Hello All...great forum with tons of terrific information. Hope to get some great advice from you all.

I have been looking into buying an ATV for a while now and have been doing my research. I know the pro's and con's of the different manufacturers, so I think I'm pretty set there. What I need some advice on is on age of rider.

My son is 10 and is a pretty big kid, (he looks eye to eye to his mother). I have to add that he is extremly cautious and safety concience as well as mature for his age. I want something he can learn to ride that isn't too big. I have looked at the youth atv's, but all really are too small for his body frame.

This will be the first atv for our family and I want my wife to be comfortable as well. Any suggestions on the size of machine that the wife and kid can both ride?

Other input regarding kid his age riding, helping them learn etc would be great!!! I know all the manufacturers say you have to be 16, but most of that is legal stuff anyways. I've seen plenty of kids 11 and 12 riding more than the smaller 90's.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I don't think you could go wrong by buying a Honda 250ex. It's relatively small, has shaft drive (easy maintenance), and an auto-clutch (shifts easier for a beginner). I am thinking about buying one for my wife...she has been expressing interest in atving. I think it would be a good/safe first quad. My first atv was an ATC 200x, and that was when I was 9 years old. Buy them both a helmet, and send them to an atv rider safety class. 2 other quads for consideration would be a Yamaha Blaster, or maybe a polaris trail blazer (but I think this one would be outgrown fast).

 

TXDad
Recon,or 250ex you just can't go wrong there.I got a recon for my self then passed it down to my wife.Then it went on down to my son.(9years old) This past Chistmas we got him a250ex.He loves it.If your son like the sporty look the 250ex has them.If you want one for lite utilety work go with the Recon.


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96 400explorer
99 500scram.
01 250ex
98 250recon

 

Wow...looks like we are on the same wavelength guys! I too was thinking 250ex....schrolled down and realized you guys recommended a 250ex. A 250ex should be a nice quad.....I like the shaft drive too.....less maintenance and parts to buy is a good thing. Kids wanna ride all day in the yard or around the house.....more miles than one would initially think.

 

The 250 or Recon is probably a great choice. My daughter takes a lot of her (beginner) friends riding with us. Most of these kids are 10-12 yrs old, and are a little small yet to be riding the 250. They all do great on the 90.

While it might be nice to start him on a 90, he will probably outgrow it real fast. Economicaly, it make more sense to get him a bike he can grow into, rather than get him a bike he will quickly grow out of. Just have him take it real easy at first. Plus, the biger bike can be used by other family members too.

 

Go with the blaster. A manual clutch is easy. Good for beginners-stock and when hes older throw some other stuff on and make a experienced riders quad. Plus he has to get used to a manual clutch sometime if he wants to ride bigger quads in the future why not start now?