I have 2 daughters, one is 8 yrs old, and has had a 2004 Eton viper 50 for the last 2 years. She is a very good rider and this has been an excellent first quad for her. We have not had 1 problem with it since we bought it. My other daughter is 6 now and she currently has an Eton 40 rascal (not sure of the year) She is less aware, and not as good of a rider as my older daughter. We have had tons of problems with her little quad, and often, I never get the stupid thing started. When it runs, she does OK with it, but most of the time, I pull on the pull starter for 30-60 minutes and it never runs. I am a very busy man, and work a lot of hours. When I have time to spend with my daughters, I do not want to spend it pulling the starter on a quad that won't start. I am fed up with her quad, and if it were up to me, I would have left it by the road weeks ago. My wife, however does not fully understand my frustration. She is usually inside the house while all of this plays out. The girls ride around on the Eton 50, Dad pulls on the 40 until he is worn out and we come inside after a couple hours. ..... but I digress... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img]
ANYWAY.. I have been for the last month or so looking at a replacement for the '40. I had been looking at the very affordable Chinese quads, mostly because of their cost. I could get a 70cc four stroke for her with 16" tires for anywhere from $650-$750 delivered. I suspect these 70cc four strokes would be close to the power and speed of our 50cc two stroke Eton. This sounds like a great deal, however I am a bit weary of skimping on quality, since I do not have time to work on it everytime we ride. After a lot of thought and web searching, I have come up with a new idea: Get a 90cc Eton for my 8 year old daughter and give the 50cc one to the 6 year old! I now just have to sell the idea to my wife. I think if she saw the sticker on the 90 that said "no one under 12 yrs" she would have a fit. My 8 year old though would have NO PROBLEM controlling the 90. There is a 2005 Eton 90 (used) for sale about an hour drive from my home for $1200. (I paid $1800 for the 50 new 2 years ago) The other alternatives I have considered were the Yamaha Raptor 80, or Arctic cat 90, Polaris 90. These in general run $2400 range, as far as I can tell though. There has been some good testimonials for the Unison 90 on this web site also. which would be a consideration. The only problem I have with that is that there are no dealers nearby, and I am not sure what kind of support and parts I could get.

What opinions do you folks have on all of this?

 

what I did was start bumping everybody up, not so good for my youngest daughter. she always got the used bike. as for the sticker on the 90 12 yrs or older I got a big got dirt sticker for you those always work just put on before wife see's it LOL[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

The E-ton 70 and 90 are physically the same size, just the engine has a little more power, and the newer 90's may also have reverse. Your daughter can handle a 90 fine if she already has experience, just keep it limited until you are comfortable she respects the added power she now has. The Unison 90 seems to be a pretty nice unit also. It looks real sharp, plus they also sell them to Kolpin. Looks like you have a Gander Mountain close by, you can see the Kolpin version there. Bonus is they are cheaper than the Desert Cat, but don't have as many bells and whistles.

 

Sir,
You are on the right track. If you are comfortable with Eton quality...then you should be sold. You can't go wrong with the big 4/5. However, if you don't want to turn the wrenches...read these forums carefully...we still have a lot of quality issues! Good luck and enjoy your daughters. I know what you mean...have fun and ride. SEADAWG

 

I think you've answered your own question.The Eton is a quality bike as you know...The Chinese atv may be nearly as good but I doubt it...Some of them are a good bang for the buck if you don't mind some tinkering...It sounds to me like you don't want to do any tinkering just riding and quality time with your daughters...I would think seriously about not buying a used quad unless you really know its history...Our Viper with no reverse has been absolutely bullet proof..Reverse has a lot of extra electrical componants that "can" cause problems..I vote to move the little one up to the 50 and buy your older daughter a brand new 90.My son has been riding his 90 since he was 5 1/2...You can really tame these things with the throttle screw but it sounds like your daughter can probably handle it anyway.

 

First off, you didn't say what sort of maintenence program you have going for the 40, so I'll give you the benefit of the doubt there. The minis are notorious for loading up and fouling spaek plugs etc. Old gas, plugged air filters, gummed carb etc. Just a poorly set carb too, can all contribute.

Even when everything is cared for, the nature of these little motors being lugged around will naturally foul everything up again. SO you have to keep on top of them. They are not going to be a gas and go deal...

I am more concerned about the busy man syndrome, and the wife in the house. WIth children this age, many states require constant supervision while they ride. I will really give you a break there, and assume you are doing all the supervising.

If the wife is hard to convince, tell her that you are buying a rhino instead, and the kids will ride beside you, and she can join you as well... Maybe that will get her off the couch and outside...

 

I agree w/yeller. Get the 90 and pass the 50 on! Good plan if you ask me!
Stick with the big 4. The cheapies "may" be ok but for a time restricted fellow, but the word "may" would scare me. D