10yr old ready for next bike, whcih way do I go

[firffighter]

My 10 year old has been riding for 3 years now and has moved from a crf70 (1 year on that bike) to a Kx60 (2 years on this bike). We trail ride only with an occasional trip to the Oregon dunes. He is not a very big kid, 4'7" 74 lbs., but is a good athelete. He does well on his 2-stroke 60, but he also rode a xr100 for 1 week this summer, and I noticed that he was much more aggressive on the 100, probably because the power was more managable. The question is whether to go to a 80cc 2 stroke (newer 85's are too tall and we are looking for used only), or to go to a 125 4 stroke, or something else. I want something that will take him up to 13/14 years old. I know he will grow, but he wont be a very big kid as my wife and I are pretty small. I am afraid a 80cc 2 stroke will be too much for him as it is a stretch height wise and the power is very strong for a 10 year old trail rider. I am also afraid a 125 4 stroke is too heavy and underpowered to last for 3/4 years. Any suggestions. Any trail/woods riders out there how have gone throught the same thing. This seems like a tough transition period for a kid as the move to the next level of bike is big not only in the power, but in the height as well. I would consider a 80 2 stoke if we could keep the power under control and not foul plugs if we lug it around all day on trails. I would also consider a 4 stroke if we could later add more power to it as he grows. I would appreciate any help on the subject. Thanks

 

[FruDaddy]

I think the 80 with a flywheel weight. Lower it a little, and make sure the jetting is spot on. The 125's would not be significantly faster than the 60 (actually it's less power and more weight) so I'm not sure that one could be considered an upgrade.

 

[Patman]

Look at a KX or RM since they are powervalve engines and will give better low end. Get the suspension setup for him, cut the seat foam then throw on a flywheel weight and you should be good to go. If you are up for it get an EG port job and you should be in fine shape.

 

[firffighter]

The KX80 and RM80 sound like the way to go. I took him to the dealer yesterday and he sat on a ttr125, which he could touch on his toes and then on the KX85, which was too tall. The ttr seemed to weigh twice as much as the KX (dont know official weights). He did sit on a '90's KX80 a couple of weeks ago, and it was not as tall as the newer KX85, as he could touch with his toes. I worry about the power of a 80 2 stroke as a dad, but I guess I should remember that as a kid more power is more better and more funner. He adapted to the KX60 pretty fast, so I am sure he would do the same with the 80. Does anyone know what years the bikes got taller on the 80/85's. I definitely like that the 80 would weigh much less than the 4 stroke and would have better suspension as well. How heavy of a flywheel weight do you use on an 80? Are there any other mods to help smooth out the hit? Thanks for the help.

 

[griffbones]

At that age he will have no problems adapting from a KX60 to an 85cc bike, like the KX or RM (power valve bikes). I lowered my sons KX85 by making some lowering links. I just used some 1 1/4" wide by 3/16" thick strap iron and made a set of links about 5mm longer than the stock links. The links were super easy to make, I didn't even make them dog bone shaped like the stockers, it wasn't necessary, just two flat straps with a hole drilled in each end, I also slid the fork tubes up in the triple clamps until the tubes almost touch the handle bars. This lowered the seat almost 1", and it works great! BTW - this will also soften up the rear suspension just a litte bit too, and at 80-85lbs rider weight, this is a good thing!
Just something to think about.
Steahly makes 8,10 and a 12 oz weight for the KX85, we use the 10oz weight and it seems to work very well.

 

[Cody305]

Things to remember...The KX85 is the smallest of the "modern" 85cc bikes. Maybe the easiest to transition from a 60cc. Great beginner 85. The KX doesn't have the "hit" that the others do, includingt the RM's. If the size is still to much, cut out some seat foam, or shim the suspesion down.
griffbones has some good ideas with the dogbones and flywheel weights too.
Aftermarket companies make a lot of trail worthy parts for the KX too. We see a lot of them at the Harescrambles in WI, MN and MI

When we made the move up from the 65cc bikes to 85's we put our son (age 9) on a used RM85. Yes, he was short, (4'3" 60lbs)but adapted very quickly to the bigger bike. He didn't even want to race his 65 anymore after that. He is now 13 and has a new Honda CR and is still small (4'9" 90lbs) and he is the perfect size on a 85 bike. Some of the kids that he races against are 16 years old and weigh over 150lbs!
He has to look up to them on the line. Its super fun to watch him get the holeshot and run away from them. Most of the time. lol

I am glad he is small. It makes it way easier purchasing bikes for him. I can buy 2 85's for the price of one big bike. We still have 3 years left on 85's. Should be fun.

Kids are sponges, they have the mental capacity to learn just about anything. You might be surprised on how fast he is able to adapt to the 85cc 2 stroke.
Confidence plays a huge part in developing a skilled, mature young person.
If you hold them back, you will never know if they are capable or not.

 

[firffighter]

Thanks for the input everyone. Sounds like the 80/85 2 stroke is the way to go. Like I said before, it is me who is leary of his transition, but I am sure he will do fine. We rode yesterday ( he rode his kx60) for 20 miles of very tight trails with lots of rock and hills (typical NW stuff) and he did great (only dumped it once). The 2 stroke will also let us do dunes and the occasional track if we want. We will be looking for a good used Kawi and put a flywheel weight on it. Now all I have to look forward to is his transition to a 125 2stroke or 250 2 stroke, and my other 2 sons going through the same transitions. Oh well, it sure is fun to take them out riding with me and to watch them gain confidence and learn the many responsibilities that go along with a motorcycle.

 

[Cool KX]

i have a KX 85 and my freind has a 125 4stroke he is about 4'10'' and he tip toes the bike and its very heavy i have only been riding since last Christmas and i do not have an trouble with the power my dad has it jetted good and i can bog it up hills fine

 

[nsxxtreme]

My girlfriend rides a 98 CR80 she is 5' 2"

The Honda had 2 diffrent size 80's. They had a small version and a larger version. I bought her this bike becaue she is short. She touches flat footed easily.

I stuck a flywheel weight on it to tame the powerband. She rides trails and putts. I have not gone through a plug yet, she's been riding it all year now. Its a fairly easy bike to kick also. All of our female friends ride her bike and seem to manage ok. I even take it out its a blast to ride, the bike is very capable and has room for someone to grow into.

It does ok in the sand if you stay in the powerband, it gets pissed off and over heats if you try to ride slow in the sand. Stay in the powerband it does fine.

Without the flywheel weight it would lift the front wheel when the power band hit. With the flywheel weight you really have to want it to lift the front wheel by yaking on the bars to get it to come up.

I am biased towards 2 strokes but I would say get a 2 stroke.
We ride at browns camp, Sand lake, jones creek, diamond mill, ect. The bike is probably a little much for a 10 year old, but with a little instruction he should do ok. He would probably be intimidated at first, the powerband hits pretty hard. I would recommend riding it with him at first. It's what I did with my girlfriend. Once she got used to the powerband hit and the warp speed that follows (feels that way anway :) ) I let her ride alone.

 

[82'yz100]

that wuold work

 

[firffighter]

Thanks for the input. Is there any difference between the KX80's and the newer KX85's? It looks like they are a bit taller (85's). I am going to be looking this winter for a used KX80/85. With a flywheel weight and some practice in the front field, it should be a fairly smooth transition. We'll just start feeding him a little more and hopefully he grows. My poor kids are doomed when it comes to height I'm 5'10" and am a giant in my family, and my wife is 5'2" and is taller than her sister and mom. Oh well, they are all great little point guards in the making, and Ricky does pretty well for a little guy.

 

[tnrider]

my son went xr70, ttr125le, rm85. main reason for ttr stage is we had the bike already and it was a gentle way for him to learn how to use the clutch. the rm is actually easier for him to handle size wise as it is less weight and shorter wheelbase. i put asv levers on all bikes as for some silly reason the mfgs all put long pull levers on these things.

 

[firffighter]

tnrider,

Good idea in the short levers. I was thinking of handguards as well.

 

[tnrider]

tnrider,

Good idea in the short levers. I was thinking of handguards as well.

the ttr has barkbuster (metal) hand guards, the rm has none since it is a track only bike right now. if you put hand guards on, make sure you adjust properly - most people put them up too high and then are at risk of breaking arms by catching in them when they endo or fly over the bars... :yikes:

 

[Rhein]

Id look into a used KTM. They make the best mini bikes IMO. I look at what the big 4 offer and they don't look like a scaled down version of a big bike, they just look like crap. KTM is also proactive with their 2 stroke development and make a good 2 stroke for your son. A lot of used KTM minis are floating around believe it or not.

check out whats on E-bay

 

[KLX110]

I think you should get him a klx110 kawasaki.

 

[Patman]

I think you should get him a klx110 kawasaki.

Imagine that :laugh:

 

[snb73]

CRF150R w/ small wheels.

 

[Vic]

Imagine that :laugh:

:rotfl:

 

[dank]

I just put my twin 9yr old, 75 pound boys on KX85's this fall. They moved up from JR80's they were already used to gears and clutches so they didn't have to learn that at the same time.

When we first go them they coouldn't even come close to touching the ground so I got some lowering links from pro circut and slid the forks up as much as posible. and backed out the shock spring all the way. I also instaled a set of hand guards and a skid plate on both bikes. The guards protect the leavers and throttle since I knew they would be falling over while learning to start and stop with just one leg on the ground. They have rode them about three times now and the last time out I don't think the fell over once all day. Kids sure can learn fast....

 

[firffighter]

I've been rethinking this whole issue. He rode the crf100 3 straight days over Christmas break and he really did awesome. We only ride trials and our 2 acre field, so I am thinking that a 2 stoke is not necessary. The 4 stoke is perfect for our Oregon terrain, and we don't ride all that often (20 time a year). He could ride the 100 for a couple years and then move on to a crf150 or xr200. Any thoughts? Is the KX 80 an easy bike to putt around on the trials? My concern with the crf100 is that he could outgrow it faster than the KX 80.

 

[slater]

seriously u need to know what ur son wants, if he wants speed power etc.
i'd say the 85 :)
but he might not b tall enough
so i wud go with the cr80 expert verison very fast for a 80 so thats my vote :cool:

 

[slater]

I've been rethinking this whole issue. He rode the crf100 3 straight days over Christmas break and he really did awesome. We only ride trials and our 2 acre field, so I am thinking that a 2 stoke is not necessary. The 4 stoke is perfect for our Oregon terrain, and we don't ride all that often (20 time a year). He could ride the 100 for a couple years and then move on to a crf150 or xr200. Any thoughts? Is the KX 80 an easy bike to putt around on the trials? My concern with the crf100 is that he could outgrow it faster than the KX 80.

If u dnt ride that often don't get a 2 stroke, quite hard to maintain
if you are worrie he will outgrow the 100 easy go to the crf150f :)
or even better go to the crf150r :boss:

 

[FruDaddy]

If u dnt ride that often don't get a 2 stroke, quite hard to maintain
if you are worrie he will outgrow the 100 easy go to the crf150f :)
or even better go to the crf150r :boss:

Did you know that you were contradicting yourself when you typed that?? The CFR150R is just as high maintenance as the KX85, only more complicted and expensive to maintain. They are both race bikes and must be treated as such.
The 150F might be a good alternative, as might a TTR, KLX, or DRZ 125.

 

[slater]

Yeah thats right ;) :whoa: :)