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Chinese ATV Is Called Hazardous
June 10, 2007

A Chinese-made all-terrain vehicle designed to appeal to children is unsafe and drivers risk injury or death, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

The Kazuma Meerkat 50 Youth All-Terrain Vehicle has no front or parking brake and can be started in gear, the agency said. Consumers should stop using the product immediately, and demand a refund, the commission said.

The commission usually announces recalls of items it deems unsafe. In this case, the distributor, Stafford, Texas-based Kazuma Pacific Inc., declined to settle with the agency and will continue to sell the off-road vehicle, a commission statement said. The four-wheel, 156-pound ATV sells for $525 to $825.

rest of article here:
http://online.wsj.com/article/...tml?mod=googlenews_wsj

 

For what it is worth, I purchased a Kazuma Meerkat 50 a few years ago when my little girl was 4. I have since parked it and will not let either kid ride it (kids are now 4 and 7). I am not sure what to do with it. I really don't want to sell it to someone else if I don't feel that it is safe. My reasons for doing this are below:

1) Too fast for chassis. The little quad is really fast. In top gear it will do in excess of 20mph. At this speed, the chassis is very unstable and could allow a child to flip very easily. Even in 2nd gear, the motor outperforms the chassis and suspension.
2) Build quality is terrible. I am afraid that something will come apart while they are riding. I have had intake manifold break while riding and have had bolts fall out from not being properly tightened. The engine also makes a shrieking sound at high RPMs and I am afraid it might blow up and get hot oil on my kids legs.
3) Footwells are too small for kids feet, especially on right side where the brake pedal is at. It causes kids to stick thier feet out to the side which is very dangerous.
4) No parking brake with e-start. VERY BAD COMBINATION. My little girl has started it on accident and ran into the back of my leg. Noone was hurt, but not a good design.


This quad is good for very small kids to learn to ride in 1st gear governed down to less than 8-10 mph, as a step up from an electric quad. Beyond that it is very dangerous.

If anyone is considering this quad, please use is carefully. I am not saying that it doesn't have it's place, but the design of the quad could allow children to get themselves in a bad situation.

 

we gave our grandkids 2 meerkats in 04 , their ages were 4 and 5 at that time, they rode them hard for 2 years without any accidents, best atv made for the money.

 

more:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07204.html

Even though it needs some improvements, I personally like the Kazuma Meerkat 50 and think it is a decent little ATV at a great price. In fact I even recommended them to customers looking for a CHEAP ATV for the kids. I can think of about 6-7 other Chinese brands that the CPSC should have gone after before Kazuma. Brands such as Fushin, BMX, SUNL, Buyang, BTM, Eagle, Baja, etc. are built way, way more poorly and alot more dangerous than the Kazuma.

I do agree with HomeDawg that these should be idled way down and not used past 2nd gear.

 

If someone wants to buy one of these as a starter quad, I would recommend doing two things.

1) Put it first gear and remove the shifter. This will ensure that the kids cannot go too fast. When they get enough skill to outride first or second gear, it is time to buy a larger quad with better suspension and a wider wheelbase.

2) Don't allow the children to start the quad by themselves. Always insist that the adult start the quad since it has no parking brake.

If you do that, you should avoid negative consequences of the major flaws and enjoy the small size of the quad and the very cheap price.