EddieWalker
Epic Contributor
My 8 year old will be turning 9 in two months and I'm thinking about buying him a go kart or dirt bike. He doesn't have a clue about this, hasn't asked for it, but is fasinated by dirt bikes. When we were on vacation, he'd get very excited when we drove by a motocross track.
We've pretty much dismissed getting him a fourwheeler because of all the injuries kids seem to suffer from them. We know a few nurses and have heard these stories from them, on the news and online. I do like the remote kill switch that the small four wheelers have. Being able to turn it off while he's riding it wold probably go a long ways to keep him safe. But we're still not comfortable with kids on four wheelers, so I think it's out of the running.
I realy like the idea of a two seater go kart. They seem safe and I'm sure would be allot of fun for him. From what I've seen,they all seem to be from China, and I'm unsure about parts. The stores that sell them don't have parts, so it's a concern that if I spend the money on it, how long will it last and what would it take to repair it? For allot more money, there are other options, but I was hoping to keep this under a grand.
Then there is the dirt bike idea. I had a Honda 70 as a kid and loved it. Very reliable and allot of fun. With the proper gear, I think it would be safe enough, as these things go. We don't hear the horror stories from dirt bikes and kids like we do with the ATV's, but don't know if this is because ATV's are more popular or if there is a real difference between the two and how dangerous they are. My thought is the four wheeler would be safer because of the four tires, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
He's turning 9 and this might be a bad idea. He might be too young for this, so that would be something that I'd like to hear about too. He's kind of on the wild side, tends to push things a bit, but he also learns from what doesn't work and will keep doing something until he gets it. We've been very impressed by how quickl he learns and improves at what he's doing. With the golf cart, he started out bad, but quickly learned and became pretty good at driving it. His sister is 3 years odler then him, but doesn't have his skill at driving like he does. He can think ahead, plan for what will happen and when he's suprised, he'll react to it appropriatly. He has good reactionary skills. She freezes up and just runs into things. She does not react well to suprises and has not improved at all in her driving skills since the first time she's started driving stuff. It's actually scary how bad of a driver she is. From a bicycle to the golf cart to my truck, she just doesn't get it.
If this is a good idea, and we decide to do this, what would you recomend?
I'd go to the dealer for a dirt bike and buy a name brand. I see the chinese bikes out there for less, but I don't think they have any resale value, don't know about parts or reliablity. Any of the Japanese brands should be fine for his first bike if we go that route.
If we get him a go kart, what should we look for and what should we avoid. It seems that they are only sold at the box stores like Tractor Supply and Atwoods. Is there a good brand to look for?
Another thoght for the go kart would be to increase the budget some and get it for both of them as a shared Christmas gift. That has some appeal too. She really needs to practice driving and developing some sort of skill. If we bought it for Peyton, then he'd have to share it with her and it wouldn't be his gift as much. He's pretty good at sharing, but if it was both of theirs from day one, that might be better.
Thanks,
Eddie
We've pretty much dismissed getting him a fourwheeler because of all the injuries kids seem to suffer from them. We know a few nurses and have heard these stories from them, on the news and online. I do like the remote kill switch that the small four wheelers have. Being able to turn it off while he's riding it wold probably go a long ways to keep him safe. But we're still not comfortable with kids on four wheelers, so I think it's out of the running.
I realy like the idea of a two seater go kart. They seem safe and I'm sure would be allot of fun for him. From what I've seen,they all seem to be from China, and I'm unsure about parts. The stores that sell them don't have parts, so it's a concern that if I spend the money on it, how long will it last and what would it take to repair it? For allot more money, there are other options, but I was hoping to keep this under a grand.
Then there is the dirt bike idea. I had a Honda 70 as a kid and loved it. Very reliable and allot of fun. With the proper gear, I think it would be safe enough, as these things go. We don't hear the horror stories from dirt bikes and kids like we do with the ATV's, but don't know if this is because ATV's are more popular or if there is a real difference between the two and how dangerous they are. My thought is the four wheeler would be safer because of the four tires, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
He's turning 9 and this might be a bad idea. He might be too young for this, so that would be something that I'd like to hear about too. He's kind of on the wild side, tends to push things a bit, but he also learns from what doesn't work and will keep doing something until he gets it. We've been very impressed by how quickl he learns and improves at what he's doing. With the golf cart, he started out bad, but quickly learned and became pretty good at driving it. His sister is 3 years odler then him, but doesn't have his skill at driving like he does. He can think ahead, plan for what will happen and when he's suprised, he'll react to it appropriatly. He has good reactionary skills. She freezes up and just runs into things. She does not react well to suprises and has not improved at all in her driving skills since the first time she's started driving stuff. It's actually scary how bad of a driver she is. From a bicycle to the golf cart to my truck, she just doesn't get it.
If this is a good idea, and we decide to do this, what would you recomend?
I'd go to the dealer for a dirt bike and buy a name brand. I see the chinese bikes out there for less, but I don't think they have any resale value, don't know about parts or reliablity. Any of the Japanese brands should be fine for his first bike if we go that route.
If we get him a go kart, what should we look for and what should we avoid. It seems that they are only sold at the box stores like Tractor Supply and Atwoods. Is there a good brand to look for?
Another thoght for the go kart would be to increase the budget some and get it for both of them as a shared Christmas gift. That has some appeal too. She really needs to practice driving and developing some sort of skill. If we bought it for Peyton, then he'd have to share it with her and it wouldn't be his gift as much. He's pretty good at sharing, but if it was both of theirs from day one, that might be better.
Thanks,
Eddie
