As some of you know I bought my son a 00' XR100 for his first bike. My son is ten years old and can only reach the ground on his very tippy toes while sitting on the bike. I thought this was a good size for him since kids grow so fast. Pluss I wanted to get him use to a "real" clutch at the very begining.

The first time I took him out was in the desert in the sand. I figured if he can ride deep sand he can ride anything, pluss there is nothing to hit out there He learned how to let the clutch out, the feel of the bike in first gear, how to bail / lay it over, front brake, and rear brake. He can't start the bike at all. He is a little small to do it. So the first day was me running after him just learning 1st gear and stopping. He did pretty well....

The second time I took him back out to the desert. I wanted him to learn how to change gears and get a tad bit faster. He needed to be faster because of the sand. I took him to a wide open area the size of three football fields put together to learn to change gears. I ran with him as he learned to change gears, he was doing okay...... The he started to go faster, once he did this he started to get a lot better. I jumped on my bike and we rode circles in that field for a couple of hours. He would down shift into second in the corners, put his foot out, complete the corner and change gears to third in the straight away. He did real well.

This past Saturday I took him back to the dunes to ride trails. We got there early and no one was around so it was great timing. We rode up and down the main road a few times to get him use to the bike again. Then we found a 2 mile trail that does a cicrle. We would start at the truck and end at the truck. The trail is all sand with a lot of whoops. We went pretty slow the first time around. He dumped it a few times getting use to the way the bike handled. Then he started to go a little faster (3rd gear) he was doing much better! He was standing, head was up, elbows were up, he looked like he has been doing this for a long time He was going over the whoops with his butt over the rear fender, then thowing his body into a sitting position in the corners. He was doing real well. Then I decided to let him lead while I watched from behind.... That is where I made my mistake He started to go faster and faster, his little 100 was up in the air and out of control! He was doing pretty well until he went around a corner, the whoop threw his bike sideways, when he hit the other whoop it was all over!!! He went over the bars head first and into the sand!!! Once I got off my bike he was still laying there not moving. He was out! He woke up and then started to scream!!!! He wasn't really hurt but very scared! He didn't know what happened to him. His mouth was full of sand, and his nose was plugged with sand. He started to cry a little bit then he saw his bike........ He started to whale like a 2 year old!!!!! His bars were bent, and the hand guard was broken. I think he was more upset that his bike wasn't all new and pretty looking then anything else. I told him not to worry about it, now it's time to get some better bars. He got back on the bike and was off over those whoops again.

I'm proud of him being this is his third time on a bike and all. But I'm also scared that he will get hurt. I'm just glad mom wasn't around!!!!! We got back to the truck, sat there for a second, then he looks at me and asks where there might be a jump that he can try..... I looked at him and said, let's load up and save that for next time.

Sorry for the long post, I just wanted to share my story....

ah.....maybe let him learn on hard land, sand is not so good... glad hes ok, my 1st crash i got in a rut with gravel when i was 6 and fliped a PW80 busted it up bad and was left with no skin o my arms and hand palms....

I think all of us dads have been there, some worse than others, we learn & pray...I have 2 boys that race the third does not even ride,he's been to the hospital too many times with his older brothers.

In my opinion you rushed him, sand was the last thing you should of taught him on, when I taught my son this summer we rode on a dry lake bed for a week before we went on any trails. Sand is hard for some experienced riders let alone learning on it.

"He went over the bars head first and into the sand!!! Once I got off my bike he was still laying there not moving. He was out! He woke up and then started to scream!!!! "

Top, if he was out, you need to take him to the doc for a check-out. Even if he seems fine, the doc needs to check him over. LOC (loss of consciousness) is not a good thing, and the doc needs to be sure that there is no internal bleeding or other things that can happen with a moderate head injury.

It sounds like your son is having a good time overall. I agree with the others who say that sand is pretty challenging for a beginner. It has the advantage that you mention about being pretty soft to fall in. But there's also something to be said for giving a beginner some nice easy trails to get the feel for the bike.

Enjoy the rides with your son. I love riding with berkeboy!

Well I guess "Live and learn" When I was a kid that was all I rode on. Learned on it and still ride it. I thought that I should do the same with him. I didn't know any better and we're parents, we will ALL make mistakes. Thanks for the replies though......

As long as your son had all the protective gear on you have done your job. Everyone crashes. My son and friend went down on different turns this saturday past. My son hit his right forearm so hard the plastic armguard cracked in half down the middle. All he got was a scrape on his forearm. The other boy washed out two laps later, scrape above his kneeguard and torn jeans. I cleaned up the wounds and they went right back to riding. My son practicing on small kicker jumps and the other boy doing laps.

I would advise though, that if your boy was knocked out that should have been watched very closely. I would have called it a day.

Glad he was okay. Hes a true dirt biker..more worried about the equipment he rides. He will grow up and take care of it all.

He's a real rider now. i remember my first wreck. it was my first time out so we went to a local jeep spot so i could ride on some logging roads while i started learning to shift and just all around ride the bike. i was horrible at clutching and where we were parked was frozen mud i stalled the bike 3 or 4 times then my dad told me to rev the bike up a little more. i reved it up alot more and popped the clutch did my first wheely for about 10 feet then ended up sliding on my side. didnt break anything though.

my first crash was pretty lame. my dad owns a shop and next to it is a huggggggggge field. it has like 8 baseball fields and such. well theres a little bump next to it, so i was flying trying to jump it, and i only got my front wheel off the ground. next comes stopping: for the speed i was going, there wasnt much room to stop! so i was going like 4th or 5th gear on my rt 100, and i have to turn around. well i figured out that i couldnt come to a stop and start again in 4th or 5th. so i dump the bike, whoops

Thanks for all the replies, he checks out to be 100% He wants to go again as soon as possible. That's my boy!

Wow... Glad your little guy is ok. That would have scared me more than him if I were in that situation.

I got my kid on tape in a pretty bad looking crash, but he was unscathed in it. I don't know what I'd do if he got hurt.

If you want a laugh, check it out. Remember, he was ok. Nothing more than a few light bruises.



Btw, the video is also hopelessly over-edited. I was playing with the software.

I went thru a whole bunch of crashes with my son who is now 19 and races intermediate MX. I was always glad for his crashes. I felt that each one was a learning experience and I was there to assist if needed. Each one taught him something that would help him later when I might not be there. Tough love I guess but it must have worked because he rides circles around me now and dosent seem to crash much.

ovrrdrive said:

Great clip! That looks like a great place to take a kid to ride too......

Glad to hear your son was OK. I have a fearless 4 year old...very big 4 year old at 3'6" and 70 lbs. I started teaching him to ride on his DS50... We went to a nice ATV park and unloaded his quad. They have a nice flat dirt track that we started going around. I was teaching him to slow down in the corners...etc. Basically teaching him the right way to ride, safely. We get done and start back down the pits to load up and go home and there is the DNR officer..."Can't ride double in Iowa on a quad"...No problem I said, was just teaching my son and he is ready to now ride one on his own, would you like to enjoy the moment with me? The DNR officer next asked me how old he was..."You have be 12 or older to ride alone on and ATV." OK...now tell me how this makes sense? You try to do the right thing, buying a machine the proper size, teaching them how to ride safely...etc...then they tell you, nope, have to wait until they are 12. OK, by the time my son is 12 he is going to be 6 foot tall and 200lbs... Now would you give your kids the keys to the car when it's time for then to learn how to drive and say go ahead, I'll be in the car behind you? Just another example of how greenies screw with our laws... Anyway didn't mean to steal your thread, it's good to see another parent trying to teach their kids the right way to ride. It's a great feeling to see them ride on their own for the first time... For those of you wondering why he is on a quad instead of a PW 50...he's too big for them and the 65 bikes are too much for him right now...Maybe next year I'll transition him over to the bike. Be like his dad then and enjoy both sports.

ovrrdrive said:

Nice video, but where is the protective gear? Long sleeved shirt, chest protector, gloves, etc?

later, docgonzo

Sorry, he has the gloves. How about decent foot protection?

get a neck collar for him. The helmet will snap his neck like a twig.