i'm looking into getting this machine. anyone have any experience with this quad? it looks pretty good.

 

We got a Yamoto 50 for our son's 6th birthday, he loves it. I'll give you the good and the bad.

Good:
Goes like a bat out of hell for a 50, easily did 25mph with 6'4" 240lb man on it.
Pretty good sized, he won't be outgrowing it anytime soon.
Has 3 lights, one on each side and one a little higher up in the middle, great for when we're out around dusk or later.
It's very nice looking, we get comments about how sharp it looks for a mini.


Bad:
Battery was constantly dead because of the alarm system. Once that was removed(simple plug), we had no more dead battery problems.
Turning radius wasn't very good, steering stem hits the frame. A little bit of grinding took care of that.
It's also a little on the heavy side.
Tiny gas tank, don't plan on any long trail rides with out bringing extra fuel.
Not much low end power, has some trouble grunting over some rocky trails.
We are still tweaking with the brake levers. Going to get different levers next to see if that helps. The ones that come on it are too hard for my son to reach and pull.


Now for the managable:
Those dual a-arms look great, but there's just bolts, no bushings. I took the bolts out, greased them up, slipped on some rubber washers to keep the grease in and the dirt out, seems to be working pretty good. Much smoother and softer than without the grease. Although they are still on the stiff side, I'm thinking of putting on shorter springs.
Check every single bolt, they tend to shake loose, especially the front end. A little lock tight should do the trick.
The chain guard is only plastic, our's broke already, he was jumping it when it broke, so I kind of expected it, not a big deal.
The thumb throttle is stiff, we bolted on an extension, seems to cut down on the thumb fatigue.
Not the best in sand, wider tires might help, but for now I'm using it as a teaching tool so he can feel when he needs to use more power.


All in all, it's a great little quad for the money. Don't expect to be racing it though, it's definitely a learners quad. Although my son does toss the rear end around pretty good and takes small jumps.

That's about all I can think of right now.

 

wow! thanks for all the info. that helps alot!.....red

 

Excellent review codyormoe. Lots of great info.

Welcome to the forum red500. You going to buy a Yamoto 50?

 

A little update on the review:

We did a little impromptu crash testing today. My son plowed into the front of my Predator 500 today(he came flying around a corner, jumped the berm and BAM) and the only damage was the bumper on both quads. Mine was dented in(I've been wanting a new bumper, good excuse to get one now), his was totaled, mushed........but he was fine, and that's the important part. The bumper did what it was supposed to do and protected the rest of the quad and the rider. He hit the bars and broke the light switch(chest protector came in handy!), actually the inside of the switch, we had to solder the connections back on, it twisted when he hit and pulled the wires.

I was sitting still when he hit and it rocked my quad back pretty good. I was really worried he was hurt, he bumped his hip and that was the only thing bothering him, we pushed the bumper back off the shock and he got back on it and wanted to ride more. Needless to say, it needs some minor repair. We'll weld the bumper back together, get a couple new bulbs(two side light bulbs went out but the center light still works)and he'll be good to go. It started right back up and runs fine, nothing else was bent or broken, he rode it home. I thought for sure this little $1000 quad was going to be toast after a crash like that, I'm impressed at how well it held up, he wasn't going slow by any means.

 

Here's an added tip. The stock front shocks off a Pred 90 fit on the Yamoto 50 and soften the front end up sooooooo much, unbelievable difference. They are a tad shorter than the stock Yamoto shocks and a little wider too, but they bolt up just fine. We had a spare set laying around in the garage and I guess the stiff front end has been on my mind because I woke up yesterday morning with the idea in my head. Swapped them out while still in my jammies, took my son out riding(I did get dressed first) and it's just so much smoother now.

 

I've got this machine recently and wondering about the alarm system drain on the battery. Can you let me know what to unplug to disconnect the alarm to stop the drain on the battery. Thanks