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The neighbor kid.
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Posted by: Ol'89r---------------------

After reading all of the pros and cons in the 'Lawsuit on your own property' thread, I just have to tell you about my next door neighbor.

They bought the house about 3-4 years ago and when they were moving in I saw them unload a couple of motorcycles. I thought to myself, GREAT!, some new riding buddies. I have been riding in this area for many, many years. In fact, I rode here long before I built my house and moved here. Some of the trails I cut myself. The riding was the reason I moved here.

I talked to the dad and he seemed like a pretty nice guy but the kids, (there were two of them when they moved in.) were the typical arrogant teen's that were too cool for anybody and they looked at me like I was some old fart that didn't know anything about dirtbikes. I told the dad about all of the awesome trailriding up in the hills and how I would take his kids on a trail ride and show them where it's safe to ride and where not to go.

Unfortunately, that never happened. A couple days after they moved in, they started riding their bikes around the neighborhood. They rode up and down everybodys hillsides and made ruts on other neighbors property. The neighbors would call me because they knew I rode bikes and told me they were going to call the police. I asked them not to and told them I would go talk to the kids.

I went and talked to the boys and asked them not to ride on the neighbors property and told them that I would take them up to the trails and show them where to ride. I told them I have been riding in this area for a long time and knew all of the trails and would be happy to take them on a ride. I asked them to please respect the neighbors or we would have the police to deal with and I didn't want that anymore than they did. Again, they looked at me like I was from the moon and blew me off.

They continued to ride where they wanted and showed no respect to any of the neighbors or myself. They started to roost around the back of our horse barn which frightened the horses and made it very unsafe for anyone in the barn. I went over and talked to the dad and he said he would take care of it. This was about the 5th time I had talked to the dad about this and while he was home the kids would not do it but, as soon as the dad left, they would terrorize the neighborhood. The mom had no control over the kids whatsoever.

One day while my wife was in the barn working with her horse, they rode around the back of the barn. Now, they were taking their mufflers off so they could annoy the neighbors even more. Well, my wife was in a 12' X 12' stall with a 17+ hand BFH, (thats a big freakin horse). The horse went nuts and almost kicked my wife. I went over to talk to the boys and soon, thanks to their arrogant attitudes it turned into a shouting match. The boys and three of their friends escorted me off of their property. That was the last straw.

Now, a few years later, one of the boys was kicked out of the house and lives in an apartment in town. The other one still lives there and has a job but still rides his unmuffled bike around the neighborhood. Now, when the neighbors call and threaten to call the police, I tell them, "go ahead and call the police. I have talked to the kids and it does no good. Do what you have to do." I have also dualsported my trailbike so, if the police come, I'm legal.

He has lived there long enough to see my riding buddies come and go and has watched as we all suit up and disappear into the hills for most of the day. He watches us load up our trucks and go to the track. He now knows that I am very involved in dirtbikes and now he wants to be my friend. He stands in his driveway and waves as we drive away. I wave back.

He rides his bike around by himself and spends most of his time riding up and down his driveway. He has come to my shop and told me about problems that he has had with his bike. He knows now that I work on bikes for a living and fix most of the bikes in the neighborhood for the neighbors. But I don't work on his. I tell him to go to the local Honda shop, they'll take good care of him.

I would love to take him up to the trails and show him all of the awesome riding up there but, it ain't gonna happen. Nope,

not a chance.

So, who is suffering here? Not me. I don't mine a little noise from a motorcycle but I will not put up with some arrogant nit wit that is destroying my right to ride. If you are going to act like a jerk, you are the one that is going to pay for it. You are only hurting yourself and everyone that rides a dirtbike gets a bad name because of it. It is up to us to police these types of people before they ruin our sport. There are ways to deal with it and if we don't take the initiative to police our own, we will have no sport.

You never know who your neighbors really are. They could be a City Councilman, a County Supervisor or just some ol' dirtbike rider looking for new riding buddies. It's best not to pizz em off.

Ol'89r

Posted by: dirt bike dave---------------------

Thanks for the story and sharing your wisdom, 89r. You did your best with those a'holes.

Too bad the dad and boys did not take you up on your generous offer. They might have learned a little something about class and also about what a great sport this is. They clearly have no idea.

The old cliche is true, you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

Posted by: Chili---------------------

Great example 89'r, wish I had been lucky enough to move into your neighborhood as a kid.

Posted by: Diversq---------------------

Hey 89r,

I feel your pain and understand the reasoning. BUT, having been an arrogant kid once myself I know now the error of my ways.

Personally I think you should let the past slide and give the other kid a chance. He could learn alot from a guy like you and without the chance to change and work and ride with "good" influences like yourself and probably your friends he won't and just do further down his already misguide path.

Go for it what do you have to lose?

just my 2 cents.

Posted by: oldguy---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diversq

Hey 89r,

I feel your pain and understand the reasoning. BUT, having been an arrogant kid once myself I know now the error of my ways.

Personally I think you should let the past slide and give the other kid a chance. He could learn alot from a guy like you and without the chance to change and work and ride with "good" influences like yourself and probably your friends he won't and just do further down his already misguide path.

Go for it what do you have to lose?

just my 2 cents.

I would personally be afraid to loose the trails. The kid has shown so much bad behavior in the past I would be afraid he would get up into the trails and find a new area to reign havoc on.. If you could trust him not to rip the area apart riding off trails and creating a bigger range of nuisance with his loud bike and uncontrolled riding it would be one thing but not worth the risk at this point.
Don't know who beat me but I sure would like to add another good post star for tis story.

I HOPE EVERYONE THAT READS THIS CAN RELATE TO IT

Posted by: IamRyan---------------------

The sad thing is most kids these days(which i cant really technically say because im a kid myself i guess) take for granted what they have right in front of their face. Myself I would love to have a place to ride 5 minutes from my house and would love to go on trail rides with an older more experienced person rather then run around with kids my age because most of them are just as you said are arrogant and have no respect.

so maybe don't give all of us kids a bad name just 99%

Posted by: sixds---------------------

forgive and forget. get him to muffle his bike, and you take him out on the trails.

Posted by: fit04---------------------

I hate kids with a passion so I think I would of sabotaged their bikes or something...no thats too mean lol. I don't know how they think being "bad ass" is cool..when I was a teen I still wanted to kill each and every single arrogant boy in my school...its not attractive.

Good story

Posted by: Moparman1539---------------------

When the kid came and asked you for help was his bike unmuffled. Maby the other kid was the bad egg makig the other one do all the bad things with him (happens all the time). You could talk to him and tell him to put the muffler back on the bike, and not to do this and that. You could let your past go and give him another chance.

You can teach him the ropes. And print out some of the "Do i need a louder more powerfull pipe?" threads and show them to him. Bring him to the forum and show him lond isnt good. And tearing up peoples yards isnt good and such. (It changed my views and im 16). Teach him and he might turn out to be a good kid.

Thats my $0.02

Posted by: dirt bike dave---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixds

forgive and forget.

Forget the fact he could have got 89r's wife killed with his idiocy? Forget all the other stupid behavior that has undermined 89r's hard work on behalf of dirt bikers?

IMO, the sooner those idiots sell their bikes the better it is for anyone who loves our sport.

I wouldn't waste another minute trying to enlighten them - you would just get spit in the eye for your efforts.

Posted by: sixds---------------------

wait, is it the dad that wants to go dirt biking with him?

Posted by: mox69---------------------

I think we all realize that you have 0 obligation to help this kid in any way. He has obviously done some pretty bad things.

With that said, people do change, especially kids. You can't really place 100% of the blame on the kids, his parents weren't even around to teach the boy right from wrong. You can't put a polar bear in the middle of a grocery store and expect him to behave

Just like you can't hand a young kid a dirt bike and expect him to follow the rules 100%. He doesn't even know the rules probably!

Go up to him some time and talk to him, feel it out. If you sense he has matured a bit, maybe give him a few pointers on his bike. Tell him you will taking him riding, if he follows the rules you set out.

Ya never know, you could change this punks life.

Posted by: Ol'89r---------------------

Weather or not I take the kid riding is besides the point. The point I was making was, how much fun the kid has been missing out on because of his in-your-face attitude. Now, like oldguy said, I'm more concerned about losing the trails we have left.

I actually was thinking about taking him but, the day before I wrote this thread he fired up his unsilenced bike and rode it up and down his driveway for about a half hour. That is what prompted me to write this thread. He is 19 or older now and old enough to know better. Also, he has some friends that come over and ride with him. None of them have silencers or spark arresters and one of them rides a quad that is unbelievably loud. There is no way in hell I would show those guys the trails now.

Those of you that show your neighbors no respect are only hurting yourselves and all of us that ride. We all wear brightly colored helmets and riding gear. The general non-riding public doesn't know one of us from the other. So, when a group of us act like jerks, they lump all of us together and think we all act like that. That is why it is so important for us to police our own. Talk to these guys and attempt to explain to them what they are doing to our sport. If they don't listen, ignore them or ban them from your group. After a while they won't have anybody to ride with except those of their own kind and they can ride up and down their own driveways as much as they want for all I care. They will get bored and soon find another sport to screw up. Good riddance!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not baggin' on all teenagers. I am very impressed by some of our 14-15-16 year olds on DRN. A couple of our young Canuck members are very intelligent and respectful beyond their years.

It's the one's that come on here and say it's ok to tell your neighbors to take a hike when they complain about noise and dust. It's ok to be rude. It's my property and I'll do as I damn well please.

Well, that doesn't work anymore kiddies. With development closing in around us all, we can't do as we damn well please anymore. If we aren't respectful to our neighbors and the public in general, we will be the one's that lose. Believe me, I've seen it.

To the others, thank you for the kind words.

Posted by: Tony Eeds---------------------

Thank you for your words of both wisdom and experience.

We have somehow got to get across to people that we have got to work together to save what little riding area we still have.

There are well organized groups out there that are dedicated to locking everything motorized out of all governement lands; and as was proven recently in Washington state, trying to ban off road vehicles entirely.

It is sad in a way, but at 19 the child is no longer there, he is a young man and should have better judgement. His parents sound like they failed him, but that is not your responsibility.

Thank you also for all you do for the off road community.

Posted by: splatt---------------------

If I were to ever catch my kids acting like the two in question they would no longer have the privilege of riding dirt bikes until they where out on their own.

Steve

Posted by: Sharn---------------------

I agree. Not all teenagers are that way. But I have to say, it's usually a matter of influence. If you got that kid away from his "friends" and taught him the sport more indepth, he might turn out ok. I'm 15, and I know my bike is loud. I know it annoys people when I ride it like a maniac. I think the reason most kids don't learn this and how to respect other people is they don't ride with adults.

They need a fatherly figure to teach them how not to behave with riding. I've been riding with my dad since I started riding. My family got bikes all at the same time - and we all rode together. There isn't many others here who trail ride, so I've never gotten to ride with kids my age. It really does make a huge difference. You aren't riding to show you're big and cool, you're riding to have fun.

I think it would be awesome if I moved in by an old-timer who could show me the trails and invite me on rides. For me - that would be an awesome deal. I just wish all teenagers would feel like that.

Anyway, thanks for the story. Hopefully someday he'll figure it out.

Posted by: kurt15---------------------

in my area its a bigger thing with em new pocket bikes a screamin down the road at 1230 at night. i got the big bike on the road so i get blamed.

Posted by: XRpredator---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ol'89r

. . . I am very impressed by some of our 14-15-16 year olds on DRN. A couple of our young Canuck members are very intelligent and respectful beyond their years.

Now that's just crazy talk!

Posted by: Chris in Denver---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharn

I'm 15, and I know my bike is loud. I know it annoys people when I ride it like a maniac.

Just ot clarify, you know your bike is loud now and annoys other people? If so, shouldn't you rectify this problem?

Posted by: flyingfuzzball---------------------

like sharn and know my bike is loud w/ the stock pipe

that is why if i have the stock pipe on for some odd reason i try to keep the revs low

but i do run a fmf q4 and that really helps

Posted by: brockhc73---------------------

I also ran into a situation yesterday where my wife who rides a 4 wheeler, my son who rides a 150R and myself wich rides a 250R went to common riding place. We pulled up and noticed a sherrif's helicopter flying over with several local police and sherriffs patroling the area. I waited a while to unload because i knew something was up.
The next thing i know we have a helicopter hovering over us and six patrol cars surrounding us. There were a bunch of these uncontrollable kids that werre ripping up and down a very nice neighbor hood, and darting out in front of cars with no respect of stop signs, nearly causing a very bad wreck, with Mules, Rhinos, Quads, Dirtbikes and the main complaint came from a dune buggy. They took my information, after confirmation that i had just arrived. The Law enforcement was gracious enough to give us permission to ride, but we were watched the entire riding time.
In my view, 12, and 13 year old kids don't need to operate these vechicles without prarent supervision, but what do i know? It is like anything else these days, parents are looking for a way to relive their responsiblities of parent hood and don't care, and i ruins it for all that obide by the laws and rules set forth for people who are gracious enough to lend their land for people who use their common sense to ride on.
Legal riding areas in West Texas are few and far between, and before long these people riding loud bikes and not respecting neighbors, and the land, will ruin it for us all

Posted by: Petey---------------------

Its sad how a few bad apples can put a bad rep on our sport...

Posted by: 700_Edge_X---------------------

We have some crappy neighbors like that. They ride all over our neighbor hood. At first no one cared but they started to really tear up the roads and people got pissed. I usually never ride on the roads but one time, and it was becuase i was taking my bike to the dunes in a couple days and it was running bad so i changed the plugs and took it down the road and i got bitched at. They pretty muched ruined it for me.

Posted by: pidro_el_pirata---------------------

A respectful nod of the head to 89er and all the other esteemed higher-ups that are in the room! I just want to reinforce the fact that not all teenagers are assholes. I'm not. I've never felt the inspiration to be one. It sucks that a lot of us are, because people like me are battling quite a prejudice with folks like you.

On that note i think you should give the kid a chance to redeem himself, 89er. Obviously he's grown up a bit and since you say he only rides in his driveway, it sounds like he doesnt have anywhere better to go.

You cant argue with me when I say that in order to save the sport we have to be able to turn guys like this around. If you don't, what do you think his kids will be like? Do you want your kids to have to put up with that?

Posted by: Ol'89r---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by pidro_el_pirata

A respectful nod of the head to 89er and all the other esteemed higher-ups that are in the room! I just want to reinforce the fact that not all teenagers are a-holes. I'm not. I've never felt the inspiration to be one. It sucks that a lot of us are, because people like me are battling quite a prejudice with folks like you.

On that note i think you should give the kid a chance to redeem himself, 89er. Obviously he's grown up a bit and since you say he only rides in his driveway, it sounds like he doesnt have anywhere better to go.

You cant argue with me when I say that in order to save the sport we have to be able to turn guys like this around. If you don't, what do you think his kids will be like? Do you want your kids to have to put up with that?

You are correct, it is necessary to turn these guys around to save our sport. But, guys like that won't listen to older people. They cop an attitude and do just the opposite. It is up to you and the younger riders to police your own. When they hear it from their peers they are more likely to listen. If you have friends that act like jerks, tell them you don't want to ride with them. Exclude them from your group until they see the light. If you don't have the nerve to stand up to them and tell them what their actions are doing to the sport then, we will eventually lose our sport.

Like I said earlier in this thread, when we put our riding gear on, we all look the same. The non-riding public doesn't know if we are young riders or older riders and doesn't really care. The prejudice comes from them not folks like me. If you don't want the prejudice then police your own. When I put my riding gear on, I share that prejudice just like you. And I don't like it either.

I deal with a lot of younger riders in my business. I see many respectful teenagers and I don't lump them all in the same group. The disrespectful one's are easy to spot. They stick out like sore thumbs. They want to. That's the whole idea.

The neighbor kid is no longer a kid. He is in his twenty's now and doesn't ride hardly at all. As far as I'm concerned, that's a good thing. His loss, our gain.

Posted by: rostifer---------------------

I'm glad I don't fit in the catagory of the dumb a$$ teen. I'm 17 and I think the only damaging effect ive had with my neighbors is that I think they don't like my drving in a car. I ride right way away from neighbor hoods and am very respectful of other riders, houses, cars , ect. Any other teens that can relate to me?

Posted by: XRpredator---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by rostifer

I'm glad I don't fit in the catagory of the dumb a$$ teen. I'm 17 . . .

you're 17. you fit in the category.

Posted by: pidro_el_pirata---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ol'89r

Yes I definitely agree about policing our own. I think that's something that everybody can learn from, not just teenagers, but obviously its a huge deal for us.

However its also true that once we put on those uniforms, we all appear the same. Dirt bikers. And as members of this group, we all as dirt bikers we have to "police our own" as well. Kind of like being good citizens. So we shouldnt be alienating teens within the dirt biking community. I liked what Sharn said...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharn

it's usually a matter of influence... I think the reason most kids don't learn this and how to respect other people is they don't ride with adults. ...They need a fatherly figure to teach them how not to behave.

We need to be able to accept that not everyone has had the same teaching and understands the rules as well as those of us who are respectful do. And I believe that if we are patient and teach them, they will learn to change their ways.

89er i agree with you

I just think we need to be able to be patient with disrespectful people and help them change their ways

Posted by: BSWIFT---------------------

I can really relate to 89'r. Being a property owner and off road enthusiast, I was pleased to get a new neighbor that rides, even though it was a quad. Until recently, I used my fuel, tractor, and time to maintain our poor excuse of a road. In July, the neighbor had a relative come over, literally the day after I worked the road and began doing donuts and raising hell, right in front of my house. Like 89'r, we have horses and my wife was down in the corral working with one of the horses. She had to stop because of the noise and the dust coming from the road. I had just showered and dressed for a meeting and as I exited the house, my wife was heading down the drive way to confront this jerk. Needless to say, some heated words were given by me. The SOB even denied it, while he was sitting on the quad. I didn't wait for someone to call the cops, I did it myself.
To many people refuse to consider anyone elses rights. They feel that freedom allows this pretentious attitude. Be active in correcting this problem and do it safely and responsibly. No area of the USA is immune. I respect others equipment and will help anyone that I can but I will do what ever it takes to stop dilweeds from ending my ability to pursue this sport legally. Some people really do deserve to have there equipment confiscated. Do the right thing when you ride, ride legally, and respect land owners and neighbors.

Posted by: Ol'89r---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by pidro_el_pirata

Kind of like being good citizens. So we shouldnt be alienating teens within the dirt biking community. I liked what Sharn said...

We need to be able to accept that not everyone has had the same teaching and understands the rules as well as those of us who are respectful do. And I believe that if we are patient and teach them, they will learn to change their ways.

89er i agree with you

I just think we need to be able to be patient with disrespectful people and help them change their ways

pidro_el_pirata.

If you go back to my first post in this thread you will see that I tried that route. When they first moved in, I went and introduced myself and offered to take them riding and show them the trails. They laughed at me. They looked down at me like I was some old fool that didn't know anything about motorcycles or riding.

When they started to ride all over everyone's property and the neighbors started to complain, I went over and talked to them and asked them to please not do that. Again, I offered to take them riding and show them the places they could ride without bothering the neighbors. I did this several times. They laughed.

When they endangered my wife's safety by riding around my barn, I finally got pizzed. Up until that time I was going out of my way to be a good neighbor and welcome them to the neighborhood. But now, the deal's off.

Some people need to be alienated from our sport. Those that are doing damage to our sport by acting like jerks and don't really care about what their actions are doing to the rest of us. We would all be better off if they just went away. People like this are not worth our time.

The day before Thanksgiving I spent several hours on my Bobcat tractor grading the gravel driveway leading to mine and his property. We were having family over for Thanksgiving dinner the next day and I was cleaning the place up. About an hour after I was done with the driveway, the neighbor kid got his quad out and spun doughnuts all over the drive. I'm not sure if he is an arrogant jerk or just incredibly stupid. What I do know is every time he does something like this it lessens his chances of ever seeing the good trails.

I think I have been as patient as anyone could possibly be expected to be and now, I'm the one doing the laughing.

Posted by: dan7777777---------------------

Good post.

Posted by: YZmidLife---------------------

I have to agree with Ol'89r. Sounds like the kid finally realized where he might get his bikes fixed for free. If that's what he's after, I'm sure there's some nice heavy manual labor to be done around your property in exchange, before the bike repairs start. By the description of how this kid acts, it might be good head-start for his future career on the chain gang.

Do they still have those? God I wish that was mandatory (for his parents, too)!

Posted by: Ol'89r---------------------

Let me tell you about another neighborhood kid.

When we first built our house and moved in, my wife and one of her friends were riding their horses up the road. A couple of dirt bikes riders came up behind them and not only didn't slow down but sped up and roosted the girls as they went by. My wife's horse was ok but the other horse reared up and almost tossed it's rider.

When they got back to the house they were pretty upset. I called one of the neighbor ladys and asked her if she knew who those riders might be. When I described their riding gear and bikes she said, "That sounds like my son." Ten minutes later she showed up with her son in tow. She made him apologize to the girls and then said, " What should we make him do for his punishment?" Mow your lawn? Shovel horse poop? Whatever. My wife suggested we put him up on her 17+ hand Thououghbred and I would get on my motorcycle and ride up behind him like he did to the girls. The kid got big tears in his eyes and said, "NO, Please, I'll do anything but that!"

We never made him do anything for punishment but, the thought of getting on that horse made him think about what his actions could have caused. He has grown up now and has become one of my friends and riding buddys. He now has three boys of his own and they all ride and are very respectful of the neighbors. The big difference between this neighbor kid and the other neighbor kid is the parents. The mother didn't try to protect or make excuses for her son, she marched his butt up here and said what can we do so this doesn't happen again. Problem solved.

For those of you that suggested I go out of my way to try to deal with this other kid, that's not my job. That's the job of the parents and they have failed. I have many riding buddys that live in the neighborhood and finding someone to ride with is not a problem. I have neither the time or patience to deal with someone like him. My whole point of starting this thread was to point out what he has been missing due to his attitude and actions. He could have been a part of the group. He could have been shown all of the good trails but instead he rides up and down his driveway all by himself. I guess he really showed us.

Posted by: J-man---------------------

well i am definetaly not like that when i see cars or other riders i slow down and don't bother them. So not all of us teens are that bad.

Posted by: pidro_el_pirata---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ol'89r

Let me tell you about another neighborhood kid.

When we first built our house and moved in, my wife and one of her friends were riding their horses up the road. A couple of dirt bikes riders came up behind them and not only didn't slow down but sped up and roosted the girls as they went by. My wife's horse was ok but the other horse reared up and almost tossed it's rider.

When they got back to the house they were pretty upset. I called one of the neighbor ladys and asked her if she knew who those riders might be. When I described their riding gear and bikes she said, "That sounds like my son." Ten minutes later she showed up with her son in tow. She made him apologize to the girls and then said, " What should we make him do for his punishment?" Mow your lawn? Shovel horse poop? Whatever. My wife suggested we put him up on her 17+ hand Thououghbred and I would get on my motorcycle and ride up behind him like he did to the girls. The kid got big tears in his eyes and said, "NO, Please, I'll do anything but that!"

That mom did the right thing, thats the way it should be done

I guess I didn't quite see your point at first, now i understand. You're right 89er. And thanks for the good discussion

Posted by: XRpredator---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by J-man

well i am definetaly not like that when i see cars or other riders i slow down and don't bother them. So not all of us teens are that bad.

yes you are.

Posted by: flyingfuzzball---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by XRpredator

yes you are.

dont you have a son pred?

Posted by: XRpredator---------------------

yes. Not quite a teenager

He's annoying too, but at least I've pretty much got him trained.

Posted by: J-man---------------------

well beleive it or not some of us are not bad

Posted by: Rich Rohrich---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by J-man

well beleive it or not some of us are not bad

I don't believe it.

Posted by: XRpredator---------------------

Trust me, teenager type fellows, Rich and I know that you are all bad.

We were teenagers once too (Rich was in Fred Flintstone's class). We were bad too. It's the nature of the beast. Some just aren't quite as bad as others, but all are still a PITA.

That's the way it is, that's the way it always will be.

Posted by: mtk---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by XRpredator

Trust me, teenager type fellows, Rich and I know that you are all bad.

We were teenagers once too (Rich was in Fred Flintstone's class). We were bad too. It's the nature of the beast. Some just aren't quite as bad as others, but all are still a PITA.

That's the way it is, that's the way it always will be.

Close, some of them are just better at hiding it than others.

Posted by: flyingfuzzball---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich Rohrich

I don't believe it.

next your gonna say santa doenst exist

Posted by: pidro_el_pirata---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by flyingfuzzball

next your gonna say santa doenst exist

Wow fuzz.. he was poking fun at the misspelled word. Good job buddy

Posted by: riot983---------------------

the people on my block are horrible. I cleaned my bike for 3 hours when i first got it. took it out to go up and down the street. I of course kept the rpm's low because i gotta live next to these people. the second time i went down the street one of my neighbors stopped me and told me to walk it home. I did, even though it was uphill i respectfully did. And they still told my parents. My parents told me i could but just keep the rpm's low. which i was. who is in the right?

Posted by: flyingfuzzball---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by riot983

the people on my block are horrible. I cleaned my bike for 3 hours when i first got it. took it out to go up and down the street. I of course kept the rpm's low because i gotta live next to these people. the second time i went down the street one of my neighbors stopped me and told me to walk it home. I did, even though it was uphill i respectfully did. And they still told my parents. My parents told me i could but just keep the rpm's low. which i was. who is in the right?

the guy who told you to walk it. it is technically illegal for you to ride it on the road unless it is street legal and you have a license

Posted by: IndyMX---------------------

Quote:

Originally Posted by riot983

The neighbor.. Just because your parents said it'd be ok, doesn't mean everyone else has to abide by that.

Those people have just as much right as your parents do to live there in peace & quiet. It's not up to you or your parents to define what is "peace & quiet" for them.

He asked you to walk it home, you did. Everyone is happy, case closed.

I will sometimes take one of my bikes on a quick trip down the street after working on them, testing, riding, whatever... If a neighbor complained, I'd stop in a heartbeat. Don't want any drama from the neighbors at all.

Posted by: genipher---------------------

ok iam new to this my soon has a dirt bike project due on monday for his aig class and i was wondering if you had any information on tracks history of dirt bikes or anything to use thank you

Posted by: xsnrg---------------------

Ol'89r, your last post nailed it (last paragraph). The blame lies squarely with the parents. You said you talked to their dad 5 times? My bike would have been sold after 3-4 at most (at most). The Christmas I got my XR100, my older brother by 3yrs and my cousin (same age as my brother) also got used dirtbikes. Theirs both had lights. That very night, they thought it would be fun to sneak out and go for a 'night ride'. When they got back, their butts got tanned and their bikes were immediately on the market. The fear of losing my bike kept me from doing a lot of stupid things. My mother had little control over me as well, and I'd try to get away with things when dad wasn't around. But, they would have had to have been up in those hills you are protecting because if my mother or any neighbors reported me disrespecting adults or causing any property damage, I knew what my fate would be when dad came home! btw...dad never once hit me, but he knew how to intimidate and create pain in ways that didn't leave a mark! (ever get picked up by the short hairs of your neck as a teenager?) The greatest fear for me though was losing my bike, and I knew he'd sell it in a heartbeat if I screwed up!

Posted by: MSB22---------------------

im lucky to live in a small town. where no one really cares if you ride through town at a reasonable speed low rpms, cause they know your going to the trails right outside of town. They will wave, sometimes even come down to watch. Very rarely does someone glare at you as you ride through town.

I still can't believe you offered to let the kids go ride with you in your trails and they blew you off.

When someone comes up to me and says hey I got a riding spot you want to go check it out. I am like

Posted by: flying flea---------------------

Sounds like the kid's attitude and disrespect took a full turn on him in the long run. I can agree with the people who comment about the parents being the ones responsible, and at the same time i cannot. When i just started out riding at age 9, i had no idea of dirtdiking whatsoever. My dad taught me things like not riding around the horses, pulling over for cars, (gravel road) and picking up trash you leave behind. I am grateful he instilled good values and responsibilities from the start. Now when i ride i can use common sense to tell me what i should and shouldn't do. Got pointed in the right direction and rode that way ever since.

Posted by: RideTilDie---------------------

this is probally the greatest story i have ever heard. i've always wanted to try trail riding.

Posted by: sm7482---------------------

i hate kids like that. i myself am 15 and i personally would have loved a neighbor like you. I don't relate to any of the kids at my school because there all into video games while i'm into fixing my vintage dirtbikes. i'm always hanging out with the older guys now because i relate to them better than these stupid kids my age. i like hanging around older guys because of the knowledge they have and what they can teach me and such. well thanks for atleast trying to befriend some teens but its teens like them who give the rest of us a bad name.

Posted by: helio lucas---------------------

could this one be sticky to somewhere?
maybe general forum?
if not maybe to archives?

ol89´r, thanks...

Posted by: mdavidso---------------------

I am just a kid myself(15 years old). I would have to say that being involed with any kind of recreational riding can get out of hand. This one time myself and my buddy were riding up in what we thought was state land, it turns out that some guy had put a tent up and called this land his own. It turned into a shouting match. Anyway to make a long story short, he yelled and yelled I was being my quite self, and I open my mouth to say that we were just riding on an older state trails map when he blew up on me. I had to tell him that he was out of line and that if he would quite down we would leave. He reluctently backed off and away we went. A couple days later we were riding a different section of trails and again we saw him, this time he didn't say a thing but he knew he wasn't in his "home" land and we rode. He let us continue riding and a little while later my bike had a problem. I couldn't get it back started, after taking a little break and he was following us at the time, and offered to help push us back to a localised area and I accepted he helped push my bike back to the road, and I thanked him. After pushing for so long the bike cooled down and I was able to get the bike started, and the man smiled and walked away. We haven't seen him in the last year now. The moral of this story: That even though one person was wrong once doesn't mean the other wasn't wrong. I personally would talk to this kid, tell him to fix his bike, offer to help, ask if he would like to go trail riding again, and let the past be the past and look to the future.

Posted by: ODM2---------------------

This really should be stickied. I second that motion.

Really neat addition to the story mdavidso. It's great the guy helped you so generously, and great you were able to accept that help with humility and gratitude-especially after such a poor start.

89r- your generosity/pay it forward attitude is without reproach. This read is still as good as the first time I saw it. Thank you.

Posted by: inotocracy---------------------

Kid sounds like your average douche teenager. I'd be livid if my wife was almost physically harmed because of their stupidity. I bet he felt like an idiot after realizing how involved in riding you are

Posted by: _JOE_---------------------

Glad to see this thread brought back up.

As many others have said it's all in the way the parents handle kids misbehaving. ALL kids will do it, but lately it seems fewer and fewer are punished for it. My bike would have been gone in an instant if I would have had neighbors complaining. My Dad took me around the neighborhood and had me get permission to ride my bike in the trails behind the neighbors houses as they were mostly walking trails. After talking with them, all the neighbors said it was fine as long as I didn't tear things up. My parents made me wait until 10 in the morning to ride. I never had any problems with the neighbors in the 8 years I rode in that small patch of woods. They would all wave or stop me so they ask how school was going or something. I think just getting to know the people who will see you out riding goes a long way towards them accepting it.

Posted by: Mfillhart13---------------------

I understand your pain as i have been in nearly the exact same situation. It turned out that the friend (or the brother that moved out in your case) of the kid, was showing him all the wrong. After the bad seed went to jail (no surprise) i talked to the kid and he is now a great friend of mine and my weekly riding buddy. Great story though!

Posted by: goonn---------------------

although predator would disagree, some of us teenagers (me) are only jack-asses around friends in private situations. i have fouled many plugs riding my rm 125 down the road to the trails than p-o the neighbors, also every car i approach has the right-of-way in my mind... but around friends i can raise a little hell (just not around adults). all teens are dumb, some cant hide it and look dumb to the world, the key is being able to hide it from adults

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