I'm looking for a starter quad for my 6yr old daughter and have a great deal on an 07 Raptor 50 that he claims was only ridden 15-20 times total and it looks like it was maybe ridden 5-10 times... extremely clean. I was looking for an 80 or 90 so she had more room to grow with it however, I also have a 3yr old daughter and 2 yr old son that could take over the 50 when 6yr old jumps up.

My question is, what are your thoughts on a 6yr old having fun on a Raptor 50? Will she outgrow it within a year? She probably won't ride it more than once a month or so. I haven't driven it yet as it's an hour away and I don't want to take the trip unless it's the right choice.

 

My son started riding his LT80 when he was about 6 1/6. Unless she's pretty small and/or you're getting a great deal on the 50, I'd probably go for an 80. You can throttle most of them back to limit acceleration and top speed. It also depends alot on where you're planning to ride. We mostly stay in the woods where top speed isn't really an issue, but hill climbing is.

 

Well sir, Let me tell you. Forget what anyone else has to say about how their child started out on this size of machine or that... and forget about buying something bigger so they have room to grow etc. Those are two very serious mistakes we all made...

First off. A 6 year old doesn't NEED a lot of speed learning. The Raptor 50 is going to be slow, and it is that way for a darn good reason.. That is a GOOD THING.

Secondly, size wise, you will find other than the tire size, the machine is identical to the Raptor 80 in frame, which is larger than most child machines.

Now for the big thing.... You are her parent, and you need to have your head screwed on when making these decisions. Make sure you do some serious soul searching and evaluation of your child's abilities. First and foremost, you need to consider her ability to take and follow instructions. Consider her temperment, and assess how she will react in a dangerous or emergency situation. If you think she will panic or fail to recognise danger signals, then you may want to wait a while.

We out here cannot make these observations for you, and both you and the spouse need to be on the same page on this. I will throw in that ATV's are NOT toys, the child does not have a right to ride them, and not all 6 year olds have the necessary attitude and concentration to safely operate one.

Notice I have not even talked about things like how does she fit the 50? Without knowing the answer for the question above, the point is moot. It should be plain to see that she should be capable of reaching and operating all the controls. We also must assume that she will gain adequate instruction and will wear all the appropriate gear.. that MUST FIT properly to be safe.

This means you will be buying Helmets on a regualr basis. Buying one too large to grow into is a serious safety risk. If you can't afford it, find another sport. I know that sounds harsh, and I appologise up front for it, so please do not take any offense by it. But that is the bottom line when keeping our children safe.

If all of the points above are a go, then I think she will have a good learning experience on her 50. It will be slow going, and do not even consider making it any faster. She will have fun on it either way. You might consider buying some spacers to make it wider through. Wider equals safer at any speed.

A hint on them as well. When done for the day of riding, make sure you turn off the gass and let it die from using up all the gas in the float bowl. With the gas we have available these days, the Yamahas have serious problems with the Corn based fuel clogging up all the jets. Running the carb dry helps greatly.

Good luck and have fun...

DB

 

I agree with the cautions expressed by others on this page. Our son started on a Suzuki LT-A50 around age five. It had all of its restrictors on and his max speed was about 12 MPH. But just worrying about speed doesn't address all of the dangers they face. Speed had absolutely nothing to do with the one "event" and one "near event" that he experienced - they were entirely about attention and preparation. And as his parents we had trained and taught and prepared him like crazy. The take-away lesson here is that you cannot anticipate every possible event that may happen.

So before you select a machine based on its cleanliness or price or growth potential, step back and honestly assess your child - and yourself. Will an adult supervise EVERY riding session? (The answer should be yes for children of this age.) Will they have, and use, safety equipment every time? Will you take the time to teach them safe riding, and what to do when things go wrong?

I won't apologize for saying it: You are making life-and-death choices for your child. You'd better choose wisely. We've done the very best we can and even with all of that we've had a couple of heart-fluttering moments. This is true of any hobby or sport - the point is that YOU as the adult must take responsibility.

With all of those cautions having been said, we really enjoy riding as a family. It's one of our son's favorite activities. But still, with several years of experience, he never, ever, EVER rides alone. He always wears safety equipment. We always ride in front of him so we can control his path and speed. If you can guarantee those things, you'll have a great time together. If you cannot, do something else.

Report back on what you decide!

 

lots of helpful thoughts. i admire how you support your 6 year old daughter with her interests. stay as cool as you are now as a dad! keep it up.

 

One thing I have learned in my 4 plus decades of riding or is that 5... hard to remember... I was driving tractors on the family dairy farm at 4... but that is another story. Anyway, I was saying... the point you must understand is that no matter how well your child is prepared, they will have their moments. I have a 14 year old, my youngest... who just received his brand new 250 Honda TRX and I took him for a day of easy riding to familiarize himself on teh new machine. After upgrading from a Raptor 80, it was a big jump in speed, power etc. After doing very well for about two hours, we went back to teh pit area, which is right beside a rather large hill that people go hillclimbing on... and if you attack it from end to end, it isn't too much of a chore, but you try going up the side of it, and it is nearly vertical, and way beyond the capabilities of his 250. I had just finished telling him NOT to attempt it, and he turns and heads for the hardest side hill with predictable results. He made it almost to the top and stalled. Luckily he remembered to grab the front brake as he slid backwards about 30 ft on the vertical side and was rudely bounced as he hit the transition at the bottom. After picking himself up I walked over, check him out, and his machine and pointed to the trailer. He understood... he was grounded. After sitting and listening to one of my better lectures for about 30 minutes, we loaded up and headed home. All I could think was what I was going to tell my wife if he had been hurt. This is a kid who has been through every training program out there, who knows better, who has the skills and experience to recognize trouble and react to it, but the bottom line is, even though you have spent time and effort making sure they have the best of everything, they still can make bad choices and get hurt. I have seen children also freeze when they get scared and hold the throttle wide open as they drive straight into a tree. It happens. Even to the best of us...