Parents: 300cc motorcycle vs. 600cc motorcycle?

As a parent and a rider (10+ yrs) conventional wisdom would say 300cc to start off with. But that brings up the question, what kind of bike? A sports bike? Yes, definitely smaller displacement, 600cc out of the question. A cruiser? Id be open to a 750cc or smaller. Now me personally, riding is a big part of me and my wives lives (we own 3 bikes) and we already agreed to raise our kids on bikes from an early age so by the time he is 17 and ready for his "own" bike, Im pretty confident I would let him get the 600cc because he will have been around and on bikes his entire life.

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RE Parents: 300cc motorcycle vs. 600cc motorcycle?

If you had a 17 year old son and he wanted a motorcycle would it make a difference to you if he started out on a low displacement motorcycle instead of a high displacement motorcycle or would you say no/yes either way.

300cc Motorcycles

the 600cc has way more than the suggestive double in power. it would be way safer if he got the 300, which im guessing is a ninja 300. i am looking for a first bike too, and i know i will be able to respect a 600 and not die on it, so i dont have to start on a 300, so if he is a truly responsible, sensible kid then it is possible to survive the 600. if he isnt quite a perfect kid then let him have the 300, if he is irresponsible he wil die within days of getting a 300. thats simply how motorcycles are unforgiving.

hope i helped

I'm not a parent, but I've been riding for quite a few years. And yes it would make a difference to me. BUT, there are other factors. Since I ride as well, I know what to look for when he's driving; how aware he is, how defensive he is, how calm he is, how precise he is, etc. I also know that even a 250 is a fun bike to ride, and that I'd suggest that he bought one first for a little while, NOT to "start out on," but to see if he even likes the sport. If he's a good kid, and I'd trust him on my bike, I'd let him get what ever he wanted.

600cc -- no. 300cc -- no.

His choice can be a Vespa 150, A Stella 150, a SYM Wolf 150, or a SYM Symba 101cc clone of the Honda Super Cub. Or something similar.

At 18 he can ride whatever he wants -- but if he wants more than a 150 he will be also moving out of the house.

250 honda rebel or 250 ninja great starter bikes. Sport bikes I say no to the 600. I choose not to ride those because of what I can do on them. Wheelies, stopies, cornering, etc. I ride a 1300 cruiser plenty of power with out the desire to do the crazy stuff. Types of bikes make a world of difference.

A 600 street bike is a race bike with lights. Faster than a Ferrai Enzo. From zero to dead in untrained hands in 2 seconds. While fun, it takes restraint and training/practice to safely ride it, not for a noob.

I would want to know what type of engine as well – the displacement on its own means little.

The number of cylinders, the cooling and engineer’s intent can all make a deal of difference to an engine.

Realistically though I would want him to start with a 125cc single cylinder.

All things being equal, it's probably safer to get started on one with with lower performance. But it's also possible that the larger bike has additional features that make it safer.