At age 26, I paid off my college debt by myself and I’m actively working. However, my parents were extremely angry when I wanted to buy a motorcycle. While I ended up with a Kawasaki Ninja 250r, and all of the safety equipment, my parents actually claimed that they were extremely disappointed in me and that my mother nearly passed out when she heard the news. I should probably mention that the motorcycle fits perfectly well, but they even tried to change my mind by having my baby brother cry to me on the phone.
While I know that I’m an adult and that it’s my own life to lead, I still can’t help but deal with emotion guilt at times. I’m financially independent, so it’s not as though I was using their money or anything like that. Rather, I fully paid for the machine myself. It cost around $5,000 and I could clearly afford it. I don’t see this as something that’s irresponsible. It’s certainly a way to get a dangerous toy, as my parents seem to call it, but it really is a way to get around. Perhaps only bikers can understand this in the first place, but there are so many reasons to own a motorcycle beyond the obvious. I knew that I wanted this.
The one thing that confuses me the most is that I took a safety course. I really wanted to show responsibility. I don’t advocate unsafe riding for anyone. That just gives bikers a bad name anyways. Most motorcycle accidents are caused by poor operation. This is just like an accident with any motor vehicle. While my parents have done some ridiculous things, like called a few people from my past to try and get them on their side, I’ve tried to be totally responsible about this.