So you’re looking to buy or have recently bought an 80cc dirt bike for your child and are curious about its top speed.
Most 80cc dirt bikes, including those from KTM and Yamaha, can achieve a top speed of 47 miles per hour, or 75km per hour stock, without any performance enhancements. Most typically top out at 40 miles per hour which is still an incredibly fast speed for a 7 to 10-year-old to travel on 2 wheels.
Some of the cheaper Chinese dirt bikes now flooding the market aren’t able to achieve these great speeds, nor do they have the acceleration or suspension to handle the demands of the modern-day rider. They typically struggle with torque too.
Adults can ride 80cc dirt bikes too which restricts the top end speed. There are more factors depending on manufacturer, riding style, terrain and more which we’ll cover here.
80cc Dirt Bike Top Speeds
You’ve got to admit it – 47 miles per hour is pretty damn quick. That’s faster than cars traveling through residential and industrial areas, but not quite as fast as highway traffic.
For most kids, they’ll rarely get up this quick apart from open salt pans and the like. Such open country is ripe for opening the throttle but with that comes the risk of personal injury. This is why getting them some high-quality dirt bike riding gear is important to protect them in the event of an accident.
Funnily enough, most accidents happen at lower speeds. There are some things that you’ll need to educate them on initially, such as throttle response. If the throttle opens up too quickly, then they could go into a wheelie or simply get a locked throttle opened wide. Some kids even at this age may not know how to stop their acceleration and it’s best to teach this long before they actually start riding.
Are you concerned about them going to quick? Well the good news is that you can actually restrict the top-end speeds of these dirt bikes. This is a setting on the onboard computer or a hard limit placed on the throttle, depending on the manufacturer.
Kids Riding Dirt Bikes
Kids that choose 80cc dirt bikes tend to be in the 7 to 11-year-old age bracket. We’ve actually written a guide to help you find the best kids dirt bikes which are very helpful.
Keep in mind that their weight will play a big part in just how quick their dirt bike actually travels over the dirt. For the lighter kids, they’re certainly going to crack these higher speeds paired with quicker accelerations, yet the heavier kids may struggle and you may want to consider some performance upgrades.
If you do want to maximize performance, consider:
- Finding an area with a great tail wind (This will give you a few extra miles per hour)
- Ensure the terrain is relatively flat
- Teaching your kids how to crouch properly (This increases aerodynamics)
- Changing the rear sprocket to get some extra miles
Yet in all honesty, going faster shouldn’t be a priority. Instead, the focus should be on helping them improve cornering and braking skills so they can maximize lap times, or simply keep up with the adults on organized group rides.
Fastest 80cc Dirt Bike
Without a doubt, the quickest 80cc class dirt bike is the KTM 85 SX. This ripper is popular on MX tracks around the country and it’s a 2-stroke dirt bike. It’s expensive but well worth it if performance is at the forefront of your mind. Indeed this bike has won a lot of competitions by kids under 12.
Would it make the best bike if it’s their first time around? Not quite. It’s a real weapon and needs to be controlled by an experienced rider. So if your child has been riding previously and you’re now looking for a top-of-the-range 80cc dirt bike with incredible top speed, then look no further!
Being 2-stroke, it’s super quick compared to its 4-stroke counterparts. Remember how we mentioned about it winning lots of competitions? This is true and a testament to the sheer focus that their R&D team at KTM have put into creating this ultimate track machine.
In Summary
While your son or daughter will reach up to 47 miles on their 80cc dirt bike, this is rare. Much of the time will be spent actually improving their cornering, jumping, braking and acceleration. Even things like clutch control come into play here.
It’s more typical that they’ll cruise around at 25 to 30 miles per hour and so you don’t need to worry about them doing any dangerous stunts here. Most kids at this age are showing responsibility and simply want to hone their skills in a controlled environment, and probably want some others to ride with too.
The goal is to help them become more confident riders as opposed to hitting nail-biting speeds while the parents watch on in terror. Sure – you can push the bikes a little sometimes when fully kitted up in gear, and it’s certainly fun, but let’s help them become confident riders first so they’ll carry such skills into the future.
