DarrylG2

Member
Aug 24, 2004
3
0
Hi all. I'm a new member and parent of 2 boys, ages 7 and 10. Personally, I don't like motorized sports, preferring hiking, backpacking, bicycling, canoeing and cross country/backcountry skiing. The same goes for my wife. But our kids have several friends with dirt bikes and have been bugging us about getting them one. I did have a mini bike as kid and rode friend's small dirt bikes and had a lot of fun at it.

I've been receptive to the idea of getting a dirt bike, but until recently got veto'd by wifey. She finially broke down and said it was up to me. Big mistake, LOL. So I stopped at a couple of dealerships, checked out manufacturer websites, **** and local papers, and even interviewed one of my son's friends who has a Kawi 110. It looked like the Honda X70 was a good choice, but it and the Kawasaki 110 were a little big, since my 10 year old is on the small side for his age.

I found a 2004 Yamaha TTR90E in a local paper and based on the specs, it looked to be the right size. However, I didn't know anything about it, since it doesn't seem to have the reputation the Hondas do. I needed to get some more info to help me make a decision quickly. So I did a search for forums to check out and this is the first one I came across. I found enough positive comments here on the TTR90 to detemine that it was a decent beginner bike and made an appointment to look at it.

The guy bought the bike back in February for his very petite girlfriend (4'9" and 85 lbs), but she dumped him, so he had no use for it. The thing was a little spashed up with mud, but other than that looked brand new. The mold nubs were still visible on both tires, including the center lugs of the rear tires! I ended up getting it with a like new KBC Motodesign helmet, goggles and gloves for $1,000. Sweet deal!!!! I saw his sales slip and he paid $1,963 for the package 6 month ago.

It's a nice little bike. I've taken it out for few spins and although it's no rocket ship, it moves along just fine. And it fits both kids perfectly, although I know my 7 year old isn't ready for it yet. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to run out and buy some boots and other protective gear in the next couple of days.

So thanks for being here when I needed you. I found more info here on the bike in an hour than I did in a whole evening searching the whole rest of the internet, and it helped me make a decision that me and the kids are happy with.
 

Tony Eeds

Godspeed Tony.
N. Texas SP
Jun 9, 2002
9,535
0
Darryl:

First ... Welcome to the site :cool:

Great first post. Tons of questions and information.

I can sympathize with your comments about liking human power sports over motor powered sports at many levels. The unfortunate part is that the human powered sports you mentioned seem boring to kids for the most part. My personal favorite is canoeing at this point in my life. I used to climb and have backpacked since the mid-60's.

All that is kinda a lead in to the point that dirtbikes are truly a family sport. Many of the folks here have children and dirtbikes are something that they can share with their kids. Dirtbikes can also teach responsibility as well, mainly because kids listen when you threaten to take them away because of grades or lack of motivation. Heck, you might have already know all this, but it bears repeating every now and again.

Regarding the bike, the TTR is a good choice for a first bike. Yamaha motorcycles have a great reputation and produce a good product. I have a TTR 125L with a BBR 150 kit on it that my daughter rides. She is a bit older that your children as my grandson (soon to be 4) is getting a Yamaha PW50 for Christmas.

We have some really fine members within a circle all around Connecticut. Check out the Damn Yankee Dirt Riders forum for some opportunities to meet some of them. Papakeith (another Moderator on DRN) is just east of you in Rhode Island.

Regarding the family sport issue, now Mom and Dad need to start thinking about bikes! Check out the What Bike Do I Get... ? forum. Run a search in there and you will find all the info you need (maybe more). Tell your wife to peruse the Women's Forum for great info about riding as well as tons of discussions about the trials and tribulations of being the parent of a child that rides. Those threads alone are worth the price of admission.

It is a bit late to consider this year because of logistics, but check out the DirtWeek 2004! (DW 2K4) forum for the largest family oriented bike gathering that I know of. It is held at Cooperland Raceway the first week of October each year and there are always a number of kids there right in the age bracket of your sons.

Hope all of that helps. If not, give us a shout. ;)
 

DarrylG2

Member
Aug 24, 2004
3
0
Tony - Thanks for the welcome, your insight, and the links.

At this point, it's unlikely that we'll be buying any more bikes. Just getting the TTR was a bit of a stretch on our budget. I'm in the third year of operating my landscaping business, and although it is profitable, money is tight. My wife has been a stay-at-home Mom since the birth of our 7 year old.

Yeah, teaching the kids responsibility is one of my goals.
 

kmccune

2-Strokes forever
LIFETIME SPONSOR
Jul 3, 1999
2,726
1
Welcome to DRN and congrats on the new bike! The TTR 90 is a very solid little bike. It was refreshing reading your post as it seemed that you had a struggle and that you chose on the side of trusting your kids. I say this because if I were in your shoes ( no bike experience) I'm not sure that I would have. ( I have great kids but it sounds like you were out of your "comfort zone"?) Any way, you will find that it is a very rewarding pass time with the kids and you may just find your self thinking of pedal bikes as training machines in the future :)

The best of luck with your new endeavor.., and the business too
:)
 
Top Bottom