So I turned 17 on August first, and in the UK this is about the time to start working towards getting a vehicle licence. The thing is I want a motorbike, nothing fancy or particularly quick but not a steaming slag heap. 
 
My mum says she doesn't want me to have one but my dad is worse saying there is zero chance of me ever getting one so long as he is alive, he seems convinced that everyone who gets on a bike  will  and must die by it and that if I want to get a licence and a bike, he wont help in any way towards, and I quote;  "putting the loaded gun to my head" 
Worst part is both he and my mother rode a motorcycle for years, an era that ended when my father wrote-off the bike after going to fast on a roundabout and broke his thumb.

At the moment I’m trying my best to persuade them by saying that them saying I can’t ride is insulting me and that they are basically calling me incompetent.
Both seem set in their ways.

Any advice? Ever had to persuade a parent to your way of thinking?

Oh and the reason I really want a motorcycle is because I watched Mad Max and I totally want to be reckless with it.    

Say buy me a car or im getting a motorbike. Wont really help you get a motorbike but atleast youll have a car.
 
And all parents are going to hate bikes. Its not saying they think your incompetent, its saying that they love you and there are MANY inconsiderate drivers out there.

"And all parents are going to hate bikes. "

"

So I turned 17 on August first, and in the UK this is about the time to start working towards getting a vehicle licence. The thing is I want a motorbike, nothing fancy or particularly quick but not a steaming slag heap. 
 
My mum says she doesn't want me to have one but my dad is worse saying there is zero chance of me ever getting one so long as he is alive, he seems convinced that everyone who gets on a bike  will  and must die by it and that if I want to get a licence and a bike, he wont help in any way towards, and I quote;  "putting the loaded gun to my head" 
Worst part is both he and my mother rode a motorcycle for years, an era that ended when my father wrote-off the bike after going to fast on a roundabout and broke his thumb.

At the moment I’m trying my best to persuade them by saying that them saying I can’t ride is insulting me and that they are basically calling me incompetent.
Both seem set in their ways.

Any advice? Ever had to persuade a parent to your way of thinking?

Oh and the reason I really want a motorcycle is because I watched Mad Max and I totally want to be reckless with it.    

"

" @SuperSambo: they would buy me a car (a morris minor), and i know they aren't calling me stupid i'm just trying to twist their arms. "

" @SuperSambo said:

"And all parents are going to hate bikes. "

My parents still drive bikes. "

Until you're on your own, you're pretty much at the mercy of your parents.  Take what you can get and buy a motorbike when you're older.

Get a moped. You got to start somewhere and maybe they'll warm up to the idea of the bigger, better, faster and more dangerous motorbike.

Well until you're 18 (or whatever the age of being legally considered an adult in the UK is, you're out of luck). Problem is also I agree with them; motor cycles are death traps in comparison to cars. Look at the stats; they're pretty sobering.

"Get a moped. You got to start somewhere and maybe they'll warm up to the idea of the bigger, better, faster and more dangerous motorbike. "

Move out of the house and then do whatever you want.

Best of luck with this.  I once had to convince my parents to let me play a game that was considered "mature".  This was before ratings, but the game had scenes with strippers in it.  I wrote a paper about why I should be able to play this game and handed it to them.  It worked.  I don't know why.  I read the paper a while ago and it was pretty bad.

bikes themselves aren't dangerous, is not that they don't trust you, but all you need is a idiot who is driving ( there is LOTS of them), to hit u off and ur fucked, i been on a back of a bike, doing everything we were suppose to and some young driver didn't look, smacked into us and we flew off, remember is not that they don't trust you, is they don't trust everyone else.    

If they're willing to buy you a car, fucking take it. You can always get the bike when you move out.

I say give up or just keep nagging them about it.  Thats how I got mine to let me play M games

" @SuperSambo said:

"And all parents are going to hate bikes. "

My parents still drive bikes. "

" @CL60 said:

" @SuperSambo said:

"And all parents are going to hate bikes. "

My parents still drive bikes. "

Your parents must be pretty cool then? "

Steal a motorcycle, and drive it straight through the front door into your parents house.  Do a couple of donuts in the living room, then speed out.

Just take the car, and be happy they are offering to get you one.

" Move out of the house and then do whatever you want. "

Stab them both to death, sell their organs, and use the money to get yourself a nice bike. It's the perfect plan... I mean, even if the cops come for you, you've got a getaway vehicle! 
 
Keep us up-to-date on how it works out!

You know I kinda see your parents point if you  "totally want to be reckless with it."   and you just want one because of mad max.  

My parents did the same thing (and still do) Always told me that if I wanted a bike that I'd might as well get a organ donor card, too. They probably aren't at all worried about you on the bike but rather the drivers around you.

You can't work towards a license until you're 17 in the UK? Strange. It's 15 here in the US, though it might be different in other states (I'm in Maryland)

Let me get this straight before I insult you. You'd be paying for this bike, right?

A motorbike is a ridiculous idea, your parents are right.

Your parents are right, regardless of whether they are being hypocritical. The fact that your parents were dumbasses in the past does not change the fact that motorcycles ARE significantly more dangerous than cars- there are about 20 times more fatalities per 100 million miles of travel by motorcycles than by passenger cars. It's not rocket science- with a car, you are encased in a steel shell.  (citation, 2004 motorcycle statistics- rates have risen since then:  http://scienceweek.com/2005/sc050218-6.htm).
 
My recommendation is that you stop being immature, put it out of your mind, and in a few years, you will realize how ridiculous an idea it was. Yes, motorcycles do look cooler- but if you have half a brain, this won't over-ride your common sense. 

Meh i'd take car over bike any day

@torus:
you are mistaking my intentions I don’t want a bike so i can be a chick magnet, i want one purely to save money and hassle. I’m way more responsible for my age than most kids and its not like i lack the aptitude to learn, i was a glider pilot for a while. 

@copycatzen:
now you get me, i don’t have a wife or kids that depend on me so what does it matter if I’m decapitated?
the other guy will be driving a car no doubt, so he won't even notice he hit me.    

" Your parents are right. Driving a bike is very dangerous. I had a friend who died in 2003 in a nasty motorcycle accident. He hit a slick spot on the road and lost control driving straight into a car. "

If you are absolutely set on getting a bike, throw this line (or something similar as long as you're certain you are polite as possible) at your parents. 
 
 "I'm sorry that you feel that way Mom/Dad. However, despite your feelings on the matter, I have looked at the options and decided that I would like to learn how to ride a motorbike anyway. Seeing as that's how things are, I feel that you might prefer that I'd learn from you rather than I learn on my own."
 
If that doesn't work, there is nothing you can do until you are legally your own person.

I will like to give this a dual response, one as a parent of a 16 year old and one as somebody who had a bike at your age. 
 
I had a 250cc road/trail bike at your age.  I rode it for a year and truth be known, had an absolute blast.  Then a car failed to give way to me at an intersection in the city of Melbourne.  At about 50km/h I rode straight into him, launching myself off the bike and hitting his windscreen head first.  Lucky for me, I bounced off that windscreen and didn't go through it.  I then proceeded to tumble my way through the busy intersection, miraculously not being hit by another car. 
 
With luck on my side, I suffered just serious bruising on my legs and soreness all over, no breaks.  However, after staying home for a while (I was on my way to University), to get over it, I lost interest in school and dropped out of my University course.  I never got back on a bike again. 
 
Now, as a parent, how do I think?  Last year, I saw my first ever dead body when I saw a man embedded in a guard rail, still on his bike, slumped and lifeless.  It was a huge shock to me.  But, my daughter will be going to live in a city and going to University in a couple of years.  I am encouraging her not to get a car as they are really expensive to operate.  Petrol is just a start, parking, insurance, servicing, tyres, depreciation - it is massive.  I have told her that I will be willing to get her a moped style bike.  Getting a licence isn't easy in my state, so she has to work hard at it. 
 
Motorcylces are as dangerous as their owners are careless.  If you are truly defensive and assume that other drivers don't see you and ride accordingly, then you are safe.  I hear of extremely few (actually none) deaths on a moped.  Getting a powerful bike, even a 125cc one (power to weight ratios can make these bikes extremely fast), wil lead you into temptation to try it out.   I also strongly advise never to ride in the rain and at night.
 
If you are in London, a moped is perfect for reasons I have already stated.  So my advice to you, as a parent, is you need to accept that a moped would be your first bike and you need to sell that story to your parents.  Sell the costs benefit, sell the safety record of moped style bikes, sell that you are doing it for entirely rational reasons. 
 
They have every right not to be involved in any decision you make if they disagree - accept and acknowledge that.  When you are 18, you have every right to do whatever you like as long as you pay for , they need to accept that.  If you push them, they will stand their ground just as if they push you, you will stand your ground.  Act smart and mature and you have a better chance of winning them over. 
 
Good luck.

I believe the saying goes, "Father know's best." 
 

i would say buy a car. they are better and safer. i think ur parents should just get u a car. u would be to young to ride a bike. 
 
i also have stubborn parents. i know what u mean when that happens.

 
Start snorting cocaine and tell them that it's because they won't buy you a motorcycle.

"You can't work towards a license until you're 17 in the UK? Strange. It's 15 here in the US, though it might be different in other states (I'm in Maryland) "