I guess this is more of an editorial then a question, but these are some of the thoughts going through my head the last months or so.
I just purchased my 3 year old son a 2004 Suzuki LT50. I was looking at several different off brands that were less expensive, and seemed to have more features, such as remote starting, remote kill switches, etc. These were all availiable at a price which was alot less.
The first reason why I ended up buying the Suzuki was that, in addition to my 3 year old, I also have a 1 year old son, and this will be a starter quad for both boys, and I'll need at least 4 years out of it.
The second reason is that I've never heard of some of the companies selling these youth quads. (Dazon, Kaseao...) Are they all new companies, and can you get parts for them? What happens when they break down?
I am happy with my selection of the Suzuki, and was wondering if anybody had any insight for other people who may be considering an off brand youth quad. (who knows, maybe I missed out on a good deal)

 

Unless you are racing or duning then you couldn't have picked a more perfect quad to learn on. I started with one and besides the pullstarter being a pain, which I am from yhe old school so it really wasn't a big deal, the quad is great. You will get people who say different but remeber your kids aren't racing they are learning. Happy trails[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

there have been tons of posts with similar q's but maybe not recently. i think the chinese brands are getting a better reputation all the time and folks are happy with them. their first couple of years were garbage, but they've learned from their mistakes. some of the Japanese stuff is even made off-shore. pretty sure your Suzuki was made in Korea (check the VIN), and there's nothing wrong with that. our '85 LT50 was made in Korea. don't second guess yourself or beat yourself up, just enjoy.

 

What's that old saying??? Oh ya, "if we could see the future 5 years from now, many of us would be doing things differently!!!". That said, an off-brand could be a major brand in 5 years or in 5 years, it could be a memory. Just a memory. When it comes to non-major brands, it's a roll of the dice where they will end up.

I do remember one post about a guy with his off-brand mini. Very nice gentleman who explained he loved his off-brand mini. Great price, drove nice, held together really good, etc. etc. However, he couldn't find brake pads for his unit. The only site we could find was a web site out of Germany. Yes, Germany. And that was the only dealer many of us could find too. Sure hope he eventually got brakes on his mini.

If you do purchase an off-brand, it could be a great money saving selection or it could come back to haunt you 3 (even 5) years down the road. To me, parts availability, even for simple parts like brake pads, is a critical deciding factory when selecting any brand.

My 2 cents.

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I think there are a few companies that are here to stay. Eton, Kasea and Dinli seem very strong. Many of the mini's have a lot of interchangeable parts but do have subtle differences. Spike is right! In 5 years you may be changing the whole brake assembly instead of just the pads. Unless you like to tinker with stuff, I wouldn't recommend a no-name. And if you do decide to buy one, do your homework on parts availability first. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Hetrick, maximumrpm, WRH (my favorite!) and miniatvs support a LOT of these lesser knowns. The Polaris clones are similar enough, I believe an average weekend mechanic can keep them running for a LONG time. But you may run into that occasional kink.

 

MY wife smoked the rear caliper seals on her yamoto, left the parking brake on and then returned to complain about a lack of power. Any way I could not get replacement seals. Had to buy the complete brake assy, master cylinder thru the caliper, hoses, switches,everything. Cost $32.00. I cant even get pads for my ktm for that price.

 

that's funny! not in a mean or negative way, it's just got me chuckling.

 

You should have seen me laughing at the smoking caliper. Funny, my wife was not as humored as I was.

 

i was thinking more about the lack of speed /power comment and then coming to the ultimate realization it was because the brake was locked on!

 

Our 2 boy's thought it was pretty funny too!