Kids Bike

[finglan]

I sold my son's PW 80 last fall. He was doing great on it but he got too big for the bike.

I was going to wait until next year to get him a new one. I was waiting for someone to come out with a good 150cc four stroke with a real suspension. I will also have a little more cash next year.

The wife wants me to get him one now. I can't find anything used. He is ten years old, 4'10" and weighs 100lbs. I know the YZ 85 would suit him better, suspension and power wise. I wanted to stay away from a 2 stroke. I don't want to be redoing top ends and I would need to get a spark arrestor. We ride mostly public trails.

I don't want to spend more than 3K as I wasn't ready to get him a bike this year.

I would like to get him the TTR 125. It would need springs, skid plate, and a chain guide. This would put me a little over 3K. He would probably need a new bike in a year or two.

I looked at the XR 100 which costs about 2K and souldn't need any parts. I figure he can ride it a year and I would only loose about 500 on the resale. How is the XR, power & suspension. He won't be mx-ing, but he would like to hit some small jumps.

After seeing him on the PW 80 last year, I think it won't take long for him to ride the crap out of what ever I get him. The better the bike I get him the more he can keep up w/me and this would incress my fun factor.

I need some input to sway my decision.

Thanks.

[okieguy]

The XR's have a very poor suspension. My son has out grown the bike in only 6 months. The TTR's also have a soft suspension and the kids seem to out grow the perfromance very quickly. We are looking at the yz85 and will just have to live with the 2 stroke.

Guy

[mike_dean]

I'm going through the same problems you are, I wish somebody made a decent bike with a 125-150 4 stroke engine and also a size between a 80 and a real 125, this would also make a good womans bike.

[Ron_in_SoCal]

You gotta build your own!

Check out this CRF150

For more info go to:

http://www.geocities.com/socalxr

I'm not sure if you can build one of these for 3K, but maybe someone from SoCal XR's can help you out.

[Chaindrive]

You've made some very honest, astute evaluations. The hard part is done. My humble opinion is to go with the YZ85.

1) its a darn good bike. Durable. Easy to work on.

2) No matter what you get him, he will "push" both his and the bike's limits. Gotta beat Dad, right? This bike has extreme limits.

3) Should he wish to do a little racing, you're set.

4) It starts very easily and top ends are simple, though once a year (non-competition riding) will probably be plenty.

5) There is less to break on it. It's designed for brutal punishment and aftermarket plastics,speed parts, etc are readily available.

6) Its a mean SOB in the right hands. Major league sphincter-factor! He'll probably have to fight YOU for it! And you can always go big-bore!

7) If you remove and save the stock plastic right away and put on aftermarket stuff, resale on such a clean, non-raced bike may surprise you. YZ85's are easy to sell. For many, it is their first bike.

Chasing my 7yr old at speeds in excess of 40mph over MX jumps (on a 50cc King Cobra!!) makes me shudder at the thought of an inexperienced kid on a YZ85, though!! Mine is now 8,in his 4th season of racing, still under 60lbs, and on a KX65 with 6 gears instead of one. I'm in DEEP doo-doo now!! Thumper power on the straights is my only chance. There AIN'T no out-maneuvering him! Your son IS experienced, too, but make SURE he really understands what he's straddling!! IT AIN'T NO PW!! Stay close, Dad!

8) It will fit him for a very long time, though he does sound like a strapper! I'm 6'0" 185lbs and my buddy's kid has a YZ85. I back off long before it signs off...

By the way, www.dirtbikeworld.net has a mini-rider's forum. They do lots of trail riding down there (Australia), like you and your son, and my boy has made some new friends in an exotic far-away place...It's a safe, clean, well-guarded site for the youngsters. Easy to share pics, too. They dig that! Look for Sky-man, Minispode, and mrRM80. They have fun big-dudes forums,too.

Good Luck and let us know how it works out! ?

[Guest Guest]

My dealer put together a very trick TTR125 with a little help from BBR and the local machine shop. I think he put a bigger piston and milled the head for more compression. You could buy him a TTR125 now and leave it stock for a year or so, then when he is ready you could trick it out. (Just an idea!) ?

[Russ_P]

Finglan you ole Dog,

I would go with the YZ85. Great suspension, roomy, light, real powerfull. Maybe a bit on the hyper side you gotta ring it out. The RM reportedly has a smoother power band, it has a PV. He would just have to get used to it. Easier to re-sell after he out grows it and if I know you it will look mint at that point. What's a set of rings and a few gaskets once a year? NADA. The spark arrestor should be less than $100. and your ready to go! I think he'll get bored on a TTR or an XR. Or you'll eventually be throwing hundreds at it to keep him happy with the performance. These 85's are as powerfull as the 125's were in my racing days. And wait till they all have a PV on them. As for the re-sell I know I would have sold a YZ 10 times over by now, I am having no luck unloading the WR and it's mint. I would buy him the YZ in a minute. Let me know what you do.

Russ

[finglan]

Thanks Russ,

If I could stretch him a little I would buy your bike for him. You have done a great job on it. I am trying to talk a few of my friends to get back into riding, I have told them I know where to get a WR at a sweet price, there cheap though. The keep crying about money for retirement, food and so on.

I am leaning towards a YZ 85, but I a liitle worried it might be too much for him. I am also worried that it would load up too much while trail riding. My gaol is to get him where he can ride the bike trails in Allegheny with me.

[racemile]

Finglan,

As an owner of a 2001 TTR 125, I think you may want to reconsider this bike. TTR's come in a TTR 125L also. This gives the bike a little more height. As for power, it had to pull my big butt back to camp once. (6'1", 245lbs) What a site that was.

Good points, Its mild enough to teach my wife and my daughter (12yrs old) how to ride. Its strong enough to pull the intermediate stuff. These bikes were real tough to come by in 2001. They have the lowest seat height and largest cc's available. Very sturdy bike, not to fast, if you push it you can propbably get it or a used one for 2k to 2500. They seem to have a strong resale value. in a year you can trda it for the YZ.

Bad points, My wife already moved up to something bigger (TTR 225) The short, in both ways, wheel base can put you on your butt quick. to me it seems under powered and if my daughter was a more serious rider I would need to do some mods to up the torque and top end. It is not a race bike in any way shape or form. It will handle itself well on the trails though.

Just my .02

Race

[Russ_P]

Finglan,

I don't know, there pretty torquey (is that a word). A throttle stop might help keep him from getting into too much trouble. The big plus is the light weight. The TTR is probably heavier I'm not sure.

Russ

[mike_dean]

Having a son with a TTR125L, I strongly suggest a YZ 85. Check my previous posts. Mike

[neWRiver]

I also have experience with a boy on a TTR125L. It is actually a great trail bike. It's way too soft for even a 100 pound rider for any serious riding, though. Suspensions mods aren't cheap. I think it could be made into a race worthy bike if you throw enough money at it. A YZF/WRF/CRF in a 150 would be an awesome fit, but right now such a bike is a custom build.

The TTR was a great starter bike and has lasted him about a year. Thing is, the TTR's power is good enough to last him a little while longer, but he really needs the YZ suspension. While I think he would have had more trouble starting out on the 2-stroke, he would kill to have the YZ now.

So, my dilemma right now is whether to sell the bike and get him a YZ or invest in the YZ suspension for the TTR.

Going to the YZ makes more financial sense. And I have a feeling that my boy (or yours) will handle the transition to the "scary" power quite readily. With the lighter, snappier bike he would certainly be catching up to dad a lot quicker (and probably sooner than you would think). A throttle stop would probably handle most of your safety considerations. Your son will work out the rest for himself. ?

[BIGFOOT]

I too have the same problem. My son has a TTR 90 and is getting a little bored with it. Instead of buying a new bike I bought a POWROLL 101cc kit for it which includes a race cam, Supertrapp Exhaust and a high flow head pipe and a 49.5mm 11:1 compression piston. It's supposed to give a minimum of a 50% increase in horsepower. The cylinder is being bored right now, when I get it together i'll let you know how it works. Total parts cost for the kit is about $500.00 and includes all gaskets, etc., this cost doesn't reflect the $70.00 core charge on the cam.

[Mark_Cantrell]

Finglan,

I had a similar problem. My daughter's first bike was an XR80. She was 12, 4'10", and probably 80 pounds. This spring she is 13, 5'3" and probably 95 pounds. I settled on a TTR125L because we ride trails. The hit of a YZ85 could easily get her in trouble in the woods. Your kid may be further along or give other signs that the power won't bother him.

Unfortunately we also ride MX tracks and she just started really jumping (really for her, 20-25ft) and the suspension just isn't there. I have to keep the TTR for the woods but am considering a KX or RM 80 (both have powervalves with good bottom end) for the track. I'm still protective regarding the power hit getting her in trouble. A YZ85 has 2.5 times the power of the TTR125L.

You might find more on my poston the 250F forum.

If you get a YZ85, give him some seat time in a field or on a track where there is less to hit before single tracking it.

mwc

[bhunt]

We all have diferent ways of looking at it. Rather then tell you that my son or daughter can triple jump at Glen Helen on his/her PW50 let me try to answer your question. If I understand correctly you are JUST talking about trail riding with him. No track for now. Would like to be able to take small jumps, probably nothing monster. Get a used TTR125 and for under $200.00 put the heavier BBR springs on it. Power is fine for what your talking about. My 12 year old 110lb 5'1" son loves the bike. Probably next year he'll trade with Mom, (she has a KX100), but for now he prefers the TTR. He has gotten CONSIDERABLY better on the TTR this year. We ride in the California deserts as well as Gorman. My son walks on all the kids with 80 2-strokes on the rides. He double jumps the whoops with no problem, and on the real nasty, rocky, turning, uphills, the mini 2-smokies all have problems, but he just lets the 4 stroke keep pulling. Even had some 15-16 year old boys on some older KX125's riding with us that were surpised at how good he rides this thing. Would he be better on the KX? Not this year, he has tried. As I said thought, I expect next year my wife who finally admits the TTR fits her better will trade the KX100 with him. One last thing, my 19 year old daughter who rides a KX80 finally rode the TTR125 on a putt with me. I took her on some hills that traditionally have caused her problems, she even has looped it on one of them. After riding the TTR she called it a "cheater" bike. Too easy to ride!

To be honest, your boy will adapt to any bike. God Bless you and your wife for making it a family sport!

Brian

[Russ_P]

Finglan,

After futher thought, maybe bhunt is right. If your going to concentrate on Alleghenny riding he may be better on the TTR. I think at least springing it would be necessary and then re-valve as needed. He won't need a ton of power in the woods just predictable. I tend to concentrate on how much after market I will have to put in the bike to keep Jr. happy long term. But he's probably not ready to handle a YZ powerband in the Eastern woods. I would hate to hear about him getting off 'cause of the hit of a mini. Maybe safety first is the theme here.

Russ

[Mark_Cantrell]

Great news. If you do get off the trails and he gets aggresive, they have great tradein. You wouldn't know because you got a steal. You might get that much for it in another year.

mwc

[finglan]

We went to the local dealer yesterday to see how he fits on several bikes. They had a used 2002 TTR 125L for $1,900. The bike could not have had more then an hour on it. The guy that had it bought two for his kids and went bankrupt. As he was not making payments, the dealer took them back. Both bikes went in two days, we took the second one. I raised the forks, droped the shock and trimed some foam off the seat. My son can just reach the ground on it now. The YZ would have been way too big for him. Today being his first day on it, and no experience with a clutch, he did GREAT! The suspension seems to hardly notice that he is even on the bike. I will buy a BBR chain guide and skid plate. This should be fine for him for a few years.

[Russ_P]

Fimflam,

Hey that's great! Good to hear you came by a good deal too. Now keep it real nice and put some trick aftermarket goodies on it then call me first when your ready to sell it!

Russ