ATV fun

abheye · Sep 5, 2002

My son on his old Suzuki.

njrqs · Sep 5, 2002

My guy is 2 and already I am eyeing them off for him.

They aren't cheap though.

Any do's/don'ts in selecting a quad (as we call them) for young kids?

Cheers

DUMBDOG · Sep 6, 2002

When selecting the quad for the young one, make sure that you adhere to the manufacturers guidelines as far as age and the size of the machine. Follow all of the guidelines they give you.

These rules are for the safety of the person driving the atv. You do not want to end up at the emergancy room or worse.

cowboydoc · Sep 6, 2002

You do not want to end up at the emergancy room or worse.

ON motorcycles or atv's, esp. with kids, it's not a matter of when you're going to the er it's a matter of how bad it's going to be.

qwerty15 · Sep 6, 2002

ON motorcycles or atv's, esp. with kids, it's not a matter of when you're going to the er it's a matter of how bad it's going to be.

I wouldnt say that. Ive been riding for 8 years and haven gotten hurt bad yet. I started on a yamaha 80 enduro motorcycle and only dumped it a couple times. Then we got a honda oddysey(sp?) and flipped that 3 times. That 4 point harness hurts you neck! Rolled my kawasaki 220 quad 5 times. during the winter i was racing through the woods on the 220 and there was an ice patch the back end slid out hit a sapling and threw me. I dumped my dads 250 dirt bike once and i rolled my garden tractor. Maybe im just real lucky. Make sure your kid has all the gear. (gloves, helmet, goggles, maybe a chest protector, long pants, boots, long sleeve shirt) Oh yeah any ideas on convincing my dad to let me get a suzuki Z400 quad?

s1120 · Sep 7, 2002

<font color=red>Oh yeah any ideas on convincing my dad to let me get a suzuki Z400 quad</font color=red>

Be VERY VERY good./w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

I got to say, with your record, are you sure YOU want one./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Oh, and Ihave been there. I roled a garden tractor, and got 17 stiches in my knee from roling my ols ATC. People always tell me how dangerous the old 3 wheel atv were, and I tell them it was not the ATC, it was me. I would have hurt myself on anything! I just like to call it "pushing the envelope" /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

qwerty15 · Sep 7, 2002

I really didnt want my 220 but the only other choice i had was a 160 suzuki. Of course i picked the bigger one. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif I dont like ATC's because they kill your stomach the next day. I think the oddysey might be worse than an ATC because there is no rear suspension. The great thing about them it that its belt drive like a snowmobile. The z400 seems like the best bang for the buck. The 400ex is the same price but it is air cooled and the z400 is liquid. Yamaha raptor is 800 dollars more and you get another 260cc's but i think that would be too much for me to handle right now.

s1120 · Sep 7, 2002

<font color=red>Yamaha raptor is 800 dollars more and you get another 260cc's but i think that would be too much for me to handle right now. </font color=red>

One thing I learned from motorcycles also relates to ATV's. It's a lot more fun to ride a slow bike fast, then a fast bike slow.

SANDBURR · Sep 7, 2002

Guys I have been riding all my life and the manufacture's age ratings are forced on them by the government. It is a load of crap. The child abilltiy and size should determine what he can and can't ride.
And it is the responsiblity of the parents to teach them how to ride safely and with respect for other riders. Don't just turn them loose and let them ride all over other people's property with no helmet. The kids only know what they are taught.

SANDBURR · Sep 7, 2002

The attachment on the last post is my 15 yr old hot rod. It will eat up and spit out any of these new high tech 4 stroke sport quads.
The attachment with this post is the work quad but it really ain't work to do anything with. It will scoot right down the trail pretty good also. The mower is a swisher rough cut with swing away blades.

qwerty15 · Sep 7, 2002

250r's are great but they are getting hard to find and when you do find one its real expensive. A lot of AtV motocross racer use them. I was reading a magazine the other day on quads and they were setting a raptor and 400ex up for motocross. The totals on the parts for each one was over 13000 dollars. That destroyed my motocross dream. They tested them against a 250R and it killed them. I might have to start lawn mower racing. its a little cheaper and you can go over 60 mph /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif

njrqs · Sep 7, 2002

Thanks guys

He is a while off yet but it seemed like a good time/posy to ask the question.

I don't really want to get him one of the real small ones because then I'll have to keep getting bigger ones until he is (almost) full size.

My idiot neighbour lets his equally idiot kid ride a 600cc (Yes 600cc) trailbike all over the place, often without a helmet.

The noise annoys the hell out of me but I figure the noise will soon be replaced by the sound of an ambulance then hopefully no bike noise for a LONG while !!

Cheers

SANDBURR · Sep 8, 2002

Your neighbor is exactly the sort of knuckle dragging dummy i was referring to. My riding buddies started out their little guys with full riding gear and they supervise their riding. These guys won't feel safe without a helmet when they are older because the been wearing one since they where little squirts.
The mini market for quads is packed with manufactures right now. It is just like the compact tractor market. I would suggest doing research on the ATV connection discussion board. There are a some boneheads on there but it is easy to tell when you are talking to one of em.
I think it is great u wanna get your son a quad , get your own to and ride with him. Start a hobby you can share with him for many years. Get one of those little battery powered buggers for him next year and go from there.

njrqs · Sep 8, 2002

Yep unfortunately I am sandwiched between ferals at the moment. Idiot on one side and 2 loud bikes on the other.

I think I might leave my outboard motor running flat chat one day and go out for a few hours !!

I will get a quad one day.

Cheers

jdrotert · Sep 10, 2002

Does anybody have any suggestions for a 6-year-old? Either a bike or a 4-wheeler. She is very concious and responsible. She rides a friend of our's Polaris 250. She can't touch the floor boards, but manouvers it everywhere. Very smoothly, I might add. Anyway, I've always had bikes and loved them. My current one is an XR650R. My wife has a 660R Raptor (yes, my wife!). I took both my bike and her Raptor on a trail ride with a friend. The trails were very rocky. I could fly down these trails on my bike (and very confidently too!). I was not impressed with the Raptor at all. I have dumped many bikes in the past and do not want to dump a 4-wheeler on me. That gets me back to the choice for my 6-year-old. I'm thinking something like a 50cc dirt bike will fit the bill. What do you think?

looch · Sep 10, 2002

I started on a Honda Odyssey when I was 7. Got my first bike when I was 9 (a real lemon - Yamaha MX80, 2-stroke with oil injection), then an XR100 when I was 11. Stopped for a while and then bought an XR250R when I was 22. Don't have it anymore, but do miss it on occasion.

I've seen a number of options for the fledgling dirt rider:

The ever popular Z50 - not much of a dirt bike though.

There's those little 50cc automatics, not sure of the designation.

There used to be a Honda CR60, maybe a little much for a 6 year old, though.

And, finally, when I had my XR100, there was this other kid who had a YZ50. This thing was a rocket. We were neck and neck in a straight line drag race. Definitely over-powered for the size of the operator that it was designed to carry.

One thing I learned early, was how to "abort mission." I don't think launching yourself clear of a 4-wheeler is as easy as it is on a bike.