I went through some sole searching before getting a MIC for my 5 year old son this spring. For the most part when you live where I do and there is no used Jap trash to buy, what are ones options. The actual dealers would not sell to me as the rider is under 6 years old. Then they only want to sell a 50 CC until age 12. We do have several new dealers but few stock a 50 CC quad. Cabelas was one of the few. We drove down to Sidney and both the 50 and 90 are nearly the same size. Remember the 90 is made for a 12-16 year old. The Mongoose replic quads are so big he can't get his hands around the brake levers, feet don't touch the foot pegs. For you people lost in the 90s, they are no longer making LT50s. Then all I read is all the mods to do on the Mongoose family quad to get over 8 MPH and still only goes 15-17 MPH. Add another $100 for a CDI without a rev limiter and you can get it up to 20 MPH. First the Kawasaki 50 CC costs just short of $2000 + 140 sales tax and my son is sitting beating his sack to death because the quad will not fit his size. It only has mechanical brakes and 6 year old kids can't pull the levers. Yet MIC has hydrolic rear brakes. And nearly everyone short of Yamaha and Honda uses the Mongoose re-badged anyway. Nothing good is said about the yamaha 50 other than reliable but for $2500 it should be. And it only goes 12 MPH so no one will get hurt. You have to be 12 to ride a Honda.

I will go for a Yamaha 125 Breeze/Grizzly on his next purchase as well. Thats because I know it will fit my needs at that time just as the MIC fit my needs presently. But people who talk bad about getting a new MIC over a 10 year old jap quad haven't tried to get one lately or walked in everyone's shoes. Beside, quality of new MIC is way better than it was 5 years ago. I haven't done any more maintenance to my Raceway Renegade than any other new quad. Change the oil, fill with gas, and tighten the chain.

 

I am not a hard rider , dont care to fly. I just ride mine in the woods and some trails . A Vbike 250 cc utility. It hasnt failed to start on the first punch of the button. Never used the choke , runs until I shut it off . Goes up hills over boulders up 85% grades with two on it . And , it hasnt given me a problem in the coming on 5 months that I have had it yet. Buy a Jap bike never. Going to by another China import ? Most likely. one for the wife now . WE both like to ride and these Vbikes seem to do the job as the other Jap bikes do. I have some friends I rode with and it will keepup with them with no problems. There can be problems with the China bikes as well as the Jap bikes. Just depends on how much you are wanting to spend and what you are going to do with it . A Boeing is a lot better aircraft than a Cessna and they both fly , but the Boeing is considerably more

 

85% grade? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: jaybeecon55

85% grade? [img][/img]</end quote></div>

Yes, the Vbike now comes with a vertical take off feature and huge claws extend out from the tires like some of those Tyco R/C jobbers. I have heard a good rider on a good day can actually climb up the side of a tree with this setup[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

My MIC experience was kinda like watching most Will Ferrell movies. Somewhat entertaining but I'm glad I didn't pay to see it at the theater when it was new. I didn't get my MIC from netflix though, I got it used for $600. It was a Komodo 110 "Honda knockoff" 4-stroke, 3 speed with reverse, electric start. My boy had been riding an LT50 and dug the electric start and reverse. It was super hard to up shift with your toe though. So I welded on a heel shifter. The suspension was brutal and for as fast as it would go it was scary. The tires didn't absorb the bumps much either. We finally burned up the clutch in the sand and decided to sell it instead of fix it. I got $200 for it with a dead clutch. So for $400 the boy got to ride it for about a year (approx 100 hrs). Both my kids have LT80s now. They like them better than the 110 in every way except for the lack of reverse. If I found another one for $5-600 I might get another. They are great for gravel roads and for around the house and for a buddy who wants to try out riding ATVs on one of yours. They are almost like disposable quads.

 

When you are sitting on a 4 wheeler and going up the skilled only trails on some of the tracks here in Arkansas going from 900 foot level to say 15 or 1600 foot elevation in less than a 1/2 mile it seems like 110 % grade. I dont think most can visualize the boulders and rocks that are on the trails down here . These trails here arent for the 40 MPH bikes or maybe even the 10 mph. Many times I have had to back down get a run and ride the handle bars to keep the front end down. other wise its end over end backwards which almost happened a week or so ago. Learned my lesson and went back and took the easy way around

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: sflarider

Ive had alot of name brand quads, mostly Honda. I recently bought a few chinese quads, that have been remarkably

reliable. I guess I dont fit into your schematic here, or maybe I was just lucky. Maybe its because I can fix things

that break on my own. I also have an excellent local dealer, so that might help as well. I like my chinese quad more than most of the name brands

that Ive had. My friends all have big 4 bikes, and I can pick a few things on each that I dont like at all. In the end, it goes down to whether

or not you can wrench. Theres too many people on this forum who have never owned a chinese bike, but according to their posts, they are experts

on them. To them, I wish theyd just keep their mouths shut unless they have personal experience with one, before they try to act like

a professional on the subject.</end quote></div>
I don't think it's just a matter of whether or not you know how to wrench..Do you want to wrench all the time or would you rather be riding?...I've owned several Jap atvs and had to do almost no wrenching whatsoever besides scheduled maintenance...When the kids come around with the Chinese quads it is endless wrenching just to keep them riding around the yard..

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: leesumm

When you are sitting on a 4 wheeler and going up the skilled only trails on some of the tracks here in Arkansas going from 900 foot level to say 15 or 1600 foot elevation in less than a 1/2 mile it seems like 110 % grade. I dont think most can visualize the boulders and rocks that are on the trails down here . These trails here arent for the 40 MPH bikes or maybe even the 10 mph. Many times I have had to back down get a run and ride the handle bars to keep the front end down. other wise its end over end backwards which almost happened a week or so ago. Learned my lesson and went back and took the easy way around</end quote></div>

Relax dude, just having fun with ya! Actually, an 85% grade isn't even a 45 degree angle. I am to lazy to do the math right now but it probably works out to 40 or 41 degrees. My 200+ lbs can climb a 45 degree hill on my son's little Honda 90, so it isn't really a huge feat. Glad you are enjoying the Vbike, just be careful out there!