Not to get off topic but I'm also curious about the 150 extreme. Had my 12-year old on the 90 for two years now (been great...mostly desert riding) and want to pass it down to the 8-year old. Would make great xmas presents for both of them. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

RedSoxWest

 

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted on this forum....but I thought I would give an update to our Baja's (50cc and 90cc) since it's been over a year - bought both in November of 2005. Our 7 year old (soon to be 8) has outgrown the 90cc and we've bought him a used 100cc Yamaha (it's a 1991 but runs way better than a brand new Baja and is a 4 speed semi-automatic with a shaft drive - so much better than a chain). We gave the 90cc to the 6 year old and he's slowly killing it..ha. The starter is gone..we have to jump start the thing every time now and let it warm up for more than 5 minutes before riding. Both headlights are being held on with zip ties. The front left fender was broken into tiny pieces. The chain comes off every 20 minutes or so and needs tightened every time it gets ridden. The thing has no power for hills - and forget about riding in snow..it's horrible! The 50cc has been non-functional for about 3 months. The spark plug wire or whatever that black thing that goes from motor to the plug broke off completely. We are going to get it running and then try to sell it. We've come to the conclusion that if you want something that is going to last..buy a name brand. If you want something cheap, that your kids will tear up within a year..get a Baja. Replacement parts are impossible to find...they don't even give you a parts schematics with the purchase, and their website is worthless. Forget about calling them and explaining what you need. If you live someplace warm and flat, you might actually benefit from a cheap Baja. They don't like the cold and they don't have the power for climbing even the slightest of hills. Oh and having an additional way to start these things...either with a pull coil or kick start would be awesome. The electrical starters on these are really unreliable and the batteries they put in are cheap and don't hold a charge. I've learned a lesson...if you want to buy quality equipment..you have to pay for it. No more off-brands for this family. Now if I can only find another great deal on another used Yamaha 80cc or another 100cc for the 6 year old and be done with the Baja's forever.

For those of you thinking you are making a great buy..trust me..I was one of those a year ago, but after all the work that goes into these things, it's really not worth it. Until Baja starts making shaft driven, 2 starter method, bigger tires, semi-auto, more durable atv's...i'm going to be spending my money elsewhere. Good luck to all of you new owners and wannabe owners of Baja's!

Oh and a quick update on my ATV - Yamaha Bruin 350 4x4 - it's still awesome!

Happy riding!

 

Well I have to say my experience has been the exact opposite of yours....and I've had mine for 2 years......runs great in snow......yes it is cold starting.....I've even pull my boy on his sled....they do have Baja 4-speeds now which are better and yes wish it did have a kick-start....we do have to charge the new battery after its been sitting a while in the cold....sure it won't climb snowy hills....and not suppose to......its been a great little bike and my boy is 12 now and fits fine.....you do have to tighten the chain after a while.....which will get slack a little......we are easy on our bikes and take good care of them.....if you are rough on them and need parts maybe you should spend more and get a warranty and have a service center down the road.....I think the Baja's are for the easy riders who can crank a wrench if need be while saving some cash.....I would get another one in a heart beat.....its been very good to us !!!!

 

Im with Bruinrider, its a cheap piece of junk, no power, Im always pushing my 10 yr old daughter up hills, since it was new. 1 headlamp is broken, tied up with a tie strap, the bulb is out, cant find a simple thing like a bulb. I would never buy another one of these again. The battery is alwyas dead.

I bought my son a used 50 eton last summer, my daughter perfers to ride it, because of the power, she can climb hills, its much more stable, she has flipped the Baja, and she is not a hard rider at all, the thing just feels top heavy, even my wife said it when she got on it.

Im sorry I bought it, and it has spent alot of time in our front yard with a 'for sale' sign on it, nobody wants it. I was at a dealer a few months ago, looking at another used eton 50 or 90, I asked him if he would take the Baja in on a trade, he said no because he cant get parts for them.

I wouldnt recommend it, and because of that, it even makes it hard for me to sell it to someone, if someone would even show interest in it.

 

Hi all,

Sorry about your misfortune with the Bajas Bruinrider and Danvan, but I have to agree with Bozzy. Lets get one thing perfectly clear.....you get what you pay for! The Bajas can't be compared to a brand name ATV as far as quality but they also aren't comparable as far as price goes either. I bought two of them and a trailer for less than it would have cost me for one 90cc or 100cc brand name ATV. Therefore, I feel I got my moneys' worth. Agreed you do have to know how to handle a wrench but I haven't had any real significant issues, other than one's we created on our own. We are lucky to have a good source for assistance with any issues we have had, such as making mods to improve perfromance, and they are always willing to help. I have made some nice little modifications (eg. changed rear sprocket and tires) that have definitely improved the way they handle and perform. We were out riding last week in the snow without any real problems, nothing that I wouldn't expect from a two wheel drive ATV. In addition, as long as you maintain them as you should (not just ride them till they fall apart, 'cause any ATV, brand name or otherwise, will eventually fail without proper maintenance) they should be ready to ride when you are. All things considered, we are happy with our Bajas and would consider buying another one when the need arises.


Happy riding,

DogbertTheConsultant

 

We have had our Baja for a year and a half and still works great...But these quads do need extra TLC...

 

I totally understand getting what I paid for, I kick myself for buying the cheapest kids quad I could find, and I know enough not to do it again, that is why for my second kid, I bought him a used eton 50, that blows away the baja 90.

2 things I forgot to mention in my last post is vey bad ground clearance, the bottom gets hung-up on every thing in the woods, and the exhaust pipe on the right side, my daughter always has to keep her leg away from it, or she burns her pants.

As far as help Dogbert, wher r u getting help on this thing? I contacted Baja 2 times, right after buying it, asking about changing the rear sprocked for more power and getting larger tires for more ground clearance, all they did both times was advise me of some aftermarket company for parts, they wouldnt answer my question about what size gear or tires to buy. I also asked them if I needed to replace all 4 tires or could I get away with just doing rears, they just ignored my questions and sent me some link to another co. I am also concerned that a taller tire may make it more unstable then it already is. As I said before, it fells very top heavy and has already fliped once.

I havent done much research on this site about mods, most people seem to be happy with there bajas, but Im not.

I would be interested on the size gear and tires that u used, how much, and where did u get them. I didnt buy a new quad so that I could go out and spend money on it for mods, but since I cant sell it, maybe I will have to modify it so it can climb a simple hill with a 50-60 pound kid on it.

My other 3 quads are all totally stock and do the job they were disigned to do, plus I bought them all used.

Im not arguing with anybody here, just stating my opinion. Thanks for any advise.

 

Ok Dan......sorry I beg to differ on some of what you said......first of all plenty of ground clearance on mine....tail pipe burns ?!?!?.......don't understand that one at all ?!?.......now I have a pit bike that has a pipe that can burn you even with aheat shield on.....but the Baja...not mine......and just how steep is the grade of hill you are trying to climb ??......you know 20 degree inclines on most all 90-110cc's with auto shift is max,,.......sounds like you are taking yours where it should not be going.....deep ruts.....steep hills......these are toys.....and I don't mean to be so disagreeable but I'm pretty sure a stock 50cc auto shifter of any brand will not come even close to the performance of my Baja 90cc with my 200 lb. body on it climbing small hills.....no way no how.....again sorry and your problems may be real but it sounds as if your expectations and where you ride are a bit high for the money spent.....evem bigger tires will only give you another 1" or two of lift and only with a rear indepentant suspension will you have huge clearance.....try an Artic Cat......but now thats some serious $$$.....oh well good luck in the future......sounds like you will need a full time mechanic where you ride.....no matter what brand you get......good luck.

 

Hi Danvan,

I live in Stoney Creek, Ontario and there is a small chain of stores called Royal Distributing in our province, with their closest store in Guelph, Ontario. They have been very good to us. They don't sell Baja parts but have been very willing to look thru their stock and help us with ideas. We have been dealing with a young guy who races ATVs who has helped us a number of times with ideas and to tell us what we can get away with and what we can't with the ATVs we have. Check out their website at www.royaldistributing.com.

As for the modifications we have made to improve torque and ground clearance we did the following: replaced the rear sprocket, put different tires on and widened the stance. We purchased the sprocket from Sprocket Specialists (www.sprocketspecialists.com), part number 208Z-428-39. The sprocket is not an offset sprocket so you may need to use large washers on the axle to offset the sprocket if necessary. Check chain alignment and you will see if you need to offset the sprocket. We put 19X8X7 tires on all around which we purchased from Royal Distributing. We did not need to change the rims. We run the tires at maximum allowable pressure to get more ground clearance. Since we added more ground clearance and raised the center of gravity we needed to increase the stance. You can purchase wheel spacers or do what we did instead. We purchased longer bolts and used 2 inch long hex sockets that we found that had just enough clearance for the bolts to pass thru. This gave us an extra 4 inches of width in the track. The hardware was all purchased at Home Depot. Make sure you purchase the proper grade of bolts and nuts., You will need to modify the chain length so you will need a chain breaker and probably a new master link.

Other than that we replaced the foam air cleaner with a K&N filter and precharger to improve the ATV's breathing. Info on these parts are posted in this forum.

The above combination has worked well for us. My kids (11 year old son and 14 year old daughter), wife and I all ride the ATVs. I am the heaviest at 180 lbs and get around okay on them. The sprocket will reduce the top end speed a bit but will improve bottom end torque. We were told that changing the teeth to 39 (I believe this is correct, went down from 41 teeth) was the most we should go without having any major issues. This came from the young ATV racer at Royal.

Hope this helps. Good luck at either selling your Baja or getting it to work for you.


DogbertTheConsultant

 

Thanks Dogbert, that is the info I was looking for at Baja, sproket size and tire size. Do u remember what all of this cost you?

Bozzy, my daugher, my wife, my self and 2 nieces 11 and 14 have all riden this thing and all have complained of the heat from the exhaust pipe, it gets hot and u have to keep your leg away from it, my daughter has burnt her riding pants on it. Ive thought about making an extra heat shield for it, but not sure what I should use, there already is a metal shield on it. Its not the tail pipe, its what I would call the engine pipe, right where u sit, at the r/s of the engine

Ground clearance sucks so bad that the chain guard is no longer on it. My daughter was always getting hung up on it. My brother in law rode it 1 day and he tore it off by hitting a rock, yes he's an adult, and shouldnt have been on it, but the clearnce was that bad that the guard litterally tore off, its still in the garage, I havent gotten around to welding it back on, and may not do to the fact that it doesnt get stuck on things half as much now. It probably only has 4 inches of clearance.

The power of this maching is pitifull. I live in southern NH, it is hilly here, but nothing that this quad should not be able to go up. The 50 eton, 2 stroke, blows this thing away at low end, there is no comparison. At high end the Baja will take it, but my kids dont ever open it all the way up and do full speed, I would be much happier with a little more low end power and less top end. I own 2 utility trailers, this baja will not even drive up the tailgate of either trailer, with nobody on the machine, just standing next to it giving it gas, it will not go up the tailgate, the 50 eton has no problem. I have to push this thing up the trailer. I really wonder if I got a friday afternoon lemon, and if the engine needs a rebuild already, low compression??, I dont know, but the power is horrible. The engine does not have alot of hours on it, if I had to guess I would say 30-40, the oil has been changed 2 or 3 times, comes out clean, doesnt burn oil, Im just not sure what is up with this thing. Like someone else on here mentioned, I wouldnt even think about taking it out in snow.

Maybe when spring comes, I will change the tires and sprocket, who knows, if I could just sell it, I would be happier.