[KMT]

As long as they are not running on public roads talented kids should be encouraged.

Great to see mini santosh on his mini bike.

BTW all major japanese bike companies make mini dirt bikes for kids to learn motocross.

Gives kids skill from an early age.

[deepfreak15]

While the DIY project is commendable, letting an underage kid ride it wearing only a T-shirt, track pants and sneakers is a recipe for disaster! Please educate him on the right safety gear and that will be an invaluable lesson.

[samaspire]

Great idea!! And very well executed. I have an old Scooty (not ES) lying around; maybe I will also give this a go. My son is 5 now and he is uncontrollable on his bicycle with training wheels. Can't imagine him with a motor under his seat. So will wait for a couple of years at least

PS: Anyone doubting that the kid is 5, relax. My son also looks the same at 5.

[ecenandu]

Most of the people are underestimating the skills of kids. They can handle the power, don't worry, its all about exposure.

But I am against kids taking ride on public roads, strict no-no. I have seen kids as young as four years, riding pocket bikes on go-kart track here in Sweden, they go pretty fast as well.

[theexperthand]

If we never allow our kids to ride\drive motorized vehicles in controlled environment, most of the current racing drivers\riders would never have got into racing. While I am totally against letting an under age kid driving\riding in 'public' road, I am not at all against responsibly teaching kids how to drive\ride and nurture them if they have a passion for driving\riding, inside private properties.

As far as I know, It is not against law if an under age person is riding\driving in private properties. It becomes an offence only when ventured on public roads.

--Anoop

[Lone Ranger]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

This "wire thru jet" effectively kills the carb of fuel and it is not worth any more than a 20-25CC engine now. Let him grow up to figure out why it doesnt go any faster, until this its a secret between his 'fav' mechanic uncle and me...

Fantastic effort svsantosh! More than anything else, I appreciate your thinking behind this whole endeavor. Your son is in his formative years, and and you are making memories for him that will last a lifetime. I have fond memories of my dad teaching me basic carpentry skills by helping me me build a miniature plywood house when I was around seven. That feeling of building stuff with your own hands (no matter how amateurish the finished effort is) is quite unique. I was a little apprehensive about the potential risks until I saw that you had taken special care to restrict fuel flow to the carb.

One question though - how to transport the bike to the offroad areas that he rides in?

[blacklist]

Nice and innovative work sir. I'm also associated with my college formula 1 racing team and we make a formula 1 car every year from scratch and take it out for competitions. I must say, it's a great feeling to build and enjoy your own handmade vehicle!

[VellVector]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

I kid you not - It took all of 4 minutes and I had to run back home to bring out my 100CC bike to follow him inside the residential colony.
Attachment 1655775

Very interesting project. However please get your kid some safety gear. Allowing him to ride in a sleeveless vest and track pants is borderline moronic. Proper riding jacket, pants and boots are a must. Especially for a kid.

Some of your pictures seem to be on public roads, please restrict your kid's riding to private roads or a track. While he may be very talented, it's not cool to allow a kid to potentially endanger himself or someone else on a public street.

Originally Posted by hillram

My 11 year old son comfortably rides a Honda Navi(with full safety gear) around our locality and I have been hesitant to put up the video footage on Internet.[/b]

Same point as above, even though your son may be a capable ridder, what gives you special rights to allow him to ride on the public roads in your locality in gear or not?

[hillram]

Originally Posted by VellVector

Very interesting project. However please get your kid some safety gear. Allowing him to ride in a sleeveless vest and track pants is borderline moronic. Proper riding jacket, pants and boots are a must. Especially for a kid.

Some of your pictures seem to be on public roads, please restrict your kid's riding to private roads or a track. While he may be very talented, it's not cool to allow a kid to potentially endanger himself or someone else on a public street.



Same point as above, even though your son may be a capable ridder, what gives you special rights to allow him to ride on the public roads in your locality in gear or not?

Let all note that..My son rides only on a private road with no what so ever traffic, only after 10pm in the night with a full face helmet and other safety gear.

[vinayrathore]

Originally Posted by hrman

I am not at all supportive of any kid below his/ her Legal age riding any vehicle which is not meant for him. Being part of a reputed forum which stands for Safety on the road, we should not be encouraging breaking rules.

A 11 year old riding a scooter with safety gear? Really? What about the other commuters on the road? Sorry, to put it bluntly, there is nothing to be proud of to let an under age kid ride anything that is motored. Please be responsible towards your children and the other commuters.

Are we bringing up the future citizens and inhabitants of this world with this chalta hai attitude and giving in to their whims, thereby encouraging a sense of entitlement and blatant disregard to laws?

hrman, Just google kids motorbike you will find a lot of links where good fossil fueled mini bikes are easily available on Ebay and other sites. Also there are stores selling these freely and no one stops them. I guess its safe to assume that these are being legally sold and can be ridden by kids, ofcourse under supervision and with complete safety gear.

Santosh, Great thread. I was planning to buy one such bike for my 7 year old. Looks like building one is a better idea!

[bkc]

Originally Posted by svsantosh

It starts much better and runs much smoother now. Thanks to new rings, decarb of the block and crankcase and a new spark plug. Time to put some more kms on the little one by the little one, this weekend.

Very nice project and lucky kid with attractive encouragement scheme for his good deeds.
I was always hungry of such bikes during my young age, there was option also, 'the mofa' but, it was denied by my parents (cost factor). Later, I was taught TVS 50, with my father as a pillion teacher. Mofa is a low powered vehicle and have seen even kids using them.
I am not supporting any usage by underage kids but, safety is safety, be it young or old. Even a 30yr old learner is as vulnerable as a kid while learning to ride.
We should let our kids learn cycle/small bikes in private roads, as they would be more safe, when they hit to public roads with license on a future day.
Safety gear! yes, a must, at the least, a helmet, full sleeves, jeans, shoes, until the safety gear arrives.

[BLACKBLADE]

For those doubting the Kid's age and his ability to handle the pocket bike, please take note that when Casey Joel Stoner competed in his first ever race, he was just four years old. Today, five years after retiring from Moto GP, he is still continuing as a Moto GP test rider for Ducati and we read reports that he still tops the charts in the test rides. Do we have the infrastructure here to train our kids like him?

Quoting from Wikipedia below.

He competed in his first race when he was four years old, in an under-nine years old race at the Mike Hatcher's dirt racing track on the Gold Coast of Australia. Between his very first race win at the age of six and the age of fourteen, Stoner won 41 dirt and long track titles and 70 state titles.[8]

One feat he achieved that illustrates his passion and "need" for racing was at age twelve. Over one weekend he raced in 5 different categories in all 7 rounds of each capacity; a weekend consisting of 35 different races. Not only did he compete in all these categories and different engine capacities, the young Stoner went on to win 32 out of the 35 races. There were five Australian titles to be won that weekend, Stoner won all five.

At the age of 14 years, Stoner and his parents agreed he was ready to move up onto road racing so they packed up and moved to England—where the legal age for road racing is 14.

Point I am making is 'Catch them young'. By building a pocket bike for his kid, svsantosh is just creating a platform for his boy to develop his off-roading skills at a young age. Teach him the manners, teach him the rules, teach him the skills, create confidence and instill discipline at a young age, so when he grows up he becomes a mature rider.

That said nobody is going to appreciate a kid taking to public roads. Life is too precious.

[VellVector]

Originally Posted by hillram

Let all note that..My son rides only on a private road with no what so ever traffic, only after 10pm in the night with a full face helmet and other safety gear.

Thanks for clarifying, misunderstood your OP. In that case, I think it's pretty great your son is learning to ride so early.

[hillram]

I would want children to be responsible from younger age, with what they will own one day, once they reach a legal age.
At this point I want also introduce Child/Junior Helmets to enthusiastic parents, which are actually meant for kids of age 5-13 and which are made in India under ISI standards.
These helmets not only fit like a glove to the child's head but also have a lock that secures the helmet and helps in stay in place.
An Adult helmet on a 5-year old will roll away easily in case of a fall.
Here are the helmets that my son uses when he rides. These are actually Junior Helmets.


A full face helmet is always preferred

Adult Helmet in comparison to a Junior Helmet


Father & Son in full riding gear, even if my son is a pillion rider

[svsantosh]

Dear Tbhp Friends and Fraternity...

Didn't realize my little post in Mr.Boss's thread happened to become a separate thread and probably my 1st 5* one (chuckles)!

Diwali was seriously fun, crackers and all sweets and school started with a heavy note, 2 days in and he cracks open his left elbow!

No, not from the Scooty as many feared above but from a slip from the kitchen slab trying to gobble laddoos from the top shelf when mum stepped out to get some veggies from market!

So, basically nothing could stop a 3rd fracture in this little kid before his 6th bday and it's only increasing his resolve to stay behind a handle bar or a "wheel" sooner than later. Yes - immediately after the cast on his arm he asked when can I make a small car (a go-kart per him), it's not on the cards immediately but let me plan it out. Slightly more complicated than a straightforward bike...

14 hours after the crack, all ready for school! His only reason for that was all his friends will ask him "what happened?" ... And he wanted to tell a tall-tale and spin a story... Didn't want to spoil that moment for him, once he realised that the swelling is more painful than story telling, he waved at his mum sitting outside the classroom to take him back home... Now it's back to TV !!

Karma is a bitch! Need to make something that will need 1 hand and no need for T.V!!!