bike suggestion from parents

M

mswartz

PR Addict
My son is 6 (7 in Dec) and currently rides a pw50. He races beginner peewee sometimes and is usually close to last. The wife and I are looking into his next bike and wondered if a ktm sr. 50 would be too much for him. I dont want to put him on a bike that is too much for his skill level and scare the crap out of him. Looking at a crf 50 or a ttr 50 too, since these are little more mellow and he can learn to shift. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
 
Get a CRF50 to start with and you can mod it as he progresses ( pipe, big bore kit, suspension etc ) .. O yah did I mention there 3432948 x's more reliable then those orange timebombs?
 
I would say go with a sr Ktm. I think they come with governor screws on he throttle housing to limit his twist thus limiting the power of the bike. You can ease it out more and more until he's bored with that bike and wants a cobra.

Shifting on the xr50 crf50 doesnt really teach good shifting as they are clutchless bikes. So I dont see the crf50 being s bonus with the 3 gear all up transmission.

Final thought: 2 strokes are mini motocross. Get him on one I think it will only benefit him in the long run.
 
1foxracing said:
Someone on Ohio Riders has a 2009 KTM 50 Pro JR $1800.
http://www.ohioriders.net/showthread.php?t=80839&highlight=KTM
Click to expand...

The ktm Sr does not have a limiting screw, problem with the cfr is if he rides alot he will be bored with it in two months and they are 125lbs making the bike seem larger than it is. My best friend and I both just went through this, if its an 08 or older ktm take some hit out of the clutch stack and gear a tad high. If its an 09 or newer get the power reduction kit from the dealer. Hondas are nice and reliable but on the track they suck, they are heavy, and stiff.
 
You couldn't go wrong with any of the bikes you already mentioned-- I like the TTR50 a bit more than the CRF myself. GYTR has a few choice bits for it.

How 'bout a CRF70? It may be a stretch-- or something you can think about in a year or so, but you COULD lace up a set of 10/12 inch rims to a KLX110. They'll lace right up, and make the bike sit a bit lower. You can put the bigger wheels back on it when he gets bigger. That bike would last awhile, and he could run Jr. Trail Bike with it, rather than having to race the ultra competitive KTM Pee Wee classes. --L*64
 
LuckyStar64. I think youre thinking the same as me. He is not ready for the sr. or jr. mini classes. We have a honda shop in town so Im going with the crf. Thanks for all the input.
 
My .02 worth. I was in a similar situation just a few years back. Not sure I made the correct choice(s). I have twins that are 10 now. 1 of them rode the crap out of his PW50, so I moved him to a KTM 50. He did not like it at all. So I parked it and let him continue to run the crap out of the PW till he was just to big for it. His twin brother was not into the bike thing at all for about 11 months later. So I then moved them to Suzuki DRZ70's. Nice bikes, similar to CRF50-TTR50's but not sure it was the right move. Now they are on TTR110's, which they love and slowly attempting to adapt to KX65's.

Where I am headed with this, I think it depends on the direction you THINK your going. If your going to stay down the MX path, you may want to try the KTM50. I let my son give up on it to quick and now all he wants to ride is a 4 stroke that has not clutch and he can motor around in 3rd gear w/o shifting alot. I think it made them lazy so to speak. If my sons just wanted to trial ride and occasionally race etc...I would just stay with the 110's and eventually 150's or something. However, they want to do MX and I am just over the whole Jr. Trail/Sr. Trail thing. So I told them I would get them used 65's and let them get used to them. They can ride them, but they are struggling with gear selection, power-band and just the change to 2 stroke all together. They will eventually get it and be fine but I am afraid I may have made the transition harder and potentially longer.

Not sure if I helped or made the whole thing more confusing, but I was where you are just a few years ago and struggled with the same decision!
 
KX65 parents - how competitive is the KX65 MX class in the CRA in NE Ohio? This summer will be my son's first year on the KX65 after riding the wheels of a CRF70. I'm just wondering if the 65 class is insane, or pretty mellow for beginner 65 riders? Thanks.
 
Just from announcing last year I would say that it is competitive. There are quite a few 60 riders that can rip.
 
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