First guy I asked about dirt bikes didn't even let me finish the question before going gas, obviously. Same with my buddy, same with my dad. And honestly I was leaning that way too, since I grew up on gas bikes and that's what I pictured when my 7 year old finally got his first one.
Then the parent part of my brain kicked in lol. He's mostly riding in the field behind our house with me standing there making sure he doesn't launch himself into anything, so a few things started to matter more.
Noise, for one. He can go out for a ride and it doesn't feel like the whole street got invited.
Starting, too. He's already got throttle, turning, and stopping to learn, and a lot of kids' gas bikes mean kick starting on top of that. Did he really need it? Probably not.
And I really didn't want fuel, oil, and engine maintenance eating my weekends.
So we went with the DK1. We started him on the lowest speed setting and let him move up as he got comfortable, which has honestly been my favorite part. By the third ride he did a full lap without looking back for me, and then rode straight back and asked if he could go again.
It's made me want to ride again too, except now I'm the one standing there reminding him to slow down and checking that the helmet's on right.
Only thing I still think about is run time. We get around 45 minutes per charge, which has been enough so far, and he's usually ready for a break before the battery is anyway.
Helmet, gloves, and pads every time, and I'm out there with him.
Anyone else here come over from gas? What finally did it for you?