How to get the family into dirt biking?
In my last post, I ended by sharing that I started all six of our children out on a small four stroke 50.
Dirt biking as a family is one of the funnest, most rewarding experiences you can have, and your family can enjoy these rides as often as time allows. It’s important, however, that safety remains the first concern, and starting those small kiddos out on a small bike will certainly make things safer and easier
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What determines a good learning experience?
Of course it will depend on the age, weight, and size of your child, but a good rule of thumb is the child ought to be able to put the bike upright from a resting position (the bike is lying on its side) by his/her self. The child needs to be strong enough to hold the bike upright and be able to get out from underneath it should they crash.
What’s nice about starting them young enough to fit on a 50cc bike is that most of these small beginner bikes are fully automatic. There is no clutch or shifting of gears, simply a neutral and a drive gear. There’s enough for the youngster to concentrate on.
Eliminating the need to teach them about the tricks of clutch shifting certainly makes things easier.
Once you’ve properly fitted your youngster to their first bike, find a large open grassy area void of obstacles for their first lessons.
I took our kids to the soccer field at the local high school where there were several acres of open flat grass.
How to introduce your child to the bike
Once their helmet and other safety riding gear is on, take a few minutes to teach your child about the bike. Familiarize them with the throttle, brake, gear shift, fuel shut off, etc. Make sure they understand what happens when they twist that throttle, or step on that brake pedal.
When you’re both ready, its time for the maiden voyage. This next part is very important, so keep it in mind.
If your child has not ridden a dirt bike before, I can almost guarantee they are going to grab just a little too much throttle, panic, grab even more throttle, and then freeze with fear in that position. This happened to my first son as I was learning how to be a better teacher and the result were a scary, high speed crash that left my son fearful of bikes for several years and myself ashamed that as his father, I didn’t foresee that happening.
So, learn from my past mistakes, DON’T LET GO OF THAT BIKE!!!
How to teach them
Start them out as you hold the handlebar by the throttle with your right hand while your left hand assists on the rear part of the seat behind your rider. As you jog beside your child, this will allow you to help work the throttle and catch when they start grabbing a bit too much. It will also help with the balance. This really will not take very long and you will quickly see when they are truly getting the theory of it and applying it to safe riding. It’s very clear when they have it down and are out of the woods of the dreaded beginner start up panic.
From there, you can let them stretch their wings and venture out alone. Kids are very quick learners, and with their light weight and low center of gravity, they will increase in skill and proficiency surprisingly fast.
How do I teach them more?
Once the child has mastered the flats and are confident and proficient at accelerating, decelerating, turning, braking, starting and shutting off of the bike, it may be time to strengthen their skills by stretching them a bit and taking their riding to the next level.
Don’t be too hasty, they’re not quite ready for that half mile vertical hill climb.
It might be time, however, to get them out in the mountains to experience riding on logging roads.
This is the stage I am at with the majority of my children and logging roads offer many skill-building obstacles that will further strengthen their riding skills. Hard pack, loose gravel, pot holes, water, mud, rocks, sticks, ruts, trees, and uneven terrain are among the many new obstacles your novice rider will begin to experience.
Riding logging roads, in my opinion, is a great way to build their riding skills, but be careful, they may be a bit over-confident with the mastering of the flatlands.
Dangers of flatland riding
Make sure you teach them the dangers of wet and loose gravel, slippery mud, ruts, and other obstacles that may also pose a hazard. Limit them to first gear for a prescribed distance, and then second and so forth.
By this time, your child may be in need of a bigger bike.
How do I know when it’s time for a bigger bike?
Of course, this will depend on age, size, weight, and skill level, but typically, you’ll want to step up progressively as your child’s size, weight, and skill dictate.
Starting with a 50 is what I always recommend with young first-time riders. When they’re ready, stepping up to an 80 would be an appropriate size in most cases. From there, a 125 is a good next step up, followed by a 250. These are all four stroke bikes, I’m talking about. If there is an interest in two strokes, I would recommend the child is proficient and comfortable on at least a four stroke 80 before making the switch to two stroke.
The snappy response, high-end horsepower, and unexpected power band that comes with most four strokes can be very surprising and a bit daunting, at first.
Trail riding is next
Once the rider has a good confident handle on riding logging roads and has ridden several, you may want to introduce them to some easy trails and hill climbs. Again, walk them through the dangers of tight trail riding, rocks, tree roots, drop offs etc., and don’t allow them to shift into higher gears until they have proven to you they can negotiate those trails or hill climbs safely and successfully in the lower gears first.
This stage is where things get really exciting and fun. You start to see your child transform from a novice to an intermediate rider with real balance and skill in riding. The rides now begin to pick up speed and enjoyment as you’re both able to keep up with each other and find more pleasure riding because of the knowledge and skills developed.
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