Better suspension??? / Critique my son...

usndocjaysin

Well-known member
Sooo... Got him on the "big boy track" again (end of the day with no one else on) and he takes these two "jumps" WFO. He gets a little air but the bike didn't seem to handle it too well, in turn he kinda got wobbley on the landing. He seems to recover well but I can see it being a potential hazard in the future not being able to "jump"/land correctly. I'm not too sure if a suspension up grade would help (and if so what would you recommend??? [jr50]) or some sort of riding position correction would help as well I.e. stand on the pegs a little before the jump/lean back or forward??? I want my son to advance but I want him to be safe for himself and all other riders around him. Any and all help is appreciated!


Link to "epic" jump... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZC0VqF32AU
 

byke

Well-known member
Ran into the same problem. There are no super clean/easy suspension upgrades for the JR50 that I am aware of. Ultimately, I think you will find that changing bikes is the best solution.
 

usndocjaysin

Well-known member
Ran into the same problem. There are no super clean/easy suspension upgrades for the JR50 that I am aware of. Ultimately, I think you will find that changing bikes is the best solution.

Although I don't have the money for it what would you suggest (for future reference)? I have noticed that most kids his age seem to be on these loud crazy modded bikes. They tend to go a lot faster and the suspension seems to be pretty good as well...
 

byke

Well-known member
Something like a little 50cc Cobra/KTM/Polini/LEM would have much better suspension. That upgrade is what killed the fun for my daughter. She didn't like the pipey nature of the higher performance 2T and there is no well suspended 4T equivalent. Your kid looks like an animal, so that probably won't be an issue, but it's something to watch for.
 

Jello_Biafra

bbrraaappp
It's hard to tell at such low resolution but it looks like he's sitting? When the rear hits the lip of the jump it throws his weight forward and he lands with his momentum pushing him over the bars. I think he'd be fine if he stands up.
 

usndocjaysin

Well-known member
It's hard to tell at such low resolution but it looks like he's sitting? When the rear hits the lip of the jump it throws his weight forward and he lands with his momentum pushing him over the bars. I think he'd be fine if he stands up.

Yes... He's sitting. So stand up a bit before the jump??? I imagine its a little like street riding... Raise up off the seat a little when hitting a "bump".
 
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PhoS

[ˈfäs]
You need to work on teaching him the neutral attack position. Ass off the seat, head up, eyes forward, knees and elbows bent. (basically a squat)

qP8aa0r.png


When you're suspending your weight with your arms and legs they help absorb impacts so the suspension has to work a lot less to keep you from "kerplunking". He's still a tyke , don't expect too much too soon. No reason to throw money at "upgrades", he'll outgrow the bike before you know it.
 

usndocjaysin

Well-known member
You need to work on teaching him the neutral attack position. Ass off the seat, head up, eyes forward, knees and elbows bent. (basically a squat)

qP8aa0r.png


When you're suspending your weight with your arms and legs they help absorb impacts so the suspension has to work a lot less to keep you from "kerplunking". He's still a tyke , don't expect too much too soon. No reason to throw money at "upgrades", he'll outgrow the bike before you know it.

Nice tip! Thank you! I will assume this position is maintained before jump and when landing correct???
 

PhoS

[ˈfäs]
Nice tip! Thank you! I will assume this position is maintained before jump and when landing correct???

Ideally this is done 90% of the time , the 10% exception is during hard cornering. Sitting on the bike is basically asking to get bucked off into oblivion by an unexpected bump. I also should have mentioned in my previous post that when you're in this standing attack position you should be gripping the bike with your knees. This gives you control of the bike and doesn't let flop around under you at its own will. :thumbup
 

Maddevill

KNGKAW
Yeah, he should stand up over any jumps and through any rough ground. Make sure he doesn't chop the gas as he hits the jump too. This will make the front end drop. He should stay at steady throttle or blip it even. It's best to land on the rear wheel.
 

usndocjaysin

Well-known member
Ideally this is done 90% of the time , the 10% exception is during hard cornering. Sitting on the bike is basically asking to get bucked off into oblivion by an unexpected bump. I also should have mentioned in my previous post that when you're in this standing attack position you should be gripping the bike with your knees. This gives you control of the bike and doesn't let flop around under you at its own will. :thumbup
Great advise! Thank you! I'll be sure to pass this on in practice next time we go out.
Yeah, he should stand up over any jumps and through any rough ground. Make sure he doesn't chop the gas as he hits the jump too. This will make the front end drop. He should stay at steady throttle or blip it even. It's best to land on the rear wheel.
Idk if the bike will "blip" before a jump... Lol I don't think it has the juice to give an extra little "umph" before going up a jump... Steady on approach I know he can do. Landing while maintaining throttle control is going to be something to practice. Thank you for the info!
 

kxmike

Well-known member
definetly need to practice standing. It's uncomfortable at first but he'll get use to it. There is a certain balance needed to jump a bike correctly and it will take some practice but those jumps in the vid are good safe jumps to start with. Don't worry about the bike too much, there's not much you can do with it and he has much more to gain just by practicing riding.

Little guy railed that flat left hand turn:thumbup:cool
 

Lunch Box

Useful idiot
Since nobody has said it yet, there's nothing cuter than a little dude/dudette zipping around on a dirtbike. Just wanna pinch his little cheeks. Tee hee. :laughing
 

usndocjaysin

Well-known member
definetly need to practice standing. It's uncomfortable at first but he'll get use to it. There is a certain balance needed to jump a bike correctly and it will take some practice but those jumps in the vid are good safe jumps to start with. Don't worry about the bike too much, there's not much you can do with it and he has much more to gain just by practicing riding.

Little guy railed that flat left hand turn:thumbup:cool

Here's another question... Although that left turn wasn't banked very much when should he be putting his foot out? I'm guessing either on sharp turns or heavily banked turns. That about right??? :dunno
 

kxmike

Well-known member
Here's another question... Although that left turn wasn't banked very much when should he be putting his foot out? I'm guessing either on sharp turns or heavily banked turns. That about right??? :dunno

add rutted turns and high speed turns to that.
 

PhoS

[ˈfäs]
Here's another question... Although that left turn wasn't banked very much when should he be putting his foot out? I'm guessing either on sharp turns or heavily banked turns. That about right??? :dunno

Yes , the foot gets more weight on the front end.
 

usndocjaysin

Well-known member
add rutted turns and high speed turns to that.

:thumbup got a new spot where it has a little bit if everything in it that we're going to start practicing this and other things that others have suggested.


:teethTHANK YOU EVERYONE!!!:teeth all these simple things are going to build a great foundation for my son. If anyone has anything else to add please feel free! I want my son to be a SAFE and efficient rider. Anything will help!:thumbup
 

brettmx

Well-known member
I wish the dirt bike community had the same enthusiasm as I see at track days that provide free "coaching" for participants. One thing you may think about is finding someone at the track who looks like they are getting around at a pretty good clip and ask if they would give your little guy a bit of instruction.

I certainly would help a parent/rider out if they asked. Looking at your video getting your little guy to stand up is basic- as is when to transition from sitting to standing and back again. The position of the upper body, legs, and elbow position is hard to describe (You'll hear things like "attack" position etc, You really need someone to have him placed in the position you're looking for when he's on the bike up on a stand). As is positioning when entering a corner- from standing to transitioning to sitting (you just don't plop yourself down). Positioning and throttle control while going up the jump face and position in the air and landing. Corning position of the body and the lean of the motorcylce and throttle control exiting the corner. Of course braking and body position entering the corner- butt is back-slightly off the seat (sometimes just brushing it, other times a bit higher depending on the entry), but the upper body is kind of compressed leaning forward (like I said hard to describe) and using the front brake pretty hard at times. Along with standing up using the front brake is paramount.

It's all practice, practice, practice. I use to go around and around the same berm over and over again, or across a set of whoops. If there is no one around it makes sense to do one section over a number of times and then another section, and then put it all together. He'll learn much faster that way. I was helping a friend's kids out at a local practice area and we spent a lot of time (like 30 minutes) just accelerating out of one turn, standing, braking, sitting, and entering the next turn. And then moving to another section.
 

usndocjaysin

Well-known member
I wish the dirt bike community...

Thanks man that's a lot of good tips! Idk if it'd be cool to go up to random folks and be like "hey my kids a n00b can you help teach him???" It wouldn't hurt to gentley ask for tips I guess though... Just don't want to feel like I'm muscling in on there time wih there little one... I do agree on practice practice practice that's why I seek help here on BARF. Lots of experienced folks here:thumbup
 

brettmx

Well-known member
Thanks man that's a lot of good tips! Idk if it'd be cool to go up to random folks and be like "hey my kids a n00b can you help teach him???" It wouldn't hurt to gentley ask for tips I guess though... Just don't want to feel like I'm muscling in on there time wih there little one... I do agree on practice practice practice that's why I seek help here on BARF. Lots of experienced folks here:thumbup

I wished at times parents would have asked me for some advice. I felt too awkward to go up to someone and offer advice. I've seen a lot of errors that not only limited a rider's potential but could cause a crash. Most of those errors could be corrected with pretty small adjustments.

Watching your son go over that jump sitting down with a constant throttle put him up over the front and could have lead to a crash. That's a very easy mistake to correct. Standing up, letting his legs kind of compress along with his body position on the jump face with a little acceleration and letting the suspension unload as motorcycle takes flight would solve that.
 
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