KX65 handling question

wasted · Jun 25, 2006

my son has an '02 KX65 and it handles very sharp, it wants to tuck the front tire many too much and way to often, plus it likes to weave around and not hold a good line in anything remotely soft
my son doesnt like to ride it because of the way it handles(and I dont really either), I havent changed springs(front or back) or tried any spacers in the forks but I've played with all the adjustments both on the shock and forks plus raised and lowered the tubes and have never really came up with anything that seems to clear it up so it will work decent for him, the sag is set correct but I have the shock set up as soft as it will go and the forks set up semi-stiff right now and both ends seem pretty "balanced", but it still wants to tuck under way too easy
everything that I've tried that I'd do to a big bike as far as adjustments doesnt seem to make a difference with this little one

anybody else notice this with these? do they just naturally handle this way or does anyone have any tricks to try without going through a major procedure

he's 10 and weighs probably about 50-60lbs but it doesnt handle any better with me on it either, hes actually went back to riding his PW80 because he doesnt like the way this thing handles

FruDaddy · Jun 25, 2006

I think the sharp turning is due to the short wheelbase. It sounds like you have already covered all of the bases. Perhaps you should look into his technique a little more closely. Of course, it's hard for us adults to use good technique riding the little bikes. My leg is constantly bumping the bars. My son likes the way the KX65's turn, he is 9 and 58 lbs. As far as settings, our '02 is at the stock fork height although the clickers have been adjusted to his liking, and the '06 suspension is bone stock.

TYLER KX65rider · Jun 26, 2006

i like the way my KX65 handles

wasted · Jun 26, 2006

FruDaddy said:
I think the sharp turning is due to the short wheelbase. It sounds like you have already covered all of the bases. Perhaps you should look into his technique a little more closely. Of course, it's hard for us adults to use good technique riding the little bikes. My leg is constantly bumping the bars. My son likes the way the KX65's turn, he is 9 and 58 lbs. As far as settings, our '02 is at the stock fork height although the clickers have been adjusted to his liking, and the '06 suspension is bone stock.

if you dont mind my asking, what do you have for adjustments on your '02?

I'm just curious, your son sounds about the same size as mine and I'd like to compare what I have to your setup...

we had it out again just today and although the handling isnt BAD, it just isnt what it should be, especially the front... have you ever tried any spacers in the forks? I think I'm going to give it a try, maybe tomorrow, and see if it helps any...

husabutt · Jun 27, 2006

Tires can make a huge difference. What is percieved as a geometry problem can sometimes be remedied with a good tire.

When I put Michelin Starcross tires on our YZ85 it made the front end stick nicely.

http://two-wheels.michelin.com/2w/front/affich.jsp?codeRubrique=2092004112822&codePage=2092004112822_20092004112914&lang=EN

FruDaddy · Jun 27, 2006

wasted said:
if you dont mind my asking, what do you have for adjustments on your '02?

I'm just curious, your son sounds about the same size as mine and I'd like to compare what I have to your setup...

we had it out again just today and although the handling isnt BAD, it just isnt what it should be, especially the front... have you ever tried any spacers in the forks? I think I'm going to give it a try, maybe tomorrow, and see if it helps any...

I would have to go out and check, I have it written down somewhere but I am not sure where. But what I did was simple. On one of our practice nights, I set it to stock, and sent him out, every time he came off the track, I took the screwdriver over to his bike. Usually, I would make small changes, but sometimes I would just act like I was. Then I would write down what I did. Next time out, I asked him if it felt better or worse, and where (I also wrote down his comments). After a couple hours of good riding, I accepted it as being the best I could get.
I have never tried any type of spacer it the fork, and ours protrudes about 3/4" above the clamp.

wasted · Jun 27, 2006

well, I think I finally got it in the realm of his liking, I put just under 1" spacers in each leg which helped alot, I also tightened the steering stem bearing some so there was a little more resistance there and lowered the handlebars just a touch more, which all together made a world of difference

I dont know if it was just his bike or what but no matter what I tried the rear shock always seemed to overpower the forks and gave it a "nosedown" feel(even for me), those spacers improved it alot, he took it for a short ride around the house and in just that little ways said that it was WAY better than it was, he said he could actually control it now instead of it just wanting to weave all over and tip over in the corners, so it sounds like its probably down to just some fine tuning now, maybe his interest in it will come back now that he can control it...

but thanks for the help anyway guys... :cool:

FruDaddy · Jun 27, 2006

Because you asked earlier, my son's 02 bike is at 3 clicks on the forks and 1/2 turn out on the shock. Glad you are getting close.
Can't help but ask, did you set the sag before you started adjusting it?

wasted · Jun 27, 2006

yeah I just barely got the sag set on the rear... the shock is set as soft as it will go and with all his gear on we got just enough out of it
the spring is right at the very edge of being too stiff, actually it probably is a little too stiff(but still workable), especially compared to the front, but the spacers in the forks seem to have evened things out good now...

I'm going to run him out on the trails maybe tomorrow or the next day, our trails here are pretty open, loose(very sandy), and full of whoops so we'll see how it goes...

Cody305 · Jun 28, 2006

wasted said:
yeah I just barely got the sag set on the rear... the shock is set as soft as it will go and with all his gear on we got just enough out of it
the spring is right at the very edge of being too stiff, actually it probably is a little too stiff(but still workable), especially compared to the front, but the spacers in the forks seem to have evened things out good now...

I'm going to run him out on the trails maybe tomorrow or the next day, our trails here are pretty open, loose(very sandy), and full of whoops so we'll see how it goes...

What part of WI do you ride? We live by WI Rapids and my kids grew up riding at Dyracuse Park(all sand)
My son raced a RM/KX65. and was also small on the bike. Stock suspension on the 65 is terrible. Not enough range for tuning. One of the first things we did was replace the front fork springs with stiffer ones. Soft springs have a tendency to "dive" in sand and in order to keep the front end "floating" junoir needs to keep the throttle pinned, or go stiffer up front.
I also replaced the rear shock with a Ohlins and this shock is very tunable compared to the stocker. Works Performance makes a good shock too.
Oil levels in the forks are also a big thing. We ended up raising the levels up about an inch and running 15 weight oil. Fork emulators also work.
Try and set up the bike so it sits even. (move forks in triple clamps) It may seem like it will be to tall for him to ride, but it will help out with the head shake by changing the rake angle.

Hope this helps out.

wasted · Jun 28, 2006

Cody305 said:
What part of WI do you ride? We live by WI Rapids and my kids grew up riding at Dyracuse Park(all sand)
My son raced a RM/KX65. and was also small on the bike. Stock suspension on the 65 is terrible. Not enough range for tuning. One of the first things we did was replace the front fork springs with stiffer ones. Soft springs have a tendency to "dive" in sand and in order to keep the front end "floating" junoir needs to keep the throttle pinned, or go stiffer up front.
I also replaced the rear shock with a Ohlins and this shock is very tunable compared to the stocker. Works Performance makes a good shock too.
Oil levels in the forks are also a big thing. We ended up raising the levels up about an inch and running 15 weight oil. Fork emulators also work.
Try and set up the bike so it sits even. (move forks in triple clamps) It may seem like it will be to tall for him to ride, but it will help out with the head shake by changing the rake angle.

Hope this helps out.

I'm in Black River Falls, about an hour southwest of Rapids, we usually ride the trails here in jackson county(they're all sand too) but we go out to hiddenvalley and CMJ once in a while and race on the tracks too...

I agree the suspension isnt the best on these...
the damping wasnt all that bad actually so I didnt really mess with the oil itslf too much(yet anyway), although adding a little more and heavier oil to try to stiffen it up some was next on my list of things to try... it was the spring rates, front to rear, that just didnt work well together...
it didnt handle TERRIBLE bad with the shock set soft and the forks compression cranked all the way up and raised as high as they could go, but it still had the "nose down" feel and did need stiffer springs in the front to really fix the problem, which I'm hoping these spacers are enough to fix it, or at least get it close enough so that all it needs is some fine tuning(and so far it seems they are)...

but anyway... if you ever get down to jackson county for some trail riding and want some guys to ride with let me know... :cool:

Cody305 · Jun 28, 2006

wasted said:
I'm in Black River Falls, about an hour southwest of Rapids, we usually ride the trails here in jackson county(they're all sand too) but we go out to hiddenvalley and CMJ once in a while and race on the tracks too...

but anyway... if you ever get down to jackson county for some trail riding and want some guys to ride with let me know... :cool:

We haven't done much trail riding. We race almost every weekend around the midwest and that keeps us really busy.
We practice and race at both Ettrick and Arkansaw and of course Hixton. It nice to come back and race in WI.
We will be at CMJ Aug 27th for the mx race. Come on out and look us up. My son Cody races the 85cc 12-15 age class. Can't miss him, LOL he rides a white Honda CR85 #305

Here is a pic of him leading 41 of his closest friends around the first corner at Millville, MN. :ride:

yzmxer93 · Jul 13, 2006

tell your son the more he pins it the better it will handle

KX65 handling question

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