My son will be turning 7 next month and I'd like to get him his first quad. He's never rode before, although he's very coordinated & pretty bright. Is there much difference between the 50cc & 70cc? Or should I be looking at something else? I'd appreciate any advice on the right way to go. I'd hate to get something he's going to outgrow right away, but also fearful of getting something he'll get into trouble with.

Thanks,

Scott McCrum
San Antonio, Texas

 

They all have throtle limiters, so no matter what the cc's, you can keep things under control.

I have owned the Suzuki LT80 and Honda 90. The LT is suitable for smaller/younger kids, and the Honda for kids that are bigger and ready to learn to shift.

Absolutely avoid the huge new crop of "off-brand" machines. My friends with them have had nothing but trouble.

 

Take a good look at E-ton I have a Viper 70 and its been great, my daughter was 7 when we got it. It has the same frame as the 90 Viper. I put the rims and tires off a 90 Viper on it when she got used to the machine. The also have bolt on mods for them as well. Stay with the Suzuki, Eton quads... this guy specializes in kids quads. It will give you a good idea of whats out there. Anythingatv.com

Good Luck

 

The 70's should give you a little more oomph, something that will make them better trailriders than most 50's. Being 7, I would be looking more for a 70 personally. they can always be governed down. E-ton has one of the better 70's out, but there are others.

 

LT/KFX 80 or TRX 90. The 50s are slugs, and the so is the Raptor 80.

Stay away from anything not made by Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha, Kawasaki, Polaris, or Arctic Cat. Basically avoid anything but the Japanese and the American manufacturers . The stuff coming out of China is varying in quality. Some of it is OK and some of it is just crap. The best way to avoid getting a hunk of Chinese made crap is by avoiding that segment of the market entirely.

 

Man, I love the internet. You all saved me tons of research time, and most likely saved me from a mistake. I'll follow the advice. Thanks.

Scott McCrum

 

In the interest of full disclosure, my 7 y/o is on a 90 and is just starting out. As long as your kid physically fits and is mentally and emotionally mature enough to handle the decision making that riding demands, you will be all right. On the other hand, I may buy him a smaller quad next spring A) because he has a younger sister that will be ready to learn in a little over a year, and B) I would like to have something smaller and lighter that he can throw around easier. This is probably the last year you will see 2 strokes for sale, and the 70 2 strokes like the E-ton should be easily modifiable to make the power of a stock or even lightly modded 90 4 stroke.

Do you currently have a quad also? If not, try and budget one in, as it can be beneficial to teach a new rider by having them follow you over a simple course. Plus you can follow them and keep a good eye on them.

 

If you plan on your son riding this atv for a bunch of years, I would go with the Yamaha Grizzly 80 or 125. It is an awesome little bike with nice features. I prefer the 125 because it is fully automatic with reverse. My daughter is 7 and she rides it more than she rides her Yamaha 80 because of it being an automatic. The 125 is my sons atv and he is 10. It does have a throttle set screw on it to keep it tame, however, the bike even performs with me on it and I am 5"11 and 195 lbs.

Good Luck!

 

My son is 8 now and will have had his 06 TRX 90 a year come October. He handles it way better than anyone ever thought and he has Asperger's Disorder which is a form of high functioning autisim.
He started at age 3 on an old battery powered Power Wheels atv that was give to him. I replaced the battery with a 12 volt lawnmower battery that would run the thing for several hours.

I promised him a gas powered atv and looked at several before deciding on the Honda. He can manhandle the thing if he needs to back it up...no reverse.....but he hasn't got himself in that situation anymore.
I have the throttle screw turned in so it's top speed is limited to about 15 to 20 mph now. He learned to shift up and down in a matter of a couple of hours and I am really surprised how well he drives it.

Other than an oil change, the only other thing I have done to it is clean and adjust the chain. It's a well made machine with that bullet-proof Honda 90 engine.

 

My uncle has Asperger's Disorder and has a very high IQ around 160 or so...