DRR's DRX50
A race worthy mini for less than two grand
Review and photos by: Joe Tolle
Test riders: Ryan Wheeler, Austin Miller, Trevor Miller

Mini quad racing is growing at a rapid pace in the U.S. While attending the GNC nationals this year, we had the opportunity to watch more than a few mini classes. One that we specifically took a liking to was the 50cc limited class. Designed for the youngest riders, this class, unlike many of the other mini classes, has a lot of restrictions on what you can do to the machine to make it race-ready. You can bolt on the usual safety equipment such as nerf bars and a kill switch. You can also install tires, wheels and handlebars, however all other external performance modifications are prohibited. That’s right, no pipe, no carburetor, no chassis mods and no suspension upgrades whatsoever.

While external modifications are kept to a bare minimum to make the class more affordable and competitive, internal motor mods are allowed as long as the machine’s displacement remains at or below 50cc. With so many 50cc machines on the market, it would be virtually impossible to have enough knowledge and manpower to be able to visually inspect the internals of each machine and tell if it is indeed bone stock or not - thus the ATVA allows for internal changes. What does this all mean? If you want to be competitive in the 50cc limited class, you need a machine that handles good out of the box and has a motor design that will respond well to internal mods. Enter DRR's DRX50...

The DRX, who and why?
Finding a competitive 50 to test was as easy as talking to the parents of riders in the 50cc class. No matter the brand their child raced, they all said that the DRR was without a doubt the mini to beat. DRR's record backs up this. The DRX50 has won the 50cc limited title in every discipline of national racing, including GNC MX, TT and Short Track, impressive!

Anxious to get our hands on one, we contacted DRR USA, located in North Royalton Ohio. Besides securing our machine, we also had a chance to get some background on the brand. According to DRR’s Lou DeCuzzi, “Our machines are produced in Taiwan. While some basic chassis parts are interchangeable with other Taiwanese minis, most of our entire machine’s design is unique to DRR. Our manufacturing facility only produces DRRs -- protecting both us and our customers from copy-cat look-a-likes.”
 

Mechanical Overview

When we first laid our eyes on the machine, the differences between the DRX and its other competitors from Taiwan were immediately evident. First off, this machine is wide. Very wide, we should add. It's a whopping 40 inches! For comparison, a Kasea Skyhawk 50 measures in at 33 inches. You would have to add +3 A-arms and an axle to most other minis to achieve the same width as the stock DRX50. If your youngster races locally you can probably get away with a 33" wide mini. If you race the nationals, you’re out of luck however. Remember, you can’t make any chassis or suspension upgrades in the 50 limited class. Since the DRX50 comes stock like this, it's a serious advantage. But wait, there's more.

Besides the extra width, the DRX50 is very similar to its other Taiwanese counterparts in the chassis department. Although the DRX A-arms are considerably longer than its competitors, the DRX features the standard single A-arm setup. Up front the DRX has preload adjustable shocks with 3 inches of travel. Out back, is a standard swingarm setup mated to a preload adjustable rear shock with 3 inches of travel as well.

In the motor department it’s the same story of "similar yet different". Just looking at the engine, you might think that it is the same one used in many other minis from Taiwan. It has a fully automatic CVT transmission like most of its 50cc competitors so no need for shifting. Beyond that similarity is where DRR took steps to set their DRX50 motor apart from the rest. Most noticeable is the DRR Works Pipe. Many other minis feature a straight pipe similar to those found on 4 strokes, the DRR Works Pipe features an expansion chamber designed to maximize the machine's stock power output and allow the engine to respond better to internal motor mods such as porting and head work.

In addition to the pipe, DRR claims that the DRX50 features a heavy duty racing clutch designed to take advantage of the machine’s race tuned exhaust. With the light weight rollers DRR chose for the DRX, the clutch engages at around 2200 RPMs, right when the motor is beginning to get into the meat of its powerband. The only thing counteracting all of this performance is the machine's stock rev box. The Consumer Product Safety Commission, (CPSC) says that all youth ATVs must not exceed 15 mph in stock trim, so DRR uses a rev box that limits the machine to 15 mph at 3500 RPMs. According to DRR, since this rev box is a “parental control device”, the ATVA allows for the installation of a different rev box. With the clutch’s high RPM engagement at 2200 RPMs and a rev limit of 3500 RPMs we can say that this machine would have an extremely narrow power output in stock trim making it difficult to ride. From the looks of things, DRR only used the restrictive rev box to make the machine legal for the showroom floor. Since we are looking at this as a 50cc limited racer, we had DRR send us a machine with their unlimited rev box already installed. Their unlimited rev box allows the machine to rev to the moon and take full advantage of its potential power output.

In the braking department, dual mechanical drums up front and a single hydraulic cross drilled disc brake bring the machines's 232lbs. to a stop. Front brakes are actuated by the lever located on the right side of the handlebars, while the rear disc is operated with the lever on the left side of the handlebars. We wish there was a foot brake to actuate the rear brake, but we guess that would be hard with the machines integrated floor board/foot peg design.

Our test machine also had DRR’s optional daytime running light installed. The CPSC feel youth quads should not have headlights, so DRR offers it as an optional accessory. Although you will have to cover or remove it for competition, it’s a great feature if you take the machine camping. The headlight has a high/low beam option. Out back there is the usual tail/brake light.
 

Ridden hard, and raced harder
The best way to see if a machine is a competitive racer is to race it. We took our DRX50 to round two of the Earlywine’s Indoor MX Winter Series, and entered it in the 50cc-70cc class. Since there isn’t usually enough 70s for their own class, Earlywine's runs the 50s and 70 together. To make things tougher, there are no modification restrictions on this class, so we would be competing against everything from stock machines to fully modded built-to-the-hilt minis.

To handle the racing duties, we had 11 year old Ryan Wheeler pilot the machine. To keep things fair, we didn’t have the scorers score our machine, since Ryan is a bit old for the class. Besides we weren't’t looking for trophies, we were more concerned with evaluating the machine's performance. After the racing was over we had racer brothers Austin and Trevor Miller, (90cc and 50cc racers respectively) throw a leg over the machine to see what they thought of it as well.

First the Ride Test
Your child's level of comfort will depend on not only his or her physical size, but his or her skill level. The DRX best fits medium to large 50cc riders. The smallest of 50 riders will have a hard time fitting the machine. While both 90cc racers Ryan and Austin looked right at home on the DRX, 6-year old Trevor Miller looked a bit too small on the machine. Riders 6 and under may not be large enough in stature to properly handle this machine. The best way to know is to try one on for size.

The machine features a carburetor mounted manual choke, no auto choke on this bad boy. That’s good as far as we're concerned, less to go wrong. Pull in the left hand brake lever and hit the electric starter and the DRX quickly fires to life. For those who prefer kicking, the DRX has a kick start backup. The first thing you notice when the machine fires is the loud exhaust note. Remember, we told you the DRX50 has a racing exhaust and it has the exhaust note to match. While racer kids will dig the sound, beginning youngsters and neighbors may find it a bit annoying.

It took our testers a few tries at the throttle before they felt out the engagement point of the clutch. The DRX’ clutch comes on at a much higher RPM then most stock 50s. Once they got used to it, our experienced riders were quickly up to speed. Hit the gas, wait a split second while the motor quickly revs to the lower midrange, and you are rapidly under way. While having the clutch engage as the motor comes onto the pipe allows for brisk acceleration, DRR was careful to make sure the clutch didn’t engage too quickly. While a quicker clutch engagement might be nice for starts and the most experienced mini racers, it would make the machine very unfriendly for riders moving up the DRR. In short we feel they got it right.

Fortunately, the DRR’s motor performance is as impressive as its exhaust note indicates. While you never get a chance to feel out the motor's bottom end power due to the clutch setup, the machine's midrange and top end power are all business. With the accessory rev box and Works expansion chamber pipe, the machine seems willing to rev forever. A good clutch setup and ample mid to top end power make this machine both controllable and fast for a stock 50. All of our test riders were impressed with the machine's stock performance, and Trevor Miller commented, “The DRX is a lot faster then my Kasea when it was still stock.”

Don’t get us wrong, we have seen a few 50s that can run with the DRR in the motor department, but once you hit a few turns and jumps the DRX50 really separates itself from the rest of the pack. The width of the DRX really makes the machine shine on the track. Even against larger machines the DRX remains competitive due to its smooth stable handling. It was easy to charge into the turns at Earlywine's and exit with the throttle wide open. Out of corners the handling matches the DRR’s potent power output allowing the rider to carry more momentum and aggressively exit with speed. This gives the DRX a real advantage over other machines in its class.

Wider A-arms and a narrow chassis help hide some of the tire scrub commonly associated with single A-arm designs. Still the front shocks with only three inches of travel are similar to most machines out of Taiwan, stiff on small bumps and too soft on jump landings. Although rear wheel travel is nearly identical to the front, the rear suspension feels as though it has a bit more travel. While it’s still not perfect, the rear shock does a better job of protecting the rider from bumps of all sizes. Austin Miller commented, “The suspension is better than most 50s.” Still, we feel this machine would be an even more complete performance package with better suspension.

The brakes are a story of good and bad. The front dual drums are weak. They aid the rear in stopping, but there isn’t much real stopping power to be had out of them. The rear brake on the other hand is quite powerful. With good stability and a powerful rear brake, it is possible for the rider to square off corners on the DRX.

So what about trail riding? While we didn’t take the DRX to the trails, we can honestly say that this is not the ideal trail mount for most youth riders. The machine has a wide turning radius making tight maneuvers difficult. According to DRR the steering stops can be machined down for a tighter turning radius, but it’s not the only factor holding the machine back in the woods. The power delivery isn’t practical for most trail rides as well. Don’t get us wrong, there’s plenty of power on tap for roosting up hills, but trail riding is much easier when you have good power delivery at low RPMs. The DRX clutch doesn’t engage until the midrange making the machine difficult to slip through the trees unless your kid is an extremely fast and aggressive rider.

Now the Race Test
When the gate dropped for the first 50cc moto, Ryan Wheeler took our DRX50 to a third place start beating out all of the stock and mildly modded machines in the class. The only machines that beat him into the first turn were a pair of tricked out Kaseas. Both of which had chassis and suspension upgrades and plenty of motor mods. One of them even had a 70cc kit installed. With more experience under his belt, Ryan took a faster smoother line through the second turn, carrying more momentum into the whoops where he made the pass on Trevor Miller and his modded Kasea 50. From there, Ryan was running impressively fast in second on our stock DRR, until the leader broke a chain in the whoops, dropping him out of the race and moving Ryan into the lead., which Ryan held all the way to the checkered flag.

In the second moto, Ryan was once again the third machine into the first turn, but the second moto was going to be a bit more difficult than the first. “Heading into the second turn I got hung up behind Trevor Miller allowing another machine to temporarily slip past”, said Ryan. If Ryan was going to get up front and challenge the 70cc machine for the led he was going to have to work quickly. Two turns later Ryan went to the inside and passed his way into second place, but Trevor Miller wasn’t giving up without a fight. He went to the inside on the next corner moving our DRX back to third. One corner later, Ryan railed the outside, carrying more momentum past Miller and once again took over second. While Ryan was able to finally distance himself from Miller and his tricked out Kasea 50, he never managed to reel in the 70cc mounted leader. Although we weren’t scored against other riders, if we were, we would have taken home the win on a bone stock machine. That’s impressive.

Reliability
Reliability wise everything held up fine, although you will want to replace the butterfly clamp that runs from the air box to the carburetor with a pipe clamp. The butterfly clamp slid off several times and we were lucky that our motor didn’t suck any dirt. While we didn’t bend a tie rod you might want to keep a few extras on hand just in case.
 

Our Conclusion
If your child is naturally aggressive, or has a bit of experience under his or her belt, the DRR is hard to beat. If you’re going to race the 50cc Stock Limited, (4-6 year old) class at the nationals, the DRX50 should be even more competitive then the old DRR50. In the new 50cc Production Auto, (6-8 year old) class, the DRX will be up against some stiff competition from the new Cobra ECX50, but with the Cobra costing around $6500.00, we have a feeling that there will be a lot of DRX50s competing in that class as well.

For racing at the local level where you can add modifications, the DRX will be one of the least expensive machines to get race ready. With its wide A-arms and axle, getting the chassis ready is as simple as adding aftermarket suspension and sticking on numbers. We have a feeling that setting up the clutch for a more abrupt engagement will also give the DRX better hole shot potential. If you still want more power you can have the machine ported. You might also consider raising the compression a bit. As we said, the good news is you won’t need a race pipe, DRR already supplied it in stock form. After these mods it should really scream. Overall, it is the most race-ready 50cc machine we have ever come across for under $2000 and it’s sure to keep thrill seeking youth riders entertained for some time.

Know your 50cc classes
For the 2006 season ATVA delegates changed a few things regarding the 50cc classes. Instead of simply running one 50cc limited class for 4-8 year olds, the class has been split into the 50 Stock Limited and the 50 Production Auto class. The 50cc Stock Limited class is running under the same rules as the old 50cc Limited did with a few more restrictions, while the new 50 Production Auto class runs under the same rules as all of the other production classes.

What does this all mean? If your child is between 4 and 6 years of age, they can run most any of the Taiwanese machines. Along with the old 50cc Limited rules, the ATVA is now limiting suspension travel to less then 4 inches and a maximum width of 41 inches. This was done in an effort to keep the new ultra high performance Cobra out of this class, thus keeping things safer, affordable and more competitive.

In the new 50cc Production class for 6 to 8 year olds, production rules apply. You are allowed to add suspension and other chassis modifications, as well as external motor mods that aren’t allowed in the 50cc Stock Limited class. For more specifics on rules and applications check out the complete listings at atvaonline.com.

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