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My 13 year old son outgrew is YZ80 during the riding season last year. He spent a lot of time on my 200 as a result. The transition was painless for him. He's a much better overall rider than his father. This will be his 5th season riding.

For this season, he'll be on a different bike. I considered the KX100, but suspect he will outgrow the bike pretty fast. I have been considering 125's and 250's instead. Our riding is purely recreational with a mix of field riding where we've built some jumps, table tops, etc. Nothing huge.

I found a 2001 KX250 for sale locally that has been set up for woods riding. It has an 18 inch rear wheel, and 9 oz flywheel weight and all the appropriate guards.

I'm wondering if this bike might be a decent option for the kid. Thoughts on this model year KX as well as the step from a YZ80 to a KX250 for an experienced 13 year old would be appreciated. Thanks

Any reason you ruled out another KDX?

I don't know your son, but I know I wouldn't put any 13 y/o kid of mine on a 250 2t. Another 200 would be a good stepping stone. Quite a bit more forgiving than the 250.

125's are nice, but they blow through top ends pretty quickly. Luckily piston and ring sets are not that pricey. My neighbor has his 14 y/o on a CRF230 and it's a decent machine, but I tend to shy away from 4 strokes for the most part.

Guess I should have said I haven't. The kid likes the jumps and this got me thinking along the lines of a MX'er converted for woods. With a fork swap would the KDX make a reasonable jumper? I understand the suspension setup for jumping will be stiff for the woods. But, he's young and seems to take the beating pretty well.

Yeah, the kdx jumps much better with some MX forks installed. the rear suspension actually does pretty well as it is.

I suppose a 250 2t mellowed out with a flywheel weight might not be too bad. Again, I don't know your son! If he's riding really well on your 200 he might do ok on a 250? It's nice to stick with a 2 stroke just for low maintenance.

I've been seeing a lot of killer deals on 00+ KTM 200 xc's lately. That's probably gonna be my next bike.

If an old fart like Skipro can ride a 250, certainly a 13 year old can handle one

Mr. Wibbens wrote:If an old fart like Skipro can ride a 250, certainly a 13 year old can handle one

Yeah, I'm stuck on the 2T's. Cost to maintain is hard to beat. Kid has no trouble at all with the 200. He handles the size/weight well. The power delivery of the 250 seems like the biggest factor. I have no experience with the FWW and what that might take off the hit.

It will smooth things out a bit, and give it better bottom end grunt, but it will still be a 250. Trust me! I have thrown all kind of $$$ at my 02 CR250 to make it a woods machine, but it will never have the power delivery of my KDX 250. It is very ridable though. My vote would be a 100 big bore, 125/144 big bore KX or................drum roll............a KDX!

Def nothing smaller than a 125 from the sounds of it. All field riding lends itself to a MXer, but a 250 is pretty wicked. At the same time he'll probably be all over a 250 in two years. As mentioned a KDX with upgraded front 'spenders would be great if mixed woods riding is the goal.

Really appreciate the input. For our riding, sounds like I ought to refocus and look for a KDX with immediate plans for a fork swap. Thanks!