My son and I went to visit relatives in NE PA last weekend and had a blast. The Tao Tao ATA-110B did just fine on the easy mountain trails and old coal breaker site we road. It was well worth the money to see him having a blast and riding the hell out of that thing.

Thanks for the tips MWQ and everyone here. Knowing what to expect let me prepare the thing and make it some what reliable. The little 110 only had one problem all weekend and that didn’t pop up until we were back home putting it in the garage. We’ll be doing it again.

In case you’re curious the problem is a broken electrical connection in the hand brake so it’s a little tricky to get it started. Hopefully it’s an easy fix; I’ll be looken at it this weekend and post what I find so all can benefit.

 

Sweeet!!

Thanks for the pics

 

Great I glad it worked out for ya! Those are pretty simple machines if you keep an eye on stuff it should be ok. Sounds like you went over it well when you got it, thats catches 90% of issues of things rattling loose. I had my kids out today for a tour with the quads.

 

Great pic's Nimadd!

There's been a lot of negativity on chinese quads of late. It's good to see a thread with the heading of "Satisfied China ATV Owners". I've been really happy with mine. It has been a real workhorse over the last two years, as has my neighbor's. I have very close to 1750 miles on mine, my neighbor's (exactly the same quad) is slightly less at around 1500 miles.

About a week ago I posted that I had towed out several name brand ATV's, and that mine had never been towed out - except when I crashed it and sheared off the brakes and mangled the handlebars. Well this weekend my quad had to be towed out.

I wasn't there. My neighbor borrowed my quad after his wouldn't start. Him and another neighbor were headed off to BLM land for a 3 day excursion. I had to work and couldn't take a day off. He took my quad instead and it ran fine until the last 20 miles. The last 3 miles it had to be towed. From the phone call it sounded really bad - engine running progressively worse, no power, difficulty starting, followed by engine not turning at all with the starter. I'm thinking on the phone it is a toasted engine.

When it got back home, the problem was just a disconnected connector to the 5 wire voltage regulator. Dang. I'd unplugged that to put in dielectric grease just a few days before. I guess I didn't plug it in all the way and engage that interlock that keeps it from unplugging. When this plug becomes disconnected the battery doesn't charge anymore, and the automatic choke turns back on and stays on -hence the poor running and lack of power. I also found out later from my other neighbor (driving a Yamaha) that my quad's headlights were turned on the whole time, which is why the battery went dead and the starter wouldn't turn the engine later on.

I plugged back in the connector and charged the battery. My quad is back running great once more. Someday I'm sure I'll have to face major repairs on my quad - but not today.

I also looked at my neighbors quad. It wouldn't start because of a bad fuel shutoff valve. The neoprene gasket came loose and blocked the fuel feed hole. It can't start without fuel. I bypassed it for now till I can get a new one. No big deal. It is running great now that the fuel petcock is bypassed.


I also noticed that my neighbor's quad's front shock rubber bushings are completely gone. Top and bottom. I'm going to be making some nylon bushings on my lathe this weekend. In return, my neighbor is going to help dig some holes for 2 queen palm trees...

 

I am a satisfied china quad owner, a year ago I traded a old generator for a new Tao Tao ATA-110 for my 5yr old son. A year later and its still going strong, only complaint I have is it is kinna tippy for an aggressive riding 6yr old. Maintenance wise they require a bit more than say Yamaha, Kawasaki, etc.....

 

We do need more “Satisfied China ATV Owners” I’ve been reading all the negative threads lately too that’s why I posted this one.

They are real simple machines and with a good going over and some mechanical common sense they can be reliable too. I’m a big fan of KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid). These will never be bullet proof like the Suzies, Kawais and Hondas but if you recognize what your buying you do get your monies worth out of them. Okay off the soap box.

Just to throw some stats out for this trip.

Total Run Time: Around 15 hours
Fuel Burned: 1 Tank (A little over 1/2 Gal)
Steepest Hills Climbed: About 45deg.
Puddles Splashed: A Bunch; Never Enough

For me and the kid a great value.

That last one brings up a third problem, and if anyone has a suggestion I’m all ears, when ever he hit a puddle that splashes up on the spark plug it would short the plug out and stall the quad. On course it would start right back up but if anyone can think of a way to shield the plug from the splash I’d like to here it.

 

The pics say it all. This is the essence of getting a dad and kid on a quad and riding around for fun. Like you say in this quote all is good.

I did not view the posts as so much negative but more trying to be clear about expectations with these things and as long as you go in eyes wide open, most folks have a great experience with them.

 

AMEN Brother AMEN

 

Thanks windtrader.....I dont think we've had much negative posting at all in the last 18 mos to 2 years, maybe longer.Too bad I threw most of the bad threads in the trash can.. Some of you would be shocked, and maybe have quit the forum.

Honesty is needed or we will go back to the days of people thinking they are buying cheap Hondas.

 

It is funny. I reread just this single thread and since we are clued into the MIC (Made In China) experience we sort of brush off all the problems described in this short thread. Anyone who thought a MIC quad was just a cheaper Honda would blow his stack with documented problems from a single outing.

Like most things in life, it's all about setting proper expectations. I always expect at least one problem every time I go out and am trilled to death when nothing breaks down and I don't need to push it or pull out the toolbox.