Gear and Advice for my 14 year old daughter

[Bighonda14_imp]

I am thrilled to say that my 14 year old daughter, my only child, took her first ride on the back of my Gold Wing this afternoon as part of our Father's Day celebration, and she LOVED it. We just did a few loops around a nearby school parking lot while she had a bicycle helmet on. She was grinning from ear to ear.

I'd like to get her a helmet, and possibly gloves and a jacket, so I can continue to introduce her to my beloved sport and enjoy some memorable moments together as father and daughter.

I wear a Schuberth Pro 2 helmet and will be looking for a high quality full face or flip up helmet for her. There are a few dealerships near by with great gear to make sure it fits.

Any advice on what gear to get, how to make shopping for it fun for her, and advice in general on introducing riding to your teenager as a passenger? Thanks!

 

[Cormanus]

Inhouse Bob’s your man. He has daughters and I think one of them has ridden with him.

 

[Houtman_imp]

Buy the best you can afford and do not forget good BOOTS !

 

[the Ferret]

That s a great idea dad. Be sure to include her in the shopping trip, not only for fit but for color selection too. Young girls taste is different than ours.

 

[KiowaEagle_imp]

A Snell rated helmet (HJC has inexpensive ones) and yes, good boots! Don't forget riding pants either. The jeans girls wear these days would wear away just looking at pavement.

 

[Offroad]

During the family trip to Pigeon Forge, my grandson decided he wanted to ride with me.

We drove to Cycle Gear in Knoxville and got him a Jacket with upgraded D30 back armor, a modular helmet with internal drop down sun visor and gloves for $300. He did have input on his helmet color ;-)

If he continues to want to ride, I'll buy him some pants, boots and maybe a vest.

We rode 441 to Cherokee, NC twice....missed a lot of traffic...it was great!

It was my first time out of my 6 year 30,000 mile return to riding that I've had a passenger....need to research on how passengers should lean or not lean?

Oh yeah, would need to get him a com unit so we can talk!

 

[the Ferret]

Nice job offroad!

No research need offroad, passengers should NOT lean at all, but stay right behind you. Passengers leaning is bad news for the rider.

 

[Cormanus]

Ferret is spot on about including your daughter in the shopping trip. She'll want to feel she looks cool 'n her new gear or she won't ever put it on.

A Snell rated helmet (HJC has inexpensive ones) and yes, good boots! Don't forget riding pants either. The jeans girls wear these days would wear away just looking at pavement.

Seems to me many young women buy jeans that look like they've already had an extensive relationship with a pavement.

 

[Guth_imp]

That s a great idea dad. Be sure to include her in the shopping trip, not only for fit but for color selection too. Young girls taste is different than ours.

Man, for their sake I sure hope so, lol.

 

[zirconxi_imp]

Good boot is a must. I brought my 11yo son to ride before and when we lean the bike into a corner, his sports shoes touch the road due to the way his foot rest on the peg (toe outwards). A good chunk of the sports shoes sole is flat on the side that touch the road now.

 

[Inhouse Bob]

I saw my name mentioned so I'll step up.
Both my girls like to ride and one had her own TW200 for a while. Gear is a challenge. We are a petite family, especially the girls. Helmets for them are so huge, even kids' sizes. I was looking for a photo of one of them in a helmet but can't find one. Pretty funny. Big-ol' bobbleheads.
Boots were about impossible. Wendy, who is now 26, wears a child's size 1.5 (Euro 33?), so that wasn't happening. But we did the best we could with lace-up dress boots and tried hard not to fall over I just checked Revzilla and I see that there are more available now than a few years ago, so maybe I'm out of date.
Jackets and pants were easier. Cycle Gear is up the street and had some very undersized women's leathers that they liked. Cycle Gear's sizing on some of the stuff was way off the normal scale, so try on is a must. But prices were good and the girls liked the style.
I agree with the comment about a communication device. I think it's good to be able to chat. But the girls are always turning theirs off, so maybe I am mistaken :huh:
I love having them along. Riding is a wonderful experience to share. I wish we got to get out more often.

 

[2017EX_imp]

Priority one would be a full face, properly fitting quality helmet. You might look at Shoei and HJC. For me, boots are next, preferably armored and CE rated. I am a huge fan of Daytona boots, but they are on the pricey side. Dont forget about gloves. There are numerous brands of armored gloves out there to choose from, mine are Scorpion brand.

I started with those three items first, because I tend to think the extremities are most vulnerable. For example, when a person falls, the natural reaction is to put a hand out to break the fall. Next would be jacket, preferably with CE rated armor in the shoulders, elbows, forearms, and of course the all important spine protector. Joe Rocket makes decent jackets with CE rated armor included everywhere except the spine protector, which would need to be purchased separately and installed in the armor pocket in the jacket. Last on the list would be pants. I personally like the original Draggin Jeans Kevlar lined pants, but also have a pair of similar Scorpion brand.

As everyone knows in order to protect properly, all this stuff has to fit properly. For that reason I get a lot of my gear from Revzilla. Their no hassle return policy made it easy for me to gear that fit properly, and widened the selection to more than what the local shops carried.