I’m new to the AVT world, so I'm going to ask some dumb questions and probably catch a lot of grief form some of you die hearts. But here goes. My wife and I just purchase a slightly use Sunl SLA-50 ATV for our six-year-old son. It is about a year old and aside from the general maintenance items it is in great shape. This is the first ATV we have owned. I have been impressed with this little AVT- it starts easily and run very well. It will do about 40mph in the alley with me on it (I'm about 250 lbs.). Yes, the suspension is bottomed out, but anyway…

We have a very well supplied Sunl dealer here in town and I was thinking of purchasing an SLA-250kla for myself. Funds are tight and at $1200 this bike is very apealing. I have heard some of the cons about this brand of ATV from a good friend of mine. But our interests are different - he likes to go fast, jump, and do donuts on his 2003 Honda 400EX… that is all well and fine, but my interest are different. I want to experience the ATV thing with my son. I can’t afford the higher price Japanese bikes right now, but my friends say that I will be wasting money on Chinese-brand bikes. Meanwhile, I am sitting on the sidelines watching my son have a good time. All I care about is keeping up with my son. So here is my question… Has anyone had any experience with Sunl ATVs? I know they are not as good a quality in some areas as the Japanese bikes, but at one-fourth of the price, who cares… as long as it gets me out there with my son.

 

Chiefsmoke, I hear what you are saying. If you do a search on the SunL brand, you will find several threads on them. They tend to have some quirks, and some kinks that need working out. If you are mechanically inclined, or know some people that are and are willing to help out, then Saving some $$ upfront on a SunL may be for you. The fact that you have a well supplied local dealer is a big factor in that too though. I don't know your budget, but you can get a decent used Honda 250EX for 2K, maybe less. The quads are solid and dependable, and barring an "accident" rarely need much more than oil changes, air filter cleaning, and chassis lube. You definately need to get out there and ride with your son, but it is worth being patient and researching for the right machine too.

 

Not that the sunl wont get you out but I think it will be too small for you being 250lbs. I would find something used in name brand because there is no full size adult chinese quads as of yet. JetMoto is working on a full size but it will be a few months for that one.

 

Chiefsmoke,

I would have to agree with 2manytoys, in that you should try to find yourself a used Japanese quad. Companies like Jetmoto and others are just starting to come out with Adult size ATV's. For the price that they are going to start these quads out at you can probably find a good used name brand quad for the same price.

Here is a example of the new adult sized quads one manufacturer will be carrying.

BMS Motor Sports

Since you say funds are a little tight, a Chinese quad might be what you are looking for, if you can't find a good used atv in your price range and all you are going to do is ride with your son and not beat the crud out of the 250 it may hold up. Another option is the Jetmoto 200 from Raceway, you may have to spend a little more but you will save yourself any headaches in the future that you may have with a SunL product.

Good Luck.

SB.

 

Check out your private messages, I gave you one. If you don't know where they are, they are in the box in the right corner at the top of a thread. Welcome to the forums Chiefsmoke!!!

Z

 

I have to agree with Scooter86[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Ihave A sun-L 90 for my grandson and it is very high maintance. Everytime we go riding it seem's to end up with another problem.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-disgusted.gif[/img] I have alway's been able to correct the problem's, It depend's on how much mechancly inclined you are.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img] For your self find A good used Jap Quad and enjoy riding with the little one.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] Just my two cent's.

 

do some research before buying a sunl products, you're find their's a reason why raceway and other dealers quit selling their products. sunl doesn't supply dealer or customer support, they're dumping their atv and buggies in the usa without spare parts. DON'T BUY A SUNL PRODUCT,

 

I dont know anything about SunL but am very worried about the chinese being able to make a quad that can stand up to a full sized adults pounding. And if they can, will it cost as much as the Japanese quads?
I am about 30 days away from getting a pre production Adult Sized Jetmoto 250 Sport quad for testing. My goal is to break it and fix what ever goes wrong before it goes into production. I am concerned about its ability to take a pounding.

 

Cheifsmoke,

We bought a Sunl 90 from Raceway ATV in March. It lasted about 2 months. My son is 7 and weighs 34lbs. We had problems with the exhaust bolts the carb bolts, the air filter, the battery, the a-arm broke while he was riding and threw him off, the CDI fell off, the wheel nuts never stayed tight, the master cylinder, finally the frame broke.

We called Raceway and they sent someone to get it. Raceway is a great company they were always wonderful to work with, I would recommend them to anyone. However, I have heard the metal in the engines are soft. Sometimes when we changed the oil there would be metal shavings. If you are interested in getting a bike for yourself I would definately not get a Sunl.

If you can't afford the name brand bikes, check into Unison. We bought our son a Unison Desert Cat 90 as a replacement and have not had one problem with it. We bought it new from a guy in Southern Oregon who uses them as rentals for the dunes down there. It cost more than the chinese bikes, but less than the name brand bikes. The Unison is based off the Polaris bike and can use Polaris parts as replacements. Your other option would be to take your time and check the paper or www.craigslist.com find your local area find motorcylcles and look through there. Raceway also sells the Unison bikes but I am not sure if they have the larger sizes or not. The only reason we didn't buy again from them was because I knew the size of the Unison was much bigger than the Sunl that we had so I drove my son down south to make sure he fit on it.

I think in the long run you would be much happier without the Sunl, I know every time we went riding we had to work on that bike. Some friends of ours also have two of them. When they came riding with us, same thing, we worked on them all weekend.

Try www.unison-atv.com
www.racewayatv.com

Good luck,

Jennifer

p.s. remember too, the safety factor sometimes its worth paying a little more.