Proud Papa

[theroyz71]

My 4 year old got his kdx 50 yesterday. He can be a little timid at times and I was beginning to think I had made a mistake. He was afraid to ride it unless I was on it with him. That was my fault because I had already removed the exhaust restrictor before I even gave it to him. I wanted to see what kind of power it had. Well, this morning it started just like yesterday. He would sit on it but wouldn't ride it. I told him that I would put the restrictor back in and adjust the throttle limiter. Thank God. That was all he needed. Now that I slowed it down a bit, he loves it. He's flying all around the field next to our house. He looks like he's been riding for a while. Needless to say, I am very happy now, especially since I was going to spend my x-mas money for some of those expensive training wheels (160.00). I have some pictures that I'll post as soon as I can. I also have some video.



2001 sv650s (mine)
2004 kdx50 (son's

 

[oldguy]

always a great day when the little one jumps on and you have to wait for them to either run out of gas or daylight to stop.
Wish I had started thekid at 4 yrs.

 

[Michelle]

Aren't kids fun :)

A friend of ours' son was on his XR50 not long after he got it & was racing around in 1st, quite content. His dad went up & said, "how about I change it into 2nd now" & the lad replied, "no thanks, dad, this is fast enough". We were all in stitches over that one. Then when him & his sister swapped bikes, we were all thinking "oh, no, now he's going to want to swap permanently" but no, he turns around & says he prefers his bike (his sister's CR50F is derestricted, his XR isn't). She preferred his XR50 to her XR70, just felt it was faster, so the 70 went & the CR50F arrived (now it's hard to stop her riding whereas the 70 only had a couple of rides on it).

Kid logic, I dunno - us women get harassed about not being logical, kids are worse hehehe

As for why didn't you get more response to your thread? This forum has less traffic, yes, there are lurkers, not a big deal. However, when I did a search for the latest threads, I saw the topic "proud papa" & thought, great, another mini-dad going on about how great his son is, but doesn't ride himself, I'm not going to even bother looking at that thread. (I was also expecting your son to be on a YZ doing MX after seeing your nick).

Don't get offended, I'm just telling you what I first thought, till I read your other thread & realised I was way wrong.

As for posting pix & video, you won't be able to as you're not a subscriber or support team member - see link at bottom of OldGuy's signature for more info. But you will be able to post it elsewhere & then post the link here.

Congratulations on working out that your boy just needed less power (and buying him a little green machine but I'm biased toward blue & green). And don't be disheartened if you don't get the response in the timeframe you want - it comes with time and not everyone feels comfortable posting ;)

Dave - waiting for daylight to stop? These kids just strap a torch to their bikes & carry on sometimes - run out of petrol is the one (or till an adult yells at them to stop lol).

 

[muddy226]

Congrats on getting the young 'un started. IMO having seen many youngsters over the years the MX riders always seem to grow into better teenagers/adults than others, so long as the interest is maintained, though I must admit I have seen far too many young ones at tracks in tears as a result of being pushed too hard by over keen dads, and so of course when they are old enough to answer back the MX is finished. However from your post it seems that you will not be one of the over-pushers, and I'm sure that you can look forward to many years of pleasure ( and sometimes a little pain ) in the sport with a motivated and happy son. The investment in the KDX will pay off many times over.

 

[whyzee]

Originally posted by theroyz71
My 4 year old got his kdx 50 yesterday.

Congratulations!

He can be a little timid at times and I was beginning to think I had made a mistake. He was afraid to ride it unless I was on it with him. That was my fault because I had already removed the exhaust restrictor before I even gave it to him. I wanted to see what kind of power it had. Well, this morning it started just like yesterday. He would sit on it but wouldn't ride it. I told him that I would put the restrictor back in and adjust the throttle limiter. Thank God. That was all he needed. Now that I slowed it down a bit, he loves it. He's flying all around the field next to our house. He looks like he's been riding for a while. Needless to say, I am very happy now, especially since I was going to spend my x-mas money for some of those expensive training wheels (160.00). I have some pictures that I'll post as soon as I can. I also have some video.

Now I have to take a different stand, your other post showed that you're a little quick to see results. If he's timid, then work at HIS pace. Don't remove, raise, enhance, modify anything until he is too fast for the bike. It's not a contest to see who has the shiniest pipe in the neighborhood. He's going to come to you when he's ready and ask you to make it a little bit faster, take it in steps (his steps)

Needless to say, I am very happy now, especially since I was going to spend my x-mas money for some of those expensive training wheels (160.00)

Make sure he's happy. Sure you're footing the bill, but don't get pissed because he's tired of not riding to your expectations.

 

[CaNaDiAn,Eh?]

Congratulations its great to see more kids getting into the sport, just remember to let him take it at his own pace. It might take some time but pretty soon he'll be leaving you in his dust!!!

 

[theroyz71]

Thank you to those of you who read and responded to my post. You made some good points. First, I posted this same message on 2 other forums, svrider.com and dirttrails.com. I realize I cannot post video or pictures until I become a member. I do plan to join this site, I just haven't yet. I will post images to Sony Imagestation or Yahoo and post link if that is acceptable.

Second, some of you suggested that I should not try to rush my son to improve too fast. I agree 100%. I removed the exhaust restrictor a few weeks ago amid concerns from another parent that the kdx 50 was extremely weak on power. I wanted to try it for myself. Honestly, I wanted to ride it around my yard when my son was away. My concerns were unwarranted as the bike has good power and moves my big but around nicely. Yes, I should have replaced the restrictor before giving him the bike for x-mas.

Third, I'm a little gunshy as to where I should have posted this message in the first place. Someone suggested ride review or something but when I first posted about this bike KDX 50 in the KDX forum, it was moved to the minis forum.

 

[Ol'89r]

Originally posted by theroyz71


Third, I'm a little gunshy as to where I should have posted this message in the first place.

theroyz71.

Congratulations on getting the little guy started. We started my grandson at 4 and he has turned in to quite a good little rider. Like others suggested, let him progress at his own pace. He will turn out to be a much more confident rider this way. Be sure to get him all of the safety gear. Don't spare any expense on this.

You could have probably posted this in the General forum. Since it is about your son's first ride and not bike specific. If you were going to ask a question about the bike, then use the mini's forum.

The General forum will get many more hits than some of the more specific forums. If you are unsure of what forum to use, post it in the General forum. If that is not the correct forum, there is this guy named Rich that will set you straight. :scream: :laugh:

If you think you are excited now, just wait a few years when you both suit up and go riding together. That's when the fun really begins. :thumb:

Ol'89r