Motorcycles are a great way to set your kids up to be “tough”. They encourage motor skill development, mental fortitude, and perseverance with a sense of adventure. There are few things left in life that offer kids that sense of freedom and danger we all experienced growing up. This year I decided to upgrade from the prior electric Stacyc Bike to the CRF-E2.
Learning Curves
All of our kids have learned to ride without training wheels. We originally purchased a 16″ Stacyc bike while at the LA motorcycle show with the kids. At the time, we still only had two kids. We paid for them to demo the bikes and they both loved it so much we purchased one on the spot. A few years later the bike is still one of their favorite activities. Unfortunately though, the two older ones are rapidly outgrowing the small frame.
The Stacyc has essentially become the little ones personal motorcycle now. She has been growing up watching the two older siblings ride the hell out of it and last year she was finally given the green light to begin her journey on two wheels.
Stepping Up
Alex has finally graduated from the balance bike to the Staycyc despite her constantly asking to go faster. Josh was incessantly asking me for a motorcycle so he could ride with me. Lily on the other hand was content to ride as a passenger on anything. Watching the three of them ride bikes over the last few years made me want to up the game and increase the difficulty level.
What most parents forget is that starting kids out at an early age is actually beneficial for their development. Often times I see parents shy away from activities they perceive as dangerous due to a lack of understanding. Exposure to alternative sports is a great way to teach young kids how to adapt to a dynamic environment. It will also encourage them to be open to new experiences later in life.
Making Decisions
On our recent trip to Utah we decided to make the purchase of a new motorcycle for the kids to ride on my dads property. Specifically, I was looking for something I didn’t have to worry about maintaining constantly and preferably something that didn’t make an insane amount of noise. We had test rode a handful of electric bicycles including the larger 20″ Stacyc.
Specialized made a great mountain bike that was pedal assist with an electric motor. This would give them the ability to travel more distance, climb hills faster, and still allow for it to be ridden on the streets in Orange County. However, battery life was crap, price was well over $4500 and the suspension was severely limited for any real abuse other than basic trail riding. Honestly, I think it would be fine for the kids but the whole point is to teach them how to push limits so it doesn’t make sense to create them with the hardware. It should be their ability limiting them and not the bike.
The Stacyc bike was powerful enough to handle trails and utilized a twist throttle like its predecessor. The front was equipped with a decent fork but the rear was a hard tail setup. The price point was around $2900 which was equal to the Honda CRF-E2 and surprisingly cheaper than the CRF-50.
Now we get into the meat of the story –
Gas or Electric
Honda has always been a quality product for motorcycles. They are well respected amongst the weekend warriors as well as the professionals. You would be hard pressed to find an adult rider that didn’t start out on that infamous 50cc dirt bike. This was my original plan; Buy the 50cc and let the kids figure out the rest.
I spent several weeks researching and talking to the salesmen. The hesitation on the 50cc motorcycle was the noise levels and the seat height. My 7 year old son was slightly too tall for it but slightly too short for the next size up. This put us in a unique situation. During our search we came across the Greenger power sports website. They documented how they created a partnership with Honda for a new electric kids motorcycle. It had all the same suspension and expectations as a normal motorcycle except it was slightly taller and didn’t require fuel.
let me be clear here, a 50cc motorcycle makes minimal noise. It is a four stroke engine and when properly silenced with a factory pipe it is pretty mellow. However, the vast majority of these little engines are often still carbureted. This requires jetting changes and more maintenance than its electric counterpart.
Making the Purchase
We headed down to the dealer anticipating on picking one up the week before heading to Utah. We got to the shop and were in luck that one was sitting on the showroom floor. The seat height was perfect. As an added bonus it only weighted 106 pounds which meant I could put it on my bike rack. Unfortunately though, the unit had been sold already and was waiting for pickup.
With our obvious disappointment I began to formulate an alternative plan. Knowing that we will be heading to Utah in a few days I reached out to my father and explained the situation. We both made several calls to various dealers until we found one in St. George that had a bike in stock. My dad rushed over to pick it up before it sold as well.
I had my dad put it in his name to make the registration easier. I paid him with cash when I finally got out to Utah. My son had no idea what had happened. All he knew was that the one we were supposed to get was sold out. I didn’t tell him otherwise.
Surprise Arrivals
One of my favorite things to do is watch my children get excited about something. It is even more fun when they are not expecting something. This trip was not scheduled around a holiday, nor was it for a birthday or some other event where gifts are more or less expected. I have always morally opposed the concept of expected gifts. I just feel it is wrong to expect smoething of someone for the simple reason that it is a “special” day.
Gifts are much better received when they are not expected. This eliminates all pressure of both parties. You can give a gift freely without worrying if it is the right thing and they can accept the gift with genuine excitement even if you gave them something crappy. Try this on a birthday or Christmas… its a total shit show. I hate gifts for this very reason. Why should I have to wait all year until a specific day in order to give a gift to someone? Its stupid and archaic. If I am out and see something that I want to give to a friend or family member, I just make it happen and then give it to them.
After settling in and unpacking, we headed to the shop to show Josh what grandpa recently picked up.
Performance
Having officially kicked the tires and charged it up, we set off to let him ride. Luckily my dads place has a fairly long driveway with a few corners along a perimeter fence line. It made for the perfect first motocross track.
The bike itself has a key for the ignition. There are two speed settings limiting from 15mph to 20mph. The suspension is pretty standard for a motorcycle at this size range and for the average rider stock settings are fine. I rode it up and down the driveway too and never bottomed it out but after a couple more Dino nuggets and pizza slices I have no doubt I will.
Once the engine is “on” the throttle response is as expected… instantaneous. Its a torque monster and had it not been for the several years of riding that prior Stacyc bike with the twist throttle, we would probably have had a better story to tell here. Josh hopped on and did a slow test lap around us. He got a good feeling for the throttle and headed out down the driveway. I rode behind him on an ATV.
He rode confidently over various sections of terrain including some smaller ruts and a rocky section. He handled the off camber turn without hesitation. A few quick pointers about weight distribution and using your foot/leg in a turn and he had figured out how to drift the rear wheel into a better line on a rut.
CRF E2 Final Thoughts
Lily and Josh were both excited to ride it. The price point was $3200 after tax and license. The battery is removable and easy enough to swap if you pay the $1100 for a spare. However, the kids rode this thing for a few hours and the battery never went past half way. It charges in a couple hours and is easy enough to plug in as long as you have an outlet nearby.
The seat height is perfectly situated for a kid that is slightly taller than the 50cc gas CRF. There are minimal moving parts on the bike so maintenance is negligible other than keeping the chain clean and lubed.
Rinsing the mud off is easy provided you don’t spray a pressure washer directly into the electronics. Having the electric motor eliminates the heat from the exhaust as well. No more worrying about your kids getting burned.
The downside to it… you can’t really crash puddles like a gas bike. Also as a parent, the electric is eerily silent. Having the kids riding around the property made me nervous because I couldn’t hear that infamous exhaust sound when a kid crashes on a regular gas bike. I found myself timing his laps around the driveway and eventually just got the drone so I could follow him without me having to ride behind him. I wanted him to have some type of autonomy but at the same time I wanted to make sure he didn’t get hurt.
Bottom Line
Its slightly more expensive than a CRF 50cc but well worth the cost. This is easily one of my favorite things I have purchased for the kids. Now I just have to get my fat ass out there and ride with him.
