who has kids in off road motorsports?

mustangmike6996

mustangmike6996

Club Member
How youung is too young to get you kids into motorsports, example-dirtbikes

I saw a 50cc Honda with some training wheels and thought it would be pretty cool to start my kid out young.

Thoughts/comments?
 
How old is your kid? I bought my son's bike before his second birthday but didn't give it to him (or show it to him) until he was 4 years old.

If his mother doesn't mind then start him young. My son rides his 50cc Yamaha TT-R with training wheels. The Honda and Yamaha both have a adjustable throttle stop screw. I gave him the bike last August, he only had 1/16th turn on the thottle. When I tried to give him more he said it was to fast. This summer he has about an 1/8 of a throttle turn and wants more. He knows what he's comfortable with (for the most part). He can get it in first gear to start off but doesn't shift after that. So his max speed is about 12-13 mph. He absolutely loves it. His first few rides were with my on the back of the seat so I could give directions until he learned how to ride by himself.

My wife insisted he has all the gear, helmet, gloves, chest protector, (moose riding boots came with the bike) and he has to ride in jeans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cnAABxrl9U
Video of AC on the trail, me following on a moped with my iphone recording.
 
I remember asking this question a few years ago lol

my boys are 4 and 7 now , I got them a set of quads about 2 years ago , my oldest had a 110cc with a throttle screw and my youngest had a 50cc with a throttle screw ( both had no gears just gas and go ) , my youngest has been riding sence he was around 2 and a half on quads , now hes 4 and grew out of the quad faze and they both moved up to dirt bikes , my youngest is on a 70cc 4 speed with no clutch and my oldest is on a 90cc 4speed with no clutch , my youngest is a small 4y/o and realy doesn't have the strength to kick around the gears but I can set him in 1st or 2nd and hes fine and just rips around .,. different kids start at different time ,., they will fall thow and when they do it could go both ways , my oldest got a bit cocky once and bit the dirt and the bike landed on him , he was ok but was sketchy on jumping back on , my youngest has no fear of anything and jumped on his brothers bike with just a tad more power and throttle response and pegged the throttle wide open and hit the dirt hard but was ready to get back up and do it again
 
I work in the industry, so I see it all the time. If its something you guys can do together, I think its a great activity for a family to participate in. In my humble opinion, its a great idea to start them off young. Not only is it fun, its a great tool to teach a child responsibility and a sense of accomplishment. As his or her skill level increases, the training wheels come off, and the obstacles in a dirt enviroment are always changing, so its a good challenge. Dirtbikes and ATV's are also a great way to learn some mechanical skills- they always need maintence, so its a good way to teach a kid how to work on things and follow a service schedule. Typically a kid that grows up riding and working on their own stuff will develop some pretty good wrenching skills, which is becoming more and more rare these days.
Speaking from personal experience, it kept me out of trouble in my younger years- I was never concerned with partying, drugs, or alcohol, because all I was looking forward to was getting out of school to go get my bike ready for the weekend. I will never forget the days of Dad and I loading up the bikes and going riding together.
 
Yea, he is around that age right now and enjoys stuff like that. I have found quite a few 50cc hondas and 1 KTM for about 300-800 bucks. the training wheels dont look too bad either (the ones that go under the center of the frame)

I know I had an 80cc when I was 10 and that was plenty big for my first bike so I figured that a 50cc wouldnt be too bad right now. Normally his mom is super protective but she actually supports this idea.
 
standy said:
I work in the industry, so I see it all the time. If its something you guys can do together, I think its a great activity for a family to participate in. In my humble opinion, its a great idea to start them off young. Not only is it fun, its a great tool to teach a child responsibility and a sense of accomplishment. As his or her skill level increases, the training wheels come off, and the obstacles in a dirt enviroment are always changing, so its a good challenge. Dirtbikes and ATV's are also a great way to learn some mechanical skills- they always need maintence, so its a good way to teach a kid how to work on things and follow a service schedule. Typically a kid that grows up riding and working on their own stuff will develop some pretty good wrenching skills, which is becoming more and more rare these days.

Speaking from personal experience, it kept me out of trouble in my younger years- I was never concerned with partying, drugs, or alcohol, because all I was looking forward to was getting out of school to go get my bike ready for the weekend. I will never forget the days of Dad and I loading up the bikes and going riding together.
Click to expand...


Yea, Im looking to get a bike again too. I need to teach him to ride first tho. He is pretty good with working on things for being as young as he is. Always interested, retains mechanical knowledge and isnt afraid to try new things most of the time.


Where does everyone go to ride? I know there are some tracks within about an hour from clinton twp and there are some trails up north. What do you all prefer?
 
Standy is a great rider, seen him do cool stuff back in the day. I had a Honda 50 about 10 years ago(when I was 36) and rode with a group off adults on them. They have plenty of power and are a blast to ride. I had more fun playing around on the 50 then I did on my 600 and 900 Ninjas
 
funny you mention that. I have a pocket bike and that thing was more fun to screw around on than my R6 was lol and actually wayyyy scarier too
 
Been looking for a 50-65 for my nephew. I got him and his sister a 90cc quad last year but he really wants a dirtbike. Pretty sure a pw50 is too small. Think a Ktm 65 would scare him. I was dumb and past up a ttr90 a few weeks ago
 
My younger kids started riding around 8 years old. I think riding quads helped them as they transitioned into driving cars. Depth perception, and their distance and braking skills are definitely enhanced through their motorsport upbringing. Just my $.02....
 
Speedy said:
Standy is a great rider, seen him do cool stuff back in the day. I had a Honda 50 about 10 years ago(when I was 36) and rode with a group off adults on them. They have plenty of power and are a blast to ride. I had more fun playing around on the 50 then I did on my 600 and 900 Ninjas
Click to expand...

Thanks for the compliment! I really miss the good old days of motocross and stunt riding, but I got preoccupied with work and all that nonsense, so I'm a bit rusty. lol I never could master the 50 like you guys did- all I ever did was crash on those things.

One thing that led to me giving up the off road stuff was lack of places to ride. They're out there, but you gotta look long and hard. I used to go out to Pontiac and ride the wheels off my motocross bike, but sadly, all those places have been turned into trailer parks and churches now. Best place to find is a track on private land...there's lots of them around, but you gotta run in those circles. Best place to find those people are at public riding areas (like the Mounds in Mt. Morris) and motorcycle shops. Milan has a decent motocross track, as well as a track for the little guys and girls.
 
5 years old seems to be a common age to get a kid on a pw50 sized bike or similar sized quad. My son rode a kitty kat at 2 1/2 with me running next to him making sure he didn't steer out of control. The next year at 3 1/2 he mastered it and broke his cherry with his first decent crash. At 6 he was driving my Moms 440 fan all over the lake with me on the back. At 7 he was doing the same on my 700. Last year, at 8, I was gonna cut him loose on the 440 on the lake, while I rode next to him, but the ice was sketchy all year. The biggest thing I have found is that if they scare themselves, they are reluctant to get back on and getting them back on the "horse" is the most important thing. My kid is 9 now and riding a go kart with an 11 horse torque convertered drive that hauls the friggin mail with me on it but he knows his limits and does really well. Good luck, and cherish these times...they are awesome!!! :lol:
 
I will admit I don't know much about dirt bikes, but you can get boys or girls into competitive karting at 6.
 
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