NADA bike values accurate? + which bikes for kids?

[viggen]

I am bike shopping, married my wife in 2010 & I have finally talked her into letting me get her 3 kids into offroad motorcycle stuff. I am searching for bikes to get mostly on the local Craigslist adds & found several to choose from in my budget, under $1,000 per kid.

First off is the NADA motorcycle values accurate at all? A few of the bikes I have looked at seem to be way over what NADA has for average retail on the bikes. Seller lists it for $1K but NADA has it under $500.

For the 12yr old boy I though a Honda XR150, CRF150F or Yamaha TTR 125 would work

For the 10yr old boy XR/CRF100F or KLX110/140

When I was taking my 9yr old daughter to soccer practice I asked her if she wanted a quad or a bike. Her reply after we chatted for a bit was she would look cooler on a bike so that's what I want! Gotta love it!! I was thinking Kawasaki KLX110 or I just saw a 03 TTR-R90r.

None of the kids have ever been on a motorcycle before, I have taken them all mountain biking a few times over the 3-4 years that I have been in their life (their dad died of cancer back in 07) thus I do not need the power of a 2stroke or the more modern MX engines.

I sold my yz400f 18 months ago & found a 2010 used yz450f that I am really interested in

Wife wants a quad.... any suggestions on a sub $3K quad? Under $2K would be great.....

use would be a mix of motorcross and trail riding......

[viggen]

anyone?

[kxkawirider]

for ur wife that wants a quad a honda 250ex would be great i had one they r fun, very simple and reliable. they have been around for a while and in 2006 they got a make over. for the 12 year old boy the crf150f or any 125 4stroke big wheel will be good. for the 10 year old boy the xr/crf 100 is a good choice to. for the daughter what is listed is good or if u want her to learn a clutch get a xr80

[SilvFx]

Viggen....give us the height and weight of the kids and we can tell you if they are the right size for the kids. I can tell you that all of these are air-cooled 4 strokes with wide ratio transmissions and smooth, relatively torquey power. They are the right kind of bike to start kids on with no experience.

Regarding NADA price guides, it has been my experience that NADA can be a little low on the older bikes. You might also check Kelly Blue Book. But most of all, go by what they seem to be asking in your market and moving on/off craigslist. It has been my experience in the Denver, CO metro area, that I can usually find these bikes as very low hour excellent condition and negotiate to a price that is usually about 10-20% off the KBB retail from a private party. Not sure about the Ohio market.

All the bikes you listed are good. My only gripe about the KLX110 is that I dont believe it has a clutch where they learn that skill...but simply and autoclutch. That's why I started my youngest on the XR80 so he could learn the clutch. I think he was 10-11....so maybe 9 is too young for a clutch. Not sure.

It has also been my experience that when i resold these bikes in nearly the same excellent condition, I could sell for nearly the same price. I bought a 2003 XR80 (5 spd with clutch) for my youngest kid for $825 (asking price was $900) about 3 years ago and rode it 2 seasons and sold if for $775. Bought an '05 CRF100F (5 speed with clutch) for my daughter to learn to ride at the same time for $1150 (asking price was $1300) and sold it 2 years later for $1100. Bought an '06 CRF150F (5 speed, elec start) for my older son to learn to ride as well for $1650 (asking $1800) and sold two years later for $1575. All of these bikes sold within 2-3 days off Craigslist...probably could have sold for a bit more, but just wanted to move them. I did keep them in the same shape as when they were bought but they had a few more miles. If you buy for a good price, you can easily turn them without losing much money. The technology changes from year to year are next to none.

Not sure how old the bikes are that you listed, but minimum value on these kid bikes out here in Colorado seems to be about $800 even for 8-10 year old bikes.

Regarding your comment about wanting to use for a mix of trail riding and motocross....these would not be good for a motocross track. They are trail bikes...not even enduro bikes. When they learn to ride these and ride them extremely fast and well onthe trail (beyond the suspension/brakes) then it might be time to consider an upgrade to the MX bikes (KX65, KX85, YZ85, KX100, CR85, CRF150R, KTM 85, etc).

[viggen]

thanks for the info! Greatly appreciated!

I think I have seen a few Honda EX's which have caught my eye, I think I saw some 300's that seemer reasonably prices & in good shape.

The oldest boy is about 100#'s & around 5ft 5in (6th grade)

Middle child is also a boy & probably just under 5ft tall & if I recall 70#'s, he's 10 (4th grade)

His sister is maybe a inch shorter & 15-20#'s lighter...... she's almost 9 (3rd grade)

Yea, I was worried a MX bike would be way to much for them, prefer something simple & not so fast so they can get the hang of it. They all seem to do really well mtn biking however we haven't hit the trail at all this year...... Most of the bikes were listed in the $800-1500 area & yea, I figure if they do not like it or when we need to upgrade hopefully not a lot of money will be lost.

Any thought on how the 2010 yz450f that I am considering would work for me at the slower speeds we would be doing? I know a few times we went really slow on the trails with my old 400f due to mud & they thing blew coolant......

[youngztr]

Regarding your inquiry about NADA values: almost useless for dirt bikes. There are too many variables to even guess a value for a used dirt bike. The value depends on the condition and set up of the specific bike, NADA assumes OEM condition and set up with “normal” wear and tear. Good luck with that one on a dirt bike.

[SilvFx]

For the 12 year old boy....the CRF150F would fit him, but best to have him sit on one. It is a pretty heavy bike compared to the TTR-125L, DRZ125L. You want him to be able to easily touch the ground with both feet at least for a starting bike. The younger boy could probably do the CRF100F or even a TTR125 or KLX140 (probably not the L model). But same thing best to have them sit on a new one at a dealer just to be sure. The 9 year old girl, could do an XR80 or CRF80F or maybe the non-L TTR125 or DRZ125 if you think she could handle a clutch (which she probably can). I am thinking Kawasaki recently came out with a KLX110L...that has a 4 speed and a clutch...but it might be only 2010 and newer.

On the '10 YZ450F, I dont think it would be a good choice for trail riding. I had an '08 YZ450F and I had to change the front/rear sprockets to make it a bit better on the trail (added flywheel weight too). This takes off the top end (which isnt a problem), but going slow on trails with the MX bike (even geared down) and not overheating is pretty difficult. I think you would do better on a WR450F or KLX450R or CRF450X or KTM EXC/XC-W with the wide ratio where 1st gear is lower and it has a better low end the torque curve than the MX bikes. You might even consider going initially with a 'move up' bike for your older boy (i.e. maybe a WR250F/CRF250X) that you could ride while they are learning and once he gets better move him to the 250 4 stroke and you move the to the 450. Just a thought. My boy moved from the CRF150F to the WR250F within a year when he was about 5'8" or 5' 9".

[calbikeman2]

In my SoKal mkt, NADA seems quite a bit low; KBB seems only slightly low. After monitoring CL ads nearby for several months, I've learned that the ads which keep the same non-selling price for several weeks (!) have been good indicators of the upper limits of pricing; the ads with prices below that seem to drop off CL rather quickly---seemingly indicating a proper listing price if not the exact selling price. After thoroughly prepping a bike recently, writing good but honest copy and taking good photos for upload with ad, and pricing about $100 under the prevailing upper limit for that bike---I closed the sale on it at about 10PM---about four hours after posting the ad.

Some of the ads for bikes of the same model/age as mine have been renewing with new submit dates on CL for two months or longer. And everything else equal, the values on these bikes are tending to go down the longer the seller waits to price them properly.

Edited May 6, 2012 by calbikeman2

[viggen]

thanks again for the input... I have continued to disreguard the NADA values when shopping & I have a few local bikes to look at.

XR70 for the daughter, worried it's to small but then again she's never been on a motorcycle by herself & is 4ft 8, measured them this evening

I think XR100 should work for the next boy, he's 4ft 10 or should I consider a XR80?

Oldest is 5ft 2 (I thought he was taller....) & 106lbs.... Possibly XR100 or CRF150??

Like stated I need to bring them with me to look at the bikes....

[SilvFx]

XR70 will work for daughter (seat ~26"). The other bikes that are the same height as the XR70 is the KLX110/TTR110. Both these bikes are autoclutch. I would rather see you get an XR80 so she can learn a clutch (which she will need when she moves up anyhow).

XR80 will work for the next size up boy (seat height ~ 28.5") KLX110L (2010 and forward) is about the same seat height as XR80 but is only a 4 speed and has that horizontal cylinder and pipe that hang outside the front of the frame.

XR100 (seat height ~31") would work best for 5' 2" boy. The DRZ125, TTR125E and KLX140 are about the same seat height (slightly less than 31"). One noteable difference is the XR100/CRF100F has 19"/16" wheels vs. 17"/14" for others.

The TTR125LE, DRZ125L, KLX140L are about 1 inch taller in seat height 31.7...not quite sure if he can touch good on these...if so, better to get these because they all have 19"/16" wheels like the CRF100F but have just a bit more suspension travel and could buy him some more time before growing out of them. The KLX140L has the better suspension and brakes (front & rear disc).

The CRF150F is about another inch taller in the seat (~33") than the 125l/140L and about 25 lbs heavier. My daughter at just slightly over 5' 4" could ride her brother's CRF150F AFTER learning to ride on her CRF100F. I really like this bike, but I just think it is too big and heavy for the oldest boy (but things can change quickly).

The nice thing is that you have some spread between them and can sort of pass the bikes down the line to each other as they move up (except for that XR70). Of course these are just some thoughts or guidelines....sometimes you might want to compromise or proceed differently depending on availability, price and condition.

[viggen]

great info!! Like stated I want to/plan on passing the bikes on as they get older. Also attempting to get my brother into this again.... (he has a KTM 525 SMC that's been sitting for 6 years now) he has a 7yr old daughet & 5yr old son....so hopefully I could pass whatever I get down to them when mine outgrow the bikes.

Daughter has been sick all week & all 3 have a soccer tournament this weekend. I wanted to check out a few bikes this week but running out of time.....

From what you state it looks like I should stick with the XR70/80/100 (or similar) for the kids now & maybe in 2 years get the oldest a CRF150f and move them all up a size at that time