handles nice. next step is to give it a bit more power. She really loves her bike and she is very small(5' and 105 lbs) so a bigger Buell is too big for her. So we at NRHS are going to take it from its current 30hp to around 45hp soon! Should be fun in a 350 lb bike.

Take a look in American Iron Magazine's May issue. They hopped up the Blast with a new A/C and exhaust and it really improved the sound and response. I would go with something like this, a set of bars and mirrors (maybe a better seat) and let him run that for a year or so (after the driving course).

Once he's doing wheelies frontward and backward on the thing without ANY handling issues, that might be when he's ready to move up --- Provided YOU say he is............. :wonderlan :wonderlan :wonderlan

I bought my 10 year old son a pocket bike and he's scared sh:censorless of it so far. It's ok with me, I've got time too....

Good Luck

Once he's doing wheelies frontward and backward on the thing without ANY handling issues, that might be when he's ready to move up
So this thing will do nose stands?! I'm not even up for that just yet.

The Firebolt will be a lot more, so you're right; I'll let him do all his tricks on this one first.

We took a look at reversing the bars and came upon the predrilled hole to fit the controls - okay. I didn't get the left-hand control off because it seems to go under the very tight hand grip. I have a two-day trip to go out on tomorrow and I'll mess with it later.

xl1200r: The website with the Buell modification is nice, but at $200 is kind of pricey. I might go with the Bikemaster clubman bars if reversing is awkward or not right.

Exhaust can and air cleaners are the way to go, and I'll check out the magazine this week but seat, bars, and mirrors have to come first. If I'm going too fast for him, I just slow down. I can smoke him anytime I want, but that's not how I ride with friends and family, so I don't usually out-accelerate him either. But in a month or two, he'll be ready for some more power. He'll need to get through the MSF course first though.

Thanks for the comments. I let the kid read through the thread too, but he doesn't want to put his 2 cents in. He did crack a big smile on Xllent01's "kewl" comments so I think we found the source for why he's not totally pleased with the Blast: it's not a grown-up bike.



That's too funny:banana See i know how your kid feels, i once was in his shoes but came up thru the ranks racing Moto-x and did alot of street riding when i turned 16, my dream bike was the Ducati 750 Paso pictured below, which was one of they baddest sport bikes ever made back in the late 80's, but had to go with the Yamaha 400 special that i bought as my 1st street bike from a good friend, wasn't as good but i was rolling on 2 wheels at 16 for the most part. Then 1.5 yrs later i bought a new FZR 600 and forgot about the Ducati. So many yrs later and a dozen or more bikes that i have owned everything will work out for those who work hard and have the patience to wait, good things will come to them in the most part and i hope your son will understand that for the most part. Cause i was that same boy with the same ambitions in life.:tour You are doing the right thing by teaching him to ride and not be afraid of bikes in general, and he will look back on it one day and say thanks.

BTW- me and my dad still laugh to this day about all the fun we had racing and riding bikes over the years, sad thing is he don't ride no more , but i continue the legacy for him and will teach my kids the same.

http://ducatipaso.org/albums/750paso/751249_1.jpg

I guess I'm with the majority here. Trick out the Blast with taller seat, bars, pipe, and A/C. That should give him room to grow, both size and performance wise.

:tour

with all the aftermarket parts for the blast theres no need to buy another bike. for hp you can swap exhaust and air filters and then get a nrhs kit for some real gain. the taller seat will be more comfortable. there are tons of 7/8 inch bars out there, check out flanders http://www.sideroadcycles.com/ImportedMotorcycles/ImportHandlebars/ImportHandlebars78.html my wife has a blast that she is learning on and i ride on occasion. its a fun bike to ride, my only complaint is the dead spot in the powerband, but i have heard a new exhaust and air cleaner will fix that. the last thing a kid needs is a bike that will got 150 mph. the flanders site gives you the stock handlebar measurements, so with all the bars they offer, im sure you can find something

Ed in AZ,

You got the right idea. I'll be ordering stuff this week when I get back from my trip to San Diego. I'm a little frustrated getting what I want and learning a whole new way to put together a bike, but in the end, I'm riding this little puppy too - at least around town, so it's got to be functional.

J Duffy,

Thanks for the link. I checked out the Clubman bars there, but the one thing I didn't like was the lack of knurling to make sure the triple tree bar clamps grab on. I'm also not sure about tank clearance.

I think I'm just going to have to bite on the Crossroads Performance bars. They look good and I know they'll fit just seeing the picture.

The flanders style is nice and kind of like my mid-bucks on my Softail, but what we're looking for here is more for the younger set and you know how kids are... it's all about style.

you dont have to get the one that says for buell, all those 7/8 bars will work as long as they clear everything. like i said check the measurements page http://www.sideroadcycles.com/ImportedMotorcycles/ImportHandlebars/StockBars78.html

Captain, can I be your son too?

Captain, can I be your son too?
LOL

No, but if you come down to Lake Moraine when I'm over visiting the family my kid sister will have more than enough beer for the both of us.

My wife rides a Blast with Crossroads rearsets on it and lower than stock bars. It works very nicely and it handles nice. next step is to give it a bit more power. She really loves her bike and she is very small(5' and 105 lbs) so a bigger Buell is too big for her. So we at NRHS are going to take it from its current 30hp to around 45hp soon! Should be fun in a 350 lb bike.
Maybe I should see what you can do for my wife's Blast........
It is stock, right now. She waffles between wanting a Low Rider that we cannot afford and wanting to keep the Blast which is easy for her to handle.

http://www.dustyjacket.com/mc/mary.jpg

Hi Captin.

If you want to get a Bike for your son that he can handle well, a 883 sportster would be a far better Idea then a Buell Firebolt.

As a Father of two Boys(Men now, ones 22 the other is 17) Neither ride, nor will I let them.
The 22 year old has 0 interest in riding, he has a permit to drive, but prefers the bus and MAX train.
The 17 year old has some interest, but does not feel comfortable drive a car right now, let alone the bike.
I feel that they need to have more experience with traffic and gettin' the hang of driving before the get on a street bike.
God forbid that they make an error and get into a accident, in a car they will have a far better chance of coming home.

It is the cold reality, the gorilla in the room we all know and see, but try not to talk about.

Well, that is my two cents....I wish you the best.

Get a set of bars designed to fit a Buell X1. Thats what is on my wifes and they are perfect.

my son is turning 16 in august, he wants the Blast, and he'll keep it till I feel he can handle more. he isnt going out solo till i feel he's ready,he won't ride at night. these are the same rules my parents gave me to live by. he'll ride with me. He's got a good head on his shoulders and not pushing the idea of a bigger bike for at least 4 years.id like to see several thousand miles under his belt as well.Theres also the riding courses, after the beginer he'll take the next 1 up, he's seen first hand what happens when a car hits a bike, and the damage it dose to ones body. Back in 03 i was hit by an illegal with no liecnce. he saw the broken bones rode rash ect,and most of all the permanant damage done to me. I believe new riders stay new riders for at least 5 years, with bikes its not always the riders fault when an accedent happens. he's logged thousands of miles on the back of my bikes, and i see he's getting the instnk that all bikers must have. Good luck to your son, I hope he keeps his head on striaght and has many many happy and safe miles !My son is my biggest and best invesment i will ever have, and im going to protect that investment as long as possable !!!!! Its not always the bigger the bike the better, its what ever u have and feel comfortable ridding.

If you want to get a Bike for your son that he can handle well, a 883 sportster would be a far better Idea then a Buell Firebolt.
I liked the idea of putting him on an 883. In fact, I thought a great bike for him to have would be an old iron-head 900 so he'd have to learn to work on it because if you have one you have to work on it to keep it running.

I originally wanted to start him on a dirt bike like I started out on. That way, he could do all the crazy stuff we did as kids and at least know how to slide a bike through loose stuff, wheelie it, jump stuff, and I'd even teach him how to do a controlled lay down in some nice grassy field.

He didn't complain when I was showing him the Suzuki 400, but when I got the Buell, he was bragging to all his friends about the neat bike he got. It turns out he didn't want the Suzy at all, but he wasn't going to tell me he wouldn't take it. Beggars can't be choosey.

But the rub is what he wants. He's probably going to get a bike as an adult, and I'd rather have him want to ride whatever bike I'll provide. Right now, he likes the idea of a Buell because it has that Harley sound, but the Jap styling. Plus, I'm going to ride whatever I get as my "fun" bike. In that regard, I'd have more fun on a Firebolt than an 883.

I respect your wishes to keep your sons off the bikes for now. I know two people that have prosthetic legs. I hope to teach my son how to ride so when he does ride on his own, he knows how to ride as safely as possible. I know he has listened to me harp on motorcyclists all his life because he credits all my instruction with him getting through five questions on the Pennsylvania motorcycle test.

In the respect of being safe while doing something dangerous, flying and riding are a lot alike. Both have to "lean" in the turns and both have to use "see and avoid" in order to reach a safe destination. In that regard, I have always said that there is Romulan Cloaking Device hidden in every motorcycle and all you have to do to turn it on is throw your leg over the saddle. I know it's working because every motorist who's hit a biker always says they never saw him.

So I'd rather teach him to ride as he's learning to drive because on a bike you have be so much more careful than when you're in a cage. He's learning pretty quickly that the old man always hits his brakes when a car comes up to an intersection ahead of me because I don't want to get hit like a couple of my friends were and have the nickname of Lucky or Peg Leg for the rest of my life.

(Edit in this and the next post because I keep mixing up the Firebolt with the Lightening)

Its not always the bigger the bike the better, its what ever u have and feel comfortable ridding.
I couldn't agree more.

The one thing we're looking at is ability to "hang" with me. In order to ride like I'd like to ride, the Firebolt will handle every corner the Street Rod can do with more margin for error. I also think being bigger, it'll be a better long distance road bike for the out-and-back road trips I want to do.

If it were a matter of letting him go on an XB9R, I'd be a fool to set him loose in the world on one. But the fact is he is tied strictly to me.

If he's on the Firebolt behind me, he's not going to be doing full throttle accelerations because that's not how I ride. I don't abuse my stuff with every twist of the wrist like I've seen some of my riding buddies do. Nor is he going to be exceeding the speed limit by leaps and bounds. Nor will we be charging turns like we’re on a race track. It’s a public road, and there are limits and dangers involved in pushing it to the edge because the road is not meant for racing.

Putting him on a more capable bike is more about keeping him comfortable. He actually likes riding behind me when I'm on my old Softail because he knows he can more than do any turn I take on the twisty back roads we tend to ride. So later on, to keep up with me on the Street Rod, we definitely see a day when he'll be on his Harley crotch rocket.

But he and I both agree, as has everyone else that has chimed in, that that day is not going to be coming this year.

Sounds like he is learning well.....

I have a few years before my son gets to ride street, and he'll be on a 500 (ish) to start as well. As far as the Blast "hanging"....My father still rides his 30 miles a day at 75MPH to work. If it'll hang with freeway traffic....It'll hang with him learning.....

I can see though wanting to change the bars and mirrors....I hated mine as well :)

Mav

I started out on dirtbikes, 250 Harleys (talk about diffrent) and various others. first street bike actually was my Sporty but when it was stock man that thing was a dog, not it will run with most sport bikes. Man too bad my paint wont be ready for the forum ride. Cant wait to see the fairing in Pearl.

LOL my god capain u soud like me ! My son want an xb9 or whatever in the future, I said wwell mabe u geet an 883, his reponse, It looks like "old" ppls bike !He really likes the buels because there made in USA and have a familly tree with harley, he likens the buels to young ppls sport bikes. alot of ppl here and on other boards think the riders of the future should wait till there older. I started out at an earlly age, and im glad i did, im supporting him fully, and yes he listens listens to me harp on safty all the time. ur a cool dad captian.

LOL my god capain u soud like me !
Thanks, my kid has a picture of the XB12R on his website as "his" bike.

I wouldn't mind making it "my" bike...