More often than not parents can end up buying their young one a full monty motocross bike rather than a more suitable machine.

They don't know that machines like the CR, KX, RM and YZ two-stroke motocrossers require piston and ring changes every few hours of operation.  Even when trail riding the full spec' motocross bikes demand a top end overhaul every 15 hours or so. They are also quite hard to ride and intimidating to the uninitiated.

This is where the crop of new lower-spec' four-stroke machines fill an important gap in the market.

Kids who aim to go racing will of course be better off with racing models such as the CR, YZ, KX or RM but those bikes are highly developed, very powerful race machinery. Even the 80cc motocross models are really quite fast, pumping out much more power than the brief selection of four-stroke machines we feature here. The two-stroke motocross bikes are the most highly tuned race bikes you can buy.

Suzuki's new DR-Z 125, Kawasaki's KLX 110R, Yamaha's TT-R 125, Hyosung's RX 125 and Honda's well proven XR 100 are very low maintenance, extremely reliable and easy to ride. Even for a junior with no experience.

Just remember to budget for some protective gear. The bare minimum is a helmet at around $150, goggles for $30 and gloves are also around $30. A proper set of motocross boots are important to protect those easily damaged little ankles and start from $200. The next most important addition is a kidney belt at around $40 and some nylon MX pants which start around $90, these really help in preventing gravel rash during the inevitable slide down the track. Other options include some body armour for around $150, knee guards and elbow guards, but the other items should probably come first on the shopping list. All the items can normally be found second-hand but be aware that a used helmet should not be purchased. The helmet could have suffered an impact that the shell does not show but the protective material inside will have been compressed by any impact, as a result there is less compression left in the protection for the next hit which increases the likelihood of injury.

Trail riding is an extremely satisfying and healthy past-time, any of the machines featured here this week are likely to provide a kid with more fun than they ever imagined possible. And if they are really lucky, this will develop in to a life-long passion that will see them enjoy the thrill of motorcycling for the rest of their lives.