Whether he jumps or not isn't exactly about the machine. It is about confidence on the bike itself, and learning to get comfortable in the air. You asked if I knew any other children like this and I would answer that I would probably make for a perfect example (even if I don't technically count as a kid in legal terms).
I would expect that better suspension might help his confidence a little, as the landings won't be so rough. However, the take-offs are what the problem may be in his mind. Even at 21, and having ridden since 12 (3 seasons racing experience), I am still shy hitting the big ones. A lot of them are beyond my skill level, and I don't even attempt them.
Here's the main deal though - He won't be confidant for quite some time. Jumps take practice, and LOTS of it. The important thing for you to focus on right now is encouraging him to keep it up and encouraging him to enjoy it. The second you make riding a "chore" by pushing him past what he wants to do, is the second you may ruin the fun, and he won't progress. Again, that key word is SUPPORT, not PUSH
The good news is that there are some fairly easy options for you and him right now!
- Keep going to the track. Let him ride as much as he wants.
- Find a mini track, where the jumps are designed for littler bikes, with far more tabletops than doubles. Things aren't half as intimidating, and there are no big bikes to make him feel like he's about to be run over if he does tip over.
- If you have enough space in your back yard, make him a small single jump. It doesn't even have to be a foot high. Let him get comfortable with it. Make it a little bigger. Make it a little bigger yet.
- Let him do it over and over and over and over! Bring the camera, and take pictures and/or videos too.
When he first gets on the 85, things will progress in a backwards fashion for a while until he gets used to it (whether it's a couple days, or a couple months). By the sounds of it, you'll want to keep him off the track until he's shifting smoothly and at least comfortable making turns and stopping/starting. There's quite a possibility that the jump to an 85 will give him the room he needs to actually manuver the bike over any obstacles on the track, be it whoops, a double, or a tabletop. However, he'll tell you when he's ready to try the track again.
Read up on the threads in "Riding/Training Techniques" There will be dozens upon dozens of them about jumping.
Here is what they mostly say in a nutshell (Others, feel free to jump in and add anything key I missed):
-Pick your line carefully, keep your head up, body relaxed, knees bent, elbows up, knees slightly bent. Keep a firm grip on the bike with your legs.
-Hold the throttle steady (don't suddenly accellerate or "blip" the throttle at the lip, nor should you "chop off" or suddenly let off the throttle on the face of the jump, or in the air).
-If you let off the throttle at the last second, you'll nosedive. If you blip the throttle at the lip of the jump, or rev it in the air, you'll go over backwards (or feel like enough to bail off the back!).
-When you land (usually a split second later in my case) you'll have to work with the bike to soak up the impact of the landing. This means that you shouldn't lock your knees in the air (oh man does that ever hurt when things hit the ground!!!). This part is fairly automatic. You don't need to even talk to him about it unless you see him lock his knees, or it looks like they may be.
The above is pretty wordy and full of termage and is just plain old too much for a kid to think about all at once. Tell him this:
"Get into attack position, and hold a steady throttle. Look ahead, and not down at the jump (the hardest part)."
Does he have good gear that fits? When I first started riding, I had an open faced helmet (that was also too big, but slightly better than nothing, and after crashing more than a couple times, my parents bought me a clearance full faced helmet that fit perfectly. My riding improved a great deal just because of the confidence I felt in my gear. It didn't hurt half as bad when I crashed (no more yard rash on my chin!!!!). They also got goggles with it, and that helped a lot too. I didn't have to worry about dirt in my eyes, and I could go faster. They fit right, and I could actually see. The little things make a huge difference. A chest protector made all the difference in the world too. I didn't have to worry about skidding tons of skin off my upper body. It didn't hurt as bad when I crashed, so jumps were more exciting instead of scarey.
Boots, I will never ride without again, for reasons listed in a previous post. When I got good ones that fit, I was more able to focus on riding than trying not to be so fearful of getting hurt.
Lastly, let him know that some of the jumps are beyond what his bike can handle, and that he doesn't need to hit them all. I rode almost an entire season without hitting any jumps. This was due to an injury, but I learned a great deal about body position, and cornering, and picking different ruts and lines to take.
Keep us posted.