I have been looking for a first ATV for my 7 year old....he'll be 7 in two weeks....

ANyways, looked at the chinese ATVs and to be honest I havent been getting that warm fuzzy about them....great value but I am really not sure about the quality longterm.

I found a 2004 Polaris Predator 90 for $1100....I think its a good deal price wise....just not sure about the whole 2stroke versus 4 stroke thing....

Would this be a good bike for a kids first ATV? According to the specs its only 2" taller in seat height....although it is alot heavier at 240 lbs.....vs 150 lbs for the chinese models....

Thoughts??

 

Thats a great deal. 2 strokes are very easy to take care of and have tons of power. Dont be afraid of a 2 stroke. They are awsome.

 

I bought my then 8 year old son an '04 Predator as his first ATV this spring for several hundred more than that. I'd say that is a good deal if it is any shape at all.

I've had some very minor things to take care of (heat shield broke off and I brazed it back together, brake light stuck on, and needed a chain (front brake shoes are in the near future)). He doesn't race it, but we ride in some pretty sandy, rocky, thorny desert and he has gone any place I would go. As far as the engine goes, all I've done is keep gas and oil in it and clean the air filter. Oh and I did pull the plug out to drain the water out of it a week after he had 'washed it' and filled the motor with water! After some cranking and cleaning the plug, it fired right up and has been ridden probably another 100 miles with no ill effects.

I would put the CDI limiter in and run the throttle stop in so he can't get going to fast and maybe hold the tether myself for a few rides and see how it goes.

 

Ok..so basically, no problems with two strokes and kids.....

My ATVs are 4 stroke...I was always under the impression that 2 strokes need to be wound up high to get power etc.....I wnat him to be able to go up hills etc without having to fly.....the 4 strokes can putt up and over obstacles aetc...

So, no issues with fouling plugs etc???

 

The peaky two stroke thing applies more to adult atvs than the mini's...Full sized two stroke quads are usually fairly small CC engines,250,350s that have to compete against much larger 4 strokes 400,450 etc. Generally a two stroke will make much more power than a 4 stroke if the engines are the same size...Most of the mini's are the same size.The two stroke in the Polaris 90 will run circles around the chinese 4 strokes of a similar size..We recently went on a trail ride with our Viper 90 (very similar to the Polaris) and a Baja 90(4stroke Canadian tire/Pep boys quad).We had to cross a road so the boys stopped in a ditch and then had to start from a dead stop in the bottom of the ditch and come up to the road.The Baja 90 just sat there bogging and the Viper spun up the hill with power to spare...I'm not knocking the Baja 90 its a great little machine for the price but the power difference was obvious from a dead stop up a hill....The two stroke power in the mini's could hardly be called "peaky"..The engines are small enough that in stock form they are pretty mellow and don't have a hard hitting powerband like a 350 Banshee for example....The CVT transmission keeps the engine in the power pretty well and allows them to crawl up over stuff without hitting it at a higher speed.If anything the underpowered little 4 strokes are worse in this situation with the exception of the ones with a semi automatic ..Our Viper still has the stock oil injection and it has never fouled a plug..We do use a good quality synthetic oil however...I would buy the Polaris no question as there really isn't much money to be saved in buying a cheap chinese 4 stroker if you can get it that cheaply...

 

What oldyeller said. My son's Predator is not peaky at all. It makes power down pretty low and pulls up and over some pretty big rocks and dips. I have him limited to about 1/2 throttle right now. He has ridden it probably 300 miles and I don't regret buying it. We still have the original plug in it (original to us anyway) and the oil injection hooked up.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys.....

I have been comparing sizes of the SUNL 110 I was considering and the Predator 90.....the predator is a bigger bike....about 4" more seat height if you go by the stats online....EDIT: Just compared the Baja 50 stats to the Predator 90...according to those numbers the seat height of the Baja 50 is 26" to seat...I thought I measured 24 or so but....so maybe they arent that much off?? Problem is Bajas site might be goofy....they list their Baja 90 as having a 25.5 inch seat height.....

anyone else here have a 7 year old on one of these? He is just sort of 4' tall....seems to just fit the Baja 50 at Pep Boys, on the border of being too small for him....the Baja 90 they had there was a LOT larger machine....but then I found the SUNL 110s that were the same size as the 50s they make....so I am pretty confused on the whole sizing thing....

The one I located is a good 2.5 hour drive for me...worried that I will show up and it will be too dang big....I just dont want to buy something he cant ride.....this is supposed to be a surprise for his bday....

Also, anyone know if the predator will fit into the back of a 2003 or older Dodge Durango if you pull the bars off?? I was outsside doing some measuring and it looks like it MIGHT if the bars come off.....going by the sizes I found on the website...my pickup's air isnt working and I hate to drive 5 hours without air.... LOL

 

It is probably going to be the same with the Pred 50 and 90 size wise. You can tone the Pred down for speed
so that he can't go that fast at all until he learns it. My kid is 4'2" and just fits right on the Pred 90....3 inches
between crotch and seat while standing and his elbows bend just right with the bars.

Come spring your kid should fit it fine....with that deal I would buy it. Good price if it is in good shape.
Nothing wrong with 2-strokes for kids. They can putt around on them all day without a problem at all.


My problem with 2-strokes is they don't make the 250R anymore! :-(


Not sure on the Durango though....that is why I traded in the SUV and got the Dakota quad cab. :-)



Darrin

 

The Predator is very similar to my daughter's Eton (She has the 50). As far as the 2 stroke is concerned, these are great little engines, and you should have no problems with it if well maintained. My Daughter is 8 and she fits the Eton great. I am actually going to trade her up to a 90 Eton, which should be the same size as the Predator you are talking about. One big difference you might notice on these vs the Sunl quads is the size of the tires. The Sunl quads (and many of the chinese ones) have 145-7-6 size tires. These are about 13" tall, and give maybe 2" of ground clearance. The Eton 50 has 16-8-7 tires, which are a couple inches taller. I think the 90 actually has 19s on it, so the ground clearance should be at least a few inches more. I suspect your 7 year old will be just about the right size for the quad. My 8 year old daughter is getting tall for the 50 now. Check the seat hieght on the one you are looking at. Hers has a seat hight of about 25". The Eton 90 is 26.5 I believe. The Predator 90 and the Eton 90 are almost identical machines, except for the plastic. You will want to turn down the CDI for him for a while, until he gets some riding skills, and also use the throttle limiter as well. I would put him in a flat open area and have him ride it a bit there before you take him anywhere with any hills or challenges. Once he gets the hang of actually stopping the machine, and safety issues like safe following distance, and proper cornering, then you can turn the bike up a bit. As far as if it will fit in the Durango... no idea. Do you have access to a small trailer to haul it with?

 

Absolutley the Pred will fit into a Durango. I have put a Banshee into a 2-door Jimmy(s-10 size) on several occasions. Of course, I had to remove the wheels, shocks, and handlebars lowered to make it fit, but it WILL work.

Also, I was just shopping the 90's not to long ago. The Pred 90 is definately a bigger quad than the Viper 90. The E-ton shares frame dimensions with their 70 model, only the engine and tire size are different. My 7 y/o fits a Viper 90 perfect. The Pred is a bigger stretch,though doable

The only real downfall I see with the 2 strokes is that they aren't well sealed from mud and water like the 4 strokes are. Not a huge deal, just try to keep your kids out of the water and teach them to be careful when washing it.