What is the difference between a pit bike and a small dirt bike?

bmxican: What is the difference between a pit bike and a small dirt bike?
I have this 85 yamaha that I got about 5 years ago when I was a kid and was wondering if I could use it as a pit bike. It is like a 2005 and it is pretty small. (smaller than my friends 65 ktm) I notice a few obvious differences between my bike and the pit bikes I see. I was wondering if I could get some new parts or something and make it into a pit bike. I don’t know if this helps but Im about 5’4 110 pounds.

Answers and Views:

Answer by Brandon R
Pit bikes in general are 50cc bikes modified for full size riders.

85cc bikes are race bikes and technically not a pit bike but you could ride it around the pits and call it what ever the hell u want. new parts and modification of the 85 will just make it hard to ride around the pits. throw some graphics on it and have some fun with it.

i don’t really know how you plan to use it, if u want to use it as a bike you ride around the pits on race day then i would say ur better off selling the bike and getting a 50 and building your own pit bike. this is due to the fact that 85s have power bands and that isn’t much fun when ur running between RVs. if u plan to just ride the bike around your house the 85 is a fun ride and you can call it a pit bike till your hearts content.

Answer by rough_neck74
To enter a pit bike race..Your bike has to be a 4-stroke..The YZ 85 is a race bike and the only way to do it and alot of people are doing it this way is to find like a ttr 90 4-stroke motor and custom fit it in your yz frame..Now if your YZ motor is a good running motor..you can get from 6 to 8 hundred on e-bay just for the motor..that will be plenty to get your 90cc 4-stroke motor…People are making great pit bikes that handle very well because the yz85 is a great handling bike..

Have fun with it..

Answer by XYZ
Are you sure it isn’t a Yamaha PW80? I’m pretty sure the only 85 Yamaha has ever made was the YZ and it is bigger than a KTM 65. Anyway that’s beside the point. Is there a difference between a pit bike and a small dirt bike? That is a very good question that doesn’t have a clear answer. There is no real definition of a pit bike. Originally it meant exactly what it sounds like it would. It was just a bike that racers rode around the pits. It could be pretty much anything. I used a CRF230 as a pit bike a couple years back. The next definition of a pit bike is in pit bike racing terms and there will be certain specifications there like no larger than a 12″ rear wheel, engine must be air-cooled and no more than 140cc for instance. And then there is the final definition which are the crappy Chinese bikes marketed as “pit bikes”. So you see there is no one definition of a pit bike. If you have a PW80 most would consider that a pit bike since generally pit bikes are “kids bikes” with the Honda CRF50 and Kawasaki/Suzuki 110’s being the most popular pit bikes of all.

Answer by Brandon
i actually own a pit bike, so maybe i can help you out quite a bit. the difference between a pit bike and a small dirt bike is actually pretty large. a pit bike may be about the same size, but it will have a larger motor most of the time. my pitter weighs only 85 pounds but has a 140cc motor in it.so it scoots around pretty quickly. as for a small dirt bike, it’s probably only got a 50cc or MAYBE max 100cc. and to be honest with you, your yamaha, if you search around on the internet, a lot of people are doing just that, restoring them and turning them into pitters.