[Av8r]

Hey all, interested in opinions. I have 4 sons, aged 15, 11, 10, and 3. I’d love to get the boys into motorsports of some sort, but I value the 2 wheel life style the most and want them to master that.
Here’s my question: should I start with an ATV or small dirtbike <80 cc? It’s a little late for the 15 year old, but the 11 and 10 year old are still in prime time for learning.
Do any of y’all have experience in this (atv vs dirtbike)? And how did it go? Is an ATV a waste of time? End goal is DB to MC.

 

[Patientzero]

I bought a small electric dirtbike for my kids a couple years ago. My middle daughter started riding it when she was 6/7. It came with training wheels so she learned how to ride it and throttle control/brakes with the training wheels and then we took them off and she was riding like a champ after some adjustment period to correct how she was steering. Now she's graduated to a small gas powered minibike. My 2 year old is now riding the electric bike with the training wheels back on. We have to run along side her and hold the brake though because she wants to just run full throttle all the time, lol.

I'd say get them a little Coleman minibike to get it figured out and then see where it goes. Not all kids enjoy or care. My oldest would rather bake a cake than ride anything with a motor. A minibike is fun for any age.

 

[Av8r]

I'd say get them a little Coleman minibike to get it figured out and then see where it goes. Not all kids enjoy or care. My oldest would rather bake a cake than ride anything with a motor. A minibike is fun for any age.

That’s a great idea! We had one a couple years ago but it got stolen out of the back of my truck in a hotel parking lot . The oldest was only 13 and loved it but the wife wouldn’t let the younger boys ride it. Maybe it’s time to revisit that idea.

 

[joepeter]

I have also 2 kids. I am also wanted the same. Thanks for sharing the great idea. I must visit and consider that

 

[DucatiTerminator]

I have a 22yo and a 20yo who ride, and a 14yo who so far has no interest in learning to ride, even though his name is Hayden-Rossi, lol. I suspect he may want to learn at some point, but I won't force him though I have been tempted.

The two older boys started fairly young -- the eldest kind of jumped on a CRF50 at WSBK at Laguna Seca at age 3 and just went. His younger brother took a bit longer to get acclimated. Their mother was quite adamant about not having training wheels on a dirtbike -- she felt that they needed to have the proper balance if they were going to ride a motorized vehicle. I don't know if this helped or hurt them. What may have helped was that they were rolling around on a pushbike from a very early age -- think of a cheap plastic version of a Strider. Today, I would have probably started them out on a Staycyc. A friend of mine has his 3 yo ripping around on one already. If you are close to one of the venues where the IMS shows will be this year, there will likely be a demo area for your youngest to try one out as they are not inexpensive. Depending on the size of your older boys, a TTR50 or 90 are easy to learn on without being intimidating. Depending on where you are located, there might be offroad instruction in your area.

 

[Lithium_moon]

Was wanting to get my kids (9yrs, 12yrs) something to learn on. Was thinking on going the Coleman’s mini bike route. Other half mentioned a electric Indian kids bike but the oldest may not get much use out of it.