Agreed. My fourth grade daughter wanted to drive my neighbor’s Kawasaki Ninja crotch rocket around the neighborhood later today. Reading this has encouraged me to rethink saying yes.
Ride? Probably fine. Drive? Unless she's already 5'4 or so the ergonomics do not favor her. More than that, there's ample evidence that the neuroplasticity of anyone under 28 or so puts them at a disadvantage when dealing with the instantaneous decision-making processes involved in operating an operationally-complex device like a motorcycle. Not a crippling disadvantage, but they're more involved. Most young riders start out on dirt bikes, which have the advantages of (a) no traffic (b) substantially softer things to crash into (c) vehicular design intended for occasional spills. I mean, it might be a formative experience for her to eat shit at 11 on a Ninja 250 but I think you do have to contemplate how much you want your kid to eat shit on a Ninja 250.
Oops. My bad. Sorry, I was being facetious. My stab at the humor of the situation that allows a kid to have the power trade options and hypothetically lose 3/4 of a million dollars while having just a shadow of the responsibility needed. Kind of like letting my daughter rip around on a motorcycle. I realize now how stupid it may sound unless you knew me better. She did learn to wakeboard today actually. Far less dangerous though. Thanks for taking the time to post a nice PSA on motorcycles. Thanks. I owe you one. -Jeff