I was going to comment, but I am feeling a little tired right now, must be time for my nap.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

favor don't stop with just having your pets spayed and neutered make sure you don't reprduce idiots in your own image[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-frown.gif[/img][/quote]

wow that really shows some of the maturity around here doesnt it? but that seriously made me laugh about how you said to be more mature then you make a stupid remark like that on the end, just to sum up your stupidity right?and where in my post does it say that i have ever tried to outrun the cops?

Muddy4life- i have told you several times that i would have taken the class if i had still needed it

mywifesquad- i think we have all heard enough of you.

 

Up from my nap. LOL I'm betting it is just you.

 

WOW I go riding for a few days and this greta thread turns to this???
Let me start by saying however inconsiderate lapeer was he didnt deserve that. This is EXACTLY what we are talking about. A younger person acts his age and we adults jump on him. A better way to handle it would be EXACTLY what we started talking about here. Education, mentoring, being the example. Heres a brief example.

We had a awesome time on out first ride. On day two a guy rode up (without a helmet on) and asked if the ranger was cracking down on those not wearing helmets as he had forgotten his. My kid who is a newbie and 9yo was sitting on the tailgate said "its not about whether you might get a ticket its thats its stupid to not wear one" The guy got it, he turned off his bike sat down by my kid and expained how he was being a bad example for kids and he was wrong. IT WAS AMAZING. If my kid can do it so can we.

Lapeer, please understand the old folks in this forum have given alot to this sport. Its not real hard to loose your temper when you are just trying to help and someone is slamin ya. You were offered a gift and you treated that gift with complete disrespect.

We need to be something a mentor taught me to strive for and that is being a "professional human being" Think about it, it works.

Now can we get back to how we make this a better sport..... and lapeer, will you join us????

 

Aw come on Notagain.. we were just having some fun with Mr. "I know everything there is to know at 16, and I can't possibly learn anything new from you". You have to admit it is pretty funny.. and predictable... The kid is just trying to get a rise, and see if he can have the last word... He is trying to cut on us, but it just makes him look silly. (Not in our league young man..) You are not going to win with someone like that.. so there is no reason to try. He will find out someday how the world spins... for now, let him live in his Wayne's world... You are right... I am bored of this. My feeble mind has lost interest and I think I feel a muscle in my little toe twitch... When you get to be my age, you have to learn to take advantage of every moment something works... I sure hope I can make it to the Fridge..... (Wink, wink)

This has made so happy though starting my day out with a chuckle head teenager... laughed so hard I had to take oxygen....

 

It's sort of like playing with a puppy....

 

I went with the Scrambler for my sons first quad..because it is big as far as sits right up
and looks nice too,
that way they can have it for a couple or few years and not out grow it so fast.
My son was 6 when I bought the 50cc scrambler,I just turned down the throttle so he couldnt open it up all the way,
he's 8 now and still fits him great, and the throttle is open,now that he can regulate
it,on that machine it has a sticker that says "no person under 12" But They never say anything and Ive talked with Game wardens a pit when we were riding,he never said a word.prolly depends on where you live and if the law is a bunch od A-holes or not.

 

OK, for some serious commentary... copied from one of my previous posts...

First off, I'd like to caution parents a little about speed, and modifications, getting air, etc. We all know that this is supposed to be a fun deal. But as a parent, we do not promise our kids that they will have the fastest, or the most modern machines out there.

Our concern, and our duty, is to make sure the kids make it to a point in life where they can legally make those choices for themself. Nothing more, nothing less. Sometimes being the parent means that we have to say no once in a while, or force a compromise.

I am not judging the decision of any parent here.. They are the best qualified to judge their child's ability to make sensible decisions. Needing more power or upgrading to get bigger air, or beat Johnny down the street shouldn't be a decision factor... rather it should send up warning signals...

I agree that kids are just plain larger than they used to be... and manufacturers have not been quick to fill the need of a larger framed, but smaller engined machine. I also support the decision to move up when it is for the right reasons.

This is a double edged sword... and one that takes an adult decision.. not a kid's emotional response. remember there are more important things to think about than a childs ability to hang on, and hit the throttle. Making split second decisions under emergency conditions may determine if they survive until they reach 18 or not. After all, you have to face the spouse or look at the empty bedroom every day if your child is injured or killed. Not me...

You make the call
---------------------
The point I'd like to make is this. We as adults can take our kids 50 or 90 CC machines and have a blast on them. Kids can do this too. The trouble comes when the kid next door gets a faster one and little Johnny wants to keep up. Lost is the fact that they can have just as much, if not more fun on the small machine as they can with the bigger machines. The real answer is it sure beats standing around watching everyone else ride... take what you got, or go do your chores...... Have you sat on your kid's mini lately and putted it around? Might just surprise you. I admit, put my 6'4" 300 pound dragginbutt on my son's Raptor 80 and it might harken back to the circus clown era, but I sure have a blast on it..

 

This thread has been very enlightening, at least until we started slapping each other around. Seriously this thread has really made me question my approach on my kids atv's. I have a eleven year old that weighs in at about 75 pounds and he has been riding a 90 for the past two summers and is an average rider. (not a ton of skill at this point) Anyways he seems to be outgrowing the 90 so I just bought a TrailBlazer 250, I thought we could both ride it. His first ride last weekend resulted in the death of a 5 foot pine tree followed by the atv being wedged tightly between two oak trees. My thought was the 90 wasn't built to take the beating that trail riding could dish out and I was going to spend a bunch of time on repairs so before the 90 got trashed just upgrade it to the 250. I might be caught up in the " my buddy has a 250 so I need one " . Does the 250 seem to be way over the top? How long at his age and weight is the 90 safe ? We live in Michigan but we have never been to the trails and want to start this year so these decisions are important to my novice rider. I would also be interested in his taking the safety courses that were mentioned earlier. I assume that I will be able to find one in the Grand Rapids area. Any thoughts that you experienced guys have would be appreciated ? I'm a long time motorcrosser but very new at passing the sport down to my kids.

 

Which is exactly my point about decision making. Things can get moving fast quickly, and under stress, the first thing you do is grab the bars harder.. which because of the thumb throttle, means you just grab the go juice even more, compounding the problem.

Notice I didn't mention age here... this is human nature, it doesn't matter how old you are. I did it myself and have a bum leg to prove it... and I have ridden for 30 plus years, and even did a stint as a semi pro MX racer way back in the day...so it can happen to anyone.

Thank goodness he survived the ordeal unscathed. It really can make you wake up and take notice....