I'm looking for a small quad for my 9 & 14 year old sons. Something in a 2 cycle auto. Any recommendations?

 

The Kawasaki Bayou 220 is probably the most economical ATVs on the market. It is also a pure utility quad which means it is not as fast at the sport or sport/utility models. It is a four-stroke however. Still, two-strokes will soon be history if the EPA has it's way.

I own a Bayou 220 in addition to a Honda TRX 300, both of which have been equally reliable.

I should add too that according to industry standards, kids less than 16 should only operate ATVs with an engine size of 90cc or less. Of course we both know this rule is ignored 99% of the time.

 

My son has a Suzuki LT-80 (2-stroke auto). It does well, but is hard to start when the air filter gets dirty-and it gets dirty real fast!! The filter is up front. The cooling air comes in here also so the thing gets exposed to a lot of dirty air. The filter is a b**** to change too!

 

Also, see my post about the safety of automatics in the Sport Quads section of the Forum. Your kids are probably old enough to handle an autoclutch (I would recommend the Honda 90). Don't underestimate HOW FAST THE KIDS WILL OUTGROW A SMALL BIKE!! A 14 year old is probably to big for the littler bikes. Good luck!!

 

Greetings,

Dirt Wheels has run some articles on small quads and recently compared the E-Ton to the Honda 90. Even in their limited test time, they found the E-Ton sort of came apart under use -- lots of stuff needed to be tightened up and refastened, etc. While more expensive, the Honda (as is their reputation) hung in there. There are lots of neat looking small quads out there, but the reputation of Chinese machines is still a question. There are some other posts around here about the rapid deterioration of some of the new small quad entries, you might try a search to see what comes up.

I looked into buying a small quad a year ago and, for your age group, you might look at the Yamaha Breeze. Its a 125cc, big enough for the 14 year old but still small enough for a 9 year old. Its fairly expensive for a kids quad and I know a number of people (self included) who just went up to a Recon or Bayou for the few extra bucks. I let my kids ride the Recon but in pretty limited situtations (like open fields in second gear). Another in-between size to consider is the TrailBoss. While its a bigger machine, its very easy to ride and not that powerful. I'm sure you realize that a lot depends on your kids and their experience.

Personally, I don't like chain drive or 2-strokes -- I know its not that much more maintenance, but I just don't need anything else (like another type of oil in my inventory) to deal with. Just my opinions.

Thanks,

Rod