Dirt biking tips and tricks
The best dirt bikes for 12-13-year-olds will have an engine cc somewhere between 65-125cc. The power of the dirt bike will depend on your child’s maturity, their physical size and their prior experience. Plus of course the cost of a new dirt bike will be important to you as a parent too.
How a dirt bike kickstarter works is via a lever that is pushed down with you leg. The kick start lever is connected via a spline to a sprocket, which is engaged with another sprocket that’s connected to the engine’s crankshaft. When the kick start lever is pushed down, this turns the engine over and the engine should start. The benefit of having a kick start on a dirt bike instead of an electric start is the bike will be lighter.
How a dirt bike engine works depends on whether it’s a two stroke cycle engine vs a four stroke cycle engine. For example, one stroke in two produces power on a two stroke; whereas one stroke in four produces power in a four stroke. But the basic components of both engine types are similar, as they are both internal combustion engines. They both have pistons, cylinder block and head, fuel inlets and exhaust outlets (although these operate differently) and a crankshaft. The lateral movement or up and down motion of the piston is converted into a rotary movement in the crankshaft in both engines.
A 2-stroke dirt bike engine works on two strokes or cycles of a piston. On one of the two strokes, the air-fuel mix is drawn into the combustion chamber via the transfer port from the crankcase. As the piston nears the top of the combustion chamber the spark plug ignites the air-fuel mix. This combustion creates high pressure, which forces the piston down on the second of the two strokes. As the piston rose during the first stroke, this reduced the air pressure in the crankcase. This reduced pressure draws in more air and fuel mix, in preparation for the next cycle or stroke. This process starts over again to start the first of the two strokes once more.
The mechanics behind how a dirt bike clutch works are simple yet clever. A clutch works on the principle of friction plates that are designed to both slip and grip. These plates grip when the are compressed together by the clutch springs. But then they slip when they are separated when the clutch lever is pulled in. The clutch is the mechanism that sits between the engine’s power and the gearbox. It either transfers power or disengages the power. The clutch is essential for a dirt bike to be able to come to a stop without stalling and is used for gear changes.
