I see alot of posts on here about how fast your children can or can't go on there new quads. The gentleman with the concern about the Raptor 50 going to slow, brought on alot of replies. I agree that 11 mph is a little slow once they get experience, but all these people saying trade it in for an eighty or a ninety really bother me. I commend the person (and the only person) who brought up safety and how fast a kid should be going anyway. A 4-6 year old kid, unless they are very large for there age, have no business on an 80 or 90. Not only are they too big for a 4-6 year old to comfortably ride, the kids can't handle the controls safely. I had this same discussion with my brother who ended up buying the Arctic Cat 90 for his 5 year old and a friend who bought the LT80 for his 4 year old. When these kids ride with my son (he's 5 with a 2002 Suzuki Quadmaster 50) they can pass him on the straightaways, but they are always taking breaks, they can't stop good (because they can't reach the controls) and have actually hit my son's quad a few times. They get stuck in mud and hills and rough sections that my son barrels right through because he can hande his quad very well. I like the size of the Raptor 50 ad the LTA50, but my son is ready for some more power too, but I am certainly not going to trade up for something too large that will compromise his safety. I am researching mods (not having much luck though) or possibly another 50 that will accept mods better. BTW, the CPSC regulates how fast these quads can go, they are protecting us from ourselves (and the stupid people).

 

hags, i agree with you 100%. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I have to strongly disagree.It really depends on the individual child.Our son has been riding on or driving battery powered vehicles since he was 3 years old.He rides with us when we dirtbike,snowmobile and go atving.What I'm getting at is he was a pretty good driver and sort of had a feel for it I guess from riding with us.He got on his new Viper 90 at the age of 5 1/2 and rode it like he had been doing it all his life.I admit he was a little slow on the brakes until he got some riding experience under his belt but this is where it is the PARENTS responsibility to keep the child under very close supervision until he does get the hang of it.Go out in a field or a big gravel pit where there are no obstacles to run into and have them follow a specified path so you know they are in control.Make them stop on a certain location etc.Its up to us to teach them,not just plop them on and say lets go.I agree some children may not be able to reach controls etc,its up to the parents to solve this problem(modify brake levers and adjust controls,buy different smaller bike or just wait until they can) but there are usually ways around it.A lot of 50cc bikes share the same chassis with the 90s just with smaller tires and engine so buying a 50 isn't necessarily the answer.Keep the factory restrictors in place until they become a hinderance to the childs riding ability Age certainly does not necessarily equal riding ability.We put a 7 year old on the Viper and while my wife was going over the controls with him he grabbed the throttle and took off into the only tree in a field before my wife could stop him.The CPSC is totally out to lunch in my opinion.Not so much for the speed thing but can you serioulsy see only 12 year olds and older riding on 90s?Most children will barely fit on the bikes at that age and it makes the bikes way underpowered for going up any hills or going through any kind of muck or soft sand.In short I guess what I'm saying is we can't all assume a childs riding ablility just by his age.

 

Thanks for your input, sounds like we agree on alot of things. I was just addressing these people that are first timers to the market and throwing there kids on a bigger machine so there kids can grow into them, because they are afraid of lhaving to buy a new one when they outgrow it. I'm sorry, these are not things you "grow into". Yes, the age limits are restrictive, and yes it should be the parents responsibility and the childs size and ability should be considered, but I still strongly feel that 80s and 90s are too much for average 4-6 year olds. You sound like you are handling things properly (except for the 7 year old incident, I saw the exact same thing happen at a little kids Birthday party). The stupid people I was referring to are not supervising or wearing protective gear, are the ones that spoil it for every one. My son. like yours has been on these machines all along, my snowmobile, he was getting rides on a Yamaha 4-Singer when he was a year old, he was driving the power wheels jeeps and then a 4 wheeler since 2 1/2 and has been riding his Suzuki Quadmaster 50 since he was 4 and probably has 1000 miles on the thing or more and he could handle more power, but I am not going to put him on something that he can't reach the brakes comfortably, I don't care how well he can hit the gas. That is how kids get hurt.
We just got back from looking at the Kaseas and E-tons (those vipers are cool, he loved the Knight Rider light in the front), but they are still too big physically. He is about 4 ft tall and weighs about 50 lbs and in another six months or so may fit comfortably on one, maybe your son is bigger. . My brothers kid is about the same height, but he weighs more and the Arctic Cat 90 is way too big and my brother finally agrees w/me. Yes, I would like to change the age regulations and see safety courses provided for younger children.

Ride safely,
2002 Kawasaki Prairie 650
2002 Suzuki quadmaster 50
1997 Arctic Cat ZRT 600