My wife falls asleep all the time, but she has a nice backrest to help hold her in.

 

Mine too. Not worried about it on the Ultra because the backrest has little armrests.

 

I've heard that it is possible and very common. I saw a guy on a touring model that had a seatbelt installed and made bigger armrests so he could take his grandson on longer rides. Also knew a guy that would bungee his kid to the backrest. I don't think either of those options is very safe...then again...neither is putting a kid on the back of a motorcycle (IMO) either. I couldn't imagine taking that type of risk...but that's just me.

 

wife used to fall asleep on the back all the time. backrest did a good job of keeping her on. the only problem was that damn helmet bumping me from behind all the time. another concern was when she would wake up quickly and jerk straight up. i used to get a kick out of seeing her shadow slouched behind me. i think the cagers got a kick out of it too.

 

...since you asked, I think you should NOT take the kid on a ride that long until he can stay awake the entire time. Don't rush it, you'll get to enjoy the longer rides in due time. Don't jepordize the fun factor by ignoring the safety issues.

 

Our friend Dodo use to fall asleep all the time on Larry's RK and it doesn't have a backrest. She was fucken drunk and wouldn't know she hit the ground if it happened to her. She puts her hands in his jacket pockets! Fucken drunkin' bit(h

 

Depends on the age of the kids. As posted earlier, I will not take my kids out of the neighborhood.

I just have a Sporty with a small sissy bar. But, I make them hold on to me tight at all times.

If you go ahead with this, make frequent stops, tell him to tap on your shoulder if he get's tired or needs to stop. A headset would be a good way to communicate, keep him awake, and know what's going on too.

 

Kids are very prone to Sopite syndrome (drowsiness with extended motion ... ). In fact, a ride in the car is a great way to get a colicky baby to dose off. This gradually lessens as kids get older.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=949309&dopt=Abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/...h.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11541923&dopt=Abstract

When I ride with my boys, I make sure to tap their leg 3 times every 10 minutes or so. They both know that if he taps my back 3 times I keep going, if they don't the ride is over... They both also know that they need to tell me when they start feeling drowsy.

 

There is a motorcycle belt/harness that you wear and your child wears......your child is belted to you with this. Keeps him in place.

http://childridingbelt.com/

 

There is a motorcycle belt/harness that you wear and your child wears......your child is belted to you with this. Keeps him in place.

http://childridingbelt.com/

and gives you a nice soft cushion to land on if you have to bail!

 

There is a motorcycle belt/harness that you wear and your child wears......your child is belted to you with this. Keeps him in place.

http://childridingbelt.com/

I've heard of these but to me it sounds like a really bad idea.

It's better to be safe than sorry and not endanger a small child by taking them on long rides. Be patient and let them get a little older where they won't doze off. There will be plenty of time for long rides in the future.

 

When my folks used to take long rides my mom would wrap the back of her jacket around the sissy bar and zip it up the front. She would fall asleep and always felt secure.

Boats

 

I used to ride my daughter all the time and she would fall asleep. My passenger footpegs are mounted up high, so her knees were half way up my ribcage. This sort of locked her in between me and the back rest, plus I can kept my left hand on her knee if I need to wake her up. Never had any problems. I agree with what most here. Please don't take any chances with a child.

 

Interesting replies.

When I asked the same question on another Harley forumn, I got all positive responses saying not to worry, stop frequently and he'd be fine. One guy said definitely do it, that his Dad took him on road trips all the time and he is very glad of that. Now he rides along side of his Dad.

I never expected to see people tell me to not take him and I'm endangering my son by having him on the back of my motorcycle! You serious? I agree with Hog831...if he couldn't stay awake, but it's the issue of finding out just how long he can. Not to mention there are other factors...how much sleep he got the night before, how tired he is, etc.

Thanks for the replies all. Now I'm really confused hehe I just figured he'd have a blast. Maybe I'll wait till he's at least a teenager. He's 10 now and rarely sleeps, but why take any chances. There will be plenty time later.

Skarn

 

i agree, the posts again it is too dangerous surprise me as well.

I don't see why I would be more willing to risk orphaning my children that losing one of them in a crash with me...

There are risks in everything we do and I wouldn't subject myself to one that I wouldn't allow my children to do as well.

Expecting your kids to be more careful or cautious than me would be very selfish.

would I more easily ask them to live without me than for me to live without them...not in a million years.

Of course they have to be old enough to stay awake and that was the original topic but to generally say that I wouldn't let my kids ride with me because it is too dangerous doesn't make any sense to me.

I think this is my first post...love the site.

 

I have this problem with my 6 and 8 year old daughters. I won't take them on long rides but they sometimes try and dose of even on short trips. I have an electraglide and the tour pack is always on if the girls are riding. Even though they couldn't fall off backwards I am still paranoid of them falling sideways. Last night we made a trip to South Carolina and back( 1 hour trip each way) and my 8 year old kept acting like she was trying to fall asleep. If you feed them and then try to ride the problem is much worse. I squeeze my daughters leg and she will put a knee in my side or touch my shoulder to let me know she is awake. I do this every few minutes. I would not recommend a long ride. The fear of them falling asleep will keep you from being able to enjoy your ride.

 

Yeah, the one time Luke didn't tap me back after I tapped him 3 times was REALLY DISTRACTING from my enjoyment of the ride. I immediately pulled over.

Luke says 'So what'd you stop for?'

I said 'because you were asleep!'

'No I wasn't!'

'Yes you were!'

'No, I just wanted to see what would happen if I didn't tap back!'

...

 

My 5 year old loves to ride, but I don't take him over 100 miles in a long day of riding. We stop a lot. Bought floorboards for the ol bag, and moved the pegs up a notch. Now the pegs fit the 5 yr. old perfectly. He's braced up against backrest on the FLSTCI and he holds it or my belt loops- and I check on him OFTEN.

 

There is a motorcycle belt/harness that you wear and your child wears......your child is belted to you with this. Keeps him in place.

http://childridingbelt.com/

That belt is very dangerous. Sure it will keep the child onboard as long as everything goes well but in the event of an accident he/she is better off on their own than being tied to you. the child could be seriously injured from your body tumbling over the childs. I think the best advice was just wait a few more years. I take my 13 year grandaughter on trips up to 100 miles but I have an intercom and keep talking to her. She let's me know when she needs a break so we stop often. I have a 12 year old grandson who I only take on short trips of only about 20 - 30 minutes because I know he will fall asleep on me.

 

A touring bike makes a world of difference for riding someone that may fall asleep. At least on the back seat of one, if they do fall asleep there is a LOT less chance of falling off. IMO, it's not worth the risk for me to jeopardize the life of my kids and I would not recommend it to anyone else for a long ride. Experienced adult riders fall asleep all of the time, a 10 year old is too much risk on a bike like that. It's your call, you are the one that has to sleep at night.

I also think that it's a shame the members of your other forum were all for it and not one of them had the balls nor intelligence to say what they should have. Yeah yeah, too macho....... Bullshiit!

 

All of your advice and opinions are appreciated.

Tdubt....I was thinking the exact same thing on my drive home yesterday. For me it's even more of an issue because I am a single father with full custody of my son. I was thinking, how could I put myself at risk or orphaning my child if it was that dangerous? I could use that logic to say I shouldn't drive him in my cage on the beltway too because stats show it's extremely dangerous right? We all take balanced risks.

Chuck, I do see your point. I was just thinking that if I stopped like every hour, then really isn't it just 3 hour-long trips? He does hour-long trips with me all the time now with no problem. He is really wanting to go! But with this kind of advice, I'd prob be paranoid and wonder if I'd enjoy the ride!

At the very least if I do go, I think I'll definitely stop every hour and get something to drink and walk around a bit. I'll only travel in daylight hours after he's had a good nights sleep. And I'll get a hotel to stay the night and come back Sunday. We've talked about it and he knows to let me know if he starts feeling the least bit tired. Again, he rarely sleeps even in long car trips.

Thanks again all,
Skarn

 

Skarn,
Even after I recommended against it, your plan seems reasonable. You know your kid, we don't, bottom line. Let me say this, I have lost a son, although not to a motorcycle related incident. Believe me, this is not something you'd wish on your worst enemy. If it was possible to get him back physically, I do anything (physically because his presence is forever with me).

It is not so much you or any of us leaving an orphan. Hey, you could wake up dead, or as you have said already, you could crash in the cage on your way to work. My point is , we as adults must weigh all situations we involve our kids in. We must be the adult and make decisions based on the idea and the result, or to the end. We must be mature enough to see each phase of a decision to that end. Everytime you fire that bike, there is an inherent risk you take. It is a matter of how much of that risk do you want to expose your child to.

Whatever your decision, let it be yours and your son. I am sure he's pumped now, so you'll probably take the trip. Plan wisely, remember you can't ride like ya stole it to make up lost time. God's speed, or as the Navy says, Fair Winds and Following Seas

 

When I was younger my dad always took me on road trips that would be a few hours long. He told me that if I felt like I was dozing off, just tap him on the shoulder. I would do that and we would go get a drink or fill the bike up. On some of the longer trips that were 4+ hours, he would plan a route where we would stop somewhere and check out the scenery or just to show me the area a lil bit and tell me some of the history. It helped keep me awake and learned something while I was at it.

I guess if I had a kid and was going to take him/her on a long ride, I would plan the route out and take them by a historic area or plan gas stops even if i know that I will only use half a tank.

Something else that can be done is you could get him a GameBoy and a couple games. I think you can get straps for it so that he won't loose it off the bike but it will at least give him something to do while on the ride and help keep him up.

I think you should take him anyways. Yes, him dozing off would be scary, I've done it a couple times and scared my dad, but the trip would be worth it not only for you but the experience that your son will get will probably be memorable to him for a long time.

 

Hey all,

Well, my son and I are back from the trip and we had a fantastic time! He did great on the ride...we stopped twice on the way there and back. The weather was gorgeous...couldn't have asked for better.

Thanks for the encouraging words all and we are very glad we decided to make the trip. He's looking forward to the next one now.

Skarn

 

Good for you both, Glad you had a GREAT time!