Should I let The Boy have a mini bike? I have no experience with them at all. His grandpa wants to buy him one and he will be expected to work off the cost.

So did you have a mini bike? Is it a better experience than a 4-wheeler? (he has been riding one since before he could walk)

He is 11 and good about safety and respectful of rules. My biggest worry is the learning curve and if he will have fun with it.

YES!

It's a new Coleman BT 200 X

I had a Honda QA50
THEN A Rupp 5hp

So Yes? Helmet and a minibike

Helmet mini bike and kidney belt lol

The question is .... Do you have a place for him to ride where he won't cause trouble? If yes then yeah those things are great. I grew up on one, graduated to dirt bikes and horses. Notice the order. They got progressively more expensive as time went on.

My first paying job ever I saved my money and bought a mini bike. It opened up whole new worlds to me, so my opinion is yes.

9 year old grandson. Some sorry piece of pond scum stole it out of the yard during the night. Have to buy him another one.

Yes

The Boy is a very good son and a fine young man. Yes....he should have the mini bike. I think he will be safe with it.

Moosetrot

at 11, you can skip the mini bike and go dirtbike 100cc or up a bit

Yes
I had one when I was a kid

Agree!

When I was 11 we had a 100cc dirt bike.

As long as he is responsible like you say, and if you think he is ready for it.

Also, he gets to work for something to be his.

I was about that age when i got my first motorcycle, honda 50. I had saved for two years to get the 300 bucks needed. Had a relative offer me an Indian 50 or 80 for the same money but i wouldn't have been able to buy parts if it broke. It would be worth a fortune now. Bought the Honda 50 then sold it and went to a enduro 100. Rode that till i got my driver's license then never got back on it again.

If he can ride from home without needing to be taken somewhere, go for it. Have gpa make him work off 1/4 or 1/2 before he gets it. Make sure he understands the responsibility that comes with it and good and bad decisions lol.

At about that age my youngest boy would ride his 80 or my rhino between my house and my ex-wife house, it was 15 miles one way across the desert. I knew the exact amount of time it would take and the route. If he was 5 mins late i was in the truck heading to check on him. He had a cell phone and could call part of the time. He got caught in a couple good thunderstorms was the only issue we ever had.

my cousins had one I rode , if his grandpa wants to get him one and he has been riding a bike and a 4 wheeler . make sure he wears his brain bucket.

will it stay at grandpas or somewhere with more space to ride?

Yes mini or dirt bike or both

Pop's let me have a Honda CT 70 at 9 yrs old...Full disclosure, it led to this!

Yep let him get it, when I was 11 I trapped enough muskrats to buy a DT 80 Yamaha dirt bike.
Was a whole new world for me with trapping.

Thanks guys I gave grandpa my ok on the bike and within a half hr he and The Boy were walking out of the store with a Coleman ct200u-exr 196cc lol

I met them at grandpa's house, went through the owners manual, showed him what to inspect before riding, how to put oil and gas in. He can pull start it himself and he seemed good to go.
He was a bit nervous (blamed me for it from my safety speech) he was awful wobbly but figured out a bit more speed makes it more stable and had a blast. Now he knows he needs to pick up sticks and weed whip before he gets to ride from now on.

Grandpa has a happy grandson for sure.

Heck yeah! Boys should be boys.
Will be the odd ,an out though, I and the vast majority of my buddies grew up with dirt bikes (90_125 cc)
And none of us wore helmets.