mini bike for 9 year old

[phatmanmike]

hello. i would like to purchase a small dirt bike / mini bike / trail bike/ etc for my 9 year old son who will be 10 in august 2005.<br /><br />my buddy has a 7 year old son and a 50cc yamaha mini dirt bike with a one speed tranny and his 7 year old thinks its a blast. my son always gets jealous and i would personally like to go for small rides with him through the trails or tacks around here.<br /><br />if anybody here has a similar aged son or daughter and a similar sized min/dirt/trail bike, could you please let me know so as to help me on my decision making process.<br /><br />i would honestly like it to be a single speed tranny like the 50 yamaha instead of him having to switch gears, as this would be his frist bike.<br /><br />pics would be even better, you can email them to phatmanmike@yahoo.com<br /><br /> thanks<br /><br />mike

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: mini bike for 9 year old

I have a friend who purchased a Yamoto 50cc for his grandson (age 7 also). It was allot cheaper than the yamaha and does the same job.<br /><br />Bob

 

[rayjay]

Re: mini bike for 9 year old

Honda XR80. 4stroke, 5 sp with a manual clutch. That 9 yr old is smarter than you give him credit for. The Honda is geared low so it is easy to get rolling and he will have the shifter figured out in less than an hour. Then your bud's 7 yr old will be the envious one. Hondas' have great resale value. When I had my shop I used to refurb the 80's, 100's and 200's. $1300 for a 80, $1400 for the 100 and $1600 for a 200. <br /><br /> A single spd, auto clutch is about right for a 4/5 yr old. I have a friend with one of my refurbs for sale but he is in the Atlanta area.

 

[jimr]

Re: mini bike for 9 year old

the honda XR80 is the best beginner bike for a kid. A friend of mine had one when we were kids and we couldn't kill it. his cousin had a suzuki ds80 and it was ok but didn't last nearly as long. If you get the 50 he will out grow it in no time.

 

[fixin]

Re: mini bike for 9 year old

My boys (7 and 8)have a Yamaha Bigweel 80.They love it.It took them about 1/2 hour to learn how to shift.We will probably get them a new Honda XR80 this spring.They are really nice bikes.If your going to buy new,that's what I would get.

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: mini bike for 9 year old

One of my many trades is bike mechanic (hence my scathing comments about 49cc aprilias-sorry!)<br /><br />If you're going to buy your son a dirtbike stay WELL clear of the new craze for "midi-moto" style dirtbikes. These actually sound just like the right thing on paper but the cheap chinese copies that are flooding the market right now have weak engines and very dubious frame build quality.<br /> A friend whos bike shop I occasionally work for looked into selling them as a commercial venture and after much research decided that they are way more trouble than they're worth with horribly fragile motors. <br /><br />Stick to a branded name that you recognise if you can-if not then look extremely carefully at the build quality of the frame and the quality of the welding etc.Pay particular attention to the build quality of the shockers and swingarm. Some have adjustable throttle restrictors so you can limit the speed until he gets used to it.Incidentally I beleive it's possible to get an automatic clutch conversion for some 60cc Japanese childrens motocrossers-the KX60 Kawasaki springs to mind.These retain the gear lever but dispense with the clutch so are very easy to learn on.They should be physically the right size and can easily be converted to manual clutch when needed,and throttle restrictors are also more readily available if not fitted as standard.<br /><br />Also check spares availability before you buy if you're considering second-hand. Motocrossers tend to be outdated quite quickly over here and parts aren't always available off the shelf. I recall one incidence when it took 6 months for a cylinder head to arrive from Japan for a 6 year old bike.<br /><br />That's my waffle over with, hope it helps!

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: mini bike for 9 year old

Having what was posted while I was typing, I agree. The XR80 is ideal and the 4-stroke engine is tough and should outlast a 2-stroke by years.I'd forgotten about them! Listen to the cam bearings if you buy a used one though as they can be suspect when the bike's been used hard.

 

[ob]

Re: mini bike for 9 year old

Fixin.Bought my kid a Yamaha 80 bigwheel when he was 7.Three speed with automatic clutch on the 80 is a snap to learn on.Still works great.I just never use it anymore other than starting it up every so often.Probably sell it for a couple hundred bucks whenever.Yammy still puts the same engine on the newer 80 cc mini trails. Wish I'd got a new 250 bigwheel for myself when they were still getable.

 

[kenimpzoom]

Re: mini bike for 9 year old

I bought a Chinese 49 cc dirtbike from Pepboys for 350 bucks on special (500 regular price). Lots of info about it on the Pep Boys website. http://www.pepboys.com/transportation/dirtbike-minibike/dirtbike.html <br /><br />My son is 8 yrs old and loves it.<br /><br />The thing runs great, and it holds me at 250 lbs.<br /><br />So far no defects. I think the build quality is really good. I looked at other brands and they were junk. This one looks good.<br /><br />I couldnt find a used bike for that price, much less a new one.<br /><br />My friend bought one too and his kid loves it.<br /><br />Ken

 

[rayjay]

Re: mini bike for 9 year old

Before you go look at used XR80's let me do a long post about what to look for. What Nos4r2 said about the cam "bearings" is true, the cam rides directly on the head and the oiling is a bit hit or miss. Many used ones have roached heads, cams, rockers, rocker carrier, cam chain and sprockets and cam chain guides. The valves are usually shot too. About $300 in parts plus labor.<br /><br />It is easy to check for. Pull off the seat and tank and then the cyl head cover. There will be the cam and related bits. If the teeth on the upper cam sprocket are all chewed up then the head is likely trashed. The bad ones usually make a lot of noise from the top of the motor.<br /><br />Also pull off the magneto cover on the left side of the motor. People let the chain get worn out or just plain too loose and it jumps off and tears up the cases in front of the sprocket.<br /><br />Pull out the airfilter to see if the foam has been kept clean and oiled. <br /><br />There are lots of good XR's out there, you just have to do some checking and searching until you find a good one.<br /><br />You put a Yam PW80 and a Honda XR80 side by side and start comparing the air filter set up, frame, suspension, etc and you will go with a Honda.

 

[fixin]

Re: mini bike for 9 year old

Ob...Yep it's a great little bike.I actualy wanted to get them a smaller bike,but a couple we met on the river had one that was recently rebuilt,for $400 I couldn't pass that up.Within a couple of hours the boys were riding like pro's.Kind of scary at first(me not them).I'd guess it runs 20+mph with me on it(250lbs).I think the BigWheels are getting scarse,you might want to hold on to it,might be worth a few bucks in a couple of years.

 

[tomatolord]

Re: mini bike for 9 year old

We are gonna do the same thing for our son in july 50cc but he will be 8<br /><br />dont let size full you some 50cc can go faster than an 80 and they are priced accordingly.<br /><br />They are good beginner bikes<br /><br />there are pros and cons to not shifting<br /><br />Pros easier for the kid to learn 1 thing at a time like not shifting, but it also goes with you cant go fast until you learn how to control the bike<br /><br />Cons - You get to go really fast really quick on the bike<br /><br />Dont skip the training part - remember how long it took your kid to learn how to just ride a bike!<br /><br />From what I know about the chinese bikes they are all 20 year old versions of honda/yamahas etc. The japanese sold their used molds to the chinese so you are buying a honda, in the case of pep boys but the bike is not put together as well because the molds are old<br /><br />Personally I find that anything I buy from china is not only priced cheap but is cheap and I have to take it back 3 times before I get one that works.<br /><br />Also these bikes hold their value - even ones 5 years old go quickly and at high prices.<br /><br />let us know what you decide!

 

[one more cast]

Re: mini bike for 9 year old

All I can say is before you decide go to the Honda dealer and check out the 4 stroke models. Go to the link below, click Motorcycles then Off-Road and the CRF50 and CRF70 are 3 speed clutchless and the CRF80 is a 5 speed clutch. These bikes are almost bullet proof and have great resale value. http://www.honda.com/ <br /> Check ebay for Honda Z50 CT70 SL70 XL70 these bikes date back as far as 1969 and are still running.

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: mini bike for 9 year old

I agree with tomatolord- but you'll also find that some of the chinese bikes aren't powered by the 20 yearold honda design-the REALLY cheap ones are powered by a larger cheap and nasty copy of a (I beleive Kubota) strimmer engine. These are the ones that'll blow up within weeks.The honda-copy engined ones are better, but still have very suspect build quality and the dubious electrics unfortunatley don't appear to be copies of the usually reliable honda ones.Stay particularly clear of Siamoto's- I've just spent 2 days hunting for an intermittentt electrical fault on one during which I found the contact cleaner I was using actually melts the contact blocks they used!

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: mini bike for 9 year old

ps this is an example of the strimmer engined ones NOT to buy that have the strimmer engine in.<br /> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....0393696&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW#ebayphotohosting