Me and my ouldest 2 kids love to ride and ride quite often, well my 4 year old son is already hounding me that he wants a 4wheeler.

Is 4yrs old two young to start out on a gas quad? If not what do you all recomend, I just got my oldest son riding 2years ago and we bought him a kfx 90 at the age of 10 and he handled it perfectly. Wasnt sure if a 4yr old would be able to ride a 50c or not?

 

Seams a little young to me but I realy can't say I have no kids of the human type. lol Somebody with kids will chime in and let you know thoe soon!

 

4 year old a perfect age to start a kid riding an atv, look around on the web you can find chinese 110cc atv's as low as $425 delivered, one thing i do recommed for 4-6 year olds to buy one with an automatic transmissiom reather than a simiautomatic. this way they can start riding and just have fun and not worry about shifting.

 

My experiance with motorized kids: [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
My son started racing Outlaw karts just before his 5th birthday. 5hp briggs, full roll cage, 5point harness, neck brace & lots of supervision. At that age he made lots of mistakes. Big mistakes! Gas instead of brakes. Watching who's watching him instead of where he's going. Miss judging distance. These mistakes resulted in lots of broken parts but no damage to the kid because of the safety equipment. He started quads at 6 & dirt bikes at 7. He's 17 now and still crashes but he's a very good rider.

I understand all kids develope at different rates but that development comes from experiance. The parent must closely monitor the childs development. Of course we want the child riding with us as soon as possible, just use all the patience and common sense you can muster. If you need to ask how old is old enough you probably have some doubts. Wait till it feels right. We hand push'em around with the motor not running till we know that they know how to use the brakes comfortably, not to put that foot down in front of that rear tire and get a good feel of turning. You get tired but you get to know what they're doing.

My point: Only the parent knows. Common sense, patience & more patience.
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end rant
Otis

 

My son started riding 3 years ago, he is 7 now. He was 4 1/2 when he got is quad. I got him a meerkat 50, I agree with chineseatvmechanic about getting an auto, I wish I would have done that. His next on will be an automatic.

 

YZOtis is right in all manners. My oldest daughter started out on 350 yamaha when she was 5. I just left it in second gear and let her go. It wasn't long before she found out how to shift the gears. She is 10 now and rides my can-am 500. The automatic is the only way to go. Even for me i want to enjoy my ride and not worry about shifting all the time. My daughter has racked up over 500 miles on this machine without any problems,although she does scare the crap out of me at times she handles the bike like a little pro. My youngest daughter is now 7 and she putts around on an 800 can-am,not letting the oldest on this one yet. And no ihaven't turned the throttle controls in at all. Now i'm not recommending this for anyone just know how my girls are. I say what ever you decide get an automatic and most bikes do come with an adjustment on the throttle to keep the bike slow so they can learn.

 

click on my camera to see the girls. They always ride with helmets just this time was for pictures only.

 

I want to personally thank you Dufrane for contributing to the reason law makers are coming down so hard on us all. While I dont discount that you know your girls well, I really hope you dont think having a 10 year old ride a 500cc machine and a 7 year old ride a 800cc is nothing more than unresponsible. You do what you want but their are some of us that arent impressed nor want to be reminded which people are responsible for the crazy laws some states have. Then to take a picture of them riding doulble with no helmets, thats just the greatest. I know you said it is just for a picture, but it looks like the girl on the back is scared to death!

Take this comment anyway you want, I just had to reply.

 

My son started when he was 5 1/2 on a 90 with the throttle restricted but he had lots of experience driving electric cars and was very good at it..We always dressed him up with full saftey gear and he was very closely supervised at all times..Luckily he was a cautious rider and never rode above his abilities...Only you know what your child is capable of doing..

 

Thanks for all the replys, At the moment I think im going to wait 6 months or so and then re-evaluate the thought. Prolly get him a battery operated one this week and see how he listens to instructions and handles it before we jump in all the way. If he takes to it like a fish to water then might move on up a lil sooner. Just play it by ear for now. THanks agian for all the input [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]