I'm looking for a quad for my 11-year-old daughter. She'll only be using it for tooling around our yard (woods, slight hills) and she's pretty cautious, so I'm sure her speeds will be slow. I know nothing about quads and could use some guidelines. I don't want to spend a lot of money, and given what it will be used for , I don't think I'll need to. I do need to know what is really important, chain vs. shaft drive, reverse necessary?, will the cheap brands hold up to light use?, what's the smallest engine size I could get away with? 70cc? Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks!

 

Well if just gonna cruise around the house and all I would look at the eton 90 or Predator 90 with reverse. With her being 11 i wouldnt go smaller. Just my two cents worth.

 

I would go with the Unison Desert Cat 90. It's just as good as the others in the above post. I got mine for 1400 shipped. And if your just tooling around the yard I think reverse is a waste of money.

Do a search on Unison I have talked a lot about them.

If you have any question just ask.

Roman

 

I also compared the Predator/E-ton & Unison. For the money, I don't think you will beat the Unison. Ours has been reliable and I would definately consider reverse...even just around in the woods around the house. It certainly beats pushing them around when your child can turn it around themselves.

I would suggest making sure your child "fits" the 90 first. 11 should be big enough(depends on ht/wt IMO, not just age) for a 90 but only getting her on one will really tell. The E-ton has a really nice cdi box that you can set, the unison only has the throttle limitor. I can't speak to the shaft vs chain too well, so hopefully some can chime in there.

There are some around $1000 machines out there, just be careful on quality. Not that I am comparing apples to apples, but a friend of mine bought some really cheap no-name dirst bikes (50/90/125) and 2 of them broke in the first week and he has had all kinds of problems since then. His boy couldn't ride with us on several weekends cause his bike was getting fixed. You can save money up front, but if the thing won't run and you can't get parts, no one has any fun. Suspension and breaks are key IMO. Spend lots of time on this site and some others and you will become an expert in no time! Good luck

 

Id get a used one, they already have the depreication, and they dont see much abuse.Ive bought some really nice small 3 wheelers and 4 wheelers for under 500 bucks, and when my kids are done with them, ill get the same price when i sell, so basicly the kids ride for free. If you look around, and ask around, youll find them. Personally id stick with either a small honda or yami or suzi...parts and knowledge to fix them are everywhere., and theres always ready and wiling buyers for them when youre done.

 

try looking at a 160 suzuki it semi auto transmission 4 stroke not so much maintanance or worry as a 2 stroke. youll pay more to start with but should have a quad that will last for years start and drive when she wants to
and have very good resale if it is take care of also even if she only riding in the back yard or woods dont let her out of your sight never let her use the quad with out you being there. we bought a so called very good off brand quad and have been disapointed from day 1

 

Thanks so much for all the feedback. I think we're going to go with the Eton 90. I looked for some used ones in the "better known" brands ie; Suzuki, Yamaha, etc. but they were still way up there in price. A new Eton 90 retails for $2099 with reverse, which is about $1000 more than we wanted to spend, but we're hoping it will hold it's resale almost as well as the big names. She had enough $ saved to by a no name at Pep Boys, but after reading these posts and looking through other forums, we decided to kick in the extra so she'd have something reliable. Even though she'll be the equivilant of a "little old lady who only drove it to church on Sundays", there's something to be said for quality. I have one happy little girl now that we've finally made a decision. Thanks again!

 

You will be happy with the new Eton. Especially since it does have reverse.
Those are good machines and have good reviews.

She will have a blast........
Please just let her know how important the safety gear is to wear also.
Minimum of Helmet, Gloves, and Chest protector are a must.

Good Luck and know she will love it [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Good chooice mom, You getting from a dealership locally? Thats the other plus is that a shop will be near. I second what quad said. Helmet and alll all the time.

 

I've owned 4 Pep Boy bikes....all been good to me.....I've had their 4-stroke dirt bike for over a year now.....never missed a start......and for $ 400 bucks.....its been awesome.......no problems here.....just purchase their 90cc atv.....another excellent bike so far.....don't expect any problems......great bang for the buck......Gander Mountain has a new Kolpin for $ 1499 ......but we didn't care for it too much...its on the small side....yeah 4-stroke is the way to go.....had a couple of 2-strokes.....they were ok....just like the 4's better....Yeah we didn't want to spend more than $ 1000 as well.....my boy is 10 years and very good and safe on bikes.....we ride around the woods out back as well.....very hilly too......can't complaint about my pep boy bikes......but it does help to know a little about them and I do a little....lol !