I don't know much about atv's and I was recently given a panther 110 '06 model. It's great to just ride around on. I wish it went a little faster. What is the general concensus on chinese atv's and should I buy one like the tornado 200. I don't know much about working on them. What's usually the biggest problem with them when compared to honda or polaris?

 

It is obvious that the "off brands" don't hold themselves to the same high quality control standards as the big 4 (Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawi).

Several of my friends have bought them, and all have lived to regret it!!!

 

well first you can tell there bad becuase most chinese quads are made to look like other quads (raptors, hondas, grizzly's, and so on) and there extremly hard to get parts for
if i was you dont bother and waste your money on some peice of garbage that you will hate and get a real quad (honda, yamaha, suzuki, kawisaki, and if you want polaris)

 

About as bad as your grammer. (Are not Is) Anyway now that that is out of the way. (sorry) One of my workmates bought one for the kids. Was missing 3 parts, not sure what but has got 2 of them so is rideable now. Got it off the net somewhere. He is regretting it also.

 

my grammer? (Was missing 3 parts, not sure what but has got 2 of them so is rideable now). Yours isn't the Yale worthy either. Just had to point that out. Thanks for the info. I just didn't want to pay three or four times more for a name brand. But if it will save me headaches and money later, that's cool. Thanks

 

Got to say that being old enough to remember the dirt bike days when there were no other manufacturers besides the big 4 (and a few minor Europeans), I consider Polaris, A-Cat, and CanAm to be newcomer wanabee "off brands" as well! Why are these companies stuck on producing overly heavy belt drive utilities????

 

I suggest that you go to the "Kids Quads and other ATVs " section here and read first-hand what actual users/buyers of these are saying. Some of the folks there are glad they bought, others are not - but at least they actually bought them ... real first-hand experience ... what a concept!

Is my ChinQuad as good as a Honda? Hell, no - but a Honda would have cost four times as much, more likely five.

How much little 'gottafixit' is worth five times your money? Nobody can asnswer that question for you except you. Look inside you - do you want things easy, or do you prefer to consider yourself frugal and independent? (reality check - you don't get BOTH of those in life anywhere)

Imagine you have to fix your own car. You're on your back in the driveway with grease on your hands and a couple of skinned knuckles. What is your attitude? Do you gripe about doing it and swear "never again", or do take comfort in not having to pay someone big bucks and wait on their schedule?

If you take comfort in saving $ and doing for yourself, then a ChinQuad will prolly be OK for you.
If you're a griper in this situation, then just empty your wallet and go Jap - or you'll be miserable.

My point is not to say that the Chinese machne will continuously break - I'm only trying to determine which choice better fits your personality.




I personally am glad I bought. Several months and 40hrs running time later reliability is solid after a couple of initial "negotiations". I stopped worrying about it after the first time I took a 30-mile each way trip that was all joy, no tears.

True, the final data won't be in until my ChinQuad has lived and died. I know that this thing is not gonna live as long as a Honda and will not be as hands-off trouble-free along the way. But with the $ I could spend, it was this or no quad at all - for this price you can't even buy a USED big-name machine that runs at all around here. So, my wife would be off riding alone and I'd be at home telling myself how smart I am for insisting on a Honda. Gee, that sounds nice.

 

What's so ecomomical about a broken down quad sitting in the garage useless????? My kids have one friend, and he can never go riding because his cheapie machine never runs!

The "hand-me-down" potential with a high quality name brand quad is so much greater than the off brand machines! If you have several kids, it makes more sense economically to get a high quality machine that can be passed down, than an off brand that will tank after a few months and never make it through the oldest kid much less the younger ones.

My beaten old Honda 90 was the starter quad for my four kids, and the first ride ever for an inumerable number of our friends kids. It has done thousands of miles of hard a$$ cross country riding! I wouldn't trade that one quad for a boat load of ChiCom carp machines!

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: reconranger

Got to say that being old enough to remember the day when there were no other manufacturers besides the big 4 (and a few minor Europeans), I consider Polaris, A-Cat, and CanAm to be newcomer wanabee "off brands"! Why are these companies stick on producing overly heavy belt drive utilities????</end quote></div>


Honda is the last hold out for not using belts on there Utilities and you never hear of a Honda Utility at the top of its class in any comparison.

Honda last

Honda last agian

Not sure what you mean about heavy? A belt drive 700 Grizzly weights the same a 500 Rubicon. Weight on a utility? the more the better just add more HP I say.

As for the Topic ,I would buy a second hand name brand before a new Chinese ATV.

Can Am, Polaris and Arctic Cat Have been making high powered sleds for decades so building a low powered ATV is no big stretch for them in the least.

 

Chinese atvs have their place ( the landfills )

Have you not heard about all the unsafe products they are sending in the US with no regard. Lead paint baby toys, poison pet food, poison toothpaste, many atv's are not capable of starting out of the crate.....I sold a 05' modified 300ex for $1700 cash, what Chinese atv in that price range is better than that.....? And what about resale?