Where do I go from here with 7yr girl & motorbikes in Oz? Motocross?

Question

I have a 7yr old girl who got her first bike 5 months ago a Honda CRF50. She has taken to this like a duck to water and everyone who sees her ride says she is a natural!

She has no real fear loves jumping, has ridden in all sorts of terrain.

She has done her kickstart program and wants to get her license & race but Dad (& me) are not sure on this.

She has all her protective gear as there is now way my baby girl is allowed to ride without it, but I suppose the main issue now is that people who know her are saying that the 50 is not good enough for her and we should put an 88 kit etc in for her.

Do I join a local MX club or just get private coaching? Any suggestions would be great

Thanks

Answer 1

The CRF isn't a race bike, if you can afford to fork out the money, get a 50cc race bike....Polini, Cobra, LEM, KTM.....Wiggysan is right......P.S. She may be getting to old for the 50 even though the bikes I mention are fast bikes. Probably a 65 would be good, check out KTM, kawasaki.

Answer 2

Let race in 50cc stock class so she can learn some skills. then 6 months from now put her on a 65cc and let her race those for a year then move her 85cc make her advance slowly and take her to different tracks let her race in the rain the more she learns from different terrains and conditions will make her very skilled rider.....Remember, fast bikes don't when races a talented rider does.

Good Luck

Answer 3

Not knowing where in Australia makes it a bit harder to give advice.  I am in Victoria and my boys have raced for years.  My daughter gave it a go but rode too much like a ballerina and decided to give it up although she did have her national licence.  Firstly you must join a local club.  Then you have to do the manditory 5 hours coaching before you can race.  The  clubs have coaches in place to do this with and many dont charge.  Once you have the hours of coaching you then ask the secretary of the club for paperwork to fill out and send in to motorcycling Victoria or whatever state you are in.  Then you will either get a club licence or a national licence depending upon what you have sent in for.  You have to belong to a local club to race otherwise you cannot get your licence.   I think that your daughter could compete in the non competitive class of 50cc which just means that they usually get a trophy just for entering and dont necessarily give out first second and third placings. You can join a club that isnt affiliated to the governing body and then you dont have to have the licence and training but these are few and far between as Motorcycling Australia has been cracking down on non affiliated clubs.  In victoria Bacchus Marsh and Nunawading are non affiliated and have their own insurance. Each year your daughter will have to do 5 hours of coaching to retain her licence and has to fill in a log book with coaching and any injuries she may have.  

In Australia there is speciality series being run by Lee Hogan called girls on the gas.  I think that you have to be older to enter but there is much more for girls than there used to be.  

Be prepared for lots of injuries as even the girls I know who race have had the broken arms and teeth ect that goes with the sport.  YOu are not allowed to put kits in bikes that race to make them faster as this is called cheating.  You can do many other things to make the bike faster but I wouldnt suggest that you do anything till she has raced as more power doesnt make you a better rider.  

But most of all at this age remember it is meant to be fun as I have seen so many parents of 50cc kids who think there little one will be the next Chad Reed or as far as girls go Rebecca Lippsett and they are just horrible.  If you think Football parents bad you should see some of the 50cc parents.

Also for those who have said to get a racing 50cc I would wait till your daughter has raced a standard 50cc as the kids who are on the racing 50's have usually been on a bike since 4 years old and have progressed to the racing 50.  They are much harder to ride as they do have a little power hit.  You also get into a lot more money and those things tend to blow up just looking at them.  YOu may well put your daughter off if you send her out to race the first time on a racing 50, so start with the peewee and let her see what it is like.  The kids on the racing 50's really are playing for sheep stations.

Definately try joining a club and let her do practise days as you still have to have the log book ect to do that even to ride practise days.  Letting her do practise days will let her see if she wants to go on and race, from there she can do extra coaching and so on.  I don't think any accredited coach would coach without a licence for anything further than the kickstart as they legally wouldnt be allowed.

Answer 4

Im sure your local club will be able to help you out with all these questions.

They will know the next steps for you to take.