Most people get it wrong when choosing suitable dirt bikes, but it is not their mistake because they might lack access to the crucial information that could guide them. If people have access to the correct information on the subject matter, they won’t be confused when shopping for dirt bikes.
Choosing a dirt bike can be tricky, especially since you need to be fully informed about your responsibilities. With the correct information at your disposal, you are likely to be successful.
Dirt bike sizing is not just important for the financial commitment required to purchase one but also for your safety as well as a great experience on the trails. Before you visit a dealership, knowing what size dirt bike to buy will help you avoid making an impulsive decision or relying solely on the dealer’s knowledge.
Considering how expensive bikes are, making an erroneous selection can be costly to you. For sure, you do not want to do that, particularly given the economic difficulties these days.
Sadly, most people don’t know what they want in a bicycle when purchasing one, so details concerning the size of dirt bikes and their size charts come in handy.
In this guide, you will familiarize yourself with choosing the right dirt size that is suitable for your needs. Read on to learn more!
Table of Contents
How To Size A Dirt Bike
It would be best if you chose a suitable dirt bike for your height and stature since this will give you more comfort and confidence when riding the dirt bike all day long.
The chart provides you or your children with the best reference tool for deciding which dirt bike model to pick from the numerous dirt bikes on the market today.
In case you are new to riding dirt bikes, this guide will help you change your perspective when selecting a bike.
For beginners like you or your friends, this dirt bike size chart is the most practical tool you can use. It helps you understand how big and powerful the engine on your motorcycle is.
If you use the chart in conjunction with the dirt bike size calculator, you’ll gain a greater understanding regarding the engine of your dirt bike.
In addition, you will also get a full estimate of the height of the dirt bike from the chart. When all these factors are considered, you will choose a bike that complements your budget, height, and needs.
Honestly, this information will prove to be successful in helping you make your decision regarding which brand of dirt bikes you’d like to purchase.
It is crucial to keep this information in the back of your mind when making the final choice of a dirt bike. The key benefits to buying dirt bikes are the essential features. This is because both your children and yourself deserve to ride dirt bikes with extra safety, comfort, support, and convenience.
You can trust that the information in the dirt bike size calculator and the dirt bike size chart will be more useful to you now that you have read this article. As we stated earlier, this guide will assist you greatly when choosing the right engine capacity for your kids’ dirt bikes or even your own.
A dirt bike with a 50 cc engine capacity is suitable for children between five and seven. Therefore, you can use this information to guide your selection of a dirt bike.
Parents should make safety a priority for their kids when they ride dirt bikes, so they safely enjoy their rides.
To reach this goal, you need to make sure that you buy the right dirt bike, especially engine capacity.
Various brands of dirt bikes offer different styles to suit different riders. Additionally, the dirt bikes come in different sizes.
A safety point that you should never forget is to make sure your children wear the right safety gear when they are dirt biking. Here is a table to adults’ dirt bike sizes for your knowledge:
Height | Recommended Seat Height |
157 cm | 78.7 to 88.9 cm |
162 cm | 83.8 to 91.4 cm |
167 cm | 86.4 to 94 cm |
172 cm | 86.4 to 96.5 cm |
178 cm | 88.9 to 99.1 cm |
182 cm + | 95.3 cm |
The table above highlights some of the specs associated with some of the dirt bikes available on the market today, including the seat height.
In looking closely at the list, you will determine which heights are recommended for the dirt bikes concerning their seat heights. This will help you select the correct size and height for your kid’s dirt bikes, as well as your own.
How To Adjust The Height Of Your Dirt Bike
Adjusting the height of dirt bikes can be challenging for many people. In case you don’t know how to go about it, you need to learn. Adjustments are essential in making you more comfortable during your biking.
With adjustment, the height of your dirt bike can be lowered or raised quickly. Here’s how to do this:
Lowering The Height Of Your Dirt Bike
A dirt bike’s ideal height can be lowered by adjusting the height of the seat. This is how simple and convenient the process is that it ought not to cause any challenges. In essence, it is the most effective way to lower the height of the bike.
If you want to reduce the dirt bike’s height, the first thing you need to do is to reduce the seat’s foam. Reducing a little of the foam from the seat will not impact the comfort too much but will allow you to lower the bike as needed.
Additionally, you can alter your dirt bike’s height by replacing the old foam on the seat with the new, softer one. This option lets you reduce the height of the bike to make sitting on it more comfortable. Changing the foam is the simplest way to achieve your goal quickly and easily.
It is also possible to lower your bike’s seat height by drilling small holes into the foamy material. Create small holes in the seat to allow it to sink into the ground when you sit on it.
Drilling holes in a seat significantly lowers the height and increases comfort at the same time. Essentially, drilling holes in a seat gives immediate results.
Furthermore, creating the sag on the lower suspension of your dirt bike will allow you to reduce the dirt bike’s height to suit your needs. This will lead to a reduced seat height that you can easily adjust based on your height.
Raising The Height Of Your Dirt Bike
As you can adjust the height to lower it, you can also adjust it to raise it. This implies that you can adjust it to meet your needs when the bike’s height is lower than expected.
For this situation, you can use hard seat foam to raise your dirt bike by at least 2 inches over its existing height. For this method to be successful, you must make sure that it matches your height and preference.
When it comes to raising your dirt bike’s height, you are supposed to adjust the sag set at the rear suspension. It’s easy and effective, but with just a few minor effects on your bike’s steering.
If you have replaced the foam seat with a raised one, utilize taller handlebars to get a better riding position. Though they will not raise the height of your dirt bike, tall handlebars can make a difference.
How To Measure A Dirt Bike Size
In measuring dirt bike size, you’ve to take into consideration two aspects:
- The height of the seat: This is the dirt bike’s physical size that is used to determine if the bicycle aligns with your body.
- The size of the engine: Engine displacement, measured in “CC.” Note that bikes with bigger CC number are so powerful and ideal for use in riding. The 250cc motorcycle has greater power than the 125cc motorcycle, even if the bikes have similar physical looks or equal seat heights. It is always possible to find something contrary to this regulation, but generally, you should anticipate such characteristics.
Despite the fact that there exists some confusion that tall individuals ought to just pick the most elevated CC engines, it’s common to find high smaller motorcycles having big engines in terms of CC, built for shorter riders seeking bikes with a lot of power.
Also, there are astonishing bicycles with bigger CC engines for teenagers who don’t necessarily need the bicycles with a lot of power.
Determining The Right Size For A Dirt Bike
There are many dirt bike sellers and producers on the internet with excellent pictures of their bikes. Still, it’s impossible to determine a bike’s fit from its displayed sizes and images. You need to try riding the bike in person to be sure it fits you.
It is best to ride the bicycle, so your feet’s balls and toes touch the ground, but your heels should not be up. If your foot’s tips can touch the ground, you will have an easier time navigating the bicycle easier and still feel more comfortable with riding the bike.
In case you come across a proper fitting, then you have found a bike that fits your height.
The best bicycle’s height for beginners provides you with adequate control by having your two feet solidly on the ground. Because other bicycle are quite heavy, stability when you first start is essential.
As an ordinary cyclist, you may continue with the style till you’re more comfortable on the bicycle. Riders who ride frequently may discover that a lower-slung bike may lead to their foot being in a cramping situation, increasing their risk of leg injuries, as well as making them look awkward before people.
Considerations When Selecting Your Body’s Dirt Bikes
Choosing your body size’s right bicycle involves many, including your riding experience level, height, height, and these factors in greater detail below.
How Experienced Are You With Dirt Bikes?
Whether you purchase the bicycle for a child or an adult, selecting the right bicycle is based on the rider’s experience. Beginners need bicycles whose CC ratings require fewer skills and allow them to gain confidence on different trails. It is generally advisable to have a CC rating below 250.
If you select a bike whose displacement is small, its overall size becomes a less critical factor in determining its comfort when trail riding. Once you select a bike that does not have power for your ability level, consider other considerations such as measurement.
What Is Your Height?
In addition to having different heights of seats, dirt bikes have various sizes. To select an appropriate bicycle for you, you must choose a model with a height that corresponds with your body size. Again, you need to get sited on the seat to see if it fits you.
The recommendations for many seat heights are for tall people by Y centimeters, but this is just general advice. Another person whose height is the same on the same dirt bike may not necessarily have equal levels of comfort. This is due to the fact that some riders have longer arms, whereas the rest have shorter inseams, or taller torsos.
If your feet touch the ground when you are standing on a dirt bike, you will overload the suspension, which will make you hit every rock more painfully than it ought to be. However, the bike isn’t the right fit if you struggle to balance as you stand on the bike.
To avoid cramping your legs while riding, choose a bicycle size that is balanced enough that you can control it with the balls of your feet and your toes when you encounter obstacles and requires using your legs.
What Is Your Weight?
It would be best to consider your weight when choosing a dirt bike as it determines the appropriate quantity of suspension it offers. Two new cyclists may not cycle the same bicycle if they weigh 120lbs (54kg) and 225lbs (102kg).
You should choose a bike under 250cc if you weigh less than 150lbs (68kg). If you are huge, you should look at bikes whose engine capacities ranges from 250 to 450cc to make sure your suspension won’t cave in.
You may select a 450cc bicycle based on your weight, but if you’re not accustomed to riding in that way, the bicycle may be extraordinary powerful to ride. If you’re experienced, higher-powered bikes are always the best choice.
If you cannot find an ideal bicycle that has an excellent engine that matches your strength and experience, you may want to consider placing a special order, even if it is more expensive in most cases. This will help you save money and get the exact bike size that you need.
What Is The Best Dirt Bike Size For Kids?
If you are searching for a bicycle that aligns with your child’s body proportions, consider the above factors when selecting the bike. In case your kid is aged 15 or less, there exist numerous bicycles between 50cc and150cc for your choice.
Between Five To Six Years
If your children are aged 5 or 6 and just about to ride a bicycle, they should check out the Yamaha PW50. It comes with a seat height of 18.7′′ (47.5cm) and does not weigh much, so your kids won’t find it too heavy to handle.
The throttle limit, one of the critical features on the bikes, restricts how much power the bicycle can yield, allowing you to maintain control over the amount of power the kid is subjected to at each interval. The throttle may need to be increased as experience and boldness levels grow.
The PW50 has an auto transmission, which is why your kid will not need to be scared of clutching or shifting gears, and it can aid your kid develop control, steering, and balance.
Between 13 To 15 years
You should also consider the riding experience of a child aged 13 when you’re shopping for a bike. For example, if they’re 5’1″ and is about to start riding the bicycle, you should purchase a 4-stroke Kawasaki KLX 140. This off-road bicycle is designed differently than the typical track dirt bikes. It has a smooth and predictable ride that makes it an excellent choice for new riders.
With the KLX’s various seat heights, you will be able to discover the right fit easily. Definitely, taller children should be using the KLX140G, while shorter children can use the vanilla KLX 140.
Kids between 14 and 15 who are just starting in dirt biking can also use the KLX 140, selecting the right model for their weight and height. If the kid has riding experience, however, they should move up to the KX250.
However, it features a 37.3′′ (94.7cm) seat height, which is why you ought to ensure that your child won’t find it too tall to ride it. While there are other options, the KX250’s power makes it a great choice if your kid is a frequent rider. The best idea is to modify the seat to lower the child’s height.
In case the height is suitable for the kid, it will be a perfect fit. Their experience will come into play as they will control the bike excellently as they ride it over time.
Here is a dirt bike size table for kids.
Age | Seat Height |
3-6 | 47.5 cm |
8-9 | 61 to 71.1 cm |
10-12 | 66 to 78.7 cm |
13-15 | 76.2 to 94 cm |
Adult Dirt Bikes
When buying a dirt bike, you also need to think about the factors we’ve discussed above: your body size and weight.
Dirt Bikes For Short Or Small Adults
125cc Honda CRF125F dirt bikes are ideal for beginners and people with short or small body types as they are mildly powered, and the seat height fits smaller adults. It’s a lightweight bike with a short, low seat that anyone can ride conveniently.
Tall Adults’ Dirt Bikes
Dirt bike enthusiasts over 6ft and 200lbs (90kg) should look for a bicycle around 450cc range. Since there are plenty of choices to choose from, which is why you should decide based on the cycling you want to achieve.
The Yamaha YZ450f is suitable for those who will be riding motocross tracks for a lot of time. The bike comes with a 37.5′′ seat height, so it is comfortable for tall people, and the powerful 450cc engine is another big benefit.
Those planning to ride off-road might want to consider the Honda CRF450X. The bike is like the Honda CRF450R, but it’s tuned for trail riding. It’s got a wide gearing ratio and is popular with numerous off-road riders.
Adults With Average Heights
For adults 5’8 to 6′, and with above average experience, we suggest a 250cc bicycle. The Kawasaki KLX250 is a cool choice if you’re searching for a bicycle that is fun but not powerful.
With a double sport design, you can cycle this bike on the street and then move it onto the trails as you wish. Its height of 35′′ (88.9cm) is appropriate for most riders with average heights.
However, the bike weighs a bit more than other dirt bikes in its category at 305lbs (138kg), which is understandable since it require to be strong enough to go between other vehicles on the highway.
Conclusion
Dirt bikes offer fun and excitement when chosen for your body type. Pay attention to factors such as your weight, height, and riding experience. Don’t forget that smaller bikes don’t necessarily provide more safety, and tall people don’t always choose the most powerful bike.
It’s important to test out several bikes before making a decision. If you can’t find a model from your preferred manufacturer, look elsewhere. Additionally, it is advisable to consider a dirt bike size in terms of height, brand, height, and engine capacity. This will help you make an informed decision before investing your hard earned cash into it.