Kazuma 50

This review is for those who are trying to decide if this is the right atv for their child. Thanks to all of those who posted info like this in the past. I read a lot about these 50’s before I bought one. So I thought I should post my experience as well.

Summary:
If you are a decent mechanic and want a low cost, backyard, beginner atv, then this is a good quad for you. It’s nicer than I expected and so far (only 3 hours run time) I have had no significant problems. My son thinks it’s awesome, so that makes me happy.

Order/Delivery:
I ordered from Raceway. It arrived in 6 days in good shape, no damage.

Setup:
Basically I took it apart before even starting it. I did this because of all the horror stories I’ve read but most of what I did was unnecessary.

Carb:
There was no gel bag inside. The float level was correct. Carb was clean. Idle and air screw adjustments were close. I ended up at 2 turns out on the air screw as the best setting. The carb top cap does not tighten. I’m guessing the gasket is missing or too thin. Plus the cap does not come off. It only moves about a half turn. I think the choke mechanism needs to be removed first and then the cap will unscrew. Plus the throttle cable guide coming off the top of the cap does not tighten in the correct orientation. As a short term fix, I taped the cap to keep it from turning and loosely zip tied the throttle cable to the frame. This should keep everything from moving too far. I’m just worried about the throttle hanging open. Later I will make a gasket for the top cap and add a lock nut to the cable guide. This is the only significant issue I’ve had so far.

Valve Lash:
Both valve lash adjustments were on the tight side with no clearance. It probably would have run but I readjusted them to get approximately .004” clearance.

Nuts/Bolts/Threads:
Everything was tight and most have lock washers. Some of the threads on the frame that hold the plastic on were fairly rough. So I had to re-tap a few of them and replace a few small bolts. It was not necessary but I figured if I fix it now, it would save me aggravation later.

Gas tank:
I took removed the on/off/reserve valve and cleaned the tank. There were a couple small pieces of plastic that came out. But nothing that would have caused a problem.

Oil:
I changed the oil before running it and again after about an hour of run time. There were a few small metal flakes that came out but nothing to worry about. The original oil smells funny, kind of like brake fluid. I replaced it with regular 10W40.

Brakes:
The brakes seem adequate for stopping power. What I like is the foot pedal. It is very easy for the rider to stop using his foot and body weight instead of a hand brake lever.

Suspension:
The front is solid. The rear has a shock and spring. But the spring is way too stiff so effectively the rear axle has no suspension either. I’m looking for a different coil over shock and spring for the rear. I think the right setup would result in a good 2-3” of travel, which would greatly improve the ride. I set the tires at 4 psi and that provides enough suspension for now.

Transmission / HP / Speed:
I like the 4 speed. Since my son is still learning, I leave it in first gear and have the throttle limited to maybe 1/4 of wide open. When he lets off the gas the atv slows down nicely and first gear has enough power to go up small hills even with the throttle limited. The motor seems to have plenty of power for even an intermediate rider. But I doubt that the engine will actually be able to pull 4th gear as it seems too tall. I’m guessing that max speed would be achieved in 3rd gear. But that doesn’t really matter. On the down side, the tranny is a bit hard to shift.

Starting:
It starts very easy. Since I leave it in first gear, I put the rear axle on a jack stand so that I can start it in gear. Just let it warm up a couple minutes and it is ready to go. It will not start in gear when cold with the tires on the ground. There is too much drag from the automatic clutch.

Chain:
The chain was way too tight. I had to loosen it. Plus when you roll the tires, the chain would go from loose to tight. I unbolted the sprocket from the axle and rotated it 180 degrees. This fixed 80% of the problem. My axle is bent slightly and the bolt pattern on the sprocket and/or axle flange is not exactly on center. But after turning the sprocket it is now acceptable.

Electrical:
All the connections and wiring look good. I did not bother to try and seal up the connectors. This will be a field atv not a mud bog racer. So I think its good enough as is. My son thinks the headlight is cool.

Kill Switches:
I like the rear tether. I walked/ran behind my son for the first several rides. It’s good knowing you can stop it if you see something about to happen. There is another tether on the left side below the seat. I don’t like the location and will move it to the handlebars and convert it to a normal push button and cap tether with a short cord to the riders left wrist. I wish it had a remote kill switch also. I may be adding one if possible.

Steering:
The steering seems a little tight. I greased to handlebar post checked the spindle bolts (which seemed to be over-tightened). That helped some. Its still a bit stiff, maybe is will free up over time but its ok as it is now.

Wheel Spacers:
I’m not sure it needs them right now. Maybe when my son goes faster I will put some on. The only ones I found for sale were $45 per axle. That seems a bit pricey. I would just push the stud out of the axle flange and replace it with longer bolts. Then either make or find suitable spacers. I think 1” to 1.5” per wheel should be enough.

Size:
It is one of the smallest atv’s I’ve ever seen but it’s the perfect size for my son who is 4 years old, 40” tall and has been riding powerwheels for 2 years. I’m glad I got this size. He jumped right on the first day and looked comfortable as opposed to being intimidated by its size.

Overall:
It’s a good value for the money. I did not want to buy another powerwheels. I did not want to spend $1500+ for a new name brand mini quad. I’ve been looking for a used one since last summer. I did not find anything I wanted. They were either junk or too expensive or too far away to go see it in person. I did spend a few hours working on the Kazuma but I would have done the same thing if I had bought a used atv.

Sorry this is so long but I wanted to cover everything. Let me know if you have any questions. I’ve been lurking here for quite a while so I thought it was time to contribute something.

 

That was a great review. I can tell you that my son has ha no problems what so ever and it runs like a top. These are pretty much bullet proof. They should be because there is not much to them. My 4yo rides the crap out of his and loves every minute of it. I did make my own wheel spacers just for extra precaution bu tI dont think they are needed untill they start going faster. I punched out the studs and put in longer bolts then spaced it with nuts to the width that I wanted. I think it is about 1.5" in each side. I dont think you can find a better quad that small for that amount of money. Not much more than a power wheels. Good Luck!

 

Thanks for the reply. Does your carb have the same issue as mine with the cap being loose?

 

Thanks Racer47 for taking the time to post this. I have also been doing some lurking here as we have a grandson that will be ready to move to a gas powered quad in about a year. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] Another thing that grandpa can teach the kid. Sounds like the Kazuma may be the way to go. We have a large area, about 10 acres, at the farm that the kids can ride around in while the adult/s can watch from the house. A remote kill switch would be a very good idea and I will be adding one even if I have to make it up using RC airplane transmitter and reciever. When the kids get a little older thats another sport I get to teach them.

 

Wow, great review. I wish you had been around when we bought. Our mini 50 is now over one year old. I can't guess how many hours my youngest has ridden that thing. Other than one simple problem (Dead Meerkat post) it has worked great. We religously change the oil, check the chain and look for loose bolts then I just let her go. After two roll overs I put spacers all around. It really helped in the turns as I gave her more speed.

You're right on the shifting. Andrea still pretty much rides around in 2nd most of the time. It gives enough power for hills and mud but I don' t worry too much about over-reving the engine.

 

Racer47: Wow, you sure did prep the machine... Just a couple tips: 1) Be careful about changing the rear shock. Too much play will increase chances of your manifold cracking. 2) Once the engine & clutch work itself in, you should be able to start in gear with wheels on the ground. It usually takes 2-4 weeks for the engine to find itself. 3) In most cases, the chain will stretch in the first few weeks. Be sure to readjust.

 

please e-mail me what you used for the wheel spacers.Thanks Terryre tredye@***.net