Geezzz !!!
I went to the Dealership today. That Sportsman 90 looks really cool. But The talk of having all these water problems and sprk plug problems are really turning me off.. Can you wash the things off with out worrying about getting the Stator wet?..
My son will be doing a lot of "putting around " at first. And I'm sure the the mud puddles are not going to be left alone. I'm sure he will not be hitting the big stuff but splashing through the mud is surly a part of ATVing....
My freind got the Raptor 50....4 stroke ...Shaft drive ...totally water proof ....I just want to have the Sportsman look a like....The Raptor 80 and the Grizzly 80 have 3 speed ....I want Auto ....
What the heck do I do .....????????
JP

 

Sorry. Didn't mean to make you panic. Kinda like going to a movie theater and whispering to the guy / girl beside you with "be careful if there's a fire". The next thing you know, everyone is running out the door and ready to pull the "master alarm". Please don't panic. It's just a whisper that needs to be considered for one's "what if" does happen.

Two strokes (of any brand) is kinda the same thing. They don't like water, many have open CVTs and many have too low of air filters. They can take "water abuse" over and over again under their recommended max level of water. But, they can only take so much above their max levels - which is usually their running boards. Over time, water above their open air vented systems do cause damage. Hopefully, my little whisper of "be careful in this area" didn't create too much panic. That wasn't my intention. Yes, you can wash a 2 stroke. They won't melt from this type of water. But running them 12+ hours under water would definately create damage.

For fouling plugs, that can happen to many brands of 2 strokes and 4 strokes. Plugged air filter on a 4 stroke is another way a plug can foul. re: fuel to air mixture isn't right and its plug takes a beating. Eventually, it blows too. Yes, even in a 4 stroke.

Hope this helps - somehow....

.

 

How soon are looking to buy? Like I posted earlier, I just bought one. Depending on how anxious you or your son is, I can give you a report after next week. However, we won't get up in the mtn's until June as those trails don't open until then. Therefore, I won't know how it will do in the water with fording creeks and all.
Good luck.

 

I really like the SP 90 too...it was in the final 3 for me. Thing abou the SP 90 that turned me off was the drum brakes. For that kind of cashola, it should have the rear disc. But besides that, seemed like a great choice for trail riding....good clearence, reverse and yeah..it looks like dads. My kid loved it. My final 3 were the Eton Viper, SP 90 and Unison 90...... I ended up with the Unison. Had reverse, head lights, disc brake and decent clearence...and you can mount a rack to the back.. and all for 1k less than the SP 90 and 500 less than the eton.

I looked for 6 mos and hit every forum I could find and it seemed like most were convinced the 4 strokes at this size just didn't have enough oomph. I originally wanted a 4 stroke but ended up with a 2 stroke. I guess we'll see. I am in AZ so not as tough as California and I figure he'll be ready for something bigger in a 2-4 years and we'll go 4-stoke at that point. Well my 1-2 cents worth. Good luck!

 

unclet:

Question for you...now that you have the Unison, are you glad you have it? How has the two stroke been on the trails? Is it geared low enough to take you over the rough stuff without beating up your Jr. It came down to the Eton and the SP 90 for me too. I went with the "daddy look-a-like" as price was within 100.00 for me. How has it been?
Good luck.

 

Psycmike,

To be truthful, I am not sure yet. This is his first machine and we had it out for the first real ride this weekend. I had the throttle screw all the way in and he was pretty tentative too...or should I say cautious, which I was happy to see. But I just set up a couple of different riding courses using cone and had him practice his turns with good technique and did some stopping drills.

We took a brief ride on a very short trail that was way muddy and lots of water holes. We didn't have a problem there, but we didn't go over the floorboards either. But heading up hill, not really steep, but a long steady hill with switch backs, I did have to get off and push him as it seemed there wasn't enough torque to keep going at the slow pace. I'm hoping this doesn't remain a problem if I unscrew the throttle limitor screw. We are heading out again this weekend and I can provide some more feedback.

How about your SP 90 on the trails?

 

unclet:
My boy's bday is on Friday. It's in the shed and locked. He is unaware that it's been there for 2+ weeks. I will find out on Friday how it goes. We are going for a ride then and on Saturday too. I've already undone the speed limiter on the throttle as well as took the CDI connector off. He's had some previous practice. I'll ride in front of him to help monitor his speed. We will do trail riding as that is our preference, vs speed and dunes. I'll keep you posted.

 

Still Keep me posted...
I went on and bought a Yamaha Grizzly 80. Its a 4 stroke and shaft Drive. These are a Plus in my book. However it is a 3 speed with auto clutch.

Went hit the trails on Sunday. This was only my son's second time on a "real" ATV. Being only 5 years old he fits the machine quite well and should have lots of room for gowing into it. I didn't even try to explain the gears. I'm letting him get the basics down 1st. In tight trails he can stay in 1st gear...but in the open trails I have to put it in second gear. He is learning how to use the brake after a tumble down a hill. HAHA !! He didnt get hurt ..just his feelings.... The Big one's don't have the auto brake like his power wheels...but his learnig....

I keep you guys posted on his progress..Keep the reports coming on the SP 90 ...I'm not beyond selling this one and buying one of those..
Thanks
JP

 

OrphanMaker:
If that Yama Griz 80 would've had reverse, I would've over-rode Mrs. Psychimike's purse-string parameters. I like the shaft drive and four stroke. Even the gears don't bother me too much, as they will come in handy with hills and crawling over rocky trails. I too am willing to sell the SP 90 tomorrow and p/u a better machine. If the Bombardeir (sp) would have been able to go over 15 mph I would've looked at it too. No reverse on it though. Some 4 stroke will come out with a Reverse one of these days.
I'll keep you posted following the ride on Friday.

 

My brother and I just purchases a 90 predator for his kids and a 90 sportsman for mine. Having reverse is a wonderful thing. We ran through a ton of mud (not much water) and did not have a problem with stalling or getting stuck. I like the Sportsman better due to the extra plastic that keeps the rider a lot cleaner. Plus the tires deal with mud much better. I am having a problem with the throttle sticking ON BOTH. I am post ing an thread on this in a moment....