Need input for kids & 2 wheel toys

[MN72Busa]

Looking for some input here for the kids. Would like to get them into some form of riding to see if they like it. The boy is 5 going on 6 and the girl is 7 going on 8.

I was thinking dirt bike, but have to travel some distance to our land to ride them. And that would mean the gal and I would need 2 dirt bikes, so we would need 4 dirtbikes, and a trailer...sigh....gets expensive, especially when I just got another new gsxr750 for us to share.

Would Go-carting be cheaper? Do they have events for kids in their age group? Any suggestions on what we can get everyone involved in as a family and still stay on some sort of reasonable budget?

I don't know if the have events for the kids at some of the track days we plan on attending this year....but sorta figure this is just me and the gal...so we need something to involve the kids in. I grew up with snowmobiles and dirt bikes, but this is a whole different time....cant just ride in a vacant lot anymore, and the snow is pretty scarce here the last 10 years to justify sleds again...Help please.

John

 

[05BusaLe]

(Zuki @ Jan. 18 2007,20:22) Looking for some input here for the kids. Would like to get them into some form of riding to see if they like it. The boy is 5 going on 6 and the girl is 7 going on 8.

I was thinking dirt bike, but have to travel some distance to our land to ride them. And that would mean the gal and I would need 2 dirt bikes, so we would need 4 dirtbikes, and a trailer...sigh....gets expensive, especially when I just got another new gsxr750 for us to share.

Would Go-carting be cheaper? Do they have events for kids in their age group? Any suggestions on what we can get everyone involved in as a family and still stay on some sort of reasonable budget?

I don't know if the have events for the kids at some of the track days we plan on attending this year....but sorta figure this is just me and the gal...so we need something to involve the kids in. I grew up with snowmobiles and dirt bikes, but this is a whole different time....cant just ride in a vacant lot anymore, and the snow is pretty scarce here the last 10 years to justify sleds again...Help please.

John

Buy one of those pocket bikes and take them to a local parking lot early am on sunday morning to ride see how many times they want to get up to go do this before you spend a ton of money on something they might hate. Dont forget saftey gear!!!!!!

 

[MN72Busa]

Pocket Bikes...are we talking the little electric one from Wall Mart, or something bigger? And does safety gear mean Duct taping them to the bike and just adding training wheels?

 

[johnstein]

pepboys has a fat tire 5 hp mini bike perfect to learn on , let them ride in the dirt before you put them on asphalt ! i paid 250 for one a year ago brand new kids use it every day still starts one pull ! we got the pocket bike also but the fat tire will go anywhere i can even ride it so to start its not bad !

 

[frisbee]

I grewup with a go cart and it was so much fun . It also taught me alot of how to control a car . Take the kids to a go cart track and rent one .

By the way I checked out your page , are you a K-9 cop? Nice dog!

 

[johnstein]

takes a beatin well also its been dumped dozens of times ! with no injuries except pride !

 

[mrninja9]

yeah just buy an electric one or look for an old ysr 50 man i used to have so much fun on those things there are a blast but any little pocket rocket will do

 

[CAT3]

My son is 6, and his first powered 2wheel is a Yamaha TTR-50e. Great little bike, adjustable throttle, can handle some weight, and is an electric start 4stroke, auto clutch 3 speed. He loves it.

 

[heavybusa]

(CAT3 @ Jan. 18 2007,21:17) My son is 6, and his first powered 2wheel is a Yamaha TTR-50e. Great little bike, adjustable throttle, can handle some weight, and is an electric start 4stroke, auto clutch 3 speed. He loves it.

the green has bled into your posts!!

 

[MN72Busa]

(frisbee @ Jan. 18 2007,19:57) I grewup with a go cart and it was so much fun . It also taught me alot of how to control a car . Take the kids to a go cart track and rent one .

By the way I checked out your page , are you a K-9 cop? Nice dog!

K9 is a Premium Spot here in MN. Yes, I have my POST Lic#, but not working for any PD. The dog should be, wonderful Hund. Purchased him for Schutzhund, and some Search & Rescue...with my lack of training time to devote to that I've given up on the ScH3 title and Baron is Just a Great Family Member along with Hydie our other GSD.

Baron Chasing Hydie

Ok. back to the Topic at hand here, as I get easily side tracked when it comes to our dogs. I don't want to spend to much on the bike(s) to start. If I can get by for a pair for about $600 that would be great, because I still have to get them helmets and clothing to ride.

I like the idea of the fat wheels on the one johnstein talked about, I might have to really look into that. They just look a littl big for the kids to ride on their own right now. We have an Acre size lot in the suburbs for our back yard, so those bikes would be awesome. And I also like the pocket bike Idea. Only issue there I can see is a liability thing. With people being so Lawsuit happy, I can see us getting kicked out of a parkinglot because the business may fear liability - I could be wrong, but just dont want to have our fun ruined by some uptight business owner reading me and the gal the riot act in front of the kids when all were there to do is have some family fun.

Keep the ideas commin g, post some pics of the kids on the toys, would love to see them - also maybe a link or store to where you got it, and maybe a little input on durability and reliability.

John

 

[VaBusa]

We've got both go carts and dirt bikes for our two sons...both require room to ride, so if you have room for carting, you should have room for dirt bikes

The go carts are fun for certain, but we have old carts, always needing adjustments here and there to keep 'em going. My husband's building 2 new carts this summer for the boys; he found some cheap gas powered/electric start engines on eBay and figured he'd give 'em a try...

If you opt for new carts, you can spend quite a bit of cash. The dirt bikes aren't cheap either, but I can say from experience with my two boys, the dirt bikes are what they love the most. Every kid is different, but I know that a day trip to some dirt track for the kids and their bikes was very well received and on the list of stuff we'll do again when the weather warms up. To keep my kids busy at home, we have small tracks throughout the woods for the carts and bikes.

No matter what you opt to get, the kids will have a blast and I'm a believer in joining in the fun so the entire family has a blast!

My youngest started riding the Honda at age 3; he's 4 now and screaming to have his training wheels taken off, but he can't reach the ground yet. The oldest started riding at age 5 and has mastered riding without the training wheels and now attempts small jumps in our yard. It's been a blast watching them ride on 2 wheels!

 

[VaBusa]

 

[VaBusa]

This was at a track in NC that we took them both to...their very first official "track day" and they had more fun than I ever imagined...

 

[VaBusa]

And last, here's Sam, now 6 years old and riding without the training wheels

 

[fstbusa]

dirt bikes totally if you can swing the funds... you have a TON of parks to ride in up there. There is a great one for beginners up at St Croix forest. I was just up there over labor day. Even get into more advanced riding farther north up at the iron range.