mrliquid

Member
Dec 26, 2006
89
0
I know use your own judgement but in this case I'm being nagged hard.

I bought my 9 year old girl a Honda XR70 for Christmas and well she is doing better than I did at that age. First day she started out in 2nd gear because 1st was a little jumpy. By the next day she was learning to shift when starting off and in turns, so I'm pretty proud of her.

BUT, now my 5 year old little girl wants one. I know they have 50's and that I can add training wheels but isn't that a little too early?

What's funny is that I spent almost the exact amount on the protective gear for her as I did on the XR70.

All opinions would be welcomed! :rotfl:
 

oldguy

Always Broken
Dec 26, 1999
9,419
0
I guess 1 yr might be to young but in some cases......

I wish I had started my son a lot younger but just couldn't afford it at the time. Now I look at the 6 yr olds racing in the PeeWee class and envy them more then ever. If she has the coordination and the desire I say do it. Let her learn at her own speed and if in a couple years she decides not to ride at least you had a great couple years. If they both continue you have a lifetime experience very few dads ever get to enjoy
 

WomanRider

~SPONSOR~
Mi. Trail Riders
Jul 19, 2006
422
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Bruno and I started our son when he was 4 on a pw50 with no training wheels. He could ride a two wheeled bicycle, so we thought he could handle the pw50. That was 19 years ago. He is still riding and enjoying it.

To young? no. As long as you feel they are ready.
 

gwcrim

~SPONSOR~
Oct 3, 2002
1,881
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I started my oldest at age 4 1/2 and my youngest at age 3 1/2. The youngest is not yet 4 and he's still on training wheels. But at soon as the weather breaks, he's ready to try w/out them.
 

robwbright

Member
Apr 8, 2005
2,283
0
I started on a JR50 at 5 without training wheels. Dad taught me to ride it in our basement by pushing me around. My 3 year old daughter is on a battery 4 wheeler. My buddy's 3 year old has been on battery 4 wheelers since age 2.
 

XRpredator

AssClown SuperPowers
Damn Yankees
Aug 2, 2000
13,510
19
the younger the better, IMO. They have less fear at the younger age because they don't quite understand the consequences of their actions ;)
 

Bent6

Member
Jul 30, 2000
107
0
Personally, I don't like the thought of training wheels on bikes. I told my son he could start riding a bike when he could ride a bicycle without training wheels. This motivated him, and he was riding a bicycle at his fourth birthday. Whithin two months he was riding a PW50 without the training wheels. He'll never be fast on a bike because of his reserved nature, but he has always impressed me with his competence and determination operating machines.

My son has alway been a small guy. His first bike was the PW50 followed by Husky JR's and SR's. He is currently on a KX65. For small kids, the Euro minis have better power, balance, and are lighter than the Jap minis which are built to handle adults riding them. The suspension also works way better on the Euro bikes. I bought both Huskys used and sold them for what I paid for them.
 

oldguy

Always Broken
Dec 26, 1999
9,419
0
Bent6 said:
He'll never be fast on a bike because of his reserved nature, but he has always impressed me with his competence and determination operating machines.

.
Don't count on that. My son is so laid back anytime he is not on a bike or skis we often have to check if he has a pulse. Put him on the bike on a track and look out altho he is not the fastest out there he is definately one of the most determined.
 

FruDaddy

Member
Aug 21, 2005
2,854
0
4-5 on a PW50 is about right most of the time, but it depends on the kid. I am also againt training wheels on a motorcycle (and I think it looks really stupid on an MX track), it gives a false sense of security and doesn't teach the proper turn technique (lean in). If the child has good coordination and can ride a bicycle w/o the training wheels, then the kid is probably ready.

BTW, I am glad to hear that you spent so much on protective gear.
 

MX86

Member
Dec 27, 2006
214
0
i started on my first bike when i was 8. i was on my first 4 wheeler when i was 5. little scrambler 90 :) those were fun days man! definatly good idear with the protective gear. i have 3 sets for me.. (ya know how us youngins need to be stylin haha) nah i have a thor core set, TLD set, and a no fear set. dunno why i need 3 but i have 3 for some reason
 

KDX607

Mod Ban
Nov 6, 2006
130
0
I rode a pw50 for a few minutes while i was 5, then at 7 I got a yamaha enduro 100, and then one day i was riding back in the woods, I hit a tree and the bike fell on my leg and burned me. I cried for a bit, and then i was fine. I was wearing shorts and sneakers.
 

whenfoxforks-ruled

Old MX Racer
~SPONSOR~
Oct 19, 2006
8,129
2
Merrillville,Indiana
Why ride a bicycle when you can ride a dirtbike? No stink'in training wheels, please! Battery toys are quite expensive and almost as fast. I've seen kids that are 3 rippin the little bikes, I've seen adults who couldn't figure out how to get going for days. And best of all, there are some genuinely fast females out there! And more coming!
 

CRazy250

Member
May 28, 2006
334
1
well i started at the age 16 haha. ive always wanted a bike since i was probably 5 after waching and going to the supercross. the only problem was there was no place to ride in my city.......id say start young because i definatly wanted to but i couldent.
 

mongial

Member
Oct 28, 2006
81
0
My parents made the call when I was 3yrs old. It was a (I wanna say a CT 50) blue little trail bike with 3 speeds. For Christmas/5th birthday I was given a KX60. Although a bit harsh for that age, by 8 an 80 was the perfect thing to transition too. I have never been without a motorcycle in those 22 yrs.
 

JKOBD

Member
Jul 10, 2006
25
0
I just bought my oldest daughter a CRF50 and she has been ripping on it. She is 5 right now and has been jumping 2x4's in the drive way on her pedal bike since she was 4. The only real thing she still needs to work on is her pack riding. She kind of just gases it and hopes others get out of the way...lol.

We also bought the two younger girls, ages 4 and 2, power wheels and they both have been blazing around on those things. I wish we could have afforded bikes when I was growing up. I didn't get my first one until I was almost 15.
 

robwbright

Member
Apr 8, 2005
2,283
0
I taught a 7 year old girl to ski pretty well in a 4 hour session. Dad's been skiing 15 days or so since he started at age 45 and he's not as good as she was after 4 hours.

Start them early.
 

Solid State

Member
Mar 9, 2001
493
0
2 strokes for life said:
My uncle is starting off his daughter this spring and she will be 1 and a half. It is a 2006 PW50 with traing wheels.

My wife went riding right after conception (with no training wheels). Tell your uncle he's 2.2 years too late!
 

freakystyley

Member
Nov 27, 2006
55
0
My deal has been to let the kid tell you when they are ready. As long as they can handle a 2 wheel bicycle and want to twist the throttle - I say go for it. a 50cc dirtbike vs. a quad, I have been thru both and every time he crashed on the quad it landed either on him or right next to him - pretty scarry. The dirtbike has been "safer" since he can lay it down and slide out of the way, not to mention lighter, easier to handle and he is able to put his feet down if needed unlike the running boards on the 4wheeler.
If you have reservations about the start up cost, you could always try wallymart, get an electric razor 350watt dirtbike and let her get the feel for less than $150. and ditch it later in a garage sale when you find a decent pw50 or similar. My 4 1/2 yr old went from the powerwheels (jazzed up to 24v), kazuma 50cc quad ($100 garage sale score), used elec. dirtbike and now a pw50. Each step was a combination of his skill level and eagerness for the next thing - that said, he will be on the pw50 for a while unless I find a nice ttr50 with gears for him to shift. There is plenty of parental pucker factor with a 4-5 yr old on 50cc's!
 

MX86

Member
Dec 27, 2006
214
0
i remember my first bike. it was a 1980 yz125. tons of fun but a real eye opener to a newby rider. enough power to scare a 8 year old, but not enough that you would really hurt yourself. my next bike was a 1987 yz125, more ponnies and a harder hitting powerband. then after that came the 92 WR200. great beginner bike if ya can find one, easily controlable, and plenty powerfull, and not too heavy. then came the 97 WR250 and the 2000 yz250 and boy after the skills advanced these bike are a whole hell of a lot of fun :)
 

oilspot

Member
Sep 11, 2006
156
0
My son's 3 years old and I've got him on a pw50 with training wheels. He want's to do everything I do so he wants the training wheels off. He's got a pedal bike he's working like crazy to learn to ride (w/o training wheels). He knows as soon as he can ride the bike i'll take the training wheels of the pw.
I think the training wheels are good for the time being. He's learned really good throttle and brake control.
He did get a power wheels quad when he turned two. He was riding it backwards the first day. He's learned by hanging his legs off the back that he can ride a controled wheelie. Make me proud, and terrified at the same time.

I make sure that he wants to ride, and that he doesn't want to ride to make me happy. He's hooked though!
Oh yeah, he's already had to learn to lean into the corners even with the training wheels, they don't keep the bike from turning over at speed.
 
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