Riders Preferred Membership
Shop by Vehicle
Track Order
Contact Us
Like many of you, I grew up on a minibike in the yard, and sometimes the road if I was sneaky about it.
Looking back, that little two-smoker was my gateway to both dirt and street riding. But being an old, temperamental Italian thing, it always needed something before I could kick (and kick, and kick…) it to life like a tiny Fonzie. The carb would flood. The tires would lose air. Parts fell off now and then. The tank was somehow always empty, so I’d mix my gas or steal some out of the weedwacker, chainsaw, or maybe both if I was desperate. Sorry, Dad! These were the things I had to do to ride, and I just got used to them, even learned to like them. But I wouldn’t call my childhood minibike user-friendly.
That might have been different if I could have started on KTM’s SX-E 5, an electric minicycle that “grows with the rider.” How’s that, exactly? First, the SX-E has six power modes, so a budding rider can start tame and turn up the juice as they get older. We’ve seen similar stuff with gas-powered kids’ bikes and mini quads, with throttle stop screws for adjustability. This is an electric take on the same idea.
However, most of the micro machines on the market aren’t adjustable for the rider’s size, and KTM’s rolled out a solution for that, too.The seat can be set to 27.5 inches, 25.7 inches, and (with a lowering kit) 21.9 inches. Talking to another Zillan about our childhood rides, he described his harrowing experience of learning to ride at age six.
“I wanted to ride, but my only option was an old XR100. My feet were just dangling in the air. My brother would put me on the seat and let me go, and if I could stop the bike next to a bucket, I could put a foot down and hold the bike up. I never really got the hang of that though, so I crashed a lot!” For the record, he turned out fine.
That XR was a little too much bike for him at six, but it would be perfect just a few years later. Buying a different machine for kids every other year would get expensive, right? So wouldn’t it be better to get one bike with adjustable power and ergonomics?
That’s KTM’s suggestion, but at five grand, the SX-E 5 is pretty expensive, too. As in, Junior might as well spring for a 390 Duke. In KTM’s defense, their little e-bike is fully “ready to race” with adjustable WP suspension, lightweight wheels, an adjustable fiberglass subframe, and serious brakes. This thing is spec’ed better than my personal dirt bike.
It’s also a lot easier to care for. “Apart from oiling the chain, there is really minimal maintenance required,” says Joachim Sauer, KTM’s Senior Product Manager Offroad. Keep air in the tires and charge in the battery, and that’s about all there is to it from ages 3 to 10. That battery is good for two hours of beginner riding, or 25 minutes in the hands of a very experienced kid. The only other thing here that might need service is the suspension, if they’re racing it that hard.
The KTM sounds likely to shred the likes of the Yamaha PW50 ($1,499) and other minis, so much so that it’s in a class of its own. I mean, come on. The Pee-Dub has drums and an engine that was kinda fresh in 1980. The SX-E is a whole different thing.
For the sake of comparison, let’s say Junior did start on a PW50. Then it’s on to maybe a Honda CRF80F, and then a 100 cc of some kind. Add ‘em up and you’re probably not far from $5,000. If kiddo’s destined to be a racer, the KTM starts to make more sense. None of the Japanese bikes offer componentry that can compete with the SX-E.
A comparison to KTM’s own 50SX or 50SX Mini might be a little closer, though the SX-E 5 costs about $700 more. Whether or not the SX-E is worth it mostly depends on the kid. Will they burn through lots of gas and parts over the next few years, or will they just putt around the yard?
“We tested the bike with such a wide range of riders,” Sauer says. “The complete beginner can ride on a track almost straight away with this bike as it’s so easy to ride, yet a national level rider can have comparable lap times to that of the combustion bike, which is something special.”
The 2020 SX-E 5 will be available for late 2019. No training wheels included.
Image Gallery
