JR50 Mods and replacment (BIGGER) tires..

[gra03cobra]

I love the KTM....BUT heard of alot of problems with them...(Race bike more maitness and more broken parts...cain..cluch...so on)...You play you pay...I know I have an 2003 Mustang cobra that is a race car....

[MODIT]

If looking to replace the jr with LEM r2 or KTM sx pro jr, be advised that these bikes make a heap more power than the ZUK. You are jumping your kids from 2hp to 15. These bikes stand right up when you crack the throttle. There is a guy in Leola, PA(miller's cycle); this guy specializes in hop-ups and motor mods. He offered to bump my son's lem LX2 from 3hp to around 7hp, carb and motor mods for around $200 + shipping. He likes to get the whole bike so he can dyno, etc. Not sure if he does Zuks but $200 would be a lot cheaper than the extra 2 bills you'll need for the KTM or LEM racer. Recheck seat height and wheel base on these bikes before unloading the suzuki. Parts are pretty easy to get for these bikes on line. Gas Gas makes only one model mini...the ECboy 50, it is an enduro. Awesome quality(better than LEM), but it is tall in the saddle and is not meant for motocross. Most of these bikes are 25inch or more in the saddle, so if you don't want to catch your child every time he/she wants to stop, keep the ZUK. I have run into the same problem, my youngest is 6 and is really short but a really aggressive rider, tries to pull the bars off the JR50. the only competetive bikes in the mini market right now are KTM and LEM, but to get the seat height i need for my son, I would have to put him on the air cooled models which put out the same amount of ponies as the Zuk 50 for about 1500 more dollars. These bikes look cool like the race models but are definitely slower without the liquid cooling. The air cooled models cannot benefit from the EZ 3 shoe clutch either. I feel that I am stuck with the under-powered JR50 until my boy gets a little taller in the inseam. Thanks for listening, I share your pain in the persuit of more power!

[digipoi]

Thread resurrector!!! Naw. What Im looking more towards lately is the TTR-50E. Seems like just what the doc ordered being that my son is very trail oriented. He needs hill climb power, believe this should do.

[MODIT]

digipoi, thread resurrector I am...still haven't bought yet? ttr-50e, nice looking bike. It definitely caught my eye at the dealership a few months ago. Yep, its a nice, heavy bike. Not to shoot the bike down but why would yamama-ha put an e-start on a 50 for kids?! Next question: when are they going to put a real fender on the kids' bikes so you don't have to scrape 50lb of mud from around the head after every ride? this fact alone adds about 12lbs in mud. might as well have built a warn winch to mount to this little scoot. e-starts are for old broken riders like myself. I race harescramble, lots of hill climb in the mud. These kids are running KTM, lem, polini for off-road. The KTMs dominate.

[digipoi]

I like the KTM very much. The e-start is mainly because my son is still not strong enough to kick start and I hate looking for a spot to lean my ride when he has problems. My son's five but out grew the JR which hasnt been working well for a while and really is just not a power horse. Our problem here in Hawaii is the dealers havent a clue when they will get in the TTR-50. Ive been popping in and out for months asking when when when. Might just break down and get a KTM soon. Shoot, I just picked up a kick stand for my RM so I guess I wont really need the e-start anymore. lol.

[MODIT]

I understand you posts were a long time ago but I'm in need of help now. Did the Fatty pipe and silencer help?

[bwproducts2000]

Well, the KTM, LEM, King Cobra and even the Beta minicross are all prone to heavy maintenance. All these bikes have came a long way though, but if you think about race bikes in general, money made from these dealerships are all in parts, rather then just selling the bikes. This also depends on how your child races them. Enough about that! This is just general insight to these 50cc race models. Lets talk about Horsepower- The way that the majorjority of horsepower is rated is a misconception- These bikes are rated(which not all tell you) is the breaking horsepower (BHP) of the bike in a certain rpm range. Yes, all these bikes do not have the same BHP. If it is more lower end you are seeking and trying to keep the same top end, then you need to get off the suzuki and go to one of these race bikes, although I feel for you and your son about the "fit' of the bike, ie . too big, can't touch the ground ect. ect., he will adapt and overcome, this is a proven fact!! Also, you need to answer where your son at this time is going with his racing. Is he racing AMA, outlaw races, or both! Your son with a much more powerful race bike will definitely adapt to throttle response, either learning easily or the hard way. Power in these bikes are in the clutch setup. You can certainly adjust these clutch's so the hit is hard or soft. The first thing you would definitly hear would be the blipping of the throttle(because of the power and hit). And to keep it short, understand that 90% of winning in the 4-6 and 7-8 class is RIDER abilities, not solely on the bike itself. If you understand this fact, then you can make a wise decision on the bikes I listed above for which one is right for you!

[digipoi]

Well, heres my little update. I went ahead and upped my son from the JR50 to the TTR-90E. Its a tad bit large for my son but I thought about the future and expenses. So far so good. He can ride that puppy through all the easy stuff no problem. He has a little bit of a hard time stopping and leaning to one side with one leg to hold the bike up. The bike can surely climb all the hills he would get stuck on, and then some.

The bike is a little heavy though weighting in around 140lbs. The 2 things I like the most are the seat height and e-start. The seat height on this 90 is a couple of inches lower than the honda 70. The electric start is a breeze, I no longer have to help him start the bike (though he cant pick it up after a fall cause its an anchor). The bike is like riding a cadillac. He has started to jump his skate ramp after two days of riding. Scary stuff.

Ill be tearing the old JR50 apart and doing a thorough cleansing. Ill then be re-installing the training wheels to get it ready for dirt rider number two. Hand-me-downs are a blessing for this sport, it can ease the pocket strain. Suzuki needs their line up of 4 stroke minis. If they offered it, I probably would have purchased one. Oh well.