New Bike for Son

[dlroy101]

My son is ready to make a move up. He first started on a PW50 and has been on a KLX110 the last couple of years. He has never rode a bike with a manual clutch before. He just turned 10 and he is about 4'8" and weighs 90 pounds. We only ride woods/trails, but he would like for me to build him a little track on our property. But that won't have any big jumps or anything that would require a motocross bike. I would like to go to something that will last a few years. Our options are pretty typical of I'm sure everyone else that has been through this:

Honda CRF100
Kawasaki KLX140 & KLX140L
Yamaha TTR125E & TTR125LE
Suzuki DRZ125 & DRZ125L

He has sat on most of these and with the CRF100 he could get both of his toes/balls of his feet down. On the others he had to go one footed. However, if I needed to I'm sure I could lower most if not all of these some by moving the fork up and adjusting the shock.

BTW, on the CRF100, I found a good deal on a new 2006, which would put it at a minimum of $900 less than the others. I don't want to make money the only decision factor though.

Any opinions?

Thanks,
Darrell

 

[Holy Smoke]

My son has a Crf100 and he loves it. It is a great all around bike and he just does not want to get off it. Go with the honda!

 

[XRpredator]

be careful, it won't take long for the kid to outgrow the bike. If he has the skills he'll be able to manage the taller bikes. Moving up to a clutch is a bit of a chore, though.

No matter what, I'm sure he'll have fun on whatever you decide on.

 

[Patman]

All would be a good choice. You can make a pretty big change in the seat height with an electric carving knife taken to the seat foam. Down the road just get a new foam and it's back to standard height.

 

[2strokerfun]

If you buy a used CRF100 and ride it for a year, I'll bet you can sell it for what you paid for it.

 

[DougRoost]

If you buy a used CRF100 and ride it for a year, I'll bet you can sell it for what you paid for it.

+1. The lower price and easy resale of the Honda CRF100 makes that an easy choice. They're not only popular with kids but gf/wives, too.