Just bought my 10 year old daughter a 07 90ex, so far so good. She loves to read and has read the manual twice, wich is good I think it gives her a good understanding about the quad and keeps asking me off the wall questions a girl would never ask. I was going to buy used but I have a 3 year old that will grow into it.

 

I just recently got my 9 year old son a Honda TRX250EX. It's an awesome ATV and he outgrew his 90 Polaris Sportsman.

They quickly outgrow the smaller machines, or the ATV becomes a hazard on some trails because they don't have the clearance or power to get them out of trouble. He was always breaking something because they are not built to run on most moderate ATV trails or jumps.

If you stay with a 90cc or smaller, I would suggest the Can-Am 90DS X package. From my research, it has better equipment to handle a wide range of conditions and may offer a longer ride life as your child grows.

Happy New Year and Safe Riding.

JAM

 

Well, this is a good deal, The dealer here has a 07 Sportman selling it for $2000. I think I need to bargain more, any tips to bring him down with price

 

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

Here is what our 11 year old son rides:





The Raptor 250 is a great learner quad. It has two inches more suspension travel than the Honda 250EX, weighs 47 lbs less, and cost $100 less. It has an inch more suspension travel than the Suzuki Z-250, weighs 56 lbs less, and cost the same. Power is very smooth and tractable. The brakes are straight off of a YFZ 450 (they work very good), and the lever reach and pressure needed on the levers is appropriate for younger riders.



I would also suggest staying away from the off brand Chinese ATVs. I have yet to talk to anyone that has owned one that hasn't spent more time wrenching on it than they spend riding it. Or maybe I should say spent more time looking for parts for it. No one can find parts for those things, so they are basically disposable ATVs. You buy them for nothing, and use them until they quit running (which isn't too long), and then you throw them away.</end quote></div>

You can find a New 07 Honda for much less than the 08 Raptor. The Raptor was my first choice and is an awesome ATV, but it doesnt have reverse. I think the reverse is very important, especially for the youg riders. The reason the Raptor is lighter, is because it's chain driven vs. shaft. I think the shaft is less maintenance as well. I only paid $2583 for a new 250EX out the door. The Honda also has a sport clutch that you can't stall, you can let out the clutch completely in gear and the bike will not stall or move forward.

 

Shaft drive doesn't add 47 pounds to the Honda, so I don't think you can say they would weigh the same if the Honda had a chain drive. Its too bad Honda just took a two wheel drive utility quad (250 Recon) and put sport quad plastic on it and called it a 250 EX. They could have done better starting from scratch if they would have wanted to put the R&D time into it.

As far as price goes, the list price for the 250 EX is actually $100 more than the Raptor 250. So it just depends on how good your particular dealer is to work with on price. Our local Honda dealer won't discount any at all. He's an old time dealer that acts like you are being rude if you ask to pay less than full retail. And I mean he really gets mad at you, LOL.

Which ever works best for you. They're both decent little quads for an 11 year old (and so is the Suzuki Z 250).

 

I agree they are both great ATV's. My first choice was the Raptor and from my research, it is clearly a better ATV (probably the best 250 on the market), it just didn't offer reverse.

http://forums.atvconnection.co...0/Honda%20TRX250EX.jpg