new quad for 7year old girl
 

r'legs, did you see the part where his daughter was very petite and no experience?.... I believe a mini is in order for now... It may be possible that she might not even be capable of handling one of those either, let alone something in the 70 to 90 range. Single speed mini is just what teh doctor ordered until she gets some seat time under her belt. Not everyone is into racing.... Definately a disadvantage on trails however.. but if they are not too difficult, she should be OK. No sense in scaring her at this point.. let her gradually move up as her skills and experience dictate.

new quad for 7year old girl
 

DB I heard a guy gripe one time that his kawasuki 50 literally couldn't make it up his driveway. Another griped that he constantly had to push it up hills on the trail. I want this guy to be happy with his purchase.

All the companies I listed make a 50cc machine with a cvt. If you'll look back, I agreed that a 50 would be fine for hard-pack. Though I will admit I would not buy one personally. You can throttle back a 70-110cc machine and leave room to grow. They are approximately the same size and weight.

Also, if you buy a full-size mini, you can upgrade it as the child gains experience. Otherwise it's sell/trade up.

jmo.

new quad for 7year old girl
 

DB, are you sure your ok? You are actually recomending a chinese quad to someone. LOL J/K DB.

new quad for 7year old girl
 

Thanks to all of you! I would rather buy a big brand, but I keep hearing good things about the chinese ones too. She won't be beating it and I can do the maintenance myself. I do worry about getting one too small so i'll probably try a 80 to 110 cc and throttle it down for her. She is small, but she can turn my sportsman while it is moving. She acts like a tomboy, but dresses like a princess. lol I can picture her putting on a dress and wanting to go riding! Won't let her though. I already have helmets for all of us, and will be buying the chest and shoulder gear for both kids. Heck I better buy some for myself the way I have been riding my scrambler lately! As I said, thank you all for your input. I am glad to hear from so many people and get a good feel from people with experience or at least more knowledge of these than me. I can't find as much information on kids quads as I did when I bought my scrambler.

new quad for 7year old girl
 

Maybe I've mellowed... Actually I put aside my old hardline beliefs and took a new look at them recently. What I saw was favorable, and caused me to rethink my former criticisms... But looks are one thing, and reputations take time to establish.... I think they deserved the negative press of a few years ago, but if they can hold up and prove worthy of praise, then I can live with them....

Fit and finish has improved.. and they certainly are leading the pack in certain areas... Like lights for one... You can't argue with the fact that a lot of people are being introduced to the sport that may not have been had they been forced to pay the higher prices of the big boys... although I also think that they are now seeing price creep bringing all of them closer together.

You also are starting to see more service minded retailers getting involved... It is going to be a difficult road for them to overcome the past negative comments, but they are working hard and hanging in there...

So yeah, things change... and old Dragginbutt admits that although he may not have been wrong to criticise, I was wrong to not recognize the efforts being put in by some....

You have to love change...

DB

new quad for 7year old girl
 

I am holding back tears.

new quad for 7year old girl
 

Ridinghard,

If you can, purchase a mini that is a "near" body fit. A little growth room is more important then stock power. If more power is needed, upgrade it with a few performance mods. I've been told that an air filter, clutch upgrade, CDI upgrade and pipe turns many minis into rockets. If your little girl is small and doesn't expect to have a sudden growth spirt in 3 years, a "near" body fit is the most safest. For each year she rides it, add little mod at a time. Your mini could be a 70, 80 or a small frame 90 mini. Might even be a large frame 50 - depending how one defines "petite". In 3 years, if your young rider still have quading deep in her heart, then upgrade to the next near body fit size. Pass your upgraded mini to a young rider or sell it. Minis hold their value very well.

Also, keep in mind the local age to engine cc laws in your area - if she'll be riding on non-private property land.

Hope this helps...

new quad for 7year old girl
 

I just bouught a 2005 Eton Viper 70 for my 5year old son. Got it for 1960.00 out the door. He had a HondaCRF50 with training wheels and just wasn't having much fun. He would ride for awhile, then get bored. A Few weeks back we went on a ride and I had him try my sisters Raptor 80. By the end of the day he had a 3 inch layer of mud on him and the bike. It was the best day of riding we ever had. My mind was made up. I was getting rid of the 50 and getting him a quad. I like the Raptors but I do not like the price or the front suspension. To Me the 50's are just too small, even for a 5 year old. I don't want to spend 1600+ to have him grow out of the bike 6 months from now. The Eton 70 is a 2 stroke,oil injected so no premixing gas, with a auto cvt tranny. It has a CDI box that you can govern it with. Set at 0, the bike will do 5-8 MPH tops. I opted to open it up for my son. He rode it all day and had a blast. Now he's is more on the cautious side so I feel comfortable with him riding it opened up. If you have a risk taking rider definitley crank it down. This bike can be very fast for the little ones. My boy did almost turn it over once becasue he gunned it with the bars turned all the way. A little coaching and a warning that he would be sitting if he couldn't control his bike fixed that real quick.

He was going up some pretty good hills, bumps, whoops and even ran through a huge mud puddle ( the only one within 20 miles I am sure, but he found it). We never had an issue with the bike. This bike will last him a good 3-4 years I am sure. And when he's done with it, his sis will inheirit it. We did notice a little rattle while riding , i think it might have been the chain hitting the guard. Other than that it ran like a champ. I put my 7 year old nephew on his 80 and and I rode the Eton around a little peewee track. Some small jumps, whoops, etc. I weigh 240lbs and I must say that little eton handled everything I could give it. I was beating my nephew off the line and smoking him over the rythem sections. He's a pretty good littel rider too. The supension on the eton is better than the Raptor. Although I did bottom it out a few times, I was able to run that thing as fast as I could take it.

Some of the features I like are
It comes with front and rear lights, and also a cool littel knight rider looking light on the front as well! for Some Reason the front headlights come covered up with a piece of foil. Peel it of and install some bulbs and they work! Already wired with a switch on the handlebars.
Rear Disk Brakes
Front teather
Floor Boards
Maxis Tires
Sporty look
Most of the dangerous engine parts are shrouded by plastic - Ie, chain/sprocket, pipe, tranny, etc.
.
IT'S FUN TO RIDE!!! EVEN FOR ME! I found myself wanting to ride that more than my 660r.

The only complaint my son had was his thumb got tired. I have read that with oil injection the throttle lever controls both the throttle and the oilinjection thus making it a bit tougher on the little ones. I am going to take it out a few more times, if he continues to complian I will disconnect the oil injection and run pre mix.

If your doughter is 7 I would try to find an eton dealer and have rher go sit on it. If she fits pretty good, I would highly recomend this bike


God Luck!!

new quad for 7year old girl
 

My daughter is a petite 7 1/2 year old and I bought her a used 2002 Long Chang LC50. It's a 2 stroke 50cc CVT with electric and kick start. It is bigger than the mini's. Same size as the Arctic Cat. Paid $440.00 for it on E-Bay. It was a local auction and the guy even delivered it for free to my door! I wouldn't put my daughter on anything bigger, in fact she has ridden my neighbors Kazuma Meerkat 50's and was fine. They were a little small so I would go with the regular sized 50. I figure my daughter can easily ride this quad till she's 10 or maybe older(she's petite). It has plenty of power and clearance for our riding (trail). Hope this helps, Joe

new quad for 7year old girl
 

Joe, congrats on your purchase. I am sure she will have loads of fun... Tell her welcome to the sport. I hear ya on the adult riding a mini deal. These things can be a blast.. especially when they are small and slow. IT sort of brings the kid out of you...

Raptoray, I have the answer for you... as you know, manufacturers that voluntarily follow the CPSC guidelines, also follow a class specification. When talking about mini's, the class spec specifies a no headlight rule. To make their machine fit that standard, without having to re-tool, the foil and removal of bulbs was a cheap and easy fix.

As for the Raptor suspension... definately a tank there... but think about this. I have seen other machines with a-arms have the suspension and frame bent from a very light hit on a tree that happened to jump out in front of the kid. (It happens, I swear) I have also seen the raptor's front end take a beating from a HARD hit to the same species of jumping tree.. and back up and ride off... I personally don't like to spend time fixing stuff, so that tank like look is OK with me... Also, it is heavy. The last thing I want is my young novice getting air, or attempting wheelies. I want those wheels planted firmly on the ground. With all that weight up front, they really have to work at it to get in trouble... Besides, if you want to go racing, you would not even consider it... it is a tank.. one that like a timex, it will take a beating and come back ticking...

DB