As a parent myself with our quads for our daugters. I would like to know from other parents, what was the deciding factors when they picked their kids quads, eg price, safety features, suport, brands etc ..and if you had todo it again, would you go a different model...I have some friends that are looking for their kids and I'm just a little bias to Yamaha..

thanks in advance

R

 

When we decided to purchase a mini quad for our daughter, the looks of the little Polaris Predators caught our eye. We started our daughter (then 7) on the 50 and learned quickly that it was too small, so we bought her a 90. We ended up giving the 50 to our (then 3) son. The 90's have reverse (a sweet option!) Anyone has to admit that the Predator looks awesome!

Our daughter's quad turned into a racing quad and we have made several modifications to it. My son's remains stock.

On the 50, I liked the adjustable footwells. Everything else, such as the electric start, automatic transmission and 2 teathers are pretty common in all the machines, but a nice feature.

We have had wonderful luck with the Predators. My daughter races hers 3-4 races a weekend and has only had one DNF (did not finish) but it was due to a minor injury. The machine has ran not-notch! As long as you keep up with the maintenance, you will have great luck! Keep the chained tightened and oiled, check for loose bolts (they can vibrate loose), keep the gear box oil changed, clean the air filter and check the spark plug every once in a while. (If you race, the maintenance is more work than if you are a leisure rider.)

The only problem we have had with the 50 is having to replace the battery. We also had a swing arm bolt fall out. Other than that, it has ran great too. I swear by the Predators.

 

We got turned on to the kids market by a cousin who had a Polaris Scrambler X..My son rode it and had a blast...I was going to buy a Polaris Predator but then started doing some research on other brands of mini's...Most of them had very poor suspensions,Honda,Suzuki,bombardier so I eliminated them..Then I saw an Eton which I had never heard of before...I liked the fact that it had a rear disc brake which I knew would be very powerful yet easy to squeeze for a small hand...It also had a heavy duty chain which was a bit of a short coming on the original polaris that we rode....The more I looked at the Eton the more I was impressed.It had lights, a horn,electric start,good suspension,good tires,sporty styling along with the brakes and chain already mentioned...I was still a little hesitant as I had never heard of Eton....Luckily the dealer was also a race promoter and had several brands of mini's in his shop..We looked at them all and he pointed out that the basic engines were almost identical and that parts were readily available for them all..And yes they were all made in taiwan...This was back in 2003 and a lot of mini's have really made some progress since back then.On the other hand with all the cheap Chinese quads that have appeared since then it has become much more complicated to make a good decision on what to buy..One thing I don't like about the Yamaha's is the solid/swingarm front end design.. We still may have bought a Polaris but it really came down to dealer support for me..

 

I started all my kids on a lt50 but like everyone stated kids out grew them fast so we have handed it down we then when to an extreme 90 and slowly progressed to racing. We now run a Apex Pro mx 90 and love this bike fast best suspension out (stock). Apex also carry the Pro shark it has more options of any mini out at the same price. You can ck them out at http://ecperformanceminiquad.com/ they are realy nice quality bikes.

 

I started my son out on an LT50 at the age of two. At that time he could barely reach the floorboards. This was one of the options I liked. The teather kill switch, 2-stroke motor, and the restrictors were other features I liked. I also wanted to purchase a quad that had a history of reliability, I did not want it to break down and did not want to see my son disappointed at not being able to ride. I have a dealer that sells multiple brands that I have a history with and this was suggested to us. I was pleased with the performance and relaibility of this bike. I wish it had a foot pedal for the break instead of a hand break, kids hands are so small to try and squeeze it. When he turned six this summer, I decided to upgrade him to and LT80 and we are slowly turning it into a faster machine so he can learn how to compete.

When I sold the LT50, I was pleased with the resale value of the unit. It sold very quickly. In all my experience with this brand has been very positive.

 

My lip is bleeding.

 

Well he couldn't decide if he should get him a quad or an AK47 at the age of 2. So he got him a quad for now and decided to wait untill the kid is at least 3 before buying him a AK.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I also chose Yamaha for it's depenability. The raptor 80,four stroke, shat drive, electric start, has been trouble free for 3 years now. I even ride it around the yard.

 

I too looked long and hard at the E-tons, as they have nice features for the price backed with a decent rep for reliability. I was just looking for a trail quad, no racing for us(yet) and the budget dictated I could buy a used Jap quad or a new Taiwanese make. Even though the newer quads have better safety features, I went with a TRX 90. These little guys are truely "mini" sport quads. From the auto clutch tranny to the air box and suspension design. Want a tether kill? You can pick them up for $30.00. You still get a throttle limiter, and you can always limit top speeds by keeping the tranny in 2nd until the little one developes skills. I felt more comfortable knowing that there is usually going to be a Honda dealer relatively close if I need parts on a riding trip, and that the machine had been proven over time as durable. I'm not sure there is really anything I would like to change about the purchase, although my son has shown little interest in learning to shift just yet. Even though the rear brake is a drum, it has plenty of power to lock up the rear wheels, but is easily modulated by little hands. The front drums aren't as powerful, but then again I know my son isn't going to endo and end up with the atv on top of him either.

As for the Yamaha's, they really need to step it up and sell a better mini. Power and suspension on those little Raptors is rediculously limiting.

 

My 8 year old started out on an old 12v PowerWheels atv that was given to him when he was 3. I installed a 12 volt lawn tractor battery in the thing and he could drive that thing for hours before it would run down. He put know telling how many miles on that thing.
Then we bought a very used 85 Honda TRX 125 that had been sitting for over 8 years from a friend of my girlfriends. I never got it to run and sold it to my neighbor who rebuilt it.

I promised him a new atv when the money came in from a house that was sold that my wife was part owner of before she died. There were 4 of us that now had a share in the place and I put his part, a shade over 5K into a 16 month cd.
I bought him a 06 TRX Honda 90 with my part. I let him pick the color out also.

I had looked on here about the Chinese brands but decided to go ahead and spend the extra for the Honda quality and reliability.