My daughter is 8 and wants an ATV. (so does dad, but that is a different post altogather) She is about 80 pounds. I have been told to get her a 50cc or 90 cc ATV. I like the 90Cc so that she can grow into it as long as the unit has a throttle control. ( by the way, does the throttle control work well or there pit falls that i need to know about?) Does anyone have suggestions on brands. I don't want to spend an arm and leg for her first ATV. Are there any "off-brands" that are not as well established as the Hondas and Kowi's of the world that are still worth looking at and purchasing? I just found out the sundiro is out of business.any help would be appreciated.
Thanks[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

If it were me I would stay with the 4stroke mini like a Bady Raptor(Yamaha),TRX90 (honda),DS90fourstroke(Bombardier)these will be alot less to maintane but will cost a little more.But if you want a quad that is small enough for a kid but big enough for an adult check out a Yamaha 125 Breeze but it runs close to 3grand.

 

If you plan on doing a lot of trail riding I would go with the TRX 90, but if you are looking at a more all around quad I would look at the Kasea skyhawk 90, Eton Viper 90, DRR 90 or any of the better known twostroke 90s. All should be around $2000 brand new except the trx. Maintenance is not a problem with the twostroke minis. We had my son's eton for almost two years and all I had to do was clean the filter and change the plug once.

 

My 8 year old daughter and 6 year old son(they're really close in size) ride a raptor 80. The second day on it I had the throttle limiter all the way out and removed the restrictor plate in the air box(it wouldn't go uphill with the restrictor plate). It seems to be a really stable quad and fairly easy for them to control. A little spendy new.

 

Ive never had a Polaris, but what about a predator 90? It is the coolest looking youth bike.
Has a reasonably wide stance, so it may be a little more stable. Plus, i think its a slightly taller than the others so they could grow into it more. Kids grow fast. oTher than this, polaris makes 2 other youth models a scrambler 50, and a sportsman 90. There's ALOT on minis out there; more so now than ever before. The Honda is top rated, but I dont think you could go wrong with the predator 90 or raptor 80.
If these are too high $$$, then try ebay out. they usually have every bike under the sun

 

See if you can have her test ride both a 50 and 80-90. Physically she may be able to handle an 80-90, but emotionally she may not be ready. I bought my 6 year old daughter a quad for Xmas (she turned 7 a few days after Xmas), and ended up buying a Suzuki LT50, and was glad I did. Here's the story:

I bought my quad last March, and bought my daughter a go kart (as a starter vehicle). Each time that we would go to a dealer she insisted that she wanted the 90cc and announced that she would not ride a 50cc. My daughter's a big girl, back in December whe was over 4 feet tall and about 80 pounds. Fortunately there's a place that rents quads by the hour within an hour's drive. So I took her there with the intent to have her ride both sizes so I could judge her performance. She first got on the 90, and when the engine fired up, she wanted OFF. She rode the 50, and got used to it fairly quick. I forced her to ride the 90 again and she did fine. After about 10 minutes she wanted off the 90 and back on the 50. When her ride was over I would have bought her the 90 based upon her performance and the fact that she had experience riding her go kart. However, she wanted the 50, not the 90.

I bought the 50 and she is much more comfortable on it. She's lower to the ground and right now is too big for it. But, she's a daredevil and loves hills and sharp turns. Since she's too big for the 50, I don't worry about her tipping. Also, if she does tip, she can lift the 50 off her, I don't know if she'd be able to lift off the 90. This Xmas will probably see me buying a 90, and selling the 50. But to me it's worth paying the extra money to buy a smaller quad to start and having an intact child, versus wishing that I had.

As for the bikes, I paid 1900 out the door for the LT50. An off brand (Kasea, Eton) is only about 300-400 less. She has ridden the crap out of the quad and we have had no problem. My cousin bought a 90 Jenching for 1900 out the door and so far it's been reliable. It also came with better features than the name brands. A Suzuki 90 is about 2200 to 2400. As far as speed on the 50, I can ride my 300 up to third gear and she can still keep up with me. Take out the restrictor plate from the exhaust first, then you can adjust the throttle with the throttle screw. (Another concern my daughter had with the 90 was that her hand was not comfortable on the throttle as it was farther away than the one on the 90 and she had to stretch her fingers apart too wide.) Other than the limiter plate in the exhaust (the owner's manual will tell you how to remove it - the dealer didn't) there is no hidden problem with the throttle limiter. It's a simple screw that doesn't let the rider push it in all the way.

So, my two cents is that don't let money make the decision, buy what both you and your daughter will be comfortable with and confident with. If she has ridden before, and is confident on a 90 - go for it. But if she is hesitant in any way buy a used 50 as a trial vehicle. My daughter will be 8 in December and will get her 90, but by then she will have had a year's experience on a 50 and almost a year's experience on a go kart. (Depending on the terrain you ride on a go kart is a less expensive and I think safer first ride. There are seatbelts, brush guards and roll cages, and they cost less than 1,000 for a good kids model.)

Happy trails, and hope dad gets his quad soon!

 

I have a daughter, she was 8 when bought her first new qaud, I got her a 2003 LT80 last sept. We havent had one lick of trouble with it. In the mean time she uses it for trail riding, and lately she has been racing mx, she has won all 5 of her races on it so far in the kids classes and has been riding the womes class on it as well! It is easy to ride since all automatic! Since the beginning of the season we have put lots of upgraded parts on it. And the motor is getting all gone through and modified! Yah wont go wrong with yellow zuki!