No. A sport quad is never a good first quad. You dont say how old/big you are but the law has something to say about what size machine you can ride, whereas the federal law is pretty toothless, most states spell out that under 16 cannot ride larger than 90cc - which is kinda dumb, I know 15 year olds as big as me, but if you ride on state land on LEGAL trails and obtain the more and more required license and insurance, you might run afoul of the law. My state is perhaps the most quad friendly in the USA with state sanctioned trails for atvs ONLY, but if you get caught off reservation or on a wrong size, they TAKE IT for good.

For anyone bigger than say an average 16 year old, I recommmend the Kawie Bayou 220 - this is (besides being the best deal in the USA for what you get vs what you sepnd) the best beginner quad - it requires almost nothing in maint and gas. If you were a Girl Id recommend the Suzuki LTF160. My wife for example went from a YFM100 to the 160 to the bayou 220 and has had the latter for 8 years in mint condition - it also depends on how hard a person rides and she qualifies as expert level.

As for buying a quad to wheelie and race, ditch that idea in a hurry. Spend a summer or two learning how to actually RIDE it. Get a machine with reverse - after 31 years of riding and racing I still find the ability to back up invaluable. Once you get to a point where you think you can handle a clutch WHILE rock crawling up a steep hill, then consider a sport quad. Go around to friends with sport quads and look at them closely, if the tops of the handle bars and plastic are scratched up from being upside down, and they dont race TT, then they simply cannot ride and/or selected way too much machine.

As for snow, a quads max is about 6", and even then its hairy, a 4x4 might add 2", but in the deep stuff that packs, the 2wd models tend to be lighter and dont break thru - few things worse than a 500lb 4x4 broken thru in a 2-3' snowpack - you have to come back in the spring to get it.

And since you are new, stay off the $%!#& roads and private property. Brats who have parents with more $$ than brains are getting local gov'ts to ban even the OWNERSHIP of ATVs in record numbers by behaving like morons. Contact the DEP for whatever state you live in and inquire about LEGAL trails. (sorry, but NYS, zero, CT - only lake candlewood when frozen, VT - zero - the north east is not friendly to quads.)

 

i dont think i totaly agree with what your saying, yes in some states its law that u have to have a quad for your age but thats only if u ride on public land as long as u ride on your land r someone elses it will be fine. and i still am saying what i said in my first post the 300ex is a great quad reliably fun and great at wheelies. if your a begginer looking to get into quad riding the 300ex is you best choice by far.

 

QuadDriver,,,,that is some darn good advice,,,,nice to have minds like yours around!

do you mind if I cut and paste that when ever I run into a newbie??


Offroadfury,,,,,take that advice to heart.

Safety 1st!!

 

yes always safety first. no matter what quad u get be safe and use your head and dont do anything above your skill level and u should be fine.