Author Topic: My Kid's Getting a Dirt Bike (Read 5403 times)

B6Matt · « **on:** June 04, 2005, 12:09:02 AM »

As luck would have it, I was in a M/C shop today and I heard a lady ask one of the employees if they bought used kids' dirt bikes. The shop worker said "no," so I asked the lady what she had. She didn't even know what it was (Suzuki 80 was all she knew), but offered to show the bike to me. (I had been in the market for a used dirt bike for my son).

Turned out to be a nice Suzuki DS 80, which is a two-stroke enduro-style bike. It started the second kick and I rode it around a bit. It seems to be tuned on the mild side for a 2-stroke, but moved out pretty well. The brakes are pretty piss poor (drum brakes), but otherwise it ran well. No fork dampening, other than friction. Not an MX race machine, but an excellent starter bike.

We agreed on a $650 price. I'm going to clean/freshen it up and give it to my son for his 11th birthday on the 29th, if I can hold out that long. I might put some new number stickers on it. It could use new tires, but nothing that has to be done right away.

PitterB4 · « **Reply #1 on:** June 04, 2005, 12:24:06 AM »

Damn, that's cool, Matt. My son would love something like that. His friend has a PW50 that he totally loves. If it's in decent shape, that seems like a great price. Have fun!

mike · « **Reply #2 on:** June 04, 2005, 09:34:54 AM »

That's great Matt,betcha your son will luv it... When I was growing up my best friend riding buddy had a DS 80, then moved to a KX80 several years later. I know the bikes have changed a bunch, but I remember the DS being a rock solid beginner bike with a mild top end, it saw many trails and creek beds and never missed a beat. He still had it when we were riding motocross on 125's and 250's, and used it as a minibike to get around. That thing never did die. When I saw him last before leaving home at 18, he still had it. Great bike and memories.
Mike :)

tacoman · « **Reply #3 on:** June 04, 2005, 02:31:20 PM »

Great idea. Its good to see parents starting kids on user-friendly starter bikes off road. Your son will learn good riding skills and respect what a motorcycle can do. Not to mention learning some responsibility (use of a bike is great leverage when he doesn't want to do homework, etc) and maintenance. The worst thing in the world is when some 18 year old kid whose never ridden a bike buys a gsxr, watches some extreme videos, then hits the road.

12sdrag · « **Reply #4 on:** June 04, 2005, 06:35:34 PM »

dude, that`s awesome. I bought my son his first dirt bike at the age of 8 (JR 80) he rode it once, dumped it and never got back on. Then a week later I broke both bones in my right fore arm.(YZ250) After my son saw the xrays ,I can`t get him to go anywhere near a bike.Hope you have better luck?

B6Matt · « **Reply #5 on:** June 05, 2005, 12:07:11 AM »

I was tinkering around with it a little tonight. It's in really good shape. Paint hasn't event been rubbed off the frame by the foot pegs. Everything is intact. Clutch cable is really stiff, so I tried to lube it up some. Unlike bicycle cables, you can't pull the cable out of the housing because the barrels are soldered on both ends, so I guess I'll blast some WD 40 in and then follow up with some cable lube.

mike · « **Reply #6 on:** June 05, 2005, 01:42:45 PM »

Wow, Matt... If was a kid getting that bike, I'd have to pinch myself to wake up.. They've really changed alot since that old orange DS80 my friend had years ago.

A little tip we used to use on mud caked stiff and frozen cables is... If you can, remove the whole cable. Coil it up and soak in a big coffe can of gear oil.. Flex it all around to work in the oil til you can move the cable back and forth freely. Hang it up to drip dry, and wipe it down with wd40 to get rid of all extra oil. Reinstall, it'll feel almost like new.

Good luck, you and your son will have blast...

B6Matt · « **Reply #7 on:** June 05, 2005, 04:29:43 PM »

Thanks, Mike. As it turns out, the rubber part of the housing has worn off the clutch cable in one spot and it was letting crud inside the housing, so it was crusty at that point. I ran WD40 through, then Tri Flow. Cleaned the outside of the cable up and taped it up for now, but I'll be looking for a new cable.

Pulled the rear wheel off and the brake drum surface was nasty, so I cleaned it up really well with a light sanding and then wiped it down. The brake shoe linings were thick, so I suspect the rear brake was just not used much.

The chain adjusters are almost maxed out, but the teeth on the sprockets look good. Either the chain is stretched or somebody put a long chain on it. I may take a link out.

One thing that I don't like about the bike is the clutch lever and brake lever perches do not have barrel adjusters. It's sort of a chintzy setup. I might upgrade those eventually.

Anybody know what type of oil to put in the case of this thing

B6Matt · « **Reply #8 on:** June 07, 2005, 11:28:49 PM »

Mild top end, yes. But it will pull up the front wheel by cracking the throttle in 1st gear.

Fortunately, my son isn't exactly a wild man...he'll be cautious. Don't know if I can wait until his b-day.

tacoman · « **Reply #9 on:** June 08, 2005, 01:44:22 PM »

try terrycable.com, they have just about anything you could need.

B6Matt · « **Reply #10 on:** June 13, 2005, 10:51:03 PM »

We'll be out of town on his birthday, so I sprung it on him tonight.

Surprisingly, he didn't struggle too much with the manual clutch, despite this being his first time riding a mc (other than a ride on the back of Dad's Bandit).

Well, he did have a little trouble stopping at first, and my fence paid the ultimate price! Thank goodness the panels weren't too firmly attached to the posts.

PitterB4 · « **Reply #11 on:** June 13, 2005, 10:58:02 PM »

Man - that's awsome, Matt! I'll bet he's thrilled.

Red01 · « **Reply #12 on:** June 13, 2005, 11:05:41 PM »

Looks like he'll quickly outgrow it... looks a little on the small side for him already.
Still a good bike to cut his teeth on. Just be sure he doesn't start making berms in your yard - or worse yet, doubles and triples.

B6Matt · « **Reply #13 on:** June 13, 2005, 11:13:27 PM »

He's pretty thrilled. Mom even had a smile on her face and noted that he took to it quickly.

Yeah, Paul, I was surprised how big he looked on it already, but it IS a good bike to cut his teeth on. An XR100 would probably fit him, though.

He hasn't taken it out of first gear yet.

PitterB4 · « **Reply #14 on:** June 13, 2005, 11:21:00 PM »

BTW - cut your grass already!