What bike for a kid who wants to learn the sport...

Xr80 was my first bike.... depending how old/tall he is.

You buy the cheap as shit bike and it will go down in value quickly, most likely break and then it will be worth zero.

Buy the nice used KX65 (as long as it is nice), run it for a while and sell it for what you paid for it. A nice used KX65 will pretty much always be worth $1000.00. It will end up being a free bike.

Unless it's totally different in Europe than here in the states....parts for the Chinese bikes are non-existent. When it breaks...it's just a paperweight. Someone that knows otherwise please chime in.

I bought up several China pit bike junkers from my dealers service area, usually $50 to $75 would get them. Straighten them up a bit ,and thrash them. The Honda clone engines hold up OK. The bikes / components are usually a bit cheesy. But for as hard as a beginner will ride it, without knowing whether he will ever ride it more than a few times, you can get by with the Honda cloned junk.

Get him a mild, semi automatic transmission 70-110cc. He will have more fun than stalling, clutching, bogging a high strung race model bike.

$50 from the boneyard. Ran good, Someone tagged something, and broke the clamps.
[Before



After. Ebay used front end,a set of used PW50 tires, plastic kit, el cheapo grips, air filter, some old stickers laying around. Had less than $200 in it ,total, including the $50 purchase price. Beat the dog crap out of it for a few months. Never broke, sold it running to some kid.

Xr70 (crf) was my first bike. Was 6-7 years old

This one was more expensive, $75. Rear tire was prego, and the steering stem got loose and dropped its balls. That was it.

Before.





After.
A tire, a few ball bearings from the hardware store, a chain, grips. About $125 total in this one. I'm a cheap bastard. Keeps your eyes open, you don't have to spend a ton to see if the kid even likes it. I've done it both ways myself, and the cheap stuff lessens the hit for a first timer.

Thanks project racer for your inside info. You've got a few chines bike, thanks for the pictures, are you happy with those T-Frames they call it? Are they solid? All your bikes seemed to have T-Frames (mine first picture in the begin post have one too). Just wanna be sure they are holding up fine.

Another . Gave $50 for it. Rear wheel had exploded all the spokes. Bought a cheapie wheel set, some ebay plastic, chain, filter ,grips. Had about $225 in it. Believe it or not, this would run rings around a CRF50/70. It was pretty spunky for what it was.

XR 100

Everyone be should have a xr80/100 or similar for giving acquaintances their first taste of 2 wheels and an engine.

MXMattii wrote:

Thanks project racer for your inside info. You've got a few chines bike, thanks for the pictures, are you happy with those T-Frames they call it? Are they solid? All your bikes seemed to have T-Frames (mine first picture in the begin post have one too). Just wanna be sure they are holding up fine.

I never really jumped those bikes. Just a bit of air occasionally. I weigh 190 lbs, never broke any of the frames. Not to say they won't under some real pounding. Just sold this. Robbed the 110cc engine for a Honda mini trail I'm messing with.

Mini Trail with the 110 from pit bike above.

I had a couple Chinese minis. Clutch and 4-speed. They only lasted a year, lots of stuff breaking constantly. But, they were cheap, and fun! My son and I could smoke any other bike out there, including a very trick Klx140. We ran them hard, broke frames and such. Worth it though. Probably not again though, it was just for a bit of fun. Bought them for 800 each, got 500 back each.

XR / CRF 100 - My kids, wife, nephews, nieces have all learned on them through the years. Super easy mellow bikes to learn on that are bullet proof & indestructible.

Have also heard from friends the TTR models are also good beginner bikes.

Don’t get a Chinese pos. If your gonna spend 700 atleast than get a 110klx or crf80 or pw80

Bought a new TTR50 a few years ago. One of the stiffest shifting gearboxes I have ever experienced, and took forever to warm up. Removing the plug to gain access to the air screw, and a richer pilot cured the long grinding sessions on the starter, and made warm up a bit faster.
Hell, it was even hard for me to shift it, much less a little kid. Took a beating on it when I sold it. It was like new, but lost a bit on that one.

newmann wrote:

You buy the cheap as shit bike and it will go down in value quickly, most likely break and then it will be worth zero.

Buy the nice used KX65 (as long as it is nice), run it for a while and sell it for what you paid for it. A nice used KX65 will pretty much always be worth $1000.00. It will end up being a free bike.

^^ this

Used klx110

Why do you want to buy a MX bike for a beginner??

KLX110