Newbie here! Just signed up and this is my first post.

I'm looking to buy atv's for my three kids, ages 9, 7 & 5. I've looked at Polaris (Daddy has a 2011 800 Crew!), Jackel, Unison (are they even still in business?).

Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks!

 

Main advice is avoid the Chinese brand kid's quads. There notorious for needing to be wrenched more than ridden. Honda makes a nice kids quad as do the other major names. A lot of them are Korean made which is years ahead of the Chinese quality. As they get older there are good quads in the 250cc range like the Honda Recon, Suzuki Ozark, and Kawasaki Bayou. I'd rather buy a used kid's quad from the major makes than a brand new Chinese quad for less money.

 

Cheap deals usually end up with constant headaches! Some are better,like Kymco (Korean) and others, and even the little Polaris 4 strokes are a lot better than the earlier 2 stroke models. Just don't buy one at a flea market ,side of the road on a flat bed trailer like I've seen down here and have a good dealer support and parts availability. OPT

 

Got my 6 year old girl an Eton Viper 50 and my 9 year old boy an Eton Viper 90. Both are 2 strokes. Both were used. They are a really good quality. I believe the manufacturer is Korean and they make the Kymco's and most of the 80-90cc quads from the big names (Polaris, Kawasaki, Yamaha, etc...). They run around $2200-2600 new (usually sold at big name dealers), but you can find great deals on them used. I paid $700 for the 90 (hardly used) and $375 for the 50 (well used, was bought new then went through 2 boys, but in good shape). Have an Ozark for when the 9 year old is ready to move up. Lots of options out there, but I'm really happy with the Eton's. Like everyone else has stated, avoid the Chinese ones if possible. I started looking at them 1st (hey, $800 for a new quad), but quickly got turned off when I saw one in person.

 

Thanks for the input. I'm still researching but think I'm leaning towards Polaris. Depends on what kind of deal I can find.

 

My daughter rides an ETON Viper 70 and it is a very well made machine. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another. No issues with it at all.

ETON does (or did) make many of the major brands youth ATVs for a while (Arctic Cat, Polaris, etc.)

They are not the same as a flea-market ATV.

 

Check out the Yamaha's. The 125 grizzly and the 90 Raptor.

 

Well guys, just an update on what I ended up with.

2010 Polaris Outlaw 90
Got this for my daughter. She was thrilled with the pink/white color scheme. I really lucked out on this one in that it barely had a tank of gas run through it. It was practically brand new. Got it for $1,700.

2011 Polaris Sportsman 90
This was for my older son. He loves the utility look. This had a little more use than his sister's but was still in excellent condition. Got it for $1,800.

2007 Polaris Predator 50
This was for my youngest son. It's a little older and definitely had more use (We're the third owner) but I expect my boy to outgrow it soon enough. I wanted to get him a 90 but he just wasn't quite big enough. Bought this from Big Country Powersports in Bowling Green, KY for $1,000.

All in all, the kids are thrilled and I'm happy (except for my already drought-burnt lawn getting turfed!) I'm cutting new trails in our woods so hopefully they'll spend less time in the yard.



Thanks for the input everyone!
Jim

 

They look great. Good to see them all in helmets. I'd recommend gloves and long pants and shirts when they get riding.

 

Agreed. I had the throttles turned down pretty far when this pic was taken. The flip flops &the Cross are gone too!