I need your opinion on a small dirt bike ..... FAST ..... PLEASE

thepopularjock

thepopularjock

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OK all you dirt guys - I need your help!!!!
My GF (soon to be fiancee) has tasked me to find a dirt bike for her 9 yr old who weighs 93 lbs. He turns 10 next month so the pressure is on :cowboy:
Now I found a small dirt bike. It's a Yamaha YZ 85 dirt bike

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I have emailed the guy about use, shape, year, etc. I have not heard back yet so I thought I would turn to my online friends. LOL Also a little bit of a selfish motive as these babies make great paddock bikes. :stirpot:

Does anyone have any experience with these little Yamaha's? Can you give me any advice going into this? The guy is asking $650 . Again - not sure of the year but the pic looks pretty good. The guy is local so I will request a meeting where I will sit my big butt on that little bike and ride it!!!! :stunta]: HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

Please give me some advice guys :cheers:
 
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I have rode one. thay are pretty tough little bikes i am 5'7" -135lb. and it would willie rite up they pull pretty hard. if its his first bike you should deffently ride it first and make sure its not going to be too much for him. it will suprise you!! I do think that is a good price if it run good.
 
I have a long history of dirt bikes and just new to street bikes so I think I can answer this fully for you. The yz85 is a lot of bike if has never ridden or not ridden much. It truly has enough power to dump me at 6'2" and 210 lbs right on my but with out really trying to hard. If you have alot of street experience then to put it in you terms i would say it is like getting a 600 sport bike for your first ride. But remember he is only 10 and wont have throttle control on that 600. I would recomend a four stroke like a crf100 (equiveleent to a ninja 250) that is alot less wild and they can be had at that price. There are so many of these bikes cuz all the kids want them then never ride them and dad ends up selling it down the road. Ket me know if i can help you any more.
 
Thanks for the fast response guys.
I did not know that little sucker had so much power. LOL
No - he has not ridden a motorcycle before. This is his 1st so I want to make it successful. Not to mention pulling his Mom into this - last thing I want is the little man breaking bones and getting hurt.
 
So are you guys in agreement that this price is pretty good if we decide to go this way?
Just curious......
Stupid question: Do these little bikes come with any kind of limiter? Just seems like it would be a good idea for the parent (owner) to be able to adjust some settings. LOL IDK - I'm just asking...
 
No Limiter and VERY snappy. It could be a decent bike. But I wouldnt recomend for a first. Find a decent PW 80 or even an older XR 80 or something like that. Not so much snap in them.

It is very cool to get him into bikes but if he fears it right away you may struggle to keep in interested escpcially if he gets hurt.
The YZ 85 is for real.
The deal sounds good but I would be concerned for this being a good first bike?
 
Trust me the YZ is a handful I would suggest you go with something else since its his first bike. I started around that age on a 1993 xr80 great little bike to learn on and they can take a real beating. My brother started on a ttr125L the newer ones have electric start so maybe thats a plus for you. Both are great learner bikes but I would strongly suggest that you not start him on the YZ
 
IMHO it's too much bike for him. Definately look for something with less power and snap. maybe clutchless, etc..
good luck and do some research.
 
They are RACE bikes. Are you up to limiting the power output? A spacer or something else to limit the throttle? Unsupervised a kid can get into trouble on a bicycle, I injured myself trying to do speedway on a Honda "Monkey Bike" (preQA50). Gota say that at 12yrs I would have loved one of those! Had to borrow friends as I didn't have a bike. If you can limit the throttle so it will not come on the pipe it will teach him heaps, like how to use a clutch balance etc.
 
an old high school buddy of mine has two boys who race motox and they are 10 and 12 now, but they started out on the cobra 50. it seems to be a good little bike without too much power and i think it is an automatic? i know you dont need to change gears and when his oldest moved up a class he had problems at first using a clutch. anyways it might be worth looking into?
 
My 11 yr old brother is getting a TTR125LE this year for Christmas. My mom called and asked me what to get because she found a YZ85 like you did. That little 2 stroke is a beast. The TTR125 is a 4 stroke. No snappy powerband, but plenty of power to tote me around at 6'2" and 170. If new is an option, Yamaha is doing 3.99 APR.

Good luck

Matt
 
Blanchy said:
They are RACE bikes. Are you up to limiting the power output? A spacer or something else to limit the throttle? Unsupervised a kid can get into trouble on a bicycle, I injured myself trying to do speedway on a Honda "Monkey Bike" (preQA50). Gota say that at 12yrs I would have loved one of those! Had to borrow friends as I didn't have a bike. If you can limit the throttle so it will not come on the pipe it will teach him heaps, like how to use a clutch balance etc.
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LOL
It is definitely a race bike!!!!
Well just to give an update - I met the seller a few days ago and rode the YZ 85. WOW!!!! You guys were not kidding - that bike has power to spare and it is much too big for a 10 yr old. I am a hair under 6' and around 210 lbs and that bike pushed me around pretty well. Then I took in on the FM Hiway that ran in front of the seller's property and kicked that little bike up to about 40 or 50 mph. HAHAHA!!!! WAY TOO MUCH BIKE for a learner IMHO
 
I am going to look at a Yamaha PW 50 and a Yamaha PW 80 both. My boss actually has both used bikes. I'm taking my GF so she can see the bikes and get an idea of what we are getting. LOL The only bad thing about dealing with my boss is I cannot low ball her. Plus she is not someone who you can fool too easily. Her all of her family races so I will have to weigh out paying a little higher price vs continued searching and travel to find a bike. That's OK. Time and convenience are worth a price so I'm not disappointed (assuming it all works out today)
I will ride both just like the YZ 85 so hopefully I will get something age appropriate. I have looked for other models like you guys have suggested but when you can find two good models in the same town - that is just too good to pass up a look. So I will post up what we find. Thanks for all the input. I will let you guys know how the test rides go. Thanks again for your input. I really appreciate your help.
BTW - I am in no way locked on the PW 50 or PW 80 - they are just in my town and worth a look. I have written down all of your suggestions and hitting Ebay (Not much luck) and Craigslist (Much better luck). So the search continues!!! :D
 
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My kids are bugging me, they are already tall, aged 12, 13 and 14... so I can't get them anything too tiny..

besides the PW 50 and 80, what are some other models to keep an eye out for?
 
Yamaha makes the TTR models which include the 110,125,230 and 250 which is pretty big. These are the trail models not full out moto-x

Hopefully I wont get in too much trouble here but I will say dont count out the other Japanese brands esp Honda. They are bulletproof. Big Red carries the 100,150,230 and 250 which again is fairly large. Suzuki has a 125 and Kawasaki has a 110 and a 145.

Hope this helps a little

Matt
 
Matt C. said:
Yamaha makes the TTR models which include the 110,125,230 and 250 which is pretty big. These are the trail models not full out moto-x

Hopefully I wont get in too much trouble here but I will say dont count out the other Japanese brands esp Honda. They are bulletproof. Big Red carries the 100,150,230 and 250 which again is fairly large. Suzuki has a 125 and Kawasaki has a 110 and a 145.

Hope this helps a little

Matt
Click to expand...

You won't get in any trouble. There are a lot of us who have either owned or own Hondas now. They are great bikes.
HOWEVER
I bought the PW 80 for $400. It's a 2003 and the Kelly Blue Book value is $600 in excellent condition. It is not in excellent condition but I think the owner (who is my boss) priced it accurately. I might have tried to bargain her husband down just a little but I think I got it for a fair price. Again - if it wasn't my boss I would have haggled a little but over all - $400 for this bike is a good price and we were all happy.
The Kawasaki would not start. It is the KX 65 and Sharon's husband will take it to a mechanic friend to get an estimate to see what is wrong. There is another step-son who we think will catch the fire once he rides the PW 80 so we are keeping the lines of communication open. The PW 50 is tiny and just to small for everyone involved.
Thanks again for all of ya'lls help. This is not over yet so if you guys think of anything else - your opinion is more than welcome.
 
dart1963 said:
My kids are bugging me, they are already tall, aged 12, 13 and 14... so I can't get them anything too tiny..

besides the PW 50 and 80, what are some other models to keep an eye out for?
Click to expand...

Read through this thread and the thread on the other board (titled exactly the same). Lot's of people made suggestions and reasons for their suggestions. In addition to the models - the big discussion involved whether to go with a clutch vs clutch-less transmission. Some good arguments on both sides to give you something to think about.
Here is the link on the other board.

I need your opinion on a small dirt bike ..... FAST ..... PLEASE - FZ1OA Message Board


Good info in both threads. Everyone really came through. I have a lot better understanding than I did when I started these threads and I feel very good about my purchase.




..........
 
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LOL
I sent my buddy the pic of the PW80 and the PW 50 together and when he saw that I was not going to buy the 50 he wanted it. For $400 that was a good deal also so we both made out good. They both need to be cleaned up but the PW 50 is actually valued a little higher than the PW 80. Not sure why but that is the way it goes.
So I hope the owner keeps on thinking around the $400 range when the Kawasaki comes around. :woot::woot:
 
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