For anyone who has wondered about buying a pit bike, and is fairly convinced that they want to take pit biking up as a pursuit, the most difficult bit is often getting started. Where do you look to find the right bike? How can you make sure the bike you are getting is of an appropriate quality? What precautions can you take to ensure that the bike will be safe and durable? All of these questions need to be answered, if you want to be totally sure that the bike (and you) will be in one piece in a year’s time.

It takes a bit of research to find the right bikes, and this has not been made any easier by the increasing mass-production of pit bikes in recent years to take advantage of the new-found popularity of the machines. You should consider that if a bike is being sold for a low price – in the region of $400 – then it probably will not be great. It is worth forking out the extra money to get a bike with a stronger frame (twin beam frames are preferable to single-beam, especially if you are going to really put the bike through its paces.

The wisest thing to do before buying a pit bike is to join a forum for pit bike enthusiasts. The people who frequent these forums tend to know their stuff, and can tell you which bikes would be a bad move and which would be good. There may be some differing opinions and dissenting voices, but usually a consensus will emerge. And if you are thinking of buying a second-hand pit bike, then it is vitally important that you get it checked out by a mechanic before you hand over any money, as well as getting a motorcycle bill of sale from the vendor.