I recently bought a Kazuma Meerkat for my 4 year old. [I had no idea what it was when I bought it] I bought it from the original owner who said it hadn't run for two years. The battery was shot, the headlight was cracked and the front end needs to be tightened up. Aside from those things, it's practically new. On top of it all, it's really cute.

I bought a new battery, tore it down and cleaned out the tank. I gave the carb a rudimentary cleaning and checked the oil. On the first touch of the starter button it fired right up. It will only run for about 10 second unaided but will continue to run if I play with the throttle. I'll give the carb a complete cleaning and go from there.

I did have a few questions for those in the know. Under the "hood" is a small, black box. Almost the size of a cell phone. It is unplugged. When I plugged it in, the starter fired. What is it? Why did it cause the starter to fire?

Next, there is an intake "box" with an internal baffle. Does that have any sort of foam or filter element to go in there? It can get pretty dusty here and it seems like a problem waiting to happen. Is there a better option?

I found a site for Kazuma parts and they seem to have everything I might ever need for this little atv. I have two sons, 6 & 4, and I'm still looking for a slightly larger quad/atv for my older son. They won't know anything about them until I have one for each and they're both running well. I haven't been around any sort of motorized "toys" for a while and my skills need some tuning. From what I've read so far, this site is great. Lots of information in just a few posts...

Sorry so long and thanks in advance.

 

I have a new 2008 Kazuma Wombat (slightly updated version of the Meerkat) and my friend has a 2005 Meerkat.....so I know a little about them....but actually they have been solid enough we havent had to do much work.

I believe the box your referring to is the CDI box, check below link for a comparison picture.

Kazuma 50 CDI Box at Raceway ATV

Im not really sure why it caused the starter to run when you plugged it in.....but I have one even odder. My daughters headlight stopped working on hers.....I was tracing wires and couldnt find the problem.....so I started un-plugging and re-plugging stuff in. When I did that to my daughters CDI box the starter did the same thing......AND the headlight started working.

Odd.....but I wouldnt be to concerned about it....scared the **** outta me though.

Here is a link to the air box assembly.....you can see there is supposed to be a foam element in there.

Kazuma / Meerkat 50 Air Box Hose Connector at Raceway ATV

My son started riding when he was 6 on a 110cc Chinese wheeler, then moved up to a Suzuki LT80 when he was 8 - the China wheeler was a greater starter unit but once he got good enough he was moving and really riding the ATV it started falling apart. It was a great yard wheeler and served its purpose. I paid $525 for it new and later sold it (still running just fine) for $250. The Suzuki LT80 I bought used with a new top end (its a 2 stroke) for $750 - its been great. The LT80 is a 10x the machine the 110cc China wheeler was. The China wheeler wouldnt go well in mud, snow or navigate any type of decent trails....it was really down on power and torque. The LT80 weighs more, has tons more traction....goes great in snow and mud and has no issues on the trails....basically its a real ATV, just smaller. In retrospect I would have skipped the Chinese wheeler for him all together and went straight to the LT80.....its got a throttle limiter so he could have worked into it no problem........and I argue it would have been safer, two times the Chinese wheeler broke it was in a manner that caused an accident.

(sidetrack)
My favorite Chinese wheeler accident was him drifting around the corner and the front spindle broke.....he comes sailing by the garage on three wheels while the other one bounced through the back yard.....he had NO idea what to do and I was laughing so hard I couldnt help.....I damn near hyperventilated. He ended up freaking out and hitting the brakes which caused it to nose dive.....till the lack of front wheel came into play and caused it to dig into the ground and send him over the bars........and I was still laughing - he didnt think it was funny.
(sidetrack over)

Now my daughter is was 3 (just turned 4) so I knew the LT80 would be FAR to much for her.....the weight alone means she couldnt steer it easily or reach the controls.....shes pretty small. I didnt want to drop the coin on a LT50, KFX50 or the like.....cause while the LT80 will work great from 6yrs old till (Im guessing) 11 or 12yrs old........the 50cc machine will be outgrown quickly. So I again went with a China wheeler (which is the above mentioned Kazuma Wombat). What Ive noticed right away is that compared to the other Chinese wheelers and go karts Ive played with the Kazuma seems well built.....so far Im fairly happy with it. The build quality is plenty sufficient for the task.

I think your on track with the Kazuma for your 4 year old.....but think about going used name brand for the 6 year old......it will last longer (which works out great when he wants to move up and your 4 year old is ready for it). Around here the most common used older wee wheeler is the Suzuki LT80.....the Hondas and Kawasakis (actually just a rebranded Suzuki) arent as common and I hardly ever see a Yamaha. My son would love to have a new ATV but dang, $2800 for a kids ATV.....that aint happening. Ive seen good used LT80s for as low as $500 in my area.

My problem now is my son at almost 9 would rather ride MY 4 wheeler then his. Its a little big for him so hes not ready to move up just yet.......but Im already looking for a good deal on a smaller full size ATV (think Bayou 220, Fourtrax 200, Yamaha Breeze 160 etc) for him. I dont have to be in such a big hurry this way.

 

aaronrkelly, Thanks for the info/links. Here is the site I found [looking for a new headlight]: Kazuma ATV Parts - Kazuma ATV - Kazuma Parts - Meerkat 50cc - Falcon 110cc - Chinese Engine Parts

I didn't see the foam offered there but, I haven't gone into too much detail yet.

That foam, or the lack there of, might explain the bad air/fuel mix. I can keep it running off choke if I use my fingers to cut off some of the air. It's such a simple carb that a good cleaning won't be a bad thing.

The CDI in the link has the same plug but, different shape. Since I'm from the school of "Let a sleeping dog lie" I'l ignore it for the time being. It scared me too.

The little thing runs like a raped ape. It dumped me on my *** and I weigh about 175. Considering I had to ride with my toes turned out and on the back of the seat, the front wheels were already hovering off the ground. The gears are strange though. The ability to cycle through 1-4, then back to neutral was weird. Still, with my 4 year old son, the ability to cut back that throttle will be great. He has no fear.

I have it stashed around the corner in their grandmother's basement. I stopped by today, turned on the fuel and it fired right up. Initially I added some MMO to the fuel and poured a little down the carb when I had it open. It's always been good to me and I swear by it. It's killing me not to give it to him since I'm still searching for another for my older son.

How is the Wombat in comparison? I know they added a front brake but, that's all I can tell. Do you have any experience with the front linkage? The lack of any shock absorbers seems to put a beating on the tie rods.

Thanks for the information and help. I'm happy to hear that there are satisfied customers out there. I was a little nervous about "going Chinese" [as opposed to "going Japanese"...lol] but, I figured that if it didn't work out, I wouldn't have invested thousands into something my kids ended up not liking. I actually got a good deal on the Meerkat from a local guy whose kid outgrew it. So, it may have been a good investment.

 

Front brake was the biggest change.....and my Wombat has a shift indicator on the bars to show what gear its in.....my buddys Meerkat doesnt have that. There is also a safety switch on mine in the back to attach a rope to.....not sure if thats on the Meerkat or not. Basically the only differences I know of for sure is the gear indicator and front brakes.

The lack of shock absorbers really makes it a yard wheeler at best......but my buddy weights about 200lbs and he rides his kids around all the time.....Ive seen him passing cars in town on it before and Ive seen it parked out in front of the bar more than a few times. Through all that wear and tear (more tear then wear, trust me).......the steering has remained tight on his ATV.

They really are little gems, he just leaves his setting outside all winter long......since 2005 it has started every spring with NO issues......just fires right off.

 

One thing nice about the chinese quads is the engines are quite reliable and durable, far more than all the rest of the thing. We talk trash so much about them, it is great to be able to say something nice once in a long while.

 

Ive never had engine troubles with one.....your right. I change the oil a couple times a summer and it keeps plugging away......but damn if I can keep the rest of them together. By the time my sons China wheeler and I parted ways I was the master of JB Weld, regular weld, zipties.....never did resort to duct tape.

The Kazuma so far has been dang solid.....did break off the chain guard at about month 2 though.....not sure how, it just started rattling then broke right off. So far thats been the only causality.

 

I started searching for the normal, Japanese big brand atv's. A friend's son has her 86 Moto4. It still runs but needs allot of maintenance. I started searching for those. The prices on those were unreal. Same with any major brand name. Then I started running in to these Chinese atv's. I never knew they were so prevalent. [The Meerkat is/was the top selling mini atv in the US] Since I'm so...frugal...I focused on these. Any little motor that has been sitting for nearly two years that turns over on the first try, can't be all bad.

If the Chinese can come up with a reliable engine, copy or not, good for them. I spent many an hour building leg muscles on kick starts from Yamaha and Honda with out much success.

In the end, I hope my kids will like it. I'm still searching for a 90cc for my 6 year old. He's tall and built like a tree. He's also my "old man." He's careful and responsible and I could let him take a Grizzly and he'd be fine with it. He'd have trouble fitting on a mini so, the search continues. I'm looking at a "Yamati" in Delaware on Craigslist now. It's kind of cool...but it's nearly 11PM and I can't call...lol.

 

I like that shift indicator. Since the thing is so light, the front brake I could do without. I don't think he'll be going fast enough to even need the back one...lol. [well, he is tricky and will figure out that throttle screw soon enough]


I'm glad I found this site. I feel so much better about the little thing now.

 

Yeah, I agree....no point in a 50cc for a 6 year old. Ive been really happy with the Suzuki LT80. My son is pretty big. Has almost 9 and weighs 100lbs......its going to serve him well for a couple more years.....thats my suggestion.

Here is a picture of him on it for size reference.



Here is it and the Kazuma in the same frame for reference.....you can see its FAR bigger then the 50cc and its not much smaller than my Honda.



Here is him standing next to it....



The Yamaha Moto-4 is not near the ATV the Suzuki is.....Ive never been impressed with them. The Kawasaki KFX80 IS a Suzuki LT80 - Suzuki made them for Kawasaki. Oddly enough they arent as common and usually demand a higher price - same ATV.

Once you get into the new stuff I know NOTHING about them really....cause Im not paying almost $3000 for a kids ATV, aint happening.

Around here a good used LT80 runs between $500 and $1000, depending on condition.

 

I agree with you on not wanting to spend 3K on a kids atv. It doesn't make sense. My boy could run it into a tree or the river the first day out. If it does get trashed, I could buy 4 more and still be saving money. Even though the big names do have years of technology behind them, licensing fees and brand recognition put a hefty price on things.