Doctorturbo, My buddy looked at swapping the plastics on the breeze with the grizzly. He was told by the dealer, that they would not match up. (no reason to not believe them, we've been friends for some time with the owner) I would think new front and rear plastics will cost around $200-$300 dollars for the breeze and it was actually around $700 for new grizzly plastic[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]I think they raised the price so, people would be discouraged from doing exactly what your thinking of[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]That was dealer price though. Need to check like Maier.

 

I've got the Breeze and an LT160. I wouldn't say the 160 has "engine braking", it has a transmission with gears, so when you gear down, the mechanical gearing is holding you back. YES, the Grizzly is a mechanical clone of the Breeze, just different plastic. don't know if it mounts the same. i agree on really steep terrain with Breeze, they can overuse rear brake. it's up to you to teach them to use front brake on downhill, on Breeze, or find another way around.

the 160 is harder for a first bike than the breeze. they need to learn shifting up and down, plus it's way faster and generally a little more advanced. for a second quad, the 160 would be better, but not as a beginner.

love Honda products, but i thot they blew it on the 90. had one of those. pull start is major pain for kids. took on water in carb too easy ( guess i coulda tried to modify airbox somehow to correct it?dunno), and front suspension came really loose.

If the plastic is just scratched, don't waste your money fixing/replacing. they ALL get scratched up, and if they aren't, they haven't been ridin anywhere fun. if it's full of holes, tears, held together with zap-straps, then ya, I'd look at replacing. if it's just scratched up, keep it as is. you'll get blown away by cost of new plastic, and you need to add floor boards and everything to get full replacement.

I'd go for the Breeze due to it's 15 year proven track record.

 

Hey raptorlegs check this out, I AGREE WITH YOU! Wow how about that.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Take it from someone that has had both a Breeze and off brand atv's. I will NEVER buy an off brand again. My brother and I have 4 kids that we have been buying ATV's for for a long time. We have had a Suzuki LTA-50, an Arctic Cat 90, an E-Ton 90, a Loncin 110, a Breeze 125, 2-Blasters, and numerous Warriror's. The only machines that we ever had problems with were the E-ton and the Loncin. Alot of problems. I am sure that there are people that are going to say they have off brands and they are great. In our opinion it is absolutly worth spending the money on the name brands. That little LTA-50 has been through 3 kids learning how to ride and every adult that has seen it took it for a ride and I have never had to replace a part other than brakes and tires. That alone is enough to make us stick with the name brands. Just my opinion.

 

Find a used Suzuki LT80 and let her ride it for about a year, then sell it and get a mid sized. If this isn't an option, go for the Breeze.

I was in the same situation last fall. My 9 year old daughter needed a bigger quad. She started at age 6 on a go kart and a 50cc. The 50cc lasted less than a year because she was just too tall. Just before she turned 8 I got her a Suzuki LT80. That lasted almost 2 years, she just keep growing. She could ride my Kawa 300 no problem, shifting and all, but she is too immature and too small to take it on trails. I was lucky and found a used LT160 in awesome shape and she's been happy with that. Well, at least for a year or so. Gotta stop feeding her!

Our 13 year old cousin has ridden the 80 no problem. It fit her fine. My daughter is about 5'3" and is too tall to comfortably fit on the 80. She's perfect for the 160. So if your daughter is less than 5' tall I'd say get an 80 or 90 cc. If she's taller than that get the Breeze.

One thing that I insisted upon whenever I upgraded my kids quad was that she be strong enough to pick up the rear end. If she ever dumped the quad I wanted to make sure that she was strong enough to be able to get out from under it. The Breeze is a heavy bike (I checked it out as I was considering to buy that instead of the 80) and if your daugher cannot lift up the rear end imagine how she (and you) would feel if she crashed and it landed on top of her.

As for the off brands, you get what you pay for. If you are only going to keep it for a year or two you may want to take a chance. However, my brother in law bought a cheap 100cc chen shing quad for his daughter. She beat the crap out of it and it kept running and running and running. Go figure. The off brands are pretty much all automatic. Good luck!

 

Does the yamaha breeze or grizzly or Suzuki lt 160 have a foot rear brake pedal & do they have disc brakes at all.I think the 125 yamaha weights around 305lbs., how much does the 160 weight.
I cant believe I saw a clean 2004 125 grizzly go on e-bay for $1625 & did not even bid on it & it was a 20 min. drive away. If they have the rear foot brake I think this is what I want for my 10yr. old daughter that is around 110lbs.
The weight of the 125 does conserne me as she rides a 110cc china quad now & has rolled it on top of her w/ only getting a few bruises lukily.
I like the 110cc china quad because it teaches her to shift(being a 3 speed semi auto) & also use a foot brake.
But I am unsure of there reliability & would like our 30+ mile trail rides to be a good experiance & not one of being broke down in the middle of the woods to have to be towed back,as the china quads are not proven yet.The one we have has been great so far after a few modifacations,but it is still pretty new yet,so we will see.

 

poe900rr the Breeze does not have a foot brake. The only thing I don't like about the quad. My daughter weighs about 65lbs and has no problem with the hand brakes though.

Don't want to rub it in too bad but you screwed up BAD on the Griz. I bought mine for a K and it was beat up pretty good. The only problem I have had in a year was the one way went out the first day I owned it. I cleaned it up and it has run perfect ever since. That thing is fast for a 125, even with me on it it cooks pretty good.

I have no idea why this thread was brought up after a year? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

The Suzuki has a rear foot brake and a hand front brake. There is no hand rear brake. Here's the specs on the 160:

MANUFACTURER Suzuki
MODEL YEAR 2003
MODEL Quadrunner® 160
M.S.R.P. $2,799.00
ENGINE SOHC, four-stroke, single cylinder
DISPLACEMENT 158cc
CARBURETION Mikuni™ VM20SS (CA. BS26SS)
STARTER Electric
TRANSMISSION 5-speed with reverse, automatic clutch
FINAL DRIVE # 520 chain
IGNITION CDI
SUSPENSION FRONT: Independent, swing axle, coil spring,oil-damped
Rear: Swinging arm, coil spring, oil-damped, spring preload 5-way adjustable
BRAKES FRONT: Dual mechanical drum
REAR: Single mechanical drum
TIRES FRONT: AT 20 x 7-81
REAR: AT AT 22 x 10-81
LENGTH 63.4 in.
WIDTH 38.8 in.
HEIGHT 39.4 in.
WHEELBASE 42.1 in.
SEAT HEIGHT 28.5 in.
GROUND CLEARANCE 5.3 in.
DRY WEIGHT 341 lbs.
FUEL CAPACITY 2.2 gal.


The 160 is heavier than the Breeze. The weight of an 80 or 90 cc is about 225 pounds. So a younger child is better off with the 80-90 range vs. the 125 to 160 range.

The first weekend my daughter rode her 160 she had her first "dump". She rounded a corner and went up over a berm - a move she has done lots of time on her 80. However, this time she tipped the 160 over on its side. She got right up, righted the atv, got back on and kept on riding. Meanwhile, I was having a coronary. Ah, the joys of parenthood . . . .