65sx help

[Qtip314]

Anyone ever lowered a 65sx? My son just turned 8 and I got this bike for a sweet deal, its an 05 65SX, and I sold his 50sx Pro JR already before he got up to speed on the 65, he is rearing to go, he can start it by himself, its just a lil too tall for him. I am thinking of cutting the seat down, but thought I would check for shock adjustments first, before I go cutting into the seat. Any thoughts? Oh yeah, bike has modded suspension front and rear from Marshals. I just had the forks resealed and shock rebuilt. I am going to look through the manual and see if anything helps. Thanks in advance!

[charlz]

No linkage so suspension has to be shortened internally to lower the bike. You could maybe give it some more sag so it will be lower when he is on it. Kids grow fast, this problem might solve itself in a few months. You could just teach him to always stop next to a rock, dirt bank, log etc ?

[gmoss357]

How much lower does it need to be? The seat height isn't too bad on them to start.

I would likely just raise the forks in the clamps and take preload off the rear spring as like charlz said, kids grow fast.

My oldest (10) rides an 08 65SX, but my youngest (6), rides a 50 Sen Adv which is a little tall for him. I raised the forks as much as I could and took preload out of the rear spring. He can tippy toe for now and as he grows I can easily adjust.

If you want to spend the money, then have it lowered internally as mentioned. Shaving the seat could help some as well, but I doubt you can go far with it.

[Qtip314]

im just going to take some preload out of the shock and raise the forks in the triples, thats a good idea, he just moved up from a 50SX JR, and it was getting a lil small for him, but he can barely throw a leg over the 65, he can hold it up by himself, and if I keep it steady he can start it by himself too. So Im going to lower it the best I can and let him go.......thanks everyone for the input.

[gmoss357]

im just going to take some preload out of the shock and raise the forks in the triples, thats a good idea, he just moved up from a 50SX JR, and it was getting a lil small for him, but he can barely throw a leg over the 65, he can hold it up by himself, and if I keep it steady he can start it by himself too. So Im going to lower it the best I can and let him go.......thanks everyone for the input.

my oldest son outgrew his KX 65 so fast it he didn't even get to ride it that much. The SX isn't any taller, but much roomier in the cockpit and he seems much more confident with it. I am hoping he gets another good year of riding out of it. Sounds like your son will have several years of riding ahead of him on his SX. ?

[Qtip314]

well preload taken out, forks raised in triples and its still too tall, lol, so I removed the seat cover and I am about to shave the seat down. I have never seen my son so pumped to ride, so this is my last resort!!! If it comes down to him hitting a growth spurt this summer, I will just find a seat on Ebay and raise it back up, but I think he will have a few summers of ripping ahead of him!

[gmoss357]

well preload taken out, forks raised in triples and its still too tall, lol, so I removed the seat cover and I am about to shave the seat down. I have never seen my son so pumped to ride, so this is my last resort!!! If it comes down to him hitting a growth spurt this summer, I will just find a seat on Ebay and raise it back up, but I think he will have a few summers of ripping ahead of him!

My 10 year old grew 4"+ in 6 months last fall. He rode before football started and then again after Christmas and it was clear the KX had become too cramped.

Can you tell how much more he needs to touch or tippy toe?

You can count on them growing though. hehe ?

[Qtip314]

well the poor boy doesnt have a chance, Im 5'7 and his mom is 5'9, so he is gonna be a shorty, he can hold the bike up by himself, but he has his knee just over the seat and cant reach the other peg with his foot. So when I tell him to switch his footing, he falls over, everytime, its actually kinda funny cause he is so pumped to ride this thing, he keeps trying over and over and falls everytime. He can pick it up, so I know he is ready, I just need to get him comfortable on it, cause we have to learn how to use the clutch and shift too. I am sure once the seat gets trimmed a bit, he will be fine.

[gmoss357]

well the poor boy doesnt have a chance, Im 5'7 and his mom is 5'9, so he is gonna be a shorty, he can hold the bike up by himself, but he has his knee just over the seat and cant reach the other peg with his foot. So when I tell him to switch his footing, he falls over, everytime, its actually kinda funny cause he is so pumped to ride this thing, he keeps trying over and over and falls everytime. He can pick it up, so I know he is ready, I just need to get him comfortable on it, cause we have to learn how to use the clutch and shift too. I am sure once the seat gets trimmed a bit, he will be fine.

haha, it is still fun, though. I am sure you will get it worked out. ?

[Qtip314]

haha update!! SUCCESS!!!! The shaving of the seat worked!!! He can barely tippy toe the bike now, but he can switch his footing and start it and still have his footing all by himself! Time to go hit the pasture this weekend for some clutch learning fun! Time to ride!?

[gmoss357]

haha update!! SUCCESS!!!! The shaving of the seat worked!!! He can barely tippy toe the bike now, but he can switch his footing and start it and still have his footing all by himself! Time to go hit the pasture this weekend for some clutch learning fun! Time to ride!?

Very cool! ?

It's on like Donkey Kong!!!!

[charlz]

haha update!! SUCCESS!!!! The shaving of the seat worked!!! He can barely tippy toe the bike now, but he can switch his footing and start it and still have his footing all by himself! Time to go hit the pasture this weekend for some clutch learning fun! Time to ride!?

Sweet! One thing I did with my son to help teach him the clutch was to take him to a small slope, like the face of a jump, and have him ease the clutch out to roll up slightly then back down, roll up slightly and then back down. Gives them a feel for the engagement point and teaches them the clutch is not all 'pop it and go'. It took about 20 mins before he could start off without stalling and in about 2 weeks he was better at clutch work than me ?

[Qtip314]

thats a great idea!!! I will give that a try, and thats what I am worried about, my boy getting faster(well im not that fast anyhoo) than his old man....im sure it will happen sooner before later...

[charlz]

and thats what I am worried about, my boy getting faster(well im not that fast anyhoo) than his old man....im sure it will happen sooner before later...

Someone on here had the tag line "My kids used to look up to me, now they just look back for me.' ? My son is now on a 105 and that day is coming soon ?

[Qtip314]

WOOHOO we nailed it, still a lil sloppy on the clutch release, but he can start and stop all by hisself, and restart when he kills its, I was surprised at how fast he actually got the thing moving, we have not shifted yet, but we can start and stop!!!