71838 Kai's Motorcycle Speed Race LEGO Review - Ninjago, 2025

A zippy little set at a great price.

TL;DR:

• Original Price:  $9.99
• Pieces: 79
• Minifigure(s): Kai, Spectral Dragonian scout
• Sticker Sheet: No
  
• Pros: interesting pieces and minifigs
• Cons: quick and simple build

Assembly: 

Bag #1 - Kai, Spectral Dragonian scout, 2 bikes

 Leftover Pieces

• Interesting Techniques:
• With such small builds, it's neat to note the effectiveness of some subtle different choices. While both motorcycles are constructed in much the same way—using plates to connect the forks and SNOT brackets to add side detailing, and with the handlebars clipped onto a 1x2 with a clip on top, covered by a 1x2 slope, the bikes have different arrangements of different jumper plates to add a bit of visual difference to each.

• Interesting Pieces:
• The pairing of these dark bluish grey forks with the 3L frictionless Technic pins makes for a simple but effective wheel-holder. The forks first appeared in 2021 Batman sets, and have since been used in many smaller vehicles (eg 40517 Vespa and 72031 Yoshi Bike). The struts have a nice texture to them that could be useful for greebling as well.

• This set includes a few pieces in light aqua (including 4 of the wavy blade pieces), which is a rare enough color that getting them is noteworthy

• The dual-molded shoulder armor (unique to this set in red color) and sword (in trans-red) are really well-done, and worth adding to the collection

• Pain Points:
• As I've pointed out in other posts, paper bags make it essential that builders double-check them to ensure no pieces get left behind when pouring out. I almost lost these ones!

• The one down-side of the elaborate shoulder armor that Kai is wearing is that it can be really difficult to get his head out (especially when the pieces are still new). The trick I found is to use a rubber band for extra grip: wrap it around his head and hold onto that as you twist and pull.

• Overall:  This is a fun little set, with some interesting pieces and two excellent minifigures. Kai has the dual-molded shoulder armor and sword, as well as a nice flame-pattern gi, and the spectral Dragonian has trans-light blue arms and legs that look nice and...well, spectral. The bikes are simple in construction but have some nice details and parts that elevate them. While there isn't much in the way of unusual building techniques, the resulting bikes are sufficient both in looks and rollability, and the wide tires make them easy to balance. This is what a $10 set should be like, with enough nice pieces to counter the build's simplicity (as opposed to interesting build techniques to counter simple parts, as in some 3-in-1 sets). I could see this set doing well for builders new to LEGO or just new to Ninjago, as well as to seasoned builders who want a fun little diversion. Zipping them around on my worktop did make me feel a little like a kid, and they make good additions to my collection.

Score (out of 5 🧱):

• Price: 🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱
• Process: 🧱🧱🧱
• Presentation: 🧱🧱🧱🧱
• Play: 🧱🧱🧱🧱🧱
• Pieces: 🧱🧱🧱🧱

• Total: 🧱🧱🧱🧱

Lego Instructions: here