Kids' off road bike advice please

[Beancounter]

Apologies for not posting in the off-road forum but I think I'll get more exposure in here.

My 10 year old step-son is uber-keen to get an off-road bike but besides looking at eBay and FBM we've no idea where to start looking or what we should be looking for. He's done a few days at MXTryOut in Mildenhall and did well - didn't get caught up in racing, only dropped the bike once and got straight back on. Those bikes were Kawasaki KX65 if I remember correctly and there are a couplem on eBay which appear suspiciously cheap ,(<£1,000). The bikes he's used have electric start which I think narrows any purchase list quite a bit.

Any advice please - what to look for, what to avoid?

TIA.

[Rockburner]

I know very little, but generally I'd imagine that you very much get what you pay for, and anything off ebay is probably 50% likely to be stolen.

[Count Steer]

They supposedly retail for £3.5k so I suppose the £1k might depend on age and condition.

Could be worth having a chat with the people at MXTryOut. Some of these outfits sell off the bikes each year or they might point you at a club. Youngsters probably grow out of these pretty fast (or get bored with it) so there's probably a steady turnover.

[Beancounter]

I know very little, but generally I'd imagine that you very much get what you pay for, and anything off ebay is probably 50% likely to be stolen.

I share your thoughts/concern, particularly the theft aspect as I have no idea how to check if a bike is moody or not. I'm guessing as kids bikes are not road registered there isn't a V5 and no way to do an HPI check.

They supposedly retail for £3.5k so I suppose the £1k might depend on age and condition.

Could be worth having a chat with the people at MXTryOut. Some of these outfits sell off the bikes each year or they might point you at a club. Youngsters probably grow out of these pretty fast (or get bored with it) so there's probably a steady turnover.

I was wondering that. We still need to speak to the boy's Dad as the bike would need to live at his parents' place (they have quite a large field for s-son to practice on).

[Rockburner]

I know very little, but generally I'd imagine that you very much get what you pay for, and anything off ebay is probably 50% likely to be stolen.

I share your thoughts/concern, particularly the theft aspect as I have no idea how to check if a bike is moody or not. I'm guessing as kids bikes are not road registered there isn't a V5 and no way to do an HPI check.

Yup, just like any off road only bike.

The only way to be certain would be if the seller had an original purchase receipt.

Caveat emptor.

[crust]

Are you thinking of getting into racing or just mucking around in a field, odd day at a track?

If you're thinking of racing go to a few schoolboy MX meets, speak to the parents, they'll know of decent bikes for sale and be able to give you an idea on how things work / costs.

"We still need to speak to the boy's Dad as the bike would need to live at his parents' place (they have quite a large field for s-son to practice on"

He may have a field but the neighbours may not be so accommodating - a S59 could be the result. Alternatively you could look at electric bikes - Surrons etc, they can't object if they can't hear it.
A grey trackie and a bally and he's away with the local nre-do-wells.

[MyLittleStudPony]

I got my kids a CRF110 and CRF125 small wheel when they were about that age.

The bikes were great. I think I paid close to 1500 quid for each, both probably 5-10 years old but in nice condition. I think they were worth about that when I sold them a couple of years later.

My kids weren't that into them but YMMV, especially as your lad sounds like he's keen.

From memory and FWIW the KXs I looked at online looked like they'd had a hard life.

[ZRX61]

10? A KX80 so he doesn't outgrow it next week.

or tell him to MTFU & get him a KX500