It was not in my vocabulary before, but it will be now: the word “overmatched” succinctly describes the dilemma when a particular bike requires more skill than what its rider can safely manage. The word doesn’t imply any sort of age-gating but rather one of experience and risk-assessment.
In all regulated or licensed endeavors, the regulatory structure should help guide people to correctly match with appropriate challenges, within reason. Obviously, public policy might have to simplify some rules or delegate to parental authority, but the gist is that it’s a public hazard when insufficiently-trained riders attempt to bite off more than they can chew.
But not giving people a space to learn and build experience also feeds the same hazard, and if there is to be sustainable growth in the broad universe of two-wheeled activities, we’re going to have to address this problem at some point.
I personally am a fan of legalizing an approximate spectrum of two-wheel machines. After all, one must first walk before running. And an intuitive spectrum of two-wheelers in the USA could look like: balance bike, acoustic bike, class 1 ebike, class 2 ebike, dirt bikes, class 3 ebikes and mopeds, motorbikes. The learning curve progressively adds complexity and develops valuable skills in different directions (eg on-street vs off-street, traffic laws, different environments and speeds). Plus, one can choose to stop climbing at any time and pocket the lifelong skills at that level.
You’d put dirt bikes below class 3 e-bikes?
If you asked me a few years ago, I would have put all the non-electric motorized bikes right below street-legal motorcycles. But then I chatted with family friends who all rode dirt bikes in their youth and have dirt bikes for their children. And I’m now fairly convinced that development of off-road handling of motorized two-wheelers is a separate, valuable skill.
If it’s just a matter of operating a bike with a throttle, class 2 ebikes can teach that, at a lower cost point while operating legally on-street and at a fairly sane speed of 20 MPH (32 km/h).
But class 3 ebikes and dirt bikes are different animals. The latter is only off-road, but some/many class 3 ebikes can be on- or off-road. In the latter case, dirt bikes are purpose-built rugged and can really be thrown around. But on-road, ebikes require substantial attention to road conditions, because while the max speed is 27 MPH (45 km/h), that’s on the edge of what can safely be ridden on USA bike lanes or shoulders, which aren’t as well-maintained as auto lanes.
I’d also consider downhill MTB as a comparable activity to dirt bikes, since split-second terrain handling is valuable for riding in road conditions too.
But what I outlined was just one possible example route, and like all great human endeavors, there are multiple ways to get to the same end.
I think dirt bikes are a much broader category than you’re giving them credit for. You have 50-125cc dirt bikes that are suitable for younger kids, and 250cc dirt bikes for teenagers and adults. As well, starting at 250cc you have road legal dirt bikes that can be driven directly to places like national parks that require registration, all the way up to 450/500cc dirt bikes. At least here in Australia, you need a proper license for all of the road legal stuff unless you’re on completely private property. You can’t even cross a road between two paddocks, you have to get off and walk it.
Here in California, the term “dirt bike” essentially exclusively means off-street recreational vehicle. Some road-legal motorbikes will draw heavy inspiration (eg dual-sports like the DR650) or truly are dirt bikes with added equipment to make them legal, but these would be called motorcycles or motorbikes and registered accordingly.
Being able to ride one’s own two-wheeler from home to a vehicle recreational area in California is the domain of dual-sport motorbikes or certain smaller electric dirt bikes that are eligible for moped registration, both options requiring some level of license.
In Australia, are those rules consistent between all the states? I’m sure different US States regulate dirt bikes differently too, but it’s not something I’ve ever looked into in detail.
There are differences between the states on licensing, but the categories of registration are more universal.
As well though, bikes like the DR-Z400 are literally just dirt bikes, not dual sports. You can get them with or without a VIN and lights etc.
Thanks AI.
