What I Learned While Teaching My Sons to Ride Dirt Bikes

[Dao]

Folks, this one here's going to be a LONG one....
may stretch out many days, weeks even, b/c I ain't gots no organizational skillzzz I once had to wrap it all up in one tidy post. Expect my ramblings to move forwards, backwards, forwards ...maybe not... but be forewarned. I'll start with two bookends...will fill in the rest.

Bookend Left:
My 1st born, and 1st pics w/ a new digital camera...640 pixels, ftw!

me & mini-me...

First of many lessons, obviously, starts out with teaching him how to walk, how to talk, how to live a full life one day at a time. In Austin, living good and healthy is a given -in part- to the plethora of parks, pools, lakes, and endless outdoor activities available to the public.

As with many newbie parents, taking weekend trips w/ your kid to a local Toys r Us store is magical; the ever escalating impulse buys, endless. That said, his first exposure into the world of power sports began on this battery powered 3 wheeler here:

Somewhere between 3 and 4 yrs old, we gave him a little brother (intro later). Life was moving along at a rather brisk pace, w/ his 4th and 5th birthday having came and went. For his 6th birthday, however, out of the blue...my wife wanted me to get him a "cool" present. I thought, oh please, not another blowout birthday party at some party factory. But, I had no idea that she was thinking about getting him a mini bike.

Well, as with most of you bikers here, you probably rode bikes in your youth.
Then after graduating from school and launching your career and marriage, riding got in the way, and you just put that part of your life aside. My long lost memory of me riding my brother's Yam DT100 unbridled back when I attended high school all of a sudden floated to the top, and in an instant...well, more like 4 days later...I bought him his new toy. Found it in the Green Sheet, (pre-CL days),a mid 80's PW50, 2stroke, w/ its oil injection system disabled, and of all things, this sucker's designed w/ a shaft drive. Look at that rear hub if you don't believe me.

Here, he's holding onto his elbow and looking pretty unhappy b/c he just experienced his first crash.

Lesson learned: WHen you tell a newbie to twist the throttle to go forward, MAKE SURE you tell them to RELEASE/LET GO of the throttle to slow down.
Another Lesson learned thereafter: Finding good moto-specific gear for a 6 yr old is tough. Don't buy online, b/c nothing fits right. You have to fit it on before buying. If I were to do it again, I'd also look at protection pads off the football & soccer & hiking racks. Prices are far less expensive for protection pads, and hiking boots may just be your only choice if shoe sizes are smaller than Toddler 11 or 12. Also, the ever more popular BMX bicycling sport has spawned a new line of lightweight, full size helmets that may be better fitted, lighter, and more comfortable. More about kids' gear later on in the show...
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I have to leave town for a funeral, but will be back to get to put some more meat into this....
Bookend Right, Pic taken last week... DON'T BLINK! They grow up way too quick.

 

[Gravel Guy]

 

[Dao]

One month after....

Decided to postpone my trip for tomorrow. I'm too emotional right now to do anything...

So to continue....

I can't tell you how excited that little tyke got with his new toy, that old, PW50. So what does a father do with this new found love of his? Heck, I used it as a reward mechanism, got him to do just about every chore imaginable w/o any lip service. Right after school, he'd clean out his folder from school, do this and that from his teacher's assignment, clean up his room, eat his veggies, brush his teeth, and then when done, he gets to ride his bike in the back yard.

For the first month or so, all of his riding time was confined to the back yard, which is small, so not alot of room to go fast, thus learning to throttle lightly and brake early became key skills to get right quickly. One neat thing about the PW50 is that, in addition to the shaft drive, it has a left hand rear brake lever instead of a foot pedal. Another 50cc w/ LHRB is the KTM Mini Adventure. The rest have foot pedal brakes. I've noticed that with both my young aged new riders, and other dads' kids too, the handbrake gets used more often and more easily. The rear foot pedal requires an advanced skill, one that even my then 9 yr old was still not able to invoke timely. Not always, but generally speaking, this is the case.

After his 1st crash, I managed to scrounge around for used gear, and this was what I procured.

THe Thor boots were a size 3Y (youth) , he wears a smaller 12T to 1Y. Pants are by Thor, size 22 (he wears 18). Helmet is a XS HJC helmet, their smallest, which also doesn't fit very well. Chest protector is either an MSR or Answer.

Wearing a larger size boot may be fine for riding a PW50 (& other 50cc's) w/ a single gear, but once I moved him up to a 70cc w/ 3 gears to shift and a rr brake pedal, the large size boot impairs with shifting and braking efforts. So it went, I went back to shopping for a smaller size boot and shelved the size2 for a later point in his life.

Anyways, after a couple months of him riding the wheels off his bike around the back yard, I knew I had to figure out how to get him onto a bigger field to open up his skills, and I need me a bike to chase him around. So, once again, the local Green Sheet newspaper showed a seller nearby Austin selling these two items, a 2001 xr70r & a Magnum 3 rail trailer:

The plan was to buy the XR70 for ME to chase him around, and when he outgrows the PW50, he gets the XR70, and I buy/ride the next size larger bike (XR80 or XR100?) ....so I bought the whole kit and caboodle. seller was even kind enough to tow them to my house.

The next weekend, I got us out onto a wide field, and by the end of the day, it was pretty clear that he's about to outgrow his PW. He's got the PW tapped out WFO, and going as fast as he did, that cheap suspension was an accident waiting to happen. So I could either upgrade suspension or upgrade bike.

I went online this time (bye bye green sheet), found the TON board, and Shazam!.... this doozy pops up. A 2000 KTM Pro Jr. It's drive away. No probls, w/ the new trailer I just bought, it'll be a fun road trip to go buy it. So I packed up my two boys for a Saturday drive, and went to Houston to get it.

Little did I know, KTM means ready to race, and this little thing had alot of go fast goodies bolted to it. The pipe is an R&D race pipe & silencer, the stock auto clutch got replaced w/ an R&D racing auto clutch, the carb was a larger size carb taken off the Pro Sr bikes, and the shock was a custom made shock by Charlie Curnutt. Essentially, this could have been a Loretta Lynn race bike, and I bought it for a kid who only had 3 months riding time-ever. So go ahead and tag this as another lesson learned.

Nevertheless, young kids are a marvel to study, they're very resilient, and they learn very quickly...in a month's time, he's riding it on the pegs...

Also, note the car way down in the background...that was my tow vehicle for at least a yr until I bought a p/up truck.

Then right about that time, 5-6 months into the dirt bike world, we joined the AMSA club, and took this sport to a another level. AMSA back then was very active, hosted one family ride day a month, it seemed, and we were invited to join the Milano lease riding property. This pic here was taken at a Family day, I think Rusty's ranch, or maybe Cross Creek...

Also notice the chest protector...if it looks this big on your child, IT'S TOO BIG!!!!! Don't let them wear one that big. The bottom of the chest protector should be right at the belly button. Chalk this down as another lesson learned.

 

[Dao]

By month 9...

...a better pic of the tow car...

it worked fine initially, but once we became members of the riding property way out of town, the lack of ground clearance w/ this car prompted me to consider replacing it w/ a p/up truck instead.

As we began riding more and more in the woods, the KTM SX50 was proving to be more problematic/unreliable, overheats, wouldn't start up. So I decided to move him onto the XR70 asap, even though he could barely touch the ground when seated. However, to do so, I need to replace my chase bike w/ another bike. Well, wouldn't you know it....at a Family day ride at Milano, someone behind us (me on the xr70,) got all frustrated b/c we were riding too slow, at a kiddie's pace, which held her up through the 1st single track loop. When we got out of the loop, she showed me no mercy, hollered at the top of her lungs ..."why don't you ride a real man's bike next time."

That done hurt my feelings...

So, not only will I get me a full size bike, Imma get one such that no one's ever going to talk smack to me again..... Maybe a little roostin' might be required....ya never know.

So here she is....look at that pipe ....that should tell you what bike that is....a '91 CR500, w/ an overdrive 5th gear.

The AMSA club pres took notice my new bike, and just couldn't believe that I went from riding an XR70 to a CR500 in one pass. Couldn't agree w/ him more.

So the XR went to my son,

and for the next 5-6 months, he rode the wheels off that bike at Milano...

After buying the KTM, I bought all new gear to fit him better. The new helmet's a Fulmer, one of the smallest size I found, fits him like a glove, much lighter than the old HJC one. Bought it local after trying it on. Still couldn't find any smaller size mx boots. Instead, I got him these size 1 Youth street riding boots from the local shop. Goggles are youth Scott goggles, still too large, imo.

 

[Dao]

....introducing son #2...

And here we have my two inseparable boys....

Life was hectic, but very rewarding. We couldn't wait for each day to begin so we could take turns taking them out to explore their new world, and take in all the cool parks & pools around Austin. We met alot of moms all over the city, shared phone numbers, did play dates, birthday parties, parents night outs, the whole deal.

They both went to the same preschool, the younger for 1/2 days, older until 2pm. On the days I would pick them up, I liked to pedal them to down town, spend an hr at the Children's Museum, eat a snack along town lake, then pedal back home. Real simple, but so much fun!

My oldest finished pre-K, went to a new school for Kindergarten in '02, and I will never forget this. About a month into kindergarten, I went to his class to watch his first "show and tell". While waiting for his turn, all of a sudden, on the PA, the principal told all the teachers to turn OFF the TV sets immediately. It was 10am, 9-11-2002. You guys no doubt remember what you were doing at that time, I'm sure.



This here's when our routine started to veer off track....a disruption if you will...when I transitioned my oldest onto the XR70....
The sibling force to be inseparable is strong here.

As you may already surmised, we now have 4 dirtbikes for two riders. And, with my oldest's 7 yr old birthday coming up....
Anyways, in the pic, not only is that size 3 boot way too large, but the XR70 is also a bit too tall for him, preventing him from learning to kick start it.

No matter, as the problems above will soon be resolved.

===============================================

So, on his 7th birthday, he got another bike, and with one quick draw of the mighty pen to sign a check, his kickstarting as well as too high a seat problems got resolved.

This is a 2002 TTR90-E, E=estart, and a seat height that is 1"-1.5" lower than the XR70. 1" seat drop may not sound like much, but on a rider who's not even 4' tall yet, 1" seat drop is a big change, for the better in our case. So essentially, this bike fits in between an XR50/CRF50 and an XR70/CRF70. Auto clutch, 3 speed, even comes w/ a brush guard (to protect the e start motor).

5 months prior, after buying the KTM Pro Jr, I became a KTMTALK member, and mostly stayed in the mini section. Then this TTR90 popped up on there for sale, and it was the owner of that website selling it. So I went to buy his bike at his house, and thus our friendship began. You meet the most interesting people as you travel through your m/c journey. We will meet up w/ Pat a few more times.

AMSA club is proving to be a gold mine, for we could expect a Family day ride once a month, and these Family day rides are extra kid friendly, many of them have special sections taped off just for the kiddies. So the adults have their single tracks and the kids have theirs. Perfect!

 

[Dao]

So with a few spare bikes in the garage, I tried to teach my youngest to ride a pw50.

Finding protection for a 2 yr old is practically nonexistent. And I wasn't really getting anywhere with the lessons. So,
I put his skill building on hold...and we did other things....

Like playing indoor video games...

...picnics & swimming

...going to the zoo, eating roman candy...

checking out this competition- what's with these bikes w/o a seat?
this was a summer trials event held in hutto, the property owner is aka Papa Wolf.

 

[Dao]

Meanwhile, big news in the 'hood was that a new MX park opened up east of Austin, about a 45 minute ride...so we started going out there, learning to jump table tops and riding the whoops...

So in between family day rides, just about everybody in the club would also go out to Cross Creek. We did the same...

... found out that they sponsored races, so we started practicing for an upcoming race....

And the first race that we signed up for happened to be a NATIONAL LEVEL WORCS race....it was the first, and sadly, last WORCS race to come to CenTex. Glad we raced in it.

watching practice laps of Ty Davis, pro rider

...standing next to my son at the start of round 1 race

Starting line of his round 2 race


FYI: A WORCS race is both a motocross and woods offroad race.

and here he is, finished his first race...

I also got in on the fun...first race on that fire breathing widow maker...

 

[wanabeguru]

Wish i cud see the pictures

 

[gixxerjasen]

Same here.

 

[Dao]

Lessons learned after our 1st race....

Some of the dads standing around me at the starting line just ruined the magic for their kids. They let their egos get too involved, got "in their faces" way too many times, spooked them w/ fear, and some went over the line w/ cussing them out. Well, two dads in particular. Having personally witnessed this, I was blown away that this sort of abuse was happening. I made sure I never pushed my boys w/ this sport. If they're interested, then fine. If not, no probs.

After owning The CR500 for almost a yr, I finally relented and gave in. The motor is just too big for me to kick over, let alone trying to keep the front end from bucking/looping me out. My right knee was starting to feel the pain from kicking it over.

So it was time to look for a smaller size bike. Wouldn't you know it, one always pops up when you're looking. So I bought this, a 2004 KTM 200SX. I figured a 200cc bike is going to be a nice drop in power. Easy to manage. Boy, could this be further from the truth. This bike had way more snap than the CR500. Once that 200 got on the pipe, it went crazy fast!

By this time, I wanted to get involved in the local hare scramble series races, so , I got the bike dialed in from a local suspension shop. The stock suspension got lowered 1.25" and revalved for hare scrambles.

Then bold new graphics...

even let the kid have a go at it...

After our WORCS race, I picked up this basket case JR50; our summer time project. I showed my son how to turn wrenches, how to fasten/unfasten things, how to put it back together. We actually got it running!

As the old chinese proverb goes....

give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime

....to date, the teachings continue to multiply...
that youngin knows how to maintain and fix bikes...

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My youngest son's now at a ripe age to learn to ride. so I wanted to get him a bike w/ a lower seat b/c the PW50 we have is still a couple inches too tall for him to touch the ground. I thought about shaving the seat on the PW50, but decided to just go with a smaller size bike. The specs for the suzuki Jr50 not only sat 1" lower than the PW50, but on the newer models, (not the basket case JR50 that we resuscitated) the suspension could be raised 1" higher. So this looks like the bike that can/will replace the PW50.

In 2003, suzuki and Kaw had done a merger, and did something crazy, like sell identical bikes but w/ different colors.....so..... rather than a JR50..... I contacted a newly opened Kaw dealer and poked around for a KDX50 (a JR50 w/ green plastics). He had one in stock, so off I went to go see it. He also showed me the new KLX110 that he just got in.

The KLX110 had a seat height that is 1" taller than the XR70, 2" taller than the TTR90, and with elec start. Since my oldest is going to hit another growth spurt...might not be a bad idea to get it.

I resisted...the dealer threw in new helmets and shirts w/ the sale,

I cut him a check, and loaded them onto our trailer.

My oldest had no problems getting used to this KLX110. even I liked how it rode. Pretty solid trail bike, it handled really nice and felt lighter than the XR70 or TTR90.

Then it was onto teaching my younger son how to ride a dirt bike.
Even with the suspension set to lowest, still I had to shave the seat down so he could reach the ground. In hindsight, glad I didn't shave down the PW50 seat as it wouldn't be enough of a seat drop.

The KDX comes with 2 restricters installed from the factory. One is a washer in the headpipe and the other is a spacer in the carb. Initially, I left them alone, and noticed that the bike takes a long time to get moving. I took the washer out of the headpipe. This helped get the bike moving quicker from rest, making it easier to learn to ride. I kept the spacer in the carb, but once my youngest got the hang of riding on 2 wheels, the spacer in the carb also came out.

The KLX110 has a throttle limiting screw to restrict how far open the throttle could be twisted. The throttle limiting screw would prove to be a necessary device when my youngest moved up to the KLX. That motor has alot of power!

 

[Dao]

Sorry about the broken pics....I was trying to cheat the upload system...if y'all still don't see pics, let me know.

moving along....
With all of these new bike purchases, I started to see my existing tow vehicle becoming ill equipped to accommodate our needs. So I mounted a top cargo box to carry all of our gear, helmets, boots, and used the trunk for tools, spare parts, cooler, extra clothes, anything else that we would need to transport.

I bought this 2 door back in '99 off a Dallas car lot. IT was to be my weekend autocross car. It's a rather unique bimmer in that (a) it's a gray market car (b) it came from the bmw factory with a straight six cylinder 2.3L motor, a close ratio (dogleg) 5 speed trans, 4 wheel disc brakes, mechanical fuel injection, electronic ignition, and straight dual exhaust w/o catalytic converter.

Taking my boys for a ride in this car was a joy for me, and a real treat for the two kiddos. It made old school noises, revved to the moon, and handled like a go cart.

All I had to do was just put the boys inside the car and they'd have fun for hours.
So naturally, we loved getting into this car to go just about anywhere...

But the writing was on the wall, and so it had to be done....
I went to the local dealer and got us a new truck. 2003 Tundra LTD.

And with that, we started to camp and ride.

FYI....I'm not a camper...in fact, up to this point, I've NEVER camped in my life. So, I learned quite alot about camping from teaching my sons how to ride dirt bikes. Looking back at this point in time, I can now see how much of a positive and healthy impact camping made on my sons because, two or 3 yrs later, each became...

a Cub and Boy Scout. They both dragged me to the first open meeting and forced me to sign them up.

 

[Countingcoup]

Great write up
Everytime I read a story like this I get so excited about my Son. But we are still working on the bicycle without training wheels. All good things come to those who wait...thanks for sharing

 

[weekend_warrior]

A great story of Motorcycle and memories! A friend of mine just past yesterday. He was on the trail with his oldest grandson. His story plays out much like yours.

 

[mattc]

This is great. Thank you for taking the time to write this up.

 

[duchess]

 

[sKatZ]

Dao, you are the best dad ever. Your wife is undoubtedly equally awesome! This will make me smile all day.

 

[Dao]

..moving along....
One late summer, on my way home from Houston in my p/up truck, I came across someone on the side of the hwy selling these brand new pocket bikes. This was a time when the china made bikes were all invading our supply chain, and even the local Pep Boys auto parts store (later on, Tractor Supply) had them in their stores. Well, I just thought this would be a nice way to spend some free time migrating into some pavement riding. So I surprised my boys with these two pocket bikes.

The cafe racer had the lowest seat height, so naturally, my youngest confiscated this one right away. So we got geared up, took it down to our local elementary school a block from our house, and I just let the two boys rip around the parking lot. Immediately, I saw how much faster the little bike got up and went, so I put my youngest onto the taller, but slower one.

For the next couple of months, during the weekday when we didn't have the time to go dirt riding, these two were in hog-heaven just wringing these suckers going around and around and around the parking lot. It got to be so routine, that I'd bring a book or a magazine w/ me and just read while they burned up the gas.

You have to admit...those cheezy pocket bikes, especially that harley looking one, fits a 4yr old like a glove, does it not?

 

[Dao]

That was then, this is now....

So in hindsight, by teaching my boys this early to ride something - anything - w/ a motor, I would like to think that I provided them the necessary time to learn how to control the speed of a motorized vehicle, develop that peripheral vision to sense danger/something getting too close, to instinctively hit the brakes w/o thinking...to equip them with additional driving skills before they first enroll into a driving class and getting a driver's license. Since laws don't allow young kids to sit behind and drive a car at a young age, riding dirt bikes is the next best thing to give them these valuable skills.

 

[sKatZ]

Well done, Dao! Neither I nor my sons had the fun of learning together but we sure have had the joy of riding together. It matters. It's wonderful!

 

[Dao]

Agreed, Skatz....Just spending time with them is all that matters really.
Doesn't hurt to spend that time riding dirt bikes w/ them that's for sure!

So by the summer of 2004, my oldest has been alternating between riding his TTR90 and the new KLX110. He's faster/more comfortable on the TTR90, but the KLX110 being taller is helping him get ready for his next bike, one with a manual clutch, and even taller seat height than his KLX110.

FOund an old vid of my Son racing me for kicks. This was before Gopro....
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yqzcv4FPIA"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yqzcv4FPIA[/ame]

Also, with alot of AMSA club members (including us) now migrating to Cross Creek MX Park, I decided to accelerate his progress and got him a used KTM 65SX to learn to do jumps and to learn the manual clutch concurrently while the KLX110 became his woods riding bike. Best of both worlds.

The 65sx we got has good suspension but it was setup too stiff, so i sent the suspension off to a mini expert racing shop, TH racing in DFW, and got it revalved and resprung for that 50lb featherweight of mine.

Those who've been to Cross Creek MX will remember the kid's MX track in the back of the property. That area was filled with so many young kids riding their bikes out there. We practically lived there ( & Cycle Ranch, 3 palms, Liberty Hill MX (remember that place? )) almost every weekend.

With my youngest, I tried a couple of times putting him on the KTM Pro Jr (my oldest outgrew) for learning to do jumps, but that bike just had way too much power for him, so come Christmas, I got him a less powerful KTM, a mini adventure, as his next bike to move up to.

The suspension on the KTM is so much better than the KDX50, so the sooner I got him moved up to the KTM, the better. The KDX50 sitting lower to the ground for him to reach made this a much better bike for riding in the woods. Well, if there's one constant, it's kids will grow. WIthin 5-6 months, by summertime, my youngest grew enough to fit into this KTM.

Yay! We're now a KTM family....

 

[Dao]

The more he rode the KTM, the more we really liked this Mini adventure. It just seemed like it could turn and stop easier, better than the KDX50 or the PW50, and the motor produced more usable power down low in the rpms. son started to pick better lines and just rode so much smoother.

Notice that the KTM Mini has a left hand rear brake, vs a foot brake. For a very young rider, this is what they need, no doubt about it. The foot brake never gets used at this age, whereas BOTH lever gets used every single time he brakes. Big difference, imo.

Riding his KTM, he won this trophy in a 4th of July riding contest. He raced in a poker run out at Outlaw Trax and got the best hand of cards.

This trophy was a prize donated by Mike Alessi.
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With my oldest, once he got used to the manual clutch KTM SX65, he didn't want to ride the auto clutched KLX110, TTR90, or the XR70 anymore. He said it just wasn't as much fun, and he'd rather ride the KTM in the woods. I didn't see that coming. Nevertheless, one of those bikes could still be used for my youngest in a couple yrs, so I sold off the XR70. But in an effort to pump some new blood into the KLX, I noticed that Baja Designs offered a lighting kit, and thought it'd be a cool Christmas present for the boy. So I got it, installed the kit, and converted the KLX110 to a dual sport mini.

Sure enough, that got his attention, and so he started riding the KLX again, mainly to scare everyone w/ that loud horn

 

[Dao]

By now, we're starting our 3rd year of dirt biking, and I'm gung-ho deep into this. I'm doing some hare scramble racing on my 200sx, and about to prepare my oldest to join in on the fun. My oldest is 8, is riding both MX and trails, but about to outgrow his KTM 65sx. For him, when his heel touches the ground (flat footed) when seated on the bike, that's when I start looking for a bigger bike. He's getting very close to doing so, so off I go on the hunt for his next bike. I'm staying w/ an MX bike mainly for the suspension, and not consider any trail bikes for now. Definitely a 2 stroke for the low maintenance and light weight. And as usual, one crosses my path in no time, but this one belongs to TH RACING, the shop that did our 65SX's suspension. This YZ85 was 1 of 4 practice bikes built by the owner for his son, a Loretta Lynn qualifier. So I took a drive up to his shop in DFW, looked it over, and bought it.

The motor is stuffed, ported, and head cut for racing fuel.

After spending a few months owning and riding this bike, it became apparent that since this bike's setup for MX, when he rides in the woods, the gearing's too tall, suspension's valved too stiff, the power is all top overrev, and it's sucking down race fuel like crazy. It was an ideal bike for jumping and MX'ing, but would bog and kept flaming out and stall at the worst times when riding in the woods.

Also, right about this time, a new MX track opened up in town, so we started going out there as the drive was only 20 minutes, nearby the airport (vs 50 mins to Cross Creek). These pics were taken there, Del Valle MX Park.

So I'm leaning once again towards a having dedicated MX bike and a dedicated woods bike, just like what I have done recently for me. I buoght a 2nd KTM for MX, and using my 200sx for woods racing.

So the intended plan is this: we'll keep the TH racing just for MX, and I'll get another YZ85, and tune it with various aftermarket parts to make it better suited for woods racing. Finding used YZ85's was really difficult, not sure why, for we saw quite a few of them on the MX tracks. So, with time slipping away, and the STORM races in full swing, I decided to buy new. I went to a dealer to look at buying one of his. When I got there, I saw that he had about 5-6 YZ85 on the showroom. I asked, and he makes me a killer deal on two. So, new plan.... got these two new ones instead, and sold the TH RACING YZ85.

 

[Dao]

To prep this YZ85 for offroad, I just did a few basic mods....lowered the suspension w/ a Kouba link, installed a Boyesen RAD valve, put in a straight taper needle, added a flywheel weight, and one tooth smaller c/s sprocket. These very simple mods completely transformed the bike, and made it much smoother & easier for him to ride.

With this other one, we left it bone stock, just leaned the jetting out a tad. Other than that, it needed nothing for him to ride MX. Son put some fancy stickers on it to dress it up a little.

and in no time ....we're off to have some fun at the races...

 

[Dao]

.... me on the new KTM talking w/ son at the starting line...
doesn't he looks tiny compared to everyone around him? That's what a typical 8 yr old looks like on a lowered yZ85.

Then we tried our hands on some enduro racing ...

.this one's
at Red River m/c park....

...and came home w/ a medal.

Goodness gracious! How time flies when you're having fun...

 

[Dao]

Now that we're rubbing elbows w/ weekend racers from all over the states, one thing becomes clear. Everyone showing up at the races is towing some sort or rig....little rig, medium rig, big rig. It becomes clear that since there's alot of down time in between a race, often times, heat, rain and cold has to be dealt with while waiting for a race or two to begin. So the more protection you can put between you and the elements, the better. When I was racing solo, I didn't see a need for going all out on a rig of some type. I put a camper top on the p/up, slept & changed into my riding gear inside of it, and brought along a folding pop up tent canopy to cover the bike, tools, and occasionally cook breakfast out of it.

But once my sons got in on the fun, and we're now bringing not only our race bikes but also pit/play bikes, and staying 2-3 days solid away from civilization.... more food, water, and fuel needs to be carried along as well, not to mention spare parts and wheels even. So I decided to get an enclosed trailer, and then build the inside w/ racks and set it up according to my needs. This 16x7 trailer came up for sale, brand new w/ the graphics already applied on it.... and so w/ the stroke of a pen, the check was written.

This trailer was a 2nd place or 3rd place prize for a race that never happened b/c the racing series went belly up before the flag was ever dropped. The seller wound up with this trailer b/c he worked for the promoter of ATTACK MX, and after it went bankrupt, the trailer became his compensation paid. The graphics is a full wrap, costing the promoter about $3k to have it applied. Everywhere I went towing that trailer, people thought I was some hot shot motocross champ or I owned a moto racing team.

First couple mods I did to it right after buying it was to make some wheel chocks to strap down the bikes. I got some lumber , screwed the 2x6 beam against the left side of the wall, added w/ some screw hooks for tie straps and made it so that 6 full size dirt bikes can fit inside the trailer on a diagonal.

Then I installed some overhead cabinets to store riding shirts, helmets, pads, boots, and built cabinets up front for more storage space.

And the icing on the cake is that I could park it in my back yard. No home owners association to have to jump hoops through. Being able to keep this trailer in the back yard is like having a second garage! All the bikes, gear, tools, compressor, parts, everything necessary for a weekend outing on bikes stayed inside the trailer. Just hook it up and go ride. Spoiled me rotten.