Discussion
Been tasked with helping find the Nephew a small Mx bike to learn on, ideally under £1000 and would prefer something easy to maintain and get spares for etc.
He is almost 8 and around 1.3 m tall.
Was thinking a Yamaha PW80 or Kawasaki KX 80, anything else to consider?
Would prefer to avoid chinky copies.
He is almost 8 and around 1.3 m tall.
Was thinking a Yamaha PW80 or Kawasaki KX 80, anything else to consider?
Would prefer to avoid chinky copies.
I'll say that a PW80 and a KX80 (or the later 85) are completely different animals..
The Yamaha PW's are generally beginner-friendly dirt / field bikes. They're good for learning basic riding, gears, handling etc. and getting around at a decent pace.
The 65 and 85 bikes (KX, CR, YZ, RM, SX etc.) are proper junior motocross bikes. They might look similar sizes but to an inexperienced kid they're going to be too quick IMO. I think the PW80 is around 5hp whereas even a KX 65 is about 3 times that!
You can kinda see when you compare them:
You can see the PW has more relaxed ergonomics and larger wheels, whereas the KX is more compact with more suspension travel.
I'd recommend something like the PW if he's entirely new to riding. It's be more forgiving and easier / cheaper to run and maintain generally speaking. If he gets the hang of that and really takes to riding, then stepping up to a dedicated MX bike would be the next step. Likewise with gearing - although I think it's best to learn clutch and gears as soon as possible, it's another consideration for a first-timer so something semi-automatic which I believe the PW is, means one less thing to learn from the get-go.
As well as the PW80 I'd look at the Hodna CRF70 - basically the same power around 5hp, easy to ride and learn the ropes on and I'd imagine will hold its value and be easy to sell towards an upgrade.
The Yamaha PW's are generally beginner-friendly dirt / field bikes. They're good for learning basic riding, gears, handling etc. and getting around at a decent pace.
The 65 and 85 bikes (KX, CR, YZ, RM, SX etc.) are proper junior motocross bikes. They might look similar sizes but to an inexperienced kid they're going to be too quick IMO. I think the PW80 is around 5hp whereas even a KX 65 is about 3 times that!
You can kinda see when you compare them:
You can see the PW has more relaxed ergonomics and larger wheels, whereas the KX is more compact with more suspension travel.
I'd recommend something like the PW if he's entirely new to riding. It's be more forgiving and easier / cheaper to run and maintain generally speaking. If he gets the hang of that and really takes to riding, then stepping up to a dedicated MX bike would be the next step. Likewise with gearing - although I think it's best to learn clutch and gears as soon as possible, it's another consideration for a first-timer so something semi-automatic which I believe the PW is, means one less thing to learn from the get-go.
As well as the PW80 I'd look at the Hodna CRF70 - basically the same power around 5hp, easy to ride and learn the ropes on and I'd imagine will hold its value and be easy to sell towards an upgrade.
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