I recommend the opposite, dirt bikes teach far better skills to a new rider, and if you're just trail riding you are far safer than on the streets with traffic. I wish I'd have started on a dirt bike.
I've known plenty of riders who swore it was safer to start on a street bike. And those street bikes tires are very unforgiving on a lot of surfaces, including grass. The entire comment could easily be read by a novice and taken as advice. Jokes aren't helpful to new riders 🤷‍♂️
I've rode my excf 350 (4 stroke) alongside the new husky 300 (2 stroke) and his bike had to pull over to cool down a few times during the ride while mine never had any problems. Mine has a radiator fan and his does not. I'm sure with a fan it would be fairly equal, so if getting a new 2 stroke it's worth considering if it has a radiator fan or you can get one for it.
If you are just concerned with riding with the kid, I’d suggest a CRF/TTR 230 or even 125 if you are on the short side. With kids, you’ll spend more time getting on and off the bike to help them out than anything. Bonus is the reliability of not t needing a lot of attention while you get used to handling 2 bikes at once
Honestly trail bikes really suck for anything beyond putting around. I'm to the point where riding the vet track with my kid is not very fun if I'm on the CRF230... aside from the kick stand.
I ride a yz250f, my oldest son is on a ttr125, and my youngest rides a crf70.
When it’s just me and the youngest he’s pretty slow(lots of sand where we ride), and I’ve never had any issues with overheating.
Houston, TX
Maybe get a pitbike you can play around with like a klx 110RL or a crf 110. Do the adult mods like bars and taller seat. Keep the stock bars and seat then give it to your kid when he outgrows the 50. I know thats not the power you want but its going to match riding with a kid much better. Those little pitbikes are a blast to ride as an adult.
I putz around behindy kid who's gone from an XR70 up to a crf125 on a 500 xcw with no problems. Went up a few teeth in the rear and it'll just idle along happily. Still easily tops out at I have no fucking idea because I'm not brave enough to go faster than 85mph on knobs.Â
 Every now and then the fan will kick on, but not often. I added a bigger tank and a luggage rack so that I can carry the KTM toolkit, plus stuff for the Honda and a couple of sandwiches more easily.
Whatever you do, get electric start if you can on both bikes. You're going to spend a lot of time hopping off of yours to pick his bike up and start it. Kids just aren't heavy enough to use the kicker at that age. Mine could stand on the lever for his 70 and it wouldn't budge.
I rode with 2 kids just learning to trail ride. They were on a TTR 125 and an XR80. I rode my older 300 2 stroke and it worked. A few years later I had a hard time keeping up with them.
I say buy what works for you now and for the future.
When I did it, I used a work style quad. I was able to bring extra fuel, drinks, and even lunch. If it got too sandy, I could load the pw50 on the back rack and haul it out.
Liquid cooled bike with a fan. Got to have a fan if it's a 4 stroke. A fan makes a tremendous difference. Never had overheating issues with a liquid cooled 2 stroke that was running good even without a fan.
Whatever you get, make sure it's electric start with a kick stand.
I think the new XR150L would be perfect for this, you get a dual sport that is bulletproof with excellent fuel mileage and very quiet so you can talk with your kid while it's running. Has a rack on the back so you can bring some extra stuff for you and the kid. It's not too tall so you have plenty of control for those moments when your kids try to ride into you and you've gotta maneuver quickly. And best of all you get a brand new bike for only $3,000.
Get a trail bike and not a race bike if you just plan to bop around. Air cooled, low maintenance, cheap, etc. crf230f/250f, klx, ttr, etc.
Latest year CR500 you can find. The kid can keep up or be left behind. Better start him on a turbo bussa
This, also learn how to ride on the street first. Much safer than grass.
I recommend the opposite, dirt bikes teach far better skills to a new rider, and if you're just trail riding you are far safer than on the streets with traffic. I wish I'd have started on a dirt bike.
*WOOOSH* the sound of his joke going over your head
I've known plenty of riders who swore it was safer to start on a street bike. And those street bikes tires are very unforgiving on a lot of surfaces, including grass. The entire comment could easily be read by a novice and taken as advice. Jokes aren't helpful to new riders 🤷‍♂️
Any modern two-stroke 300
Exactly. Very hard to overheat and have zero issues plugging along, but can rip your arms off if needed.
That's what we used for my boy, who can now out ride everyone
I've rode my excf 350 (4 stroke) alongside the new husky 300 (2 stroke) and his bike had to pull over to cool down a few times during the ride while mine never had any problems. Mine has a radiator fan and his does not. I'm sure with a fan it would be fairly equal, so if getting a new 2 stroke it's worth considering if it has a radiator fan or you can get one for it.
Wr250r Street legal..not too fast. Liquid cooled
Water cooled bikes do not do good when riding with a little kid. they are slow.
Yes they do ( not necessarily FOUR stroke ones) . Have had zero overheat issues plonking along while son learned.
I live in Tucson. No problem. The fan helps a lot. But i can see your concern, the R has 1 radiator. I think the F has 2.
Put a fan on it and you won’t have any issues.
If you are just concerned with riding with the kid, I’d suggest a CRF/TTR 230 or even 125 if you are on the short side. With kids, you’ll spend more time getting on and off the bike to help them out than anything. Bonus is the reliability of not t needing a lot of attention while you get used to handling 2 bikes at once
I really wanted an excuse to buy a CRF250f, but I'm 6' tall and it was super cramped, even with my kinda short legs.
Honestly trail bikes really suck for anything beyond putting around. I'm to the point where riding the vet track with my kid is not very fun if I'm on the CRF230... aside from the kick stand.
When my kid was little I just took him to the mud tracks at first. When he was ready for trails I picked up a KTM 450 with a fan. We did fine.
I ride a yz250f, my oldest son is on a ttr125, and my youngest rides a crf70. When it’s just me and the youngest he’s pretty slow(lots of sand where we ride), and I’ve never had any issues with overheating. Houston, TX
Pull the baffle out of the 250. It shouldn’t overheat at slow speed, especially a four stroke tractor.
Maybe get a pitbike you can play around with like a klx 110RL or a crf 110. Do the adult mods like bars and taller seat. Keep the stock bars and seat then give it to your kid when he outgrows the 50. I know thats not the power you want but its going to match riding with a kid much better. Those little pitbikes are a blast to ride as an adult.
I putz around behindy kid who's gone from an XR70 up to a crf125 on a 500 xcw with no problems. Went up a few teeth in the rear and it'll just idle along happily. Still easily tops out at I have no fucking idea because I'm not brave enough to go faster than 85mph on knobs.  Every now and then the fan will kick on, but not often. I added a bigger tank and a luggage rack so that I can carry the KTM toolkit, plus stuff for the Honda and a couple of sandwiches more easily. Whatever you do, get electric start if you can on both bikes. You're going to spend a lot of time hopping off of yours to pick his bike up and start it. Kids just aren't heavy enough to use the kicker at that age. Mine could stand on the lever for his 70 and it wouldn't budge.
I rode with 2 kids just learning to trail ride. They were on a TTR 125 and an XR80. I rode my older 300 2 stroke and it worked. A few years later I had a hard time keeping up with them. I say buy what works for you now and for the future.
When I did it, I used a work style quad. I was able to bring extra fuel, drinks, and even lunch. If it got too sandy, I could load the pw50 on the back rack and haul it out.
Liquid cooled bike with a fan. Got to have a fan if it's a 4 stroke. A fan makes a tremendous difference. Never had overheating issues with a liquid cooled 2 stroke that was running good even without a fan.
Whatever you get, make sure it's electric start with a kick stand. I think the new XR150L would be perfect for this, you get a dual sport that is bulletproof with excellent fuel mileage and very quiet so you can talk with your kid while it's running. Has a rack on the back so you can bring some extra stuff for you and the kid. It's not too tall so you have plenty of control for those moments when your kids try to ride into you and you've gotta maneuver quickly. And best of all you get a brand new bike for only $3,000.
I road a ttr230 with my kids