Dirt bike for daughter

I recently picked up an 07 yz125 to play around on. We have a motox park near my parents cottage and lots of trails to ride. I was thinking about getting something for my daughter. She will be 2 1/2 in the spring. I've seen those training wheel setups on pictures, but I'm nit really sure what to look for in a dirtbike for a toddler. I was debating whether to just pick up a cheap Chinese 50cc bike or if I should spend more and get something Japanese? I'm not sure max performance is really an issue at this time. Am I crazy to buy a bike for someone who isn't 3 yet?

Can she ride a bicycle?

Your on track Start'em early. Heck we have a Flat track class for kids starting at 4 years old. Go Japanese so your not wasting your quality time with her by fixing it.

Get a cheap chinese knockoff. They work well, and really you're not going to put that many hours on it. She'll outgrow it in short order.

If you're near Maryland, you can have mine for $350. Electric start, cute horn (the kids love it) and a variable speed transmission so it goes quick when you give it some time.

TRoglodyte wrote: Can she ride a bicycle?

Nope, She hasn't even rode a tricycle (lots of snow here currently). The dirt bike will have training wheels though.

I got this for my little girl and she was riding it at 2 years old. it is electric and fun in the driveway / sidewalk. she could ride a bike with trining wheels before she got on it. she is turning 4 next week and I plan to get a p50 or crf50 with training wheels.

off road will be harder for a little one.

Every kid is a little different. I would want mine to have a good sense of control on a bicycle before introducing the additional complexity, speed, and danger of a motorized vehicle. I really don't think a child of 2 or 3 is equipped to deal it. Maybe by 5 or 6. My 7-year old is just starting on a CRF50 clone, and he's ready. He's also a wildman behind the wheel of a go-kart, fast but safe. Just be sure to stress the importance of safety gear.

Be a good father...as soon as she outgrows it rip off the motor, buy a kart frame and bolt it on!

I've never been a parent who put a kid on a motorcycle, but I've been a kid who wanted a motorcycle, and later a young adult who got one.

While as a 36-year-old roadracing novice I was wishing I'd started earlier, there's still a number of years ahead for her which are a lot earlier than most people get started. If she's ready, and you keep the bike appropriately sized and limited and so forth, great.

If she needs a little more development time before you put her on a machine that can throw her around a lot harder than she could do to herself on a bicycle, then let her have that time. I have to say that I'm a little worried about putting a kid who can't ride a bicycle yet onto a dirtbike, but I'm not sure whether it's exactly the whole walk-before-you-can-run relationship it seems like on the surface. If I'm honest, two and a half just sounds way too young to me, but child development would have to be at the top of the list of subjects I don't know anything about.

This is all, of course, just my guess. I'm not a parent, and disinclined to become one. I hope you and your daughter have many years of good, safe fun on bikes of all kinds.

As a general question, rhetorical I guess and for everyone to ponder: How do you best give a kid the opportunity to learn about the cause and effect and potential danger of bikes and karts and stuff at an age where they're watching cartoons and have no real concept of death and injury? I have a gut feeling that we overprotect kids a bit these days, and that the odd little cut, minor burn, and so forth helps establish a kid's sense of how the world works. I think that's the thing that worries me when I see young kids on motorcycles; I wonder whether they've collected enough minor-bump data points from walking/running/bicycles/skateboards to recognize what's going to happen if they get impatient and carry 50mph into a 30mph corner.

The new 4 wheelers look promising. They have safety throttles and remote kill switches. It also give the kid a chance to learn to control the throttle, brakes and steering without having to worry about balance.

Real kid bikes have the throttle stops too and some have the pull cord kill switches so dad can run behind and kill it if needed. Yamaha had those...oh god that was 20+ years ago...I was chasing the neighbors kid....

Biggest issue now with Kids on bikes is the new lead laws! Your okay as your in Canada but down here were screwed...New law say anything marketed to kids need to be tested and cert to not contain lead...While a good thing in theory it means even the steel for the frames must be lead free as well as the plastic's, the oils, etc. A huge cost for the MFG and the kids will loose out. Know any kids who'd chew on a frame?
They add lead to steel to make it less brittle not allot but enough so test will not pass the new laws.

As much as I despise Canadian tire, those Baja bikes they sell are actually pretty good.

One of my racing buddies has a few for pit bikes, and didn't pay more than a few hundred for them on Kijiji.