My 11 year old son wants me to sell his TC50 so we can get him a roadracing bike for next year. That makes me very happy! There is a local org that has a junior class that allows up to 110s for his age group as a novice. He had a TTR110 that was so hard to shift he wasn't able to at all and I just left him in 3rd all the time, and if he really wants to do this I want to give him a real race bike, so looking mostly at the Ohvale 110 but I do have a line on a decent looking NSF100 for a good price. To be honest I just started researching all this so I could use some feedback as I know very little right now. I could save a few grand with the Honda and they are really cool bikes, more than likely reliable and parts are still available for them. But it does also look like the Ohvale is the real deal. I have heard mention of people needing to rebuild the engines often, would that also be true on the Honda though? What benefit would the newer but more expensive bike offer? Any other mini gp bikes to look for? I have heard of Bucci but have not been able to find any. I also have not found any used GP-0 110s either so my inclination is to go with the NSF as long as we're not missing out on anything major.
I would go NSF100. I’ve heard of mutlitple Ovahles that needed motor rebuilds. A few with low hours? However I was looking at the 190s. We ran NSR50’s and there were a bunch of kids riding them and some rode NSF’s which torque out of the curves easier. Both of those bikes are built well and just keep running as long as you change the oil.
As a side note, if a bunch of kids were on Ovahle’s, then I would consider getting one of those instead, so he is competing against like bikes and using his skills to get better.
IMO those aren’t that good on a kart track and are big heavy intimidating bikes for a 11 year old just getting started. My kid was 11 when we started and we were introduced via pocket bikes. By the second or third race I had already bought him a NSR50 and he raced both.
I have a pretty low hour Ohvale 110. It needs a new home. I’m near Annapolis MD. If you’re interested let me know. It’s just sitting in my smaller trailer.
You just need to shut down 1.3 of the cylinders. Instead of a Cripple Triple it's called the Single Dingle.
I don't have direct ownership experience, but the group that I ride with has a fleet of rental 190s and customer 190s and I have not heard of any significant reliability issues in the rental fleet and the personally owned 190s. I have also not seen any bikes fail on track while at the track and we're at the kart track most Saturdays. Given this anecdote, my experience suggests that the Ohvale engines/chassis/etc. are robust enough to survive rental fleet abuse. This is for the 110 automatics. Having said that, a buddy I ride with, just ordered an Ohvale for his daughter and it took him three (3!!!) weeks to get a reply from the US distributor. So, you may want to connect with them individually to see what the response time/support looks like for you. As for Bucci, I contacted them a while back (before I bought a Husky FS450) and the importer at the time, Benoit, was super responsive. I don't know if he's still involved, but it looks like the Bucci Moto US site directs to: https://jm-moto.com/bucci-moto-canada/. Might be worth reaching out to see what the level of support/responsiveness is from both and decide who you're most comfortable with. I don't have any experience with the NSF100 so can't help there.
What are your objectives? If you just want to get him some racing experience before moving up to the big tracks, put some sticky tires on a CRF100 and start turning laps. If you intend to stick to the cart tracks, buy whatever bike is most common at your local track so that he will always have someone to race with. That said, I had an NSF100. One hundred percent bulletproof and absolutely uncompetitive against mini motards on a tight cart track.
We started on the R3 at the kart track at 9 yo. OP said they were looking into racing. WERA and ASRA are 10 years old to race an R3. Maybe was unaware of the option. I've never seen a NSF100 at the track in recent years. Just get whatever everyone else in the class has. Probably going to be a KLX110.
Wasn’t Critter the former importer for Ohvale? Sold it to Hopkins? No experience with either and no opinion to give but good on you for hooking your kid up with good equipment whichever you get. :up:
Wow, I'm impressed your 9 year old could handle a bike that heavy. I agree to race what others are racing, as that is the best way to learn and compare.
I should clarify it wasn't the first bike he rode. But yeah it was actually a pretty drama free affair other than starting and stopping.
Thanks for the feedback guys. Like I said in the original post I am looking for 110cc or less because that's what the rules are for the junior novice class here. Objective wise I just want to give him a competitive tool to fight for positions so he can get into it. Maybe he'd step up to the 160 or 190cc classes but the end goal would be him coming to race with me at the big tracks. The mini gp bikes are really cool and I've def been leaning in that direction over a converted dirt bike, and it's probably the right time to have him learn the clutch. Nigel when you said the NSF100 was "absolutely uncompetitive against mini motards on a tight cart track" are you referring to the crf, klx, etc. 110s? Is it the riding position of the dirt bikes being better for slow tight corners or is there a significant power advantage? Not sure how tight these are in respect to other go kart tracks but here they are: https://rmminimoto.com/race-tracks/
The local kart track I ride at is .8 miles in length and looks to be a blend of the three tracks you linked to. Plenty of Ohvale's rip at our local track and IIRC Aiden Sneed has the unofficial track record on a Moriwaki 250. There's another kid that rides a converted 85 supermoto style bike who is also ridiculously fast at the same track. From my personal experience / observation either platform/type of bike will work. This also bears out in the mini endurance races I've been in. If the objective is to get your child racing, I'd buy for the class and the Ohvale is what the young kids that can race them do race.
The Ohvale is claimed 11 horse and 145lbs vs the NSF 8hp and 163lbs. We had 48 hours on a original 190 ohvale when we sold it. Looking at their rules the KLX110 might be a better platform. Pretty easy to add a big bore kit to 143 as they progress. And its a good pitbike, unlike the GP bikes.
