I’m in the market to get my 3yr old son his first ICE bike. He’s been on a Stacyc 12e for the last year and a half, and although he hasn’t fully outgrown it, he does handle it comfortably on the highest output. The problem is we live in Rio Rancho, NM and do a lot of riding in loamy sand which really heats up the motor and batteries. Unfortunately after 20-30min of riding the bike going into limp mode and eventually shuts off. We did find some hard pack areas to ride, but I’d like for him to have a little bit more freedom on the bike.
Like a lot of people, we’re managing some debt and don’t have much of a budget. I’ve put my own riding on hold so we can save up to get him a bigger, gas-powered bike. Beater CRFs and PWs in our area are $1,000 - $1,500. With that said, I did find a mechanic special Suzuki JR50 for $500. My wife and I are pretty handy, however I’m not sure how available parts are. Does anyone have any experience with JR50s? Is it worth it to save for a PW?
Pw50 is the correct first bike. The other choice is the e2, but not cheap. Buy a $900 pw, and sell it for 900 when he outgrows it.
We found the PW sucked in the loamy sand. There's not much torque there. The CRF50 or XR50 does better, but it is a little bigger and heavier... We just left it in 2nd gear when my kid was little and it worked great.
Crf50 is a big bike for a 3 year old imo.
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They don’t make the JR50 any longer. I think 2006 was the last year…
I believe that’s a DRZ50 in your picture you posted. The JR50 is a 2-stroke, dual shock bike
This. The bike in the pic is a 4-stroke DR-Z50 or DR-Z90.
The JR is still a good bike; very comparable to the PW50. There's actually two speeds in the transmission that a skilled mechanic can unlock. You are right to question the parts availability, however. There are probably few still manufactured for that machine, although I bet they don't sell really fast anyway.
I would stay away from the JR50 if you could because of its age the bike is going to need a lot of work to really get up to snuff. By the time you get it running and replace all the necessary seals and bearings you might as well have just bought the PW. That said, if you really want to go the JR route then call your local Suzuki dealer and see whether they can source the parts for that bike. If they can't source them then you're gonna have trouble sourcing them and its a waste of time and money to buy the bike.
PW50 for sure. Great starter bike. Wide parts availability. They hold their value well when you are ready to sell it.
Keep in mind that any 50 is going to struggle in deep sand.
Looks like Partzilla still stocks 90% of OEM parts, and the 10% they don’t are the usual suspects (engine cases, fuel tank, etc.)
You’re right about the age, however I’m not comparing this one to a new CRF50 or PW. Most of what I see are ‘98-‘05. Of course after I posted, a mechanic special PW popped up for a little less, but looks like it’ll need a little more work too.
Don’t be in a rush. A moment of patience here can reap rewards. You gotta remember too that a pw weighs at least 5x the Stacyc and there is a major difference between 10mph and 20 with a 3yr old. You can ruin moto at this age faster than anything. A bad first ride could be the end of riding for a year before you try again
DOH! Total brain fade 😑 my bad didn't mean to mislead
It's crazy that a clapped out PW around you is $1k-$1500 when a brand new one is $1900. Given the price of a new bike, It just does not seem worthwhile to purchase a used bike that's gonna need $500-$600 in parts to get right. Save up for a new PW or buy one of the many cheap Chinese bikes. This is honestly where those Chinese bikes should shine. It doesn't have to be super durable because he'll outgrow the bike before anything wears out.
I hope you guys have enough to cover medicals if someone gets hurt riding.
Yeah the resale of the PW is also what’s making it more difficult to get a reasonably priced used PW. Add on the fact that there’s OHV fees that get tacked on when you buy one from the dealer, and you’re closer to $2,300 for a new one.
My hope is that with some patience I’ll find a good used one. There was a post today for a recently rebuilt one for $900. It lasted about an hour before it was marked as sold… so they’re out there. Just have to time it right.
I'd take a run through the oem parts section of Motosport and RockyMountain. How many parts are in inventory? If everything is in stock then you're fine. If everything says 1-2 weeks then hold out for a pdub to come along.
I had to drive 3 hours each way to get a 15yr old $800 pdub. Bike was a champ and I sold it for $1k.
If you buy any little bike check the steering stem, a lot of been ridden by adults and the stem could be wallered out.
I know this won't be received well, but I might do a Kayo 60 for less than $1000 over a beater, worn out PW...
I was in my local RideNow and they had one and I thought it looked much better than I expected.
Just pulled up the link: https://www.ridenowgoodyear.com/NEW-Inventory-2026-Kayo-Motorcycle-Scooter-KMB-60-RideNow-Goodyear-AZ-18729275?ref=list
Good luck!
You got me excited, because that does make a lot of sense, however it’s 3” taller than any of the 50s I was looking at.
I think I found a decent one - if it doesn’t get sold by next weekend I’ll drive up from Albuquerque to check it out.
https://www.facebook.com/share/1ESPBNb3sW/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Pit Row
Got a 2006 off of Marketplace. $700 and runs first kick! Spent $11 to replace the front brake lever and $40 to get him a set of number plate backgrounds and it looks pretty damn good!
I can't believe how clean that thing looks. I'm happy for you man. So much fun watching your kid ride.
Awesome find! That thing is mint!
As others have said, that's a sweet little bike.
I think you can make it 2 spd, too? So, a bit more versatile for a youngsters progress than a PW.
2 shock mounts at the swingarm - I assume for seat height / ride height
My son and daughter started on kdx50 after a stacyc, they are the same as the jr50, it’s an 2004 and has been through my nephew , niece , 2 other mates kids and now my 2 kids , , and it still starts first kick
I had bought my kid a KFX50 (quad that used a jr50 motor), I found all the mods to do (mainly in the carb), but I saw plenty of posts on turning it into a 2 speed. Would be something worth doing. But frankly , time flew by so fast at age 4-5-6, it was a different bike each year until a 50senior, but even then, there was a practice 65 added to the mix shortly after
There was a restrictor slug in the tube between the carb and cylinder, and 2 pilot jets stacked on top of each other. Pulling the slug and extra pilot had that quad hauling with me on it
Jr 50s are great little bikes that can be used and abused for years. We got one for $300 years ago, both of my kids learned to ride on it (along with stacycs) and we still have it for when cousins/etc visit. Parts are attainable, and they require very minimal maintenance in my experience. We actually had a pdub and a Jr at the same time (kids are close in age and tend to overlap bike sizes) and we decided to keep the jr.
My 3 kids all learned on this JR50
Good times!
The Jr 50 is a great bike my son started on one at the age of two with training wheels I made different size washers for the exhaust to gradually increase the power. I would definitely recommend bypassing the oil injector they run too fat and the pumps have a tendency to fail run pre-mix 40 to 1 and yes you can make it into a two-speed when they're ready!
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