Thats why I always advocate buying used, older but well known machines over shiny new Chinese crap....cause alot of it is crap.

That Suzuki LT80 my boy rides has been the same from 1987 to 2003....weve had alot of fun on that old machine and probably will continue to. My Honda is a 1995 but Ive got less than what a 200cc Chinese wheeler would cost me in it......but Ive got parts support, brand name reliability and various other perks. Sure, its not a new machine......but Im having fun. I would compare wrenching time to any Chinese ATV owner.....and win.

 

I don't disagree. I'm just getting them started with slightly less-shiny Chinese crap. As time goes on, I'll move them up into better stuff. My problem has been that availability on the older, good stuff just isn't there.

I like the LT80. I've seen one or two for sale. The "affordable" ones aren't cheap and the cheap ones are parts. I'm in southern NJ and it has its limits on numbers. It's pretty rural and there's not much to choose from. For example, when I search craigslist, ebay or classifieds, I do it for Delaware and Philadelphia too. You have to wade through allot of garbage to find that diamond in the rough.

I also agree on tried and true. I'd rather have an older machine that I can afford and enjoy, than one that I pay for each month. I've used a friend's Yamaha Grizzly a few times. The thing is unreal but, there are so many parts and wires and computers that, I'd be lost if I had to repair it 10 miles into the woods. It's not like I'd be able to "limp it home." I'm not saying I'd never have one but, something a little more simple would be nice just for the short amount of time I'd use it. Same thing for the kids. Simple and reliable.

 

Yeah I have it pretty good in my area, between Des Moines and Kansas City I can find almost anything cheap.

Ive got $750 in my sons LT80 with a new top end from a local shop (that has been great for me in so many ways). Ive got $700 in my 1995 Honda Fourtrax.....its simple but reliable.....and never has failed to get me where I want to go.

Hell Ive seen some stellar deals I had to pass up just because of some bad timing (didnt have the money at the time). This week I had to miss out on a 2000 Kawasaki Bayou 220 for $600.....Christmas is probably why they were selling and why I couldnt buy it. Would have been a great wheeler for my son to move up to......maybe next time.

I forget that not everyone has this stuff laying around. I could walk into my local used motorsports place (above mentioned dealer) and have my pick of a few dirt bikes, atvs and even some street bikes with only $1000 cash in hand.

 

Geoff,

Now is a good time to get into ATVs with the current market. As was mentioned used atv's have finnally come down in this economic slow down compared to a few years ago when I started buying atv toys for my 3 lads.

AS for MIC or Brand name of course if you can find a good brand named kids atv for a 500 bucks buy it!!! However I never seem to be able to come across those deals even these days. I sold my 1985 Honda 250 TRX for $1000. It ran but it had a lot of hrs. on it and was starting really need a lot of TLC. Also some parts where no longer available from HOnda I found. I could have rebuilt it but it still would have been a 25 year old Honda ATV with crappy front suspension!!! So I sold it and bought a 2005 Honda 250EX, way nicer quad.

Back in 2005 up in my part of the world brand name used kids atv's were not selling for $500 or $1000 or even $1500. MIC atv's were just starting to get popular but we all didn't "know" what we were buying!!! My first venture into the MIC atv's was a 110cc shaft drive with reverse model. Engine worked fine and still does but of course all the other crap I had to deal with, gear boxes, rear ends, things rattling off!!! I got it to work and it's ironically much better now then when it was "new" lol!! After that I said from now on if I buy MIC its going to be really basic, just chain drive! Next I bought a Baja 90cc quad that was an Auto which cost a lot less too as they came down drastically after I bought the first one. The 90, actually worked pretty good we didn't have to fool with that one much. But as Aaronrkelly mentioned they both were "yard quads" for the kids to learn on and go on light trails. Any deep snow, mud or stuff they would get high centered on. Plus the 110cc has terrible suspension, really stiff. I sold the 90cc as I still got something for it and bought a 150cc Jetmoto as the kid were getting bigger. This was a HUGE differance, as they could follow me around on the trails now (after I put on different rear tires) with out much trouble and its not that heavy. If your looking for a ATV for the older boy the 150cc are a pretty good machine. Find a decent MIC 150 used it would be a real good bang for your buck. AS people who have no mechanical know how give up and dump these MIC's cheap when really there is not much wrong with them.

Brand name quads don't have much to offer in the 150cc range and what the do is over priced. I think its better to just move up to a 200 or 250cc used brand name model they tend to be a better value and will last them longer anyway That's what I did this summer for the oldest. Although my middle boy seems to drive it more as he is the ATV addict of the family. The ATV market was hurting this spring and I stubbled apon a Honda 250ex for less then half of what it sold for new. The guy wasn't happy who sold it as he lost over $3K in under 4 years on it!!! So much for Honda resale lol!! But it's a real good youth quad that will last all the boys. I "think" I'm done buying atv's as the Jetmoto will last us a long time too and it goes where ever the 250 does. We've had it now 2 years and over all its been the best MIC quad I've bought out of the bunch so far.

 

Air filter

You have to put something on there. Will one of those clamp on foam filters fit on it?

 

It looks just like a sheet of foam.....I wonder if you could use a universal sheet of foam like you can buy near the furnace filters at the hardware store.....should do the job, just cut to fit and viola.

 

This is great. These are the opinions I was looking for. Really, it does come down to money on all of it. If I had unlimited funds, I'd take my boys to a dealer and buy them, and myself, brand new machines with every warranty they had. That way if something goes wrong, I get on the phone and tell them to come get it and bring a loaner with them.

The reality is, I'm a contractor. I just had the worst year of my career. I'm not starving but, it's not the year to go all out. The years I was doing well, my kids weren't old enough for them and I didn't have the time anyway. I spent the weekend plowing snow, 26 hours straight on an open cab New Holland, so I could afford to spend a little more on my kids.

I figured the same thing...it's Christmas and people just need money. They'll part with these things allot cheaper than they would in the spring. I'm guessing that just after Christmas there may be some older ones freed up by kids who got new ones.

For the most part, these will be yard quads. The soil here is soft and sandy and pretty flat. We have 10 acres on the river with open fields and some woods with trails. The difference in elevation from one end to the other is maybe 10 feet. If the kids do well with these simple machines, I'll move them up to more rugged ones and take them out to the woods. I'm in no hurry as I'd like to have time to get one for myself...and my wife who now thinks it would be fun for the family. Go figure. I can't get her to spend more than a few hours on the sailboats... I guess there's something magical about these...lol.

Suzuki LT80 here's an example of one that pops up once in a while.
And another: Suzuki LT80 Quad

That first one is the first brand name I've run into that cheap. There are 10 MIC's to every brand name unit out there.

My hope is that the kids will have so much fun that my wife will want to upgrade.

As for the foam, that was my plan. I'll try to adjust the thickness to match the needed intake.

 

Geoff, it's the same deal for me in the Buffalo area. I'm still trying to find an LT80, a small Polaris or the likes, but they just aren't there. The 3-5yr/old ones that are, are selling for $1000-2K. I can't justify that. You get chastised and bashed at the mention of a "Chinese quad" in most places ('cept here of course). Like said, it just seems like the <150cc way to go.

 

That's funny. I had a few questions about the one I already bought but was afraid to ask at the local dirt bike shop up the road. It is what it is. Maybe I can't go all out but, my kids can still have fun. We might complain about the Chinese but, in this case, they are filling a void in the atv market...and doing it well from what I can tell.

 

Maybe post a pic of the air box with the cover off so we can see what type of set up it is.

I have a little 50cc motor bike that works like that. But it has a 2 plastic I guess you could call mesh things that support the foam. But yes sure you could find some sort of foam and stick it in there and it would probably work fine. If you used the clamp on style then of course you'd have to remove the current air box set up.