Taking your kid dirt biking ... question | GTAMotorcycle.com

Taking your kid dirt biking ... question

chiller

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My kid is 3.5 ... so I'm looking early to see about the fact he might be ready for a 50cc dirt bike next summer (if he's coordinated enough, he isn't right now) ...

So assuming he is ready for a 50cc bike (e.g. PW50) and I want to take him say to the Ganny, I'm trying to see what are all my legal requirements.

From here: https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90o04

I get this :


Age limit for driving
4. (1) No owner of an off-road vehicle shall permit a child under the age of twelve to drive the vehicle. R.S.O. 1990, c. O.4, s. 4 (1).
Exception
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply where the child is driving the vehicle,
(a) on land occupied by the vehicle owner; or
(b) under the close supervision of an adult. R.S.O. 1990, c. O.4, s. 4 (2).
ok so sure you can ride with your kid on public land on a green plate vehicle that has insurance (liability minimum)
so if that's the case, how do you get insurance for said bike, they can't exactly give you a rate quote for a kid



Which means that I can legally take my kid out on the bike if its under my supervision on public lands for OHV dirt bikes. So to use my bike on public lands, then I need a green plate and I'll need liability insurance. Getting a green plate should be easy just go in and pay for it and present my ownership I assume.

But how do you get liability insurance on a 4 year old ?

I can't be the ONLY dad out there that wants to take there kid riding ??!!
 
Good luck with that - you'll likely be stuck to private property for the time being.
 
Good luck with that - you'll likely be stuck to private property for the time being.

I know you can take your kid to 'private' facilities that require no insurance, plates, etc.

Kind of defeats the purpose of having a law that allows under 12 age riders on public land if you can't get insurance at all....
 
@chiller everything that I've looked at says 6 years old and must be able to ride a bike.

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I am looking for more context.

Why public land before they can actually ride?

To be honest for the first few years a few acres of private property should be more than sufficient to allow them to learn the skills required to deal with other riders on the trail.

They also have really nice electric dirt bikes that you could likely get away with at public parks, etc. A boy has one in my neighbourhood and really enjoys it at the local park.

Occasionally I see them used. I think they are a Razor product.




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https://www.venommotorsportscanada....ic-dirt-bike-motocross-b77?variant=3560957377
 
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@chiller my above post was re the private courses
@superseven they are made by Razer. I asked a kid about them and he said his parents got it at Costco. I have not seen them there. And I haven't come across any used ones. But a definite option.

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You insure the bike in your name then add a clause that allows someone under 16 to ride it. I forget the name/number of the clause but I'll look for it and get back to you. Both of my kids bikes and everyone else I know in the OFTR did it this way.

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We see a lot of kids at our trials competitions.http://www.sovt.website/index.html To enter the events you have to be a CVMG member.Which covers the rider for insurance.
 
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Thanks for replies so far, interesting reading on responses so far.
 
Little bike looks hot .... tell your wife that the motor has 500W and that is less than her kitchen mixer. Her face will surely change after that and your kid will have a new bike to play with.
 
Dual Sport Plus has OSET bikes on display. I'm buying my kids these bikes once they are 5. My plan is for them to ride locally at parks and stuff till they are older.
 
The kids bike will be in your name for ownership and insurance. You will also need trail permits.
Suggest joining OFTR and SCORRA.
Simcoe County has several areas that are great for beginners.
 
The ONLY thing I don't like about the electric bikes is that you get 2hrs of run time and 4-6hrs to recharge. When I first got my bike I rode it for hours upon hours for days straight. I can't imagine a kid being patient while waiting for their bike to charge.
 
I thought about the electric option once upon a time. Doesn't make sense if you live in the city and have to drive 1.5 hrs each way to a riding area. Need a machine that can go all day, to make the trip worth while.
Electric might work if you have a large property and don't want to piss off the neighborhood.
 
I feel that the OSET bikes (electric option) will be right for the young kids around 4-6 years of age. You can dial back the power on them, and I've heard of them going longer than 2 hours. I agree I wouldn't drive 1.5 hours to have 2 hour max run time. If your kids is just scooting around a grassy field a little faster than some teenagers would ride their pedal bikes through the same area at, I don't think anyone would be none the wiser or upset seeing a youngster on a motorized vehicle. Zero noise is key. I even thought about getting the largest OSET bike to boot around local mountain bike trails, I really hate pedaling.....

I should add that OSET bikes are basically trials bike. If you have big enough backyard you can build some ramps and stuff for them to play on.
 
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The OSET bikes are expensive that's a key factor for me.
Buying a used kids bike from the big 4 is hard to beat. When they out grow it you don't lose much if any on the resale. Plus they can ride all day. And they have a real bike just like you which is a huge deal for kids.
In the end you gotta get what's right f your situation.
 
Haven't looked into the legality of riding an electric bike in a city park yet but thats one of the main reason why I want to get the bike. Along with riding at the park, I'd also want to bring them on the trails I ride my bicycle on. An electric bike is about 50.lb whereas the honda CRF50F is about 105.lb. Its either the honda CRF50F or the Oset 12.5, but right now I'm leaning more towards the electric bike. I still have two years until they're ready, so I have lots of time to research.

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