How to convince parents to buy a motorcycle/financial aid for a bike

Hi all,
I come from a family that are from the medical background (Dad's an ER doc and mum used to work in operation theatre) so all that they saw was the bad end of motorcycles. I am 16 and hoping to get a 125cc to commute to work. I have mentioned this to my mum and she is not supportive. Riding a motorcycle is the ONE thing I have always wanted to do. So does anyone have any tips on convincing parents to help with buying a motorbike.

Also, I was wondering how much it would cost for the full lot; CBT, tests, lessons, theory, gear, tax, insurance, and a bike around £2000-4000

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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Blackmail.

Sounds like a good plan.
Maybe if they are strong advocates of organ donation and you carry a donor card?

Reply 3

Tiger Rag

If you can't afford your own motorbike, how will you pay for the upkeep / general costs of running one?

Reply 4

Prefect1992

Original post by Tiger Rag

If you can't afford your own motorbike, how will you pay for the upkeep / general costs of running one?

By getting a job??

Reply 5

SpursMan

Buy a motorcycle. So you want to kill yourself, surely there are easier ways ?

Reply 6

Tiger Rag

Original post by Dodo0099

By getting a job??

And he can't get a job to finance his own bike because?

Rabies

Why is this in relationships :laugh:

@AngryJellyfish

Reply 9

DrSocSciences

Because it'll be quick and you won't feel a thing

Reply 10

SpursMan

Original post by DrSocSciences

Because it'll be quick and you won't feel a thing

Not always. Quite often a limb is severed and you bleed to death slowly whilst awaiting the ambulance. Other times organs are badly damaged and it takes weeks of agony before eventually passing away. Sometimes your eyes pop out on impact, whilst other times your genitals are squashed or ripped off by the handle bars. It's cheaper and less hassle to throw yourself in front of a train.

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 11

DrSocSciences

Original post by SpursMan

Oh that's persuasive. I was just going to offer that motorbike fatalities have fallen from the 493 UK motorbike road deaths logged in 2008, to the more palatable 331 motorcyclist deaths in 2013. That one always wins over the parents. Final shot would be that the fatality likelihood per mile ridden by a motorcyclist is only 38 times greater than that of car occupants. That should clinch it.

Reply 12

Dez

I really don't see why you should expect your parents to pay for your hobby, especially if it's not one they agree with. Can't you get yourself a part-time job or something? If you want a bike that badly you should be willing to work for it.

Do be aware that at 16 the most you can ride is a 50cc (i.e. mopeds), you need to be 17 or older to ride a 125cc.

In terms of budget here's some guideline figures:

CBT - Budget around £100-200 depending on rates in your local area. Shop around, but beware any schools that look too cheap; any instructor that offers you training at less than £100/day is likely to be utter crap.
Tests, lessons, theory - Don't bother. With the changes made to the A category licence it is not worth considering doing your test until you turn 19 at earliest.
Gear - If you're fine with wearing second-hand stuff you can probably get away with only spending £300-500 on this, maybe less. Just don't skimp on your helmet, make sure to get a full-face one with a decent safety rating.
Tax - On most small bikes this is £18/year
Insurance - varies wildly, but expect anything up to £1000. Hopefully should be a bit less than this, but I'd say that's the most you're likely to have to pay.
Bike - Again varies, and depends on what kind of quality you're looking for, and how long you want the bike to last. You can get some 125s for £500 or less, but don't expect too much out of them. For a decent bike you can rely upon you'd ideally want to spend at least £1000, but it's up to you how much you value quality here.

Reply 13

nevershear

Did OP delete his post before I even humour this?

Reply 14

RoyalSheepy

Original post by nevershear

Did OP delete his post before I even humour this?

Nah, OP's post needed to be approved again for some reason.

@David370 apologies about that, I've approved your post again. :smile:

Reply 15

nevershear

I think your parents care more about your wellbeing, than the financial aspects here. I can afford to drive a cycle and have a CBT, I only got the CBT to see what a motorcyclist sees when I'm driving because they're such lunatics I'm terrified about killing one, which ties into point two - my parents would still probably kill me if I ever got on one, and I'm 24 lol (I drive a car).

If it is the financial aspect, there's no reason you can't set up a plan to pay them back with your wages; but I think the cost of owning one, upkeep, insurance etc is gonna far outweigh how much you earn, chill out for a few years, save up and deal with it yourself imo, you'll be able to get a loan at that point too if needed.

Original post by Tiger Rag

And he can't get a job to finance his own bike because?

It sounds like he has a job, but he can't get finance at his age.

Reply 16

David370

Original post by RoyalSheepy

Why is this in relationships :laugh:

@AngryJellyfish

I don't even know, I pressed something else and when I uploaded it it just said 'relationships'

Reply 17

David370

Original post by Dez

I am aware that you need to be 17, I forgot to mention that I am hoping to get this next year. I already have a part-time job along with full time school. I am not wanting to get the bike as a hobby, I am hoping to get it instead of a car as insurance, costs and so forth are cheaper than a car. Thanks for the help!

Reply 18

FXX

With your parents jobs you'll have a difficult task on your hands convincing them.

Your dad likely sees motorcyclists with nasty pelvic/spinal/limb injuries almost daily and your mum will have seen them go through theatres to be fixed up.

At one point when I was 15 I asked my dad about getting a moped. He was initially supportive but seeing a young lad laid out over the road dead from where he'd come off on a corner and got hit by a car as he slid across the road made him change his mind.

Now, I work in A&E and have seen a few incidents on the road. I'm hesitant about learning to ride a bike, even though I'd like to, and if you were my kid I would probably be the same as your parents. They only have your safety in mind. It only takes one mistake from either yourself or someone else and you can have a life-long injury. Even something simple like having the bike land on your leg can give you a permanent limp, which later affects your knees/ankles and can stop you working, or even just get around independently.

Horses are probably more dangerous though, and plenty of people ride those, so you could look at it that way.

Reply 19

Dheorl

Demonstrate to them that you've looked into the safety aspects, show them the appropriate safety gear you'd be buying. If you want to ride that much go overboard. Get a high vis airbag vest, fully padded trousers, decent boots, the whole shebang.