What age for kid's first dirt bike?

My kids each learned how to ride in less than a day, no training wheels. I think training wheels are one of the worst things for teaching kids how to ride on two wheels.

Training went something like:

1. Sitting on bike
2. Moving while keeping feet on ground
3. Same as step 2 but with short spurts of feet up
4. Long periods of feet up
5. Short spurts of pedaling
6. Longer periods of pedaling with me running beside/behind them to "emergency balance by grabbing the seat" if necessary.
7. Kiddo riding by themselves.

Done in a couple of hours.

Edit: then I got him one of the electric razor dirtbikes. Now he's asking for one with and engine.

 

yes (PM) and no

 

So what is better about the brushless motor Stacycs? Just looking at inventory online and they seem much harder to come by.

 

Get them an air cooled 1100cc hypermotard!

Good to see cool responsible parents do exist.

 

Turbo Busa as a starter bike or GTFO.

 

Completely skip the PW50 and do not get a TTR50.

Training wheels are fine. Mine asked for a dirt bike just before he turned 5, so I got the TTR because he wanted blue, and I got the training wheels. There may be some transitional friction when you eventually take them off, but
that, like the consequences of a good chili cook off, shall pass.

Honda CRF50 all the way.

The PW is an unnecessary step...just put the Honda in 3rd gear so it doesn't lunge on the start and let them ride. It will not stall and they don't have to shift. Most little kids that age don't have ankles/shins strong enough to use the shift lever anyway til later.
Also, IF by chance your little person does choose the path to MiniGP type racing, there are no classes for the PW50. Just save the money.

The TTR is 15 pounds heavier and a little taller in the saddle than the Honda. The electric start is a pain in the ass because if the bike sits for a while, the damned battery drains. The CRF 50 kicks over like butter.

EVERY kid in the spec 50 races at Sandy Hook, DMV and NJ MiniGP is on a Honda for mostly these reasons.

Then in the 110's as they progress, the Kawasaki KLX110 is the better platform. The Honda is heavier and has a little less power.

 

I just bump start my TTR50 in 3rd gear, FWIW.

I mean, there's a few people in this thread who have mentioned that they used Stacyc - seems like a no brainer to buy a used one and then pay it forward when your little one has outgrown it.

 

Oh no doubt. That’s why I’m looking at them. And it helps that josh and meli put hawk on one if I remember correctly. My question wasn’t why the stacyc but why the brushless motor version over the cheaper one? The cost difference doesn’t really bother me so much as it looks like simply finding the brushless version may prove quite difficult and just wondering if it justifies the headache when the cheaper one seems more readily available. I’m guessing there’s a reason the brushless is so hard to come by and it probably is worth it. Just wondering what that reason is though.

 

Brushless anything from an electric motor is "newer and cooler" (just going by my lithium battery tools), but it's really not worth it, IMO. Maybe ignorance is bliss, but the original stacyc does everything needed IMO.

 

The Honda 110 is fuel injected and electric start.

 

Absolutely no need for training wheels after the strider

 

After 2018. Yes. You are correct. I have a 2018. But it’s still not competitive in the MiniGP 110 classes. The podium is dominated by the KLX riders in the Spec 110 class.

 

The only person I’d recommend a PW50 for is if @Gorilla George had a kid. They come with white wheels.

 

I was thinking purely dirt play riding. All of those kid bikes are complete garbage from a performance perspective. Everything less than a 2T 65 is a joke.

 

Yeah nah, my kid fried the brushed motor going up a hill.

and the brushless does better wheelies

 

From a performance standpoint, our KTM 50 was pretty damn impressive. It is a good way to get accustomed to a peaky race engine without also having to master a manual gearbox. They are maintenance intensive.

 

Gotcha; unfortunately it seems like my daughter is just as slow as her old man.

 

full disclosure: you are not supposed to ride it on grass either. The drive fuse had to be replaced a couple of times before as well. But not once since we put the BL motor in

 

PW had the lowest seat height of the gas 50s IIRC. So if your little guy is a little little guy that’s probably a better option if you don’t want training wheels.

 

Strider @ 18mos
Pedal bike no training wheels 3yo
Pw50 no training wheels 4yo
Ktm 50sx mini 6yo
Ktm 50sxs 8yo

Something along those lines. Never training wheels. He would be on 65 now at 10yo (short for his age, always has been) but broke his arm 1.5 years ago. It was pretty bad. Haven't been able to get him on a dirt bike since. He'll still ride on the street with me, so maybe one day.