Besides the year, are there any major differences betweent he two years? I found a lightly used '05 that they are asking $1,800 for (Im going to try and get it for $1,000-$1,500). I am wondering if I should buy the '05 or just fork out the money for a brand new one if they are that much more advanced. Thanks!

 

The only differences are plastic style and e start.

 

Buy used on those kids bikes. You kid will grow out of it soon enough and then you sell it to someone else and so on and so on.

 

Yeah, if I can find a good one for the right price I will buy used to save some cash. I figure my oldest (7) will get a good 2-3 years out of it and then my now 19mo old will have it for a good 5 years after that. Just need to make sure if I go used that it will not give me more headaches than enjoyment for the next 8-10 years!

Going to go check out the 05 here in the next couple days to see what kind of condition it is in, from the pictures it doesn't look like a 05 as it has the current plastics on it. Maybe they just swapped out the old plastics for the newer ones.......

 

These are really about as simple as can be, and typically Honda reliable. I have a 96 that I picked up as a slight basket case. It looks a little rough, but runs great and only needed a little TLC when I got it. Stone cold reliable. They are a smidge big for most 7 y/o kids though.

 

Our last trip out to the dunes he rode a TRX90 all week and was able to handle it well (left it in 2nd gear). His mini quad was giving me hell so our friends let him borrow theirs. A 50 just wouldnt cut it in the sand otherwise that would be a option as well.

 

Hah, that is exactly how I handled it with my kids, 7 and left it in 2nd. They did fine also, but I never really let them have much motor until they were a bit older. The Honda is actually better than the cvt style minis in that regard. One, top speed is limited through gearing. A cvt will still go to fast if they get it pointed downhill or what not. Two, the stock suspension isn't as stiff as the Polaris either.