First Bike For 9 Year Old

[westymono]

Last sunday my daughter came to trials practice, and has not stopped talking about wanting a bike since after watching my friends daughter riding her beta evo 80.

It may be a flash in the pan as kids have a change of heart once something else catches their eye so i am going to hold back for a few weeks to see if she is still interested and if so,will look at getting her started,

Thinking of an automatic to start and when she has confidence,change to a geared machine but what bike to start on ??? or should i go for a yamaha ty80 and get her riding a geared bike straight off. she is only 9 so a ty would be ideal size and power wise without too much expense but i cant think of an automatic twist and go model as an alternative, budget is aprox £500,any ideas or recommendations please,thanks in advance.

T

[nelly1]

hi ste take a look at a beta minitrial

[nelly1]

this is it but its a geared one

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beta-Rev-50-trial-4-speed-with-clutch-/301127409843?pt=UK_Motorcycles&hash=item461c97a0b3

[john b]

Easy answer - TY80 all day long.

Started my son on one when he was 8 and much better than an auto.

He now rides C Class on a Beta 80, but prefers his Whitehawk 80 (Big wheel) for fun to ride

Great bikes to learn on, you can't go wrong

cheers

John

[nelly1]

to be fair katie learnt on a ty80 loved hers but it did take her ages to get used to a clutch

[lineaway]

If you gear the ty80 down, the clutch feels almost like an auto. (You still need to use it to stop) Smallest c/s sprocket and a 50-54 rear.

[garrym]

Don't confuse the Beta Minitrial with the Beta Rev 50, 2 very different bikes. Going straight to the geared bike is a gamble, I know kids who have been lost to the sport because they couldn't take to the clutch. Others are held back on the automatics. At age 9 she should be big enough for the Rev 50 if she can handle the clutch, getting one for £500 is a different challenge, TY80 could be the way to go, but she won't want to keep it for long although TYs do hold their value. Clipics are ok for twist n go, as is the minitrial but that might be too small for a 9 year old. Good luck whichever way you go, It'll be a lot cheaper than a horse which is what the girls usually want.

[westymono]

Thank you all for your help, I think the ty80 is a great bike and had one myself to learn on back in 1980 but outgrew it in no time at all,the beta option is a contender but I will have to up the budget should I go that way or thinking of maybe a yam pw80 for an affordable starter bike (or similar) to get her up and running for a couple of months and than switch to a trials machine, again thank you all for responding,great forum !!