The bicycle is the first freedom machine most of us experienced, but you never look at life the same after your first motorcycle. Whether it was an XR50, a YZ80 or the classic Trail 70, we put these machines through the ringer, likening ourselves to Jeremy McGrath, Bob ‘Hurricane’ Hannah and Evel Knievel. The turf in the backyard was never the same, and our cherished first kids motorcycles endured all the broken levers, tank dents and wrinkled fenders that came with testing your limits on two wheels.
Most of those old relics are gone now, and for many of us, it’s time to pass that enthusiasm down to the next generation—hopefully with a little less daredevil activity. Thankfully, there are loads of options out there for getting kids off the couch and in the saddle, with a whole lot more safety and parental control.…