How to Get Your Kids Excited About Riding Dirt Bikes
Getting kids started early on dirt bike riding is a great way to introduce them to the offroad lifestyle, but how do you keep them engaged enough to want to pursue it?
We were going to title this post “Tips for Teaching Your Kids How to Ride Dirt Bikes”, and we’ll touch on some of that. However, the key to teaching children how to ride dirt bikes in the first place is to get them interested and excited about it. Here are some tips on how to do that.
A Little Danger Can Be A Lot of Fun
Dirt bike riding isn’t the safest activity, but it’s a great way to have fun bonding adventures with your kids. It’s natural to be on the fence about teaching your children a dangerous sport, but some kids like a little danger, and so do you if you’re a dirt bike rider too! Let them know it can be dangerous, but that’s part of the fun.
Start Off With An Easy Bike
Of course safety comes first, especially when it comes to your children, so it’s important to get them excited about riding by making them feel protected. The way to do that is to start with an easy lightweight machine, like an electric dirt bike to give them a feel for riding. A smaller, less-intimidating 50cc dirt bike is also a good way to get them up and running, perhaps with some training wheels attached. Let your kid get experience with a small bike with training wheels, then lose the training wheels and graduate them to larger, faster bikes as they progress.
Don’t Start Off With Too Powerful a Bike
No matter what anybody says, a 250cc dirt bike is not suitable for a 4-6 year old kid who hasn’t even learned basic riding. In other words, a child can graduate to a more powerful bike like a 250cc with growth and experience, but anything above a 50cc bike isn’t recommended for a beginner. Starting them off too soon with a dirt bike that’s too powerful for them to master is a good way to make sure they’ll never want to ride it.
Yes, your kid will eventually outgrow the 50cc bike, but when they do you can trade it in for an 80cc bike, and then trade that one in when they graduate to a 125cc bike, and so on. Upgrading to a faster bike every year is a great way to get kids excited about learning and riding, so don’t go too big too fast.
Never put a kid on a dirt bike that’s wrong for their size. Consider everything from their size and strength, how well their hands can grip handlebars, and if their feet can comfortably reach the footpegs. Start them off on a basic bike that’s not too overpowering for their size, that way they won’t lose interest in riding because they can’t handle it.
Don't Force Them Into It
To get your kids excited about riding dirt bikes, it’s important not to force it on them. Gauge whether or not they’re even mature enough for riding dirt bikes. Take them out on your riding trips first, let them see you and others do it, show them how exciting it is, and then ask them if they want to try it for themselves. Kids can be rebellious, so if you try to force them into it, they might reject it. Let them know it’s OK if they don’t want to try it, but also that they’ll be missing out on a whole lot of fun.
Show and Tell
What kid doesn’t want to be one of the cool kids in school? Besides taking your kids along on your own riding trips, show them videos of other kids having fun riding and racing dirt bikes. Kids today love video-sharing apps like TikTok, so show them how cool they could look making riding videos of their own. It’s also a great way for them to have some “show-and-tell” material in school, and to make some new friends.
What better way to let kids know dirt bike riding is cool than to actually show them pictures and videos of themselves on their bikes? Take fun videos and selfies, and have them pose like little badasses to get them pumped about riding!
Supervise Your Kids While They Learn
This is a no-brainer, but of course you want to supervise your kids to get them comfortable with riding dirt bikes. Keep an eye on them at all times, as some kids will get daring enough to try doing tricks while you’re not looking. If you’re not watching and they stray off into a path or do a stunt they weren’t ready for, a nasty fall or crash can make your kid never want to ride again.
Get Your Kids Excited About Gear
Getting kids excited about wearing all that safety gear: helmet, goggles, gloves, boots, body armor, etc. can be a challenge. It’s a lot for a kid to handle. Children can be stubborn and picky about what they want to wear, but what kid doesn’t like shopping for goodies? Let them pick out their own style of helmet and riding gear in their size, even if the colors don’t match.
The important part is to make sure they’ll WANT to wear their safety gear. Make it fun by telling them they can pick out gear to look like their favorite superhero or cartoon character. You can also give them prizes as they learn how to ride, like getting a Mohawk or decals for their helmet, or buying them some casual riding apparel like t-shirts and hats.
Start With an Open Field or Dirt Road
When they’re starting out, your kids won’t quite be ready for the tracks and trails you’re used to riding on. Instead of taking them to your favorite spots, start them out on a flat, straight dirt road or field until they master the bike. Because if your kids crash or fall every 30 feet due to bumps, ruts and other obstacles, they’re not going to have fun. They’ll get frustrated, and it’ll quickly drain the excitement of riding out of them.
Let them feel that rush of fun on a straight, flat, obstacle-free and easy to ride spot first. They’ll get excited about riding if they can stay on the bike long enough without incident. And they’ll learn how to go straight without falling down before they learn more advanced stuff like how to turn 180 degrees.
Don’t Overload Them With Information
Keep in mind that short attention spans on kids may make them lose interest quickly due to information overload, so teach them one fundamental lesson at a time. On a first trip, teach them basic form or how to ride in a straight line. Then on the next trip, teach them how to turn, and so on. When they know they’re going to learn something new on each outing, it gives them something to look forward to without overwhelming them with too much information.
Let Them Know It’s Okay to Crash
Perhaps the easiest way to turn a kid away from dirt bike riding is YOUR frustration from them crashing while they’re learning. Let them know without sounding scary that it’s normal to fall and crash. Have a “pep talk” with them about crashing, let them know it’s cool and expected if they do, and that you won’t get mad about it.
Instead, make it fun and playfully knock them down a few times with their safety gear on, and let them knock you down a few times too. Make a fun game out of it, and give them confidence that crashing is normal, but that you’ll make sure they’re safe.
Get Their Feedback
Provide positive feedback to your kids as they learn, but also listen to their feedback to see what you can improve. Tell them they’re doing a good job, but also ask your kids if they’re actually enjoying learning and riding. If they’re not feeling it, ask them what you can do to make it more fun. Do they want to bring a friend along? If so, ask the parents of their little buddies if you can teach them to ride too.
Finally, let your kids know that it’s ok if they’re not into it. Who knows? They might be too young or scared to enjoy it now, but may want to try again when they get older.