[vgreid]

My daughter just turned 21 and bought herself a 2011 Kaw Ninja 250 with 1,000 miles on it. Just starting out, will take the MSF class next weekend. Her bf rides a Suz Savage and a Gixxer 600. Between my bro's Yam, these bikes and my two, we will have a full garage this summer ... looking forward to some warmer weather and good riding times!

For her bday, I picked her up a new riding jacket and signed up both of us for a Ride Like a Pro course in a few weeks. I thought that would be a good way to help her develop good skills, and I am sure it will be good for me too. In the meantime, we will get some practice under her belt, need to get 1,000 miles before the RLAP course. I'll be spending a lot of time talking about defensive driving, hoping that she understands just how invisible she will be. We are dressing the bike up in pink to match her helmet and new jacket to help with visibility.

Any suggestions on what else I should do to help her start riding safely?

Here she is with her new ride (she is just a passenger for now). She is really excited (and I have to admit, so am I)!

 

[Leathel]

My daughter did her first to and from an event solo ride, I have been traveling with her mostly

One thing I wish I had was intercom to give her tips on the go....

If you can when she hits the road give her a lead rider and tail rider to give her the lines to run and a backstop to keep tailgate drivers of her rear tires, She will be more comfortable that way

I am pleased with how my daughter has picked things up.... Just needs more wind riding experience and needs a bit more speed at times.

We have had to park her bike once due to winds and she went pillion once, better that than let her wind herself up and get scared of riding, went back later to pick it up

 

[ryzenshyne]

Nothing better than a woman who rides!

 

[tmoldovan]

Nothing better than a woman who rides!

Psst, that's OPs daughter...

 

[smilie]

My daughter just turned 21 and bought herself a 2011 Kaw Ninja 250 with 1,000 miles on it. Just starting out, will take the MSF class next weekend. Her bf rides a Suz Savage and a Gixxer 600. Between my bro's Yam, these bikes and my two, we will have a full garage this summer ... looking forward to some warmer weather and good riding times!

For her bday, I picked her up a new riding jacket and signed up both of us for a Ride Like a Pro course in a few weeks. I thought that would be a good way to help her develop good skills, and I am sure it will be good for me too. In the meantime, we will get some practice under her belt, need to get 1,000 miles before the RLAP course. I'll be spending a lot of time talking about defensive driving, hoping that she understands just how invisible she will be. We are dressing the bike up in pink to match her helmet and new jacket to help with visibility.

Any suggestions on what else I should do to help her start riding safely?

Here she is with her new ride (she is just a passenger for now). She is really excited (and I have to admit, so am I)!

Good for you, and for her. Keep her safe. Knowing what I do, I don't know how I'd react if my soon to be 20yr old daughter wanted a bike. Probably not an issue i'll have to address anytime soon, as I've not yet been able to convince her to even ride pillion with me. Happy riding to the both of you!

 

[Harryc]

Dude, that's your baby. My advice is to attend 'all' of the MSF classes with her and ride with her as much as possible for at least the first year. There are many of them...not saying to take them all, but as many as you think are necessary. (basic and advanced at a minimum) Encourage the BF to do the same. You want to promote a safe riding environment. MSF Students

 

[Scuba77]

The riding class if it has a great instructor will teach her well.
Let her practice and ask you questions. If you are there all the time she may become intimidated or...

With the Ninja 250 she will need to use a lot more RPMs to get the bike going vs a VTwin i.e. do not shift under 5k RPMs to keep from possibly stalling. 60mph in top gear is about 7000 rpms just to give a heads up.

 

[vgreid]

Thanks, I plan on spending a lot of time with them getting her some practice. I really like the idea about having a lead and a tail rider to give her some space from traffic.

Yeah, I rode the Ninja and it needs to rev! Very different from the Shadow and XC. It's very light though, should be a good starter bike. Still, she will use the MSF bikes at her class next week.

 

[swifty2014]

Start her with the idea of calculating her next move. Having a cushion.
If that cager pulls over now where do I go?
And I was very surprised here in Wa. state when i took my MSF class that the # 1 accident situation here is on curves. Other places = other danger zones.

 

[SWOCS]

The lady is 21 and it sounds like she is doing al the right things. My question to you is; what kind of a rider is her bf? That's the person she'll probably be riding with a lot more than you. As you've already seen, that little Ninja is a fun bile to learn on. Look out for the GXXR though, they can scream, even the 600's. You've already did what you're supposed to do. She's going to her classes, you bought her a nice riding jacket, all that's left is getting some road time with her. Nothing beats experience and time on the road. You might want to consider buying her a Bluetooth communication system, not to give her direction or instructions, I think that would make a ride suck, but to increase her fun and make it a little easier on you when you are riding in front. Worse part about riding with your kid is when you are in front, you are spending more time looking in the mirrors or turning around than paying attention to what you should be doing. A helmet Bluetooth alleviates a lot of those problems.
Hope she enjoys that bike, I'll be interested to hear what she will want to upgrade to given the variety of bikes she'll be around.

 

[jkustomz28]

thats great man. glad you two share something like that

 

[Mark-B]

Hey Vaughn, been a while.. .. Man, they grow up so quick! Don't they?? ...You must be proud, excited and little nervous too, I bet, but sure is nice to see your daughter get 2 new wheels under her..

You being her Dad, I'm sure, there will be no better teacher as far as making sure she has all she needs in equiptment and advice to get down that road safely.. Gonna be nice to have your Baby-Girl to acompany you on a stretch or two, too, every now and again..

Don't think I can add anything that hasn't already crossed your mind.. But just wanted to wish you and your family, all the best!

 

[80130]

I remember how proud I was when my son started riding. But, then he got 'scared' on some corners, and nearly got hit by cars in that lane, and dumped the bike a couple times. Be prepared for that 'sphincter factor' moment when it happens, and it probably will. The thing that got my wife REAL comfortable with her bike, and LOVING to ride was to take a windey, twisty road. Don't have to go fast, but it helped her 'learn' how the bike handles all the turns, and get her more comfortable doing it. My son took a little longer, but just took a bit more 'practice' for him, though now he's doing fine. Just the two of you riding together will be one of the happiest times I think you'll have together.

 

[SWOCS]

It's funny how different people learn different ways. With my daughter it was the opposite. Long straight roads is what got her comfortable on a bike, both dirt and street. We'd find good straight roads and go forever. That allowed her to get comfortable on the bike and get a feel for it. We eased in curves and traffic gradually. She can handle her own in any type of situation on the road, she just isn't that big of a fan of street bikes, but she can outride me in the dirt just about any day of the week.

 

[tflessner]

My eldest son learned to ride on a Ninja 250, fun little bike and excellent "learner" bike. I was going to get him a Rebel, but he said he was more of a "Sportbike" guy? He moved up to an R6, and now an R1. He's an excellent rider, but still worry about him on the faster bike now!!

My youngest learned to ride a VLX 600, and now has an 1,100 Spirit.

Riding MC is definitely a fun family activity.

Have fun and ride safe.

 

[vgreid]

Thanks for the suggestions and thoughts guys, going to be a fun and safe summer (I hope!). This will be a great reward for what was a crazy busy fall and winter, just getting my head above water again now.

She did the safety class this weekend and passed the endorsement test on the first try, she seems to be picking it up well, and this is her first time on a bike, besides being pillion.

So, when she got home, the first thing she wanted to do was go for a ride together. So, here we are, heading out for our inaugural ride. We kept it in the neighborhood for now, will work on more experience and work our way up. By this time in the evening, it was back in the 30's, so probably just as well. In case you didn't figure it out, I'm the ugly one

Someone asked about her bf riding's style, he is on a Gixxer. From what I have seen, he is a tame and responsible person, and has actually helped calm her down. I am talking to him though about the risk of taking her beyond her skill level, and he gets it. At some point, all you can do is just hope you have taught them well (gulp!).

Oh, and the Shadow will be coming out of storage next week. Battery was toast ... original since 2006, new one was just delivered. So, the stable is already full, now gotta find room for 3!

 

[Harryc]

Very nice Vaughn, looks like your family had a banner day. God speed to your daughter and to you.

 

[Mark-B]

Haha.. .. Cool! ... Stick a couple of HIDs in that Ninja and they'll see her coming from space

 

[vgreid]

Just a follow up that my daughter and I recently did the Ride Like A Pro class and we thought it was great. We BOTH learned a lot. Actually, the eye opener for me was that if the skill of everyone that took the class is indicative of your typical rider on the street, we all need to be working on our skills!

The improvement of everyone was incredible throughout the day. Basically focused on slow speed skills and safety, lots of friction zone work, slalom, u-turn boxes, tear drops, clover leafs, until you can put it all together to walk through the course. Everyone found it challenging, but by the end of the course everyone had a enough of a handle that we could complete the entire course in a single file.

My daughter did great, enjoyed the class and fit right in with the bigger bikes. Here are a few pics.

Emergency braking and evasive action

Look to turn

Cone Weave

All together now

Small group made it very personable with lots of individual coaching

 

[KCochran]

Glad that you and your daughter are having fun and learning together. That is what it's all about.