Exciting times for the boys this weekend as I surprised them with a new dirtbike and their first ever petrol bike. Introducing the ….The Honda XR70R
Previous to this Honda XR70R they have had the joy of riding an electric dirtbike with a top speed of 16mph. We still have the electric bike and it will be used mainly by my youngest who is only 4.
The great thing about the electric is it has 3 settings that are adjustable by key, slow, medium and fast. This is great for small kids as you can set the top speed suit their experience and build them up.
The Honda XR70 though takes things to the next level for the older 2 boys, who are 6, and 9 years old. This new bike will give them their first experience with petrol motors and with a throttle that they will be able to feel the power on. I’m just as excited as them to be honest.
Abit About This XR70R
So this bike came to my attention on eBay whilst generally browsing for XR’s with the boys in mind. I was initially thinking an XR80 would be good for them so this isn’t too far away from that. The eldest son may grow out of it a little quick but I wasn’t to concerned as I have the middle son who is only 6 and the nipper.
You can see a tailight in the picture and that is because the previous owner (and the only owner!) had started to go down the route of making this road legal as from factory they are not.
As I just mentioned, the bike has had one owner from new before I bought it, and the year it was manufactured was 1998 which puts it at 22 years old at the time of writting.
The condition of the bike is absolutley immaculate, and that is no over-statement. The bike has been loved no end and is near mint condition as you can get. I kid you not when I say it looks brandnew.
The guy c hanged the oil annually even when the bike wasn’t in use and never left any fuel in the tank and carb which is the what honda recommend.
I was told upon collecting this that you can tell when fuel has been left to sit in a tank because the decals will start to peel. I’m not sure if this is true but it does make sense to me. This because on my Honda XR250R it has happened and the fuel in the tank has been sat for a year….I know a whole year without riding it.
The original honda owners handbook and service book, both of which are mint were also included in the sale.
You can see in the pic above that behind the service book is the original letter that thanks the owner for his custom from the place he bought it from. you can’t ask for much more than that.
How Much Did The XR70R Cost?
Price wise I paid what I thought was reasonable as well as what I could afford. I was lucky that the owner was negotiable on price because it was originally listed at £1100 and that was out of my budget. We settled on £950 which although is more than I wanted to spend on a dirtbike for my sons (I was looking at around £600-£700) I think you will agree that an example in this condition is worth the extra money.
The Road Trip To Collect The XR70R
We had some rain in the lead up to collecting the bike. Local flooding was common place and I did doubt if we would get back as the rain wasn’t easing.
In the end the journey time wasn’t to bad considering the weather, and I think we were only half and hour late according to the time it should of taken using Google Maps.
The van we used I borrowed from work so we had no issue with room. The extra long wheel base Iveco was more than capable of housing the XR so we wheeled her into the back an ratcheted down the front to stablise the bike in transit.
Just incase the roads had become inpassble we took a detour on the way home, using bigger roads to minimise te risk of getting stranded.
Honda XR70R Specs
- 3 speed
- semi automatic – so no clutch
- dry weight: 57kg
- Length: 154.3cm
- Max Weight Capacity: 60kg
- Fuel Tank Capacity: 6.2L