2010 85cc MX Comparison

Of all the things that one remembers from growing up, the list of favorite "firsts" seems to only get sweeter with age. Thinking back to your first race win will surely make the kid in you beam with pride. Recalling a first double jump can still summon an army of stomach butterflies that rivals those that come out on race day. And remembering that first time you laid eyes on your first 85cc MX bike is a memory that most riders would rank right up there with first girlfriend, first kiss and first time that your folks let you borrow the family station wagon to go to the drive-in movies (incidentally, this was also probably the last time they let you do this!). The point is, finally gaining possession of a two-stroke mini is a defining checkpoint in any young man or woman's life, and the occasion should not be taken lightly.

How We Tested
Let's just get this right out on the table: If you said that the only updates to these bikes since our last mini shootout were the graphics and the MSRPs, you wouldn't be half wrong. The manufacturers that haven't yet discontinued their 85cc machines don't seem to pay much attention to the little bikes by way of revisions aside from bold, new graphics and bold, new prices. In truth, it would have been less work for us to simply reprint an old Mini Rider shootout and save ourselves the hassle of having to herd a pack of 10-year-olds as they splash through puddles and bump into each other. Ninety percent of readers wouldn't have noticed a difference, but that's just not the way Dirt Rider does things. So with several trucks packed with Lunchables, mixed gas and hyper test riders, we devoted an entire day to setup with each of the 85s and their respective manufacturer's technicians, just like we do with our big bike tests. Then, we cut our test kiddos loose on Racetown 395's stadium track to jump, scoot, blast and wobble as they saw fit, all the while compiling opinions, photos and notes on the three machines. To finish things off, we ran each of the small bikes through our gamut of radar tests to see how they looked on paper. While the end results of our 2010 shootout were right on par with the way these bikes stacked up in previous years-proof that the stock 85cc class hasn't changed radically since our last shootout-this most recent comparison verified that our testing was current and, most importantly, consistent.