Dirt Bike FAQ

How long before you're 18? That's the best solution if you can stand the wait.

But, honestly you have got to look at both sides of this. Obviously your parents care about you even though they are probably going about it wrong. 17 is old enough to handle the responsibility of riding, but parents tend to want to protect their kids for as long as possible.

Have you taken your MSF class yet? Even if you don't get the bike till you're 18, having the class behind you is a good thing.

Another thing that might help is to get an adult that your parents have some respect for to vouch for your capability. Sometimes parents will listen to other adults when they won't to their own kids….been there, done that, learned from it too.

Don't ever give up because you never know when they might weaken. Normally I don't advocate heckling one's parents, but you sound responsible enough for the bike. You saved up your own money…good sign of responsibility. You are asking others for advice…another good sign of responsibility. So I'm thinking you can handle riding just fine.

Worst case scenario is that you must wait till you turn 18. Long time to a teen, but not that long in reality.

You're going to ride bud, just maybe not real quick.

Your "mini" dirt bike is probably not street legal, so you can not ride it on the street at any age. Off-road use has no age requirements, but you need permission of the property owner where you are riding. I have seen kids as young as 4-5 riding small bikes, but the speed of the bike should be limited to prevent any serious injuries during falls that will happen.

From the sound of your "blue seat" the CR80 you have must be an 80's model. Back in those days, if a "big wheel" 80 existed, it was probably a factory bike or the previous owner decided to try the larger wheel on the front because of a "new" idea.
The bigger wheel on the front makes for better turning and handling for those kids who have gotten older and larger and faster, but were not ready to move up to the 125cc class. Also, the larger wheel has a larger brake rotor, which in turn means better front brake system and better stopping power for those "faster" kids.
It's been some time since i worked for a Honda dealership, but I believe in those days the paint color was accually called "Honda Orange". I could be mistaken. Get the frame number off the steering yoke and call it in to your nearest Honda dealer to see what year the bike is if you don't know. They can also tell you the color and can order you the paint in a spray can. This color used to be available through an after market company as well such as Tucker Rockey or Parts Unlimited. As far as I know, the color is still available. Good Luck!

I'm not certain if it's the same sort of bike or not, but there is this one:
BMX Bandits (1983)
starring David Argue, John Ley, Nicole Kidman, Angelo D'Angelo, James Lugton, Bryan Marshall
IMDb synopsis:
The plot is very basic: These criminals decide they want to pull off a big robbery and have some elaborate plan all put together. For the plan to work, however, they need police-band radios so they can hear everything the police are doing. These BMX kids find and steal the radios and the criminals want them back. This is the point where the plot just steps out of the way for the real purpose of the movie: exhibiting "rad" BMX stunts (most of which are just jumping off conveniently placed ramps around the city). So, these criminals chase these three kids all over the city, basically destroying their own car in the process, to get these radios back. They chase these kids through a water park, a mall, a soccer field, a warehouse, and a few other locations. This ends up being one of the longest chase scenes in cinematic history.

Also from this era is:
The Dirt Bike Kid (1985)
MTV.com synopsis:
Fourteen-year-old Jack Simmons (Peter Billingsley) takes it on himself to help his friend, Coach Mike (Patrick Collins), save his hot dog and soft drink concession. Mr. Hodgkins (Stuart Pankin) is a greedy, self-serving banker who is determined to raze Mike's hot dog stand and build a new bank on its site. Jack's primary resource in his fight against Mr. Hodgkins is a motorbike that does everything except speak French. With this motorized wonder, which starts itself, Jack tackles a gang of tough bikers and the infamous Mr. Hodgkins, taking him for a ride he will never forget.
NOTE: I couldn't find any details about it, such as if the chase includes a boxcar.

Try the link below. They have a replacement muffler for this bike. Price is $116. You can drill down threw the menus until you find the parts listings for your bike.

Or, to find the part fast. Open the link below, click on "Original Honda" on the left-hand side of the page. On the page this link opens, find "Quick Search" Use the drop down box to enter the brand Honda. In the search for box, enter 0384644 This will bring you directly to a page where you can select and order your muffler.

Be careful with the gasket that connects the exhaust pipe to the cylinder head as these are no longer available. If you damage the gasket you will need to improvise and find another gasket that fits.

Depends on the cop or ranger that sees you. Cops have kids that ride offroad too, so sometimes they're cool about it. As long as you keep the hop from trail to street back to trail short you shouldn't have a problem. On the other hand…if you get an "a" hole cop cruising down the road that decides to slam on the brakes and do a 180 degree turn, there's not much you can do except take off and lose him on the trails. Just make sure you travel the trails regularly in the area and look for changes, as people like to "redesign" the entrances from street back to trail. Years ago a friend of mine was being chased by police. He decided to shake them off his tail by ducking into a trail he had ridden before, but hadn't been on for about a month. Well, someone got creative and rolled big boulders in front of the entrance. His tire hit that and he did a flying forward somersault right over the bars. The police nailed him and he got hit with a couple heavy fines. He said to me later, 'i was going to get the same fines regardless whether i stopped or ran, so i might as well make them earn that money'.

I found this on a previous question which asked the same thing. It was voted best answer.

Dirt bikes are safer for several reasons. Dirt bikes are more like riding regular bikes, which is something that most kids know how to do. The turning of a bike and dirt bike is done less with handlebars and more with a leaning motion. This helps to change the center of gravity, and place the weight of the rider away from the bike when a fall starts. Dirt bikes tend to not fall on the rider during a fall, and if they do, it tends to be less of the bike. In the case of quads and trikes, the rider is almost always confined within an imaginary box located very close to the bike. Falls on quads and trikes tend to be rollover type injuries. Secondly, when it comes to the weights of the two concerned, a similiar size (displacement of engine, or cc) bike will be smaller than a trike or quad. Think about, the parts to control and hold together two wheels would be less than that of three or four wheels. Thirdly, I'll use my own emergency room experience as a doctor. I see far more injuries to children coming from trikes and quads than I ever see from bikes.

Thanks,
Doc Brown