So would you put your kid on a 300?

[MarkGable]

His Kx100 engine is toast top to bottom. He is 14 and just about too big for it anyway. He weighs about 140 pounds and is growing fast, he's still a little short on the gasser, he can just touch his tiptoes. I'm thinking of letting him ride my old bike a(1999 300xc) but I'm concerned about the weight of the bike. I think power delivery wlll be controllable for him, but the change in weight from a 155 pound KX to a 235 pound GG may prove to be too much to have any fun with. The power jump is pretty big as well. My second choice would be a KDX220, little lighter, lot lest power, rock solid bike. Not nearly the bike the Gasser is, but would you Dad's out there put your boy coming off a KX100 right onto a big Gasser 300??? Am I'm setting him up for disaster?

[skid jackson]

not a dad but ....
any trees in your neck of the woods?? Im 47 yrs old and weigh about 200lbs geared up and ride an 06 de 300. I'm looking to downgrade to a 200 or if my husky 144 works out I'll ride that and sell the 300. I ride tight technical woods and find the 300 is just a bit too much. If he gets tired or slips up a bit and grabs a big hand full of throttle my 300 would and rocket his ass into the trees. I know thats what it has done to me on occasion. whats he riding?? woods, mx, sandpits?? For woods I'd put him on a husky wr 125 or a kdx or gas gas 200. Maybe a yammie or husky 144 if it came up. A dirtbike isn't a toy and your kid is still a kid ... not the tough as nails bad ass you might like to think he his ... a 300 is a mans motorcycle. Your boy isn't a man yet ......

[roostafish]

I considered moving my son onto my 300. He's only 12, and not ready yet. He's on a TR 125. My plan was to move the forks up in the clamp 'till they hit the bar, then back the preload off on the shock pretty much all the way. I was also going to put a long pull throttle on so he couldn't easily "whisky throttle" it. I'm sure he'd have done just fine on it, but... I sold the bike. I still would not be afraid to let him try it. Before you drop cash on a new bike, I'd let him try it in a safe place. If he doesn't like it, cool. A 125 two stroke is pretty easy to buy cheap these days, and at 140 pounds, it should have plenty of power.

[marjastaja]

I'm 17 and 270 pounds riding on a 250 Gasser. I started this summer with a 125 2-stroke.
My dad (age 47 and weights 250 pounds) is still on that 125 Yz. And sometimes it has too much power for him. Only thing he wants more is the bottom torque.
If he's that small I would say a 125 2-stroke, or 150 bigbore.

[jiauka]

Riding a powerful bike is more a matter of mental actitude, skills and experience than weight or age. If your kid feels comfortable on it, do it. If you have concerns about the power delivery, it is very easy to limit the throttle travel using a suitable limiter inside the carb. I have done it using the metal part of this kind of wire connectors.



placing it on top of the the valve with the cable inside, you can easily adjust the travel length.

As an alternative, find a throttle limiter, they are quite common on kids bikes.

have fun,

j.

[GasGas]

My daughter started riding a 125 two years ago. 13 then. She had been riding since she was 5 and her skills are very good. She can beat most of the boys on the mx track. She tried a 250 2 stroke this summerm and found that a bit of a hand full. I would try a 125 2 stroke personally. It's the next natural step anyway and alot safer progression.

[Eric K]

My oldest son and I started trading off riding a KX100 and GasGas 300 when he turned 13 and weighed about 110 lbs. He could barely reach one foot to the ground on the GasGas.

He took to the GasGas 300 like a duck takes to water. We started on easy stuff and readily worked up to the tough, technical steep stuff.

Now at 18 and 6 ft+ he is so fast on the GasGas 300 he makes everyone else look slow. (This is good since he has to wait for me, I don't have to wait for him.) He still likes to ride the KX100 because it is so easy to ride the GasGas up the steep technical hills.

[REVERUP]

Only you really know your sons character.

The first and main question I would ask myself if I was in your shoes... does he scare easily. That typically is what tends to make kids suddenly lose interest, too much bike.

Is his riding ability above what the KX100 can put out now.
Does he adapt well to different bikes.
Does he show desire to ride a larger full size motorcycle like his dad. I did as a kid when I was 14 I too was at that age of growth spurt.

They only really had 125s back then as the step up transitional bike from the 80cc class. 125s of course were full size but not as powerful or as heavy as the big bores. I wanted one.
My father was like hell no, you will out grow that 125 motor, your not getting one. Your uncles got a nice 81, YZ 465 he'll take it in trade straight across for your 82' CR80 for your younger cousin to ride. So that was my transition 80cc to 465cc.
It really depends on the individual. Good luck!

Roscoe

[bondo]

In my opinion if he rly wants to move up to a big bike I would suggest moving up onto a gasser 200 b/c it was a smooth transition for me from a yamaha 125. the gasgas200 really lit my fire for riding so much that i ride almsot consistently each sunday for a good 8 hr's. The only thing bad i've really noticed about the 300 is that it has tons of power and it will spinn unless he has advanced throttle control and I've noticed to get the best performance out of the bike you always have to be on top of it or it will spit you off*learned this from personnel experience*. i would suggest move him up too a gasgas200 it has good power but not too much power and it's not a leap from a 100kx to a gasser 300. I ride really tight technical A/AA rider terrain and I love the gasser in it all ,but without advanced throttle control technical stuff will be exetremly hard if he has the gas it and don't let go mentality.

-Bondo Jr.-

[Ud_luz]

I let my 13 y/o ride my KTM 300 one afternoon. I never rode the bike again.

It didn't bother me that much, I wanted a new bike anyway.