Advice for Mom Looking at Cheap Dirt Bikes for Kids

[Elmer]

Howdy. A family friend who's a single Mom is looking to get small dirt bikes for her two boys, 9 and 10 years old. She doesn't have a lot of money, and asked me about some of the Chinese clone bikes such as the ones sold by Powersportsmax for 400-500 bucks.

I don't know anything about them. Are they worth the money? Or are they just going to be more trouble then they're worth?

Any recommendations?

I appreciate the help.

[97rmx250]

try getting an old xr or other old jap bike they are not hard to pick up off ebay for around $500 and will be better than a Chinese bike, i had a chinese bike and it was destroyed after a couple of months. My friends have a really old xr80 from the 70s and they also have a old Suzuki both are mini bikes but they have definetly lasted the test of time and run great!

[Ju5blaz3]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260776142393&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

[Elmer]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260776142393&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT

$600 for a Chinese clone with a blown head gasket?

[Elmer]

try getting an old xr or other old jap bike they are not hard to pick up off ebay for around $500 and will be better than a Chinese bike, i had a chinese bike and it was destroyed after a couple of months. My friends have a really old xr80 from the 70s and they also have a old Suzuki both are mini bikes but they have definetly lasted the test of time and run great!

That was my gut feeling, but I didn't know for sure.

I've seen quite a few XR50's for $500-700 bucks. Biggest thing would be to find one that wasn't trashed, as she's not going to be able to work on it, and would have to pay to get it fixed.

[ACDNate]

$600 for a Chinese clone with a blown head gasket?

Yeah that guy is going to be sorely dissappointed. That's $250-$300 tops.

It's gonna be tough to keep it cheap and not need any work.

[KcDavis]

I would definitely look for some older XR 80's or other jap bike along those lines. Those air cooled 4t engines last forever and can be pretty fun to cruise around and learn on. I had a 70's CT 70 and an 85 XR 80 for our ranch and I rode those things almost daily through 97 and never died on us. After about 15 years, the XR started losing compression, nothing to complain about.

[youngztr]

The "price" of the bike is just the beginning. Total cost of ownership is more relevent. Look for bikes that are supported by aftermarket and have parts availablity This is what makes the Jap bikes appealing. 125cc and smaller Hondas, Kawis, Suzukis, Yamahas. Pick one. They are all good.

[LittleSeanX]

get a xr80 or xr100, very nice bikes. and can be found sparsely throught the country im sure.