Fresh off the 50 and new to a Clutch...

[mxracer2000]

My son has been riding a Xr50 and 70 for the last few years and made the jump to a KX65 this year. He has ridden the bike about 6 times and seems to shift well when trail riding. Tonight we were out at a track and he was bogging the bike down straights, out of corners pretty much everywhere. He seems to feel comfortable keeping it in a "do it all gear". I've told him to down shift to bring up the revs and then put it in third but its short lived. I wouldnt be bothered by this but he has always been pretty aggressive on the track and thats not what I'm seeing now. Any suggestions from other dads/moms that have move their kid from a 4 stroke playbike to a two stroke 65.

 

[Chili]

I'm guessing since you sold your RM250 for the XR400 that you guys spend more time on the trails than the track? If so unless he's to the point where it's dangerous ie. not enough revs to make it up jump faces, then I'd just give him time to get comfortable.

 

[mxracer2000]

Its not so much about dangerous driving as it is a bad habit he seems to be getting into. I'm sure with more track time on the bike he will develop better skills. My way of thinking is if there is anything we can do "now" to nip this in the bud it would be helpful. I think on the 70 you could just leave it in 3rd and go all day but I want him to learn that he cant do that with the 65. I was even thinking about figure 8s where he would have to brake, accelerate and put it through a couple gears. Chili, you're right about the 250 and do I ever miss it but my 6 year old is riding the XR50 now so I have to spend alot of time putting around. I'm already looking at ways to upgrade the suspension. I got spoiled with the RM.

 

[FruDaddy]

Actually, he can run most any track in third and fourth. But as a beginning 65 rider, he needs to learn to downshift. I used to stand on the outside of a corner and point down with one or two fingers while mine was coming into it, that was my signal for downshift and the number of fingers told him how many times to shift. It helped a bit. Other than that, explain how to listen to that motor.
You could also find a nice long uphill and put him back on the 70. Make sure that the hill is long enough the he will lose momentum in third and have to downshift to keep it moving (a dirt road running up a mountain would be perfect). That will help drive home the advantage of downshifting.

 

[Chili]

(a dirt road running up a mountain would be perfect). That will help drive home the advantage of downshifting.

We live in Manitoba, we can see Alberta from here :laugh:

 

[FruDaddy]

Sorry, I'm not real familiar with Canadian terrain. If you want to travel to NW Georgia in the next two months, I'll find you a good one. We have a couple down here that you can borrow for a few minutes.

 

[ziptiedEXC]

Relax and let him enjoy the bike, he will get better. When my son was younger, I tried to coach him, and he just got frustrated. I think he learned more by following me than he did anything else.

 

[headbanger]

My son also just moved up to a RM/KX65 from a KTM PRO JR. This is his first shift & clutch bike. The 65 has a BIG hit and will come on much stronger than the XR ever did.
So maybe he's staying away from the hit? What I did when my son first rode the 65, was I made a throttle stop to limit the slide travel. He rode it a few times and then I kept cutting it shorter and shorter and finally removed it.
The bike was used and came with a Pro Circuit "Shorty" silencer and it was pretty loud. We race Hare Scrambles & Enduros so I had to get a spark arrestor. It's much quieter now and he revs it out more.
Good Luck!