When to move up from 85 to 250F

My kid went 85 to 105 to 125 between 12 and 15. He's about your age, but a good bit lighter. He's already quick on the 125 with only 25 hours on it so far. In another 50-75 hours he will rip and then can take that to a 250. He can ride a 250 pretty well now, but like the guy above said, he's too light to really control it when things go wrong. Don't be in a rush. If you can find a good used 125 I'd go that route until you are at least 16. How many years have you been riding and what's your level now? Are you comfortable riding a 2 stroke properly?

M

Went through the 85-125-250f path with the kid. Rode the 125 for 3 months, struggled with it, wasn’t interested in going riding. Tried a 250f, immediately smoother, faster, looked more in control and loves riding again. Depends on the individual and riding style if you ask me. Don’t agree with the whole 125 will make you a better rider either, practice and working on technique will have the same results on a 250f or even a 450.

I wonder where all the two-stroke love went?

To the guys advocating 250fs: If you were placed on a 250f and was asked to do a part of a track the fastest you can ride and afterwards replicate the laptime with a 125; what bike do you think you were fastest on? I bet most people (including me) would be faster on a 250f. My point being you have to put much more effort in the 125 to ride it fast. Which is a good thing! As a youngster progresses its much easier to injure yourself or do stuff waaaaay over the skill level of the rider with the 250. You have to have a certain skill level to ride the 125 fast and that comes through repetition of technique and hours and hours of riding.

You basically cant kill yourself on a 125 as easily as on a 250f.

Ok, I’ll go and grab a beer now.