ok im only 14 and i know its kinda of young to be ridin the gs. ok ok its not the biggest or baddesr bike out there but im sure it could get pretty mean if you let. im tryin to convince my parents im a well enogh rider to ride to school and back by myself. for cryin out loud its only 2 miles from where i live. of couse i know it only takes a couple of feet to hit a cars back end and fly 50ft. but thats not the point. what are some ways to convince them that im a safe and good enough rider to ride to school and back.

thanks in advance

See if you can enroll in a motorcycle safety course.
I have no idea how young you can get a motorcycle license, but with your parents permission you should be able to take a safety course.
And trust me, independance will come soon enough.

uh, you sure it's even legal for you to be riding that thing at all by yourself?

in some southern states you can recieve certain types of drivers licences at age 14.  (Farm/tractor licences, small motorcycles, etc...)

Read this:

http://will.mylanders.com/outdoors/motorcycle/notes/read.pl?file=184

Scratch, that is the best post for this topic.

Awesome post scratch.

The fact that I had been riding dirt bikes daily for 12 years before I got a street bike didn't make a lick of difference in how my parents felt when I got my first one. They simply didn't want me to take chances like that.

When they saw that I made good judgements as an 18 year old, and that I was serious about riding safely, it eased their minds.

Take the MSF.

In my not so humble opinion, this is what I think.

First off your mighty damn young, and as such you need to prove to the parents that you can prove how responsible you are. This is the biggest challenge you have.

In order to prove how responsible you are you need to find out where you can take legitimatet riding courses. You should also pay for them yourself, this makes a big big difference with parents. It shows your serious. Hell, you might even try to pay for everything yourself, I know that sucks 1000 year old goose eggs but you would be surprised what an impact that makes. You should also be willing to take any other classes that they think is a good idea. In my opinion you should take a race class too, that way you know what is like to go as fast as you can and maybe even crash at that speed. It's a real eye opener.

Your also going to want to stay clear of anyone that is a dumb ass. Meaning, don't hang out with anyone who drinks or does drugs at all. That will put you in the dog house fast and your parents won't take you seriously at all.  

If I were in your shoes I would start with an off road bike so you can prove how responsible you are. Get something small, used and cheep. Learn to work on it and maintain it. Then work up.

By the time I was 18 I had worked my way up to a 200 CC Vespa scooter and this was in 1986. My mom was all behind me because I proved that I never ever drank and ride and I didn't ride like a twit. Now I have a GS and a GSXR 750 and a perfect record. Something to think about. Goodluck!

yea but i already got the gs and me and my dad ride almost every where together. he taught me how to ride with a little kawasaki 125 one of the smallest streetbikes ever made. the group we ride with told him i was almoat a better rider than him and told him to get me a bigger bike and thats how i got the gs.

Is it legal for you to ride it on the street at your age?  If not, any accident, no matter how small will automatically be very bad for you.  Even if it's not your fault.  

I know you probably were looking for a lot of positive answers to your question, but you won't find them here if you ask the (mostly) responsible riders here.  They are only looking out for your best interest.  Motorcycling is a very serious and quite dangerous thing to get into.  I took the MSF course and started riding when I was 30 years old last year.  I couldn't imagine having been a safe and attentive rider when I was 14.  

In my opinion, I say wait till you are of legal driving age and get lots of automobile experience first.  Learn the rules of the road and all that good stuff.  Then buy all of your gear and take a safety course and pass it.  Then think about riding a bike on the street.  I love YOU will appreciate your maturity and have a much better attitude to your riding if you do this than if you start riding at this point in your life.

first if I am right, if your 14 you cant legally ride a 500cc bike.. your limited to 125cc's..

So that's the first problem, second one is that all those teenage girls are going to be drooling over your bad ass bike and wanting a ride. Needless to say some guy will try race you and you might just race him.. something every kid promises not to do but will. Worst yet some guys might tamper with your bike.

I had my bicycle tampered with by an ex-gf in HS.. she cut the brake lines and it snapped when i pulled them. I have no proof other than word of mouth from ppl who saw her by my bicycle.., but i know they were cut.

question here, where,( when you ride this thing to school), are you goin to park it? most schools require parking tags on the vehicle. your dad cant get those for you. also you need at least msf, and a LICENSE. you get caught, usually you lose the bike, stiff fines maybe even jail. your dad cant help you there either. since you are not licensed, the bike if it is legally tagged, is probably in your dads name?, if you wreck, who do you think the victim will sue?who will have to pay, not you the registered owner of the machine, again if you wreck, usually first to show up, (police). they will cite your father for allowing an unlicensed person to operate the machine. so i can see their reluctance to allow you to ride to school. if only two miles, walk, ride bus, get ride. save the bike for when you get lic. i ride mine w/o ins. which scares the hell out of me i am between jobs i use mine to go find work. my truck w/ins. is not running right. which is no excuse, butriding to school is not your only choice though. think it through very carefully.

Ok folks, harsh doesn't work with teenagers, and while most of the advice here has been totally legit, it has been aggressively harsh.
So lets recap the good stuff, assuming our 14 year old hasn't blown us off completely yet.

1) find out what is legal and stay within those limits... bike size for your age, license, parking at school, etc.
2) take an MSF course asap
4) make sure you have good safety gear
3) pay your own way
4) keep good company and be responsible (not that parents won't find something to nit pick about- I was as straightlaced as they come until I moved away to college)

It sounds like you have a good support crew if your dad and his riding friends all back you up.  Keep winning their respect.

Sorry folks but I'm a mom and it takes over sometimes.  This kid is doing some things right obviously and looking for advice and mentoring.  Let's not squash 'im.

Im afraid, i understand your spot all to well, whats worse, my Father was/is into bikes big time.  i fought, pleeded, begged, you name it. only way i could ride was in a parking lot or out in dirt.  14 is too young in my own opinion, though i felt otherwise back then.  in truth there is no REAL common ground for Really young riders to get road experience and learn. once a certain amount of confidence is obtained most of that previous fear is all forgoten. In truth, i thought of this once before, but i have no real marketing skills, i wanted to setup 2 different driving schools, 1 for cars and 1 for bikes, they would be 4-6 weeks in length, with the last weekend being a roadtrip of so many miles.  classes consisting of 2-3 cars and 4-6 bikes,   (1 licenced driver per car/student) 2-3 experienced riders overseeing the 4-6 students.  Insurence would be a mother though.

I truly think it would be a good bussiness aswell as a boon to NEW drivers/riders a way to log milage and exp points.

but back to your plight, sorry dude, at 16 i could fight harder for/with ya to ride. truth be told, 18 the choice is 100% yours.

yeah, man, i was a wee bit harsh, i apologise to that. i know well what it was like to be in your position. you might be able to talk your father into riding escort with you?(find secure parking for the bike though) but again, look on his end of the stick. he is probably worried you might get hurt, i know schoolyard showings-off with vehicles is common. and you go in with a two-wheeler, and you WILL betempted to show-em what it can do. what ever you decide to do, do it safely.

thanks everybody for the replys and i hate to say it but some of them were kinda harsh. but i know its just cause most people on this board doesnt want anything bad to happen to other people on this board. okheres what im gonna do im gonna try to by:

ballistic 4.0 pants
powerglide boots
blaster glove
orbit jacket

they are all joe rocket because i heard joe rocket was pretty good. but the problem is all that cost 400 bucks and i have no way to get money right now and plus i dont know how much the msf coarse costs so im kinda in a hole with the money thing. can yall give me some suggestions on how i could get some extra money to get all that. i only have or will have 150 bucks so help please

At 14 you are old enuf to get a job, and *that* will impress the parental units.  Coffee shop, auto or bike detailing, mow lawns, heck a lemonade stand!
Then follow all the cool links here to the sale places online find really good prices for the gear, and show your folks the $$.  I bet they'll order online for you with a credit card if you hand them the research and the money.
Because of your age you can probably get a really good deal on the motorcycle course, $75 I think for minors... check your local DMV or look up that or CCRider online.

Cost of MSF course varies by state.  Some states pay for the whole cost = free to you.  In some states it's as much as $300 or so.

In Louisiana, the course was $25 if you had your own bike (<500cc) $45 if you used on of theirs.

here in tn msf is 150 using their bikes. so if you are in that situation, i would consider getting msf first. cause it also consists of the m endorsement on your license. i dont know the licensing laws in your state, but consider msf first.