My Dad has two 08' Honda Recon's with all the bells and whistles up at their MTN house. My family really enjoys riding them up there on the dirt roads. New Hondas are a bit of reach in what I'm interested in spending on "toys" so I've been checking out these Chinese models online some.

I would hardly call what we do as hard trail riding. My parents place is in the Rockies and 99% of the riding is on dirt roads in which there are strict 20 mph speed limits. 1 - 2x per year I'd take my own bikes up to the mountains outside of my parents place for some more riding.

My 4yo daughter LOVES riding on "pop pops" ATVs and I'd like to get her one of those little tike atvs for her upcoming Bday. She's going to be 4 in a few weeks. Would one recommend one of those little 50 cc atvs?

How about for Mom and I? Would we be dissapointed with Chinese ATVs for how we'll use them? I have mixed feelings about having 4wd models or not (my dads are of course) We don't use his much in the winter, however they are fun to ride in the snow. Would I be dissapointed with anything less than a 250cc model? Go 4wd?

How about the UTV models?

As you can see I have lots of questions! Advice from those with some experience would be greatly appreciated!

 

the mini's are great for little kids, on adult chinese you need to do your homework, find a dealer close to you for service (if your not handy with tools) and also for parts.Parts can be a little hard to come by at times depending what you might need. Jetmoto seems to be one of the best brands available.


if your easy trail riding I think the chinese atv's will be fine, in the snow 2wd they dont do very well, so 4x4 is needed. but so you know a chinese atv will be no where as reliable as those 250 cc hondas your dad has. those will be around in 25 years still if taken care of. the 4x4 chinese machines cost as much as a name brand (used) atv. so i would lean towards used on a 4x4 model.

hoyt

 

I hope not to get flamed for this, but look on Ebay at used atv's you will get a idea of what name brands go for about and see if you can fit something in your budjet. but like i said im a big fan of the chinese mini's the price is right and kids grow like weeds.

 

Welcome to the forum jrandol !

I pretty much agree with hoyt...the kids atv's from china are hard to beat for the money..The adult stuff is ok to a point....For just putting around and getting to learn to work on your quad... the Chinese stuff is perfect..Want to go fast and jump things? not gonna work out so good for the long haul...I have a few Chinese ATV's and most of my family loves them....They arent real big into riding and the Chinese stuff works great for them. I have 4 younger bros(between the ages of 30 and 45) they all think the Jetmoto 250 is a great quad that makes lots of hp...it doesnt but they dont know any better....But for what they want and or expect it IS a great quad...My 72 yr old mom thinks my Jetmoto 150 is the perfect quad...Got her on the 150 6 yrs ago at Pismo....she rides up and down the beach and has a great time....

On the other hand I could snap any of them in half if I rode them to my potential...well except for the mini utility...Ive fallen off of that more times than Id like to talk about.

 

Thanks all for you input!!

My Dads Hondas are 680cc so they are BIG bikes. Fun to ride for sure!


So would you look seriously at a bike like this Polaris over a Chinese bike then?

1991 Polaris 350, Trailboss 350 for sale in Loveland, CO: Four Wheeler - ATVTraderOnline.com

This is pretty much all I could find under 2k that is 4wd and of a known name within a good distance from me.

 

Seems kinda pricey to be that old. Looks to be in good shape though.

Do you have Craigslist in your area? Lots of good deals on there around here.

Welcome to the forums.

 

I thought it was high priced too. I may call and talk with them and find out what their bottom dollar is before going to look at it.

I search Craigslist, Ebay, and ATV Traderonline daily. Not much action within 300 miles from Denver.

 

trail bosses are a mantienance nightmare they are good machines but they have 3 chains that you have to keep a eye on and adjust I have a 96 sportman that is that way I love the machine (its a beast). so you deffinatly want 4x4?

 

I stopped looking at ATV Traderonline a while back. Seems they were being flooded with scams. Great price, but the atv was 1000 miles away, and they were moving/being shipped out/living over seas, that it just became a chore to look. Craigslist has that a lot, but at least people can flag the ads.

And yeah, the chains are a royal pain too.

 

I think I might regret it if I don't get 4x4. I'm really not sure. My Dads are both 4x4 and we use them a little in the winter up there. I'm really not sure how much I"d use these in winter or not. Other than the atv I listed above (which I just called on and is sold) I can't find anything for under 2k near me. Nothing