oddball Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) Hi all, first post so please be gentle with me I am starting my son off trial riding, he has had a couple of hours on a rented ttr90 (little yammy) to get him riding. I have bought him a gasgas 80, he's only riden it in the garden so far (on the look out for a trailer), but it seems quite big and heavy for him, although he can touch the floor and ride around the lawn no problem.He's 10 in december and of decent height. Should I have got him a smaller bike to start with him being a complete newb?? Also what are the rules for competeing, I think he'll be youth 'C' which I think is classed as 80cc, but no mention of wheel size? Sorry if all this has been asked before but I have searched the net and have been finding info difficult to come by - even the smaller bikes there seems to be so many variations Anyway I need to sort him out so dad can get one Thanks Admin : feel free to move to another section if i've posted in the wrong secton Edited July 19, 2011 by Oddball Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twinshockdude Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 the east midlands has a great club for beginners - earl shilton trials club - they have a website. join the club and you can use their land 24/7. at 10 your son will be c class,you are correct about the 80cc limit,at national level there is a class for medium and full size wheels,as a beginner this won`t make any difference to you,just turn up and ride,to compete you will need an acu licence,the club will give you the form and sign it for you. as to the size and weight of the bike just see how it goes,my son is 9,he rides a medium wheel beta 80. best of luck !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin916 Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Hi all, first post so please be gentle with me I am starting my son off trial riding, he has had a couple of hours on a rented ttr90 (little yammy) to get him riding. I have bought him a gasgas 80, he's only riden it in the garden so far (on the look out for a trailer), but it seems quite big and heavy for him, although he can touch the floor and ride around the lawn no problem.He's 10 in december and of decent height. Should I have got him a smaller bike to start with him being a complete newb?? Also what are the rules for competeing, I think he'll be youth 'C' which I think is classed as 80cc, but no mention of wheel size? Sorry if all this has been asked before but I have searched the net and have been finding info difficult to come by - even the smaller bikes there seems to be so many variations Anyway I need to sort him out so dad can get one Thanks Admin : feel free to move to another section if i've posted in the wrong secton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonbroke Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Hi all, first post so please be gentle with me I am starting my son off trial riding, he has had a couple of hours on a rented ttr90 (little yammy) to get him riding. I have bought him a gasgas 80, he's only riden it in the garden so far (on the look out for a trailer), but it seems quite big and heavy for him, although he can touch the floor and ride around the lawn no problem.He's 10 in december and of decent height. Should I have got him a smaller bike to start with him being a complete newb?? Also what are the rules for competeing, I think he'll be youth 'C' which I think is classed as 80cc, but no mention of wheel size? Sorry if all this has been asked before but I have searched the net and have been finding info difficult to come by - even the smaller bikes there seems to be so many variations Anyway I need to sort him out so dad can get one Thanks Admin : feel free to move to another section if i've posted in the wrong secton Oh dear!!! Thats how I started !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dombush Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 hi odball My son and i ride together, perhaps i can tell you of my experience to draw your own conclusions. My son is 10 and fairly small in stature, he rides a Big wheel beta 80 in Youth "C". He had previously ridden a KTM 50 and KTM65 occasionaly at motocross and enduro practice tracks (25 hours?). Before riding trials he could jump, front brake, change gear and had very basic clutch control (you wouldnt stand in front/behind him). I had raced enduro for 3/4 years and decided that we could compete together as a way of legitamising my selfish passion. I bought a GasGas 250 and took him out to some open spaces and got him to handle standing, small hills / banks, small logs all at walking pace. We did about 8 hours. In January we entered our first event together both doing the "easy route" which is often shared between Youth classes and beginner adults. I wont lie, the first 2 hours was tough for both of us and i picked his bike up numerous times, he did get a bit upset. The second 2 hours he got more confident and we both enjoyed the event. My Learnings The actual capacity of the bike is not as relevant as the physical size. The first 2 trials he could have done with a Medium wheel 80, he would have grown out of it after 4 trials. With my time again, I would enter a youth specific event initialy. The easy route was also hard enough for me initialy. 6 months later i moved up to novice and he can do some of the easier novice sections. Practice the basics, throttle, brakes, clutch, tight turns, cambers.. ignore anything fancy. Find a club that either has a youth bias or has 3 routes. Dom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oddball Posted July 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Thanks for the replys folks, certainly things to think about there, most important of all I think is to just get him riding to gain comfort and confidence on the bike then go from there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comerconstructionman Posted October 13, 2011 Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 (edited) hi odball My son and i ride together, perhaps i can tell you of my experience to draw your own conclusions. My son is 10 and fairly small in stature, he rides a Big wheel beta 80 in Youth "C". He had previously ridden a KTM 50 and KTM65 occasionaly at motocross and enduro practice tracks (25 hours?). Before riding trials he could jump, front brake, change gear and had very basic clutch control (you wouldnt stand in front/behind him). I had raced enduro for 3/4 years and decided that we could compete together as a way of legitamising my selfish passion. I bought a GasGas 250 and took him out to some open spaces and got him to handle standing, small hills / banks, small logs all at walking pace. We did about 8 hours. In January we entered our first event together both doing the "easy route" which is often shared between Youth classes and beginner adults. I wont lie, the first 2 hours was tough for both of us and i picked his bike up numerous times, he did get a bit upset. The second 2 hours he got more confident and we both enjoyed the event. My Learnings The actual capacity of the bike is not as relevant as the physical size. The first 2 trials he could have done with a Medium wheel 80, he would have grown out of it after 4 trials. With my time again, I would enter a youth specific event initialy. The easy route was also hard enough for me initialy. 6 months later i moved up to novice and he can do some of the easier novice sections. Practice the basics, throttle, brakes, clutch, tight turns, cambers.. ignore anything fancy. Find a club that either has a youth bias or has 3 routes. Dom Hi Dom, Im sure you must be the same Dom that sold me your KTM 50 last year for Charlie. Wondered how you were getting on. Im thinking of doing the trials with Charlie through the winter so advice much appriciated... I have the whole family riding enduro now... Edited October 13, 2011 by comerconstructionman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wri5hty Posted October 13, 2011 Report Share Posted October 13, 2011 At club trials you could enter him on the D class route, on a out of class no award basis. It would be the easiest route for him to learn the basics on and build his confidence. A lot of the time these are conducted courses, where you walk round with them doing 1 section 3 or 4 times then move on to the next. Hope he enjoys it. Its great when you see parents and kids riding round together enjoying themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.