For a long time, I’ve shied away from writing an article on electric dirt bikes for kids. It’s really mainly because I only want to look at quality products – and years ago when I first looked at electric dirt bikes, I didn’t feel they were a quality product. However in the last few years, quite a few new electric dirt bikes have come on the market, and I felt it was time to have another look at the Electric dirt bike offering.
Why consider an electric dirt bike?
Electric dirt bikes have some great advantages over convention petrol motor bikes such as:
- Zero Emissions
- Almost no sound pollution
- No fuel required
- Lower Maintenance
- Lower running costs
- No risk of being burnt on a hot exhaust pipe
- In some cases – swappable batteries
- Gears are optional
Cheaper Electric Dirt Bike Options:
As was the case when electric dirt bikes first came out, there are quite a few cheaper – usually Chinese made – bikes.
These do have their place. After all, they are a good price and can allow parents who could not usually afford a dirt bike for their child to purchase a new product cheaply. And as battery life has improved, even these entry level bikes are better than they used to be. However, the down side of these bikes remains too.
They often break and obtaining parts can be costly and painful. If you are interested in one of these cheaper electric bikes, I’d only choose one if it’s not going to be ridden a lot, or you just want to trial whether your child takes to dirt bikes.
Quality Electric Kids Dirt Bikes:
In contrast to these cheaper ‘import’ dirt bikes, there are some higher quality Electric Dirt Bikes that I feel take this offering to the next level. These dirt bikes are silent and have less maintenance than their petrol counterparts, as there are no filters to change or oil to replace. They also increasingly have excellent brakes and suspension. Enter stage OSET, KTM and Husqvarna Electric Dirt bikes for kids.
OSET Electric Dirt bikes
OSET bikes are quality electric motorbikes. They are designed and engineered in the United Kingdom and United States of America. After this they are manufactured in Taiwan. As with all electric bikes, the OSET in quiet, so it can be used on a suburban block in the afternoons without having to be taken to a dirt bike track.
They are designed for the youngest riders (2 year olds) to the older experienced riders. In fact, OSET are fast becoming recognised as a great starter bike for children.
They are also competitive in trials and competitions even when compared to their petrol counterparts.
Part of the reason that I first went down the path of looking at Electric Dirt Bikes again was because I have friends who has two young boys who ride them, and they swear by them… and I have to say, they are a very impressive offering.
The OSET 12 Racing is suitable for the youngest riders, with an OSET 16 for those who are slightly older (5, 6 and 7 year olds). And straight after this there is the new 20R MKII LIPO for riders from as young as 8 years old. This bike is powerful enough that even an adult can ride it.
I have to say that I’m impressed!
For more details https://osetbikes.com/au/
KTM Electric Dirt Bike (SX-E 5)
The KTM SX-E 5 is a solid electric kids bike offering. It is designed for riders who range from an absolute beginner to a more advanced child rider interested in racing. This bike is a good performer. It is also highly adjustable with suspension and seat height both able to be altered.
This means that the bike can last your child for a longer period of time, which is a bonus as the initial outlay is quite expensive.
An added advantage of this bike is that by being virtually maintenance free is means that even a non-mechanically minded parent can feel confident in purchasing it.
The SX-E 5 also has a multifunctional instrument panel just in front of the seat to allow the rider to monitor battery level and select different ‘ride modes’. These ride modes include varying power levels so that beginners to more advanced riders are catered for.
The battery can last up to two hours – although if the bike is ridden hard, the battery life will be considerably less. If you to take your child to ride in remote areas without power, this can be an issue – but for powered areas, it doesn’t pose much of a problem. And it has a quick charger so only takes up to 45 mins to charge.
Overall this KTM is well worth considering if you are looking to purchase a reliable electric dirt bike with reasonable power.
Husqvarna EE 5
Husqvarna offers the EE 5 as its quality electric kid’s dirt bike alternative. The bike has reasonable power and handles well. As with electric dirt bikes, it requires very little maintenance (although the initial purchase price is expensive). The bike is an adjustable height – so riders can grow with it. It also has 6 different ride modes so different power is available to riders of different skill levels. The EE 5 has a 70 minute charging time for its lithium-ion battery which lasts up to 2 hours for beginners but only about 25 minutes for serious riders.
Conclusion
After having a look at the latest quality dirt bike offerings, I feel confident to reconsider my original reluctance to purchasing one of these.
The quality, reliability and battery life has improved considerably over the last few years, and this, coupled with the advantages of no need for petrol, low maintenance and no noise make them a definite winner in my books!
I’ll definitely be looking more seriously at them in the future and will look at doing some more specific reviews of the quality electric kid’s dirt bikes that are now available on the market.
