Considerations for parents when buying a dirt bike for 12-13-year-olds
When you buy your first dirt bike there are a number of things to consider. But when you’re buying a dirt bike for a 12-13 year old as a parent, what else do you need to think about? Possibly the first consideration is what mum thinks. Let’s take a look at the best dirt bikes for 12-13-year-olds.
What are the best dirt bikes for 12-13-year-olds? The best dirt bikes for 12-13 year olds will have an engine cc size somewhere between 65-125cc. The power of the dirt bike will depend on your child’s maturity, their physical size and their prior dirt biking experience. Plus of course the cost of a new dirt bike will be important to you as a parent too.
Considerations for 12-13 year olds on dirt bikes
As a parent you want to make sure you are buying your kid the right level of dirt bike. There are a number of extra considerations for children to think about when you’re buying a dirt bike.
Instead of only looking at the best dirt bikes for 12 year olds in isolation, I thought it better to also include the best dirt bikes for 13 years olds too. Kids grow and develop very fast and two 12 year olds can be so different in terms of maturity and physical size. You may find that some 12 years olds are like 13 year olds, and visa versa.
Dirt bike considerations for 12-13 year olds:
Previous experience: Has your 12-13 year old ridden a dirt bike before?
Weight of the dirt bike: Is your 12-13 year old smaller or larger than average and will they be able to handle a standard dirt bike designed for 12-13 year olds?
Size of the dirt bike: How tall is your 12-13 year old and do they have short or long legs for their age. You need to match the height of the seat to your child.
Size and power of the engine: You don’t want to get an over powered dirt bike for your 12-13 year old. This is especially true if this is their very first dirt bike.
Top speed: How fast will the dirt bike go?
Price of the dirt bike: The price of a dirt bike is always a consideration and needs to fit within your budget. However, when buying dirt bikes for kids you also need to factor in how quickly they’ll out-grow the bike you buy.
Gears or centrifugal clutch: Does your 12-13 year old know how to ride a manually geared dirt bike or do you need to buy one with an automatic clutch or a centrifugal clutch?
Type of power: Do you want to buy a 4-stroke, a 2-stroke or an electric bike?
A list of the best dirt bikes for 12-13-year-olds
Let’s now take a look at a list of dirt bikes suitable for 12-13 year olds. If you’re viewing this on a mobile device, you may need to turn your phone landscape to get this table on your screen. Depending on the size of your mobile device, you may be better viewing this table on a computer or an iPad, thank you.
If you want reassurance as to whether dirt bikes are safe for 12-13 year olds, you need to consider how safe the sport is for all concerned. Dirt biking is a dangerous sport, but if this is what they want to do then should you stop them just because it’s unsafe?
This is a decision you have to make as a parent of course, and is one that I cant make for you. However, you can do everything you can to ensure their safety.
Safety considerations for 12-13 year olds on dirt bikes:
You should obviously make sure they wear a safety helmet.
They also need to wear goggles to protect their eyes from mud and dirt.
They must wear appropriate reinforced dirt bike safety boots.
You should make them wear the appropriate body armour.
Consider a body air bag to protect their spine and neck.
The dirt bike engine size should not exceed 125 cc.
Your 12-13 year old must be able to touch the balls of both feet on the ground when straddling the bike’s seat.
What size dirt bike is good for a 12-13 year old?
The right size of dirt bike for 12-13 year olds depends on their physical size and maturity. The size of bike in terms of power and engine size or cc does also depend on their experience riding dirt bikes.
The above table ranges from a relatively low powered 65cc dirt bike with a top speed of 24kmh (15mph) to a 125cc dirt bike that’s capable of speeds up to 105 kmh (65mph).
You certainly wouldn’t want to put your in-experienced son or daughter on this high powered kids dirt bike. But instead you may choose the electric Kuberg bike or the KTM 65 SX instead.
As for physical size, you need to look at the seat height. The seat height is important because your child needs to be able to keep the balls of their feet on the ground when they are sat on the seat. Otherwise when they come to a stop they’ll fall off. This reason is no different to choosing the right sized push bike.
How much is a 12-13 year old dirt bike?
You’ll see in the above table of dirt bikes prices range from $1,500 at the cheapest, through to $6,800 at the most expensive. But these are of course new dirt bike prices.
You can always go for a secondhand dirt bike instead. However, considerations here are that dirt bikes take a bit of a bashing in the dirt and off-road. But at least this will be a cheaper option, bearing in mind your 12 or 13 year old will be growing fast!
Unless you have the spare money, you may not want be splashing out nearly $7,000 on a dirt bike your child will grow out off in 6-12 months.
Think about whether you know that your son or daughter already love the sport. If you don’t already know this and this is their very first dirt bike, do you really want to be splashing out loads of dollars before you know this?
Cheap dirt bikes for 12-13 year olds
As already explained, the best way to grab yourself a bargain and a cheap dirt bike for your 12-13 year old would be to buy one secondhand.
You can do this on sites like eBay, Autotrader or by simply looking in the local adds near where you live.
However, please bear in mind that dirt bikes do take a hammering as they are ridden off-road. You may find yourself buying a load of hassle. Not good if your mechanic skills aren’t up to scratch!
Electric dirt bikes for 12-13 year olds
There are electric dirt bikes available for 12-13 year olds. Included in the above table is the Kuberg Trial Hero, which is a good contender.
The good thing about electric dirt bikes is there are no gears to contend with, which is great for beginners. Plus they are very quiet. Petrol dirt bikes, and especially 2-strokes, are pretty noisy. Your neighbours may not be too happy the day you bring back a 2-stroke dirt bike for your son or daughter to ride around your backyard!
However, if you buy an electric dirt bike instead, then it won’t be heard by you or your neighbours.
Another advantage of an electric bike is your kid won’t have to kick start the engine. Kick starting a dirt bike isn’t always easy, especially when you’ve been riding for most of the day and your legs are tired.
But on the other side of this coin is the current charge time and run times of electric bikes are in my opinion still too long to charge and too short time to ride.
I hope you enjoyed this article about the best dirt bikes for 12-13 year olds
I’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your adventures of dirt biking in the comments below. Please also share your photos. Either from your cameras or videos from your Gopro’s!
If this article hasn’t answered all of your questions. If you have more questions about dirt biking (or specifically about the best dirt bikes for 12-13 year olds), please comment below with your questions.
There will also be many more articles about dirt biking for you to read and learn about this fabulous sport and hobby.
Have fun and be safe!
The best dirt bikes for 12-13-year-olds (Parents guide & rough price guide)
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