I've got a 12 year old on the Grizzly 125 auto for two years now, he's been riding since he was 6 from 50cc on up. His skill level is up there pretty high as far as technical issues. I love the features with it havin reverse, automatic, light and so on. It is a tough bike. Debated about the 250 or the 125, I don't think I could have made a better decision. With his size and weight he is perfect for it. I just can't see the reasoning to put a 10 nor a 13 year old on a 250cc atv, the 250 is not a big bike, but it is compared to a child, with arm and leg length , weight and being able to ""work" the bike all comes into play. I know my boy is ready mentally for a 250-300, but just isn't physically. Atv riding is supposed to be fun, not work. My opinion.

 

Bought my son a Yamaha Big Bear 250 for his 11th b-day. He is a responsible rider, and never rides alone, and he handles it just fine. With strict parenting, a lot of patience, and a willingness to teach them, they can ride anything. Before we got him his own quad, he was riding his mothers Kodiak 450.

 

Thanks for all of the suggestions. Man, I just can't find many good, used youth atv's around here. I have located a 2004 Yamaha Grizzly 125. They are asking $2,200 for it, which I think is very high. What you say is a good price for this bike?

I like the size of the 125. I think my son could ride it for several years. How reliable is this machine? Any known problems?

I have also looked at the new AC and Polaris 90's. I like them both.

Decisions, decisions.

 

The AC does not have reverse. I personally must have reverse. The 125 looks like a good machine. My son is turning 9 and I have pretty much decided on getting him the polaris. I put him on both and he felt more comfortable on the Polaris (it was a little smaller). You can do a side by side comparison by going to www.powersportsnetwork.com

You can also get a good price on both at www.abernathycycle.com it is located in Union City, TN.

Polaris 90 2007 for $1,994; the Grizzly 125 2007 for 2,684.00. These are out the door prices.

Hope this info Helps. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

the first bikes i rode when i was like 8 was a yamaha breeze. Loved that damn thing, pretty fun ride. then next i rode my dads suzuki 160cc. That bike was fun, rode it for probably 3 years and put a lot of miles on it. If i was you i'd look for a good used yahama breeze or something in the 125-200cc range. dont really need 4x4 with these bikes, they are light. and if he gets stuck with you, you can just tug him out.

 

If you feel he can handle a 125 do it, only problem with them is the brake drain hole in the rear as I said earlier, othe than that, people have been shocked at where this thing can go and do. Even though I'm getting ready to receive a Polaris "tough girl pink" 90cc, it still has a new 4'stroke engine this year, not proven yet, however the Grizzly is almost the same as the original Breeze and it's as far as I know the same engine, proven for years. I can tell you more about it if needed. The price of the Grizzly new is about 3500.00 If I remember, A little bit more and I could have bought a 250, but wasn't. Personally on the used one, check out the brakes, but other than that it is a solid machine. I think the price on the used one is OK, worst case, have it checked out by a dealer before buying.

 

That price does not seem to far out of line, we just bought the 03 Breeze for 1900, try to talk them down a bit. Seems like a very reliable little ride and my 10 year old loves it. I have fun putting around camp on it to !

 

check, this is good news to me because I just picked up a brand new DVX50cc yesterday for my daughter to match my new DVX400, so sounds like it is working well for you and your kid? My wife was surprised how much power this thing had, we turned the restricting screw as far as we could without it falling out and still packs a punch, my 7 year daughter is a wild child, only reason we are worried about it for her learning. Good to hear it is strong because theres allot of my wife riding my 4 year old son to get him used to it before his solo run. Let me know of anything I need to know about this machine, thanks in advance.

 

Michirider, the number one thing I would say is to get your daughter under control or she will hurt herself. The AC DVX 50 is a big bike, some 250 lbs on a large frame, and it has a very tight turning circle. Which is one reason why it only goes about 9 mph stock. There are ways to make it faster, but I wouldn't just yet. Look at the statistics on kids' injuries - they are scary.

In fact, I would look at the ATV safety Institute booklet, which gives you a checklist of what your child should have and be able to do before riding. It may seem unnecessary to you, but go have a look at it - you will be surprised at the number of issues, many of which you can work on with your daughter. The website is

www.atvsafety.org

When you get there, click on Library/Safety Tips, and then scroll (way) down to the Document,

"Parents, Youngsters, and ATV Vehicles".

It is 52 pages long, and is an excellent publication that I would recommend it to anyone with a younster.

In any case, keep me posted, OK? There aren't too many out there that I've seen with the Arctic Cat DVX 50 (due to heavy competition from Mainland Chinese quads), so we are a small club! It is a great quad, made in Taiwan where I believe all the really good kid's quads are, it uses a lot of Kymco parts (again, a good company), and it is physically big enough to last you kids a long time - you could perhaps even drop a 90 cc in it years later, instead of buying a new machine! (Maybe I'll even do that myself when my 9 year-old needs more power years down the road.)

By the way, your new Quad isn't a 2007 is it? I had heard that Arctic Cat was discontinuing the 4-stroke DVX 50 after only one year (2006), due to lack of sales volume.

 

i wouldnt worry about getting your son a 125... the grizz 125 is a great little machine, along with the breeze 125. i wouldnt worry about something with 4x4, because if he gets stuck he probably wont be far from any one who can help pull it out, and he shouldnt be riding in any overly deep mud or anything. i personally wouldnt go with anything below a 125, my first atv was a polaris magnum 325, and i was 9. i had a blast and my dad just said "keep it in low". he didnt let me ride in the woods until i could prove to him i was ready and he was confident i was ready. i actually started out driving my dads sportsman with him on the back because he got that a year before he got my brother and me anything. just remember that kids arent idiots, they learn pretty fast, and that they will grow up fast as well. you deffenitely wont be dissapointed with the grizz 125 and its big enough that he will be able to ride it for a few years to come.