I bought my 6 year old a 125 atv for Christmas. The first few days were fine then it started having this issue. The crummy dealer I bought from will not warranty anything.

It will run fine for a while (maybe 30 min) and then will suddenly go slow, like a crawl. Reverse works perfectly. I cannot tell you how many times I have had to drive this thing in reverse all the way home! Sometimes it will spontaneously start driving forward again but it only lasts a few minutes then it crawls again. What could this be?

 

Is is fully auto? 2 months old? If auto, open the cvt side (left) and inspect your clutch, belt and rollers. Plenty of videos on youtube for how it's supposed to work.

 

Technically it is 1 month and 1 week old. It has done this from the start. My husband adjusted the clutch and it drove fine for half and hour then it locked up again.

While towing it home I think we figured out the problem. It is the rear axle locking up. When in neutral you can roll it backward but not forward. We thought maybe brakes, but would the brakes locking up would it be able to go backward?

 

disconnect the chain and see how the rear axle moves will it show the same symptom. Possibly a cooked bearing in the rear axle? The dealer really does not have a choice but to warranty it. Ask the dealer what is cheaper fixing it and fixing it right or deal with court and local media

 

Would the bearings being bad allow it to work intermittently? It will work, then not, then work again within minutes.

The dealer is one of those warehouse type volume discounters who advertise on craigslist. It was shady from the start. I called to confirm they had the color we wanted and to confirm they accepted Visa, and also to confirm the price with tax. When we arrive on Christmas eve they have one left. They say there is a $100 "set up fee" to make sure it starts. Then they wont take credit cards. Being last minute and we had to get it we pulled out the debt card and paid the extra $100 fee as well. The ad also listed it came with a helmet and goggles (confirmed that too) and after we paid they said they were out of helmets and threw in a free charger. The charger is a total joke. I realize their helmet was probably not the best quality too, but here I was on Christmas eve with no helmet so I had to go buy one that day.

We did call them and they said it "might" be under warranty but labor was not. There is a $150 fee to have them look at it.



We bought two of these for our older kids 4 years ago. They ran for two years till the frames broke. They are good cheap starter atvs I guess. The first two were much better than this one though!

 

i have seen failed bearings do some really strange things. i had a wheel bearing do the same grinded going forward, smooth going backward.

does not matter how u bought warranty is warranty and their is no charge. only costs $50 to register a claim. might be enough to scare him strait..

 

Im betting a bearing.......works good til friction heats it up then gets tight.

 

Sick and tired of seeing these backyard dealers take advantage of people. If they can sell the units they can do warranty on them. does not matter what you buy as long as your kids enjoy it and with dealers like that its the kids that re loosing out in the end

 

Did you ever figure this issue out for sure?

 

Im having the same issue it rolls in reverse fine but no power in the drive gear...bearings are fine....sprockets are good to go...new spark plug....i have ordered a new clutch....and ignition coil. I dont know whatelse it could be but im ready to burn it to the ground