i bought my z when i was 15, but i had years of experience on other machines, just put the throttle limiter in, and let him get used to it, you grow accustomed to it, and it feels very safe for the power it has, just ride carefully and smart.

 

with the throttle limiter screw, you will be just fine... don't know where you live, but i live in wichita, ks, and have a brand new yellow one with less than 30 mins on it that i will make you a he$$ of a deal on. completely equiped with sand tires(4) and white bros pipe! let me know...craig

 

get the z400 warn him about being careful let him go and have a few wrecks and let him decide on how fast he wants to go

 

I dont think the Z would be to much for your 14 year old. The Z has power but I think anyone could ride it if they are smart enough and respect it. Anything can hurt ya but he should do just fine on it.

 

My girl friends cousin is 13 and he has a Z250, but rides his brothers Z400 like nothing, he also goes snowmobiling with his family from VT all the way up to the CAN border and has ridden dirtbikes and trikes a lot in the past too.

On the other hand, my brother who is 16 would litteraly KILL HIMSELF on my Z400, it has wayyyy to much power for him because he dosent know how to control it. His total hours all together on any kind of ORV probably ='s about 45 minutes lol. He doesnt know how to control the power, I let him ride it once in my yard while I was out there with him, but thats it, he didnt leave 2nd and I would NEVER even think about letting him take it out alone.

-Jesse

 

What you need to assess as much as riding skill is his decision-making.

My 12 year old and 9 year old ride our Raptor and Quadracer all the time, race up the dunes etc. They have great skill but only ride those fast ones while I'm watching.

 

if he has been riding for a long time and doesnt seem to totally F up what he has then id say go for it. Im 18 and I started out on dirtbikes in 1st grade. I had a little 2 stroke 80, then a 100 and then a 2stroke yamaha RT180 when i was 13. I got a Yamaha Wolverine when I was 14 and had no problems with that. I wasn't a small kid but i was no goliath. I was riding my friends CR125s before my feet could touch the ground on them and i never got too hurt. start him out in an open area like a feild and see how he does. try and get him on somebody else's bike. I wouldnt let him in the woods on a bike like that untill he is hauling *** in the fields because you want him to have a good level of control over the bike. My parents used to yell at me cause i'd be in ike 4th grade standing on the seat riding wheelies and riding my quad sideways across the back yard but things like that are what prepare you to understand the weight and handeling properties of a bike when you didnt mean for it to go up on two wheels or almost over backwards.

 

I bought my z when i was 14 i can handle it. It depends on the kid i was riding my brothers race ready cr250 around when i was 12

 

i have seen a 13 year old girl ride a hayabusa through all the gears,her dad was into street bikes before he was killed by an 18-wheeler while changing a flat on his bike trailer,she has an ozark 250 that she handles very easily,so i think he should take it easy 4 awhile and then ride like he77!!!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

how big is your kid. If he's a smaller kid i wouldn't. But then again he can always grow to fit the machine.