Bike apprenticeships?

So? All part of the learning experience.

Why ever not? Surely she goes to friends, social activities, hobbies,
interests etc?

Buy her a map.

Hardly surprising if she isn't allowed or encouraged to experiment for
herself.

LET her. FFS, she's 17. I do hope she rebels soon otherwise she's
going to have an awful job coping with the world away from her
parents.

Remember the thread about molly coddling in relation to financial
support for children? This above is actual molly coddling and you are
not doing her any favours.

Whether you feel it or not the way you have expressed it gives an
impression of a child who is going to have a harsh awakening.

It is what it is and she needs to learn to deal with it.

So?

This is the world she lives in and she needs to learn to deal with it.

<huge sweeping generalisation underlying the question>

Were you and your wife by any chance post 35 when you had your
daughter? Is she an only child?

 

Tim changed the maker to Wuyang ... turns out they're official Honda
affiliates so spares should'nt be a problem?

http://world.honda.com/WuyangHondaMotorsGuangzhou/

<snip>


--
Steve Parry
BMW R45, 01 Kawasaki ZX12-R, 07 K1200GT SE
95 BMW F650, 87 Yamaha FS1, Sukida SK90PY, 91 Kawasaki AR50,
07 VW Passat SE Estate for comfort
www.gwynfryn.co.uk

 

Fairy nuff. I'd still choose the 250, though.

 

Possibly, when she's happy on the bike.

Yep, she either walks there, gets a bus or train or we take her .. we
live in a town, everything is close and there's few places she would
want to turn up wearing bike gear if she was 'going out'.

I have, just recently, still not fun when wearing gloves and sitting
on a bike eh?

Do you think I want her to 'experiment' with anything on the public
highway, especially on a motorbike and before she's been deemed
competent via a test?

Maybe. But she doesn't need to rebel from anything? Maybe you are
getting confused with yourself?

Not specifically?

What, get her down the pits or summat?

Ah, now that maybe the case, however we feel we have done the best we
can whilst allowing her to make the decisions where practical.

Of course and when she is suitably trained. Like I said, learning by
the 'school of knocks' isn't something we believe is appropriate when
it comes to the public highway?

Well indeed, she told be that had the instructor not been there she
may well have responded herself, a good way to get stabbed around
these parts.

So, if you are just getting to grips with the controls of something
dangerous (motorbike, chainsaw, flame thrower) I don't think the best
time to do so is what things are at their most difficult. Yes, we move
onto riding in traffic and filtering at stage two.

And she will, just not on day one?

Yup, 40 (wife) and 34.

Fact, she is a bright kid (highest girl achiever key stage 3, highest
GCSE results for any girl in her year, highest music qualifications
for any pupil in the school, put forward for NAGTY etc etc), is into
Art and is quite a sensitive person [1]. She can also be quite
stubborn and does have her own views / opinions on many things. She
can also turn her hand to many things and normally does very well at
them, however, she isn't very confident in spite of us putting her
forward (giving her the option) to try stuff, often won't if she
doesn't feel the time is right. I don't necessarily 'get it' (well not
all of it) but others seem to understand.

I was more than happy to take her out on a quiet road and get her
going on a gear bike but she *preferred* an instructor at the school
we had used before and why would I argue with that (it's been a long
time since I passed my test).

But like you say, maybe I'm overprotective, maybe I should just push
her out the door and let her get on with it ...?

All the best ..

T i m

[1] We are happier that she's like this than some loud mouthed
arrogant ****.

 

Your post deserves a longer response that I'm not in the frame of mind
to phrase delicately.

I'd hate to see your daughter seek other ways of gaining some control
over her life. Having spent the weekend with (amongst others) 3 young
women who match the description of your daughter very well I'm perhaps
more aware of the possible problems that await her atm.

 

Sounds like that's probably about more than a few years overdue.

If she can't cope with being further than about three miles from the
apron strings without getting utterly and irretrievably lost, how the
hell is she going to cope in a year's time when she leaves school and
finds a job or goes to uni?

 

I know a highly intelligent girl who also matches Tim's description of
his daughter, she majorly rebelled against a seriously repressive and
domineering neurotic mother.

She's now moved away from home and joined the forces, which is the best
thing she ever did for herself.

--
Lozzo the velologist
Suzuki SV650S K5
Honda CBR600 FW trackbike
Yamaha SR250 Spazz-Trakka
Suzuki GSXR750 L
Suzuki TS50X
Suzuki TS50X

 

Heh. The OC reckons she now understands where you got your eyebrows.

 

oh FFS. I echo all of the folks round here who are trying to be gentle
to you (believe it or not) and to let her have some room.

I'm 5 foot four and prolly average a size 12 (depending on which bit
you're measuring).

There's only one of the bikes I've ever owned that I've been able to
pick up when I've dropped them (and I've dropped them all).

doesn't stop me riding large engined bikes that I can only tippy toe.

I've always found some nice gentleman stop to give me a hand, normally
before I've got the helmet off.

I know Elly has been in the same situation when she dropped her 9R in
the middle of the night. no-one around, she was debating who to call
when someone happen to go past and stopped.

tears happen, she'll get used to it.

how about you ask her what she would prefer? get her to think about
and discuss the merits of each option and then let her make the
decision?

My brother got a new bike at 16, he HAD TO HAVE the latest 50cc new
thing rather than a 2nd hand 50 and a 125 then he hit 17.

when I got to 16 the parents assumed I'd want the same thing. I didn't
but only found out there was an option a few years later. mine was
prolly skewed by the fact I could have had an unrestricted 2nd hand
one mind you.

its not the thing girls tend to do. drop it gently on camber, put your
foot down and find its lower than you thought, hairpins getting
tighter than you thought? yep done all of those as most of the women I
know have.

major throwing down the road? nah, that's blokes jobs.
--
Adie
(replace spam with nickname to reply)

UKRM FAQ: http://www.ukrm.net/faq/
keeper of the ukrm faq for my sins

YZF-R1 : ZX9R E1 : GPz 750 turbo

MRO#11 BOTAFOF#7 BOTAFOT#130 DIAABTCOD#17 MIB#24 YTC#16 BOB#15 ex-UKRMMA#22 BOMB#11

 

Interesting.

We have just got back from a ~40 mile ride. Fair few back roads for
clutch / gear work plus a few miles in the country to blow the cobwebs
away. Hooked up with a mate on his Versys on the way back and went out
for another short cct with him as it was getting dusk. She stalled the
bike a couple of times, took off a bit inelegantly a few times and
was having trouble getting back into first quite a bit and that could
well be this Wuyang. I don't remember it doing it with me yesterday
though but I've got a size 11 boot. ;-)

Another few miles under her belt. She enjoyed it again but finds it
quite tiring (concentration).

All the best ..

T i m

 

She left school (10 GCSE's) and tried college for 3 months Adrian, a
3D Design BTEC (her choice) but turned out not what she wanted to do
for the rest of her life.

A couple of weekends ago she did much of the groundwork while a mate
of a mate felled a 60' Cedar tree. I dropped her off at 8am and picked
her up at 7pm and he (and the other couple of guys) said she had
worked hard. He also commented how nice it was to work with "someone
who had brains for a change" and further has offered to Apprentice
her. He also let her have a (closely supervised and all safety kit) go
on a chainsaw and do some climbing.

We went to the open day at a local Horticultural college last Saturday
and she has submitted her application for an Arbor-Apprentice course.

All her idea and we have just helped her wherever we can, like we
normally do.

Time will tell if it's what she wants to as a career but she's pretty
certain she doesn't want to do office work.

All the best ..

T i m

 

Oh Christ, she's a fucking tree-hugger.


--
Lozzo the velologist
Suzuki SV650S K5
Honda CBR600 FW trackbike
Yamaha SR250 Spazz-Trakka
Suzuki GSXR750 L
Suzuki TS50X
Suzuki TS50X

 

Yeah, sri about that ...

.... I did mention the potential Honda link in my OP.

Well, armed with TOGs reasoned and relevant advice I asked about the
spares situation at the shop that loaned us the bike today. They
suggested that whilst spares were available, the supply was a bit
patchy, in one instance waiting 7 weeks to get a part for a carb etc.

Sounds reminiscent of my Madras 350 Bullet where initially they
(Bavanar) basically just robbed a couple of bikes for spares.

All the best ..

T i m

 

Ok ..

Ok ..

Ok ..

Ok and your call.

Ok. When my Wife topped over on her X750 in the middle of a busy
village High Street on a Saturday morning, (unluckily on a steep hill
and onto a parked car. Luckily the backpack on her pillion seat
prevented any damage) the only 'gentleman' that went to her rescue was
the one riding the RT, carrying a pillion and towing a trailer on the
same steep hill and now 100 yards in front of her. The first I knew of
it was my daughter telling me over the intercom, "Dad, Mum's fallen
off her bike". Once I'd recovered 'Mum' we pulled up a bit up the
road she was very upset and frustrated with herself. She felt stupid
that she had done such a thing and frustrated no one (else) had gone
to her rescue. She was also talking of calling it a day and riding
back to London (from Devon). I reassured her that all was ok,
explained how she came to be in the position and encouraged her to
carry on. She did, only to do something similar later in the same day.

Ok .. (I won't add any comment because just as easily she could have
been laying somewhere for hours with the bike on her)?

Maybe. We prefer another style though ... "if we get you the right
machine and the right gear and the right training you might just avoid
doing said".

So you and "all of the folks round here" have come to the conclusion
that none of this, none of the things she does are of her own decision
Adie? I mentioned some of the 'replies' I've had (to a question I
didn't ask in most cases btw) to my long term biker mate tonight and
he just laughed. You see, he has known me since he was a kid and our
daughter since she was a kid and probably has a better idea of how we
all work than anyone here. His words re the idea that we are in some
way stifling her .. "ha, it's just the opposite"?

Ok. FWIW our Daughter has never wanted anything new, certainly had no
issues when we happened on the Piaggio 125 and didn't want anything
faster or fancier. Since riding this 'motorbike' she has now learned
(herself) that the ride and handling is better on the bike than the
scooter but at no time has she mentioned about us buying her one. She
also mentioned that the TAG simplicity meant she was able to
concentrate on learning the road safety aspect easier. She added
"whereas on the scooter I could relax a bit, on the geared bike I have
to concentrate much more". Of course as it all becomes second nature
she can get back to spending 10p on the mechanics of riding the bike
and 90p on what's going on around her (as they say) ;-)

When our daughter was 17 we offered her the chance of driving lessons,
if for no other reason (insurance prices being as they are for cars
these days), something she can put on her CV. She showed no interest
at all but wanted to go the motorcycle route. Did we try to talk her
out of it, dissuade her from that path, no, because as we are both
motorcyclists to do so would have been hypocritical.
Are you, well if someone else is willing to pay for the repairs that's
fine by me. I'm pretty sure that's a position our daughter will make
EVERY effort to avoid though (not suggesting she will manage said for
one second of course but we both live in hope). ;-)

That's a bit sexist isn't it (and I'm being serious here)? Funny we
were talking about that tonight with my mate (don't suppose you have
heard of that very often ... a teenager actually wanting to talk to
adults and even laughing to the point of tears with us), how bad prep,
balance, control can lead to those sorts of things.

Apparently?

All the best ..

T i m

p.s. She's just cleaned the visors on both our helmets .. no one asked
her to do so, she just did. Can't get her to clean her room though.
;-)

p.p.s. Maybe I'll get her to mention some of the more interesting and
insightful replies in the regular column she has in a local paper. ;-)

 

Wolfie Smith - or Joe Stalin?

 

Sounds like a good reason to avoid.

 

Still living at home? Barely a couple of miles away? Did you give her a
lift there every morning?

^^

See, still at it.

 

Funnily enough she's not. Ok, she won't tip oil down the drain like
some here might (as that makes them feel hard) but a tree hugger she
aint (or I guess she wouldn't have been party to turning a perfectly
good one into 8 tonne of chipping's)?

6/10 for trying though. ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

 

School you mean, yep, just under 2 miles. College about 8 miles.

We *sometimes* gave her a lift to school if only to ensure she got
there on time. The rest of the time she walked with her mates and/or
boyfriend. For College, 95% time she got the train but I would take or
collect her by car if she was carrying some tools or part of a bulky
project etc.

What, being a family and going to an open day at a local Horticultural
College that is also partly open to the public 7 days a week Adrian?
Yes we did and a good time was had by all (isn't that strange).[1]

I assume your parents pushed you out the door at 15 and you are still
very bitter about it? Or are my assumptions as far off track as yours?

All the best ..

T i m

[1] (So, as you seem so interested in what we do and how we do it) All
being her Mum and I, her boyfriend, the old lady across the road who
did a Flower Arranging course at the same place many years back and
her friend. Got there about 10:30, later we had lunch there, an
icecream, watched various things (shire horse grooming, dog agility,
some arbory work, loads of students work with hard landscaping,
flowers <yawn>, chemicals, and the reptile house).

Yesterday I drove her back and sat in the car while she sorted out a
couple of details on her application form then we went up to the biker
stop for some lunch. After that we went to a couple of Builders
merchants to get some materials for some work WE are doing in the
garden.

The other week she did some brickwork with me and she I helped her
swap the speedo head over on her scooter (was kph now mph).

Today she is going to help me remove an old sofa (she likes using the
saber saw) and tomorrows she's being picked up at 6am to do some more
Arbory work.

Of course I'll pm you in any of the plans change. ;-)

 

Yep, I think you are right.

Talking to my mate last night another 'budget' make came up and that
was Hartford?

I believe Burwin have been selling them for a while and keep all the
spares in stock.

This is a link to another supplier as an example.

http://www.johnparkermotorcycles.co.uk/Hindex.htm

I think I read somewhere at least one of the 125's used a CG engine
but I don't think it's the good ole pushrod lump?

All the best ..

T i m