Started my son on a 2002 50cc eton back in 2004 when he was 2 years old. He still rides this quad at the age of 7, the quad has been modified many times since then. This quad usually gets the holeshot against DRR and Appex 110cc, however since the suspension and travel is not the same the DRR and Appex seem to always overtake him on the rough section, but he catches them on the straight aways.

 

I have two 50 cc kazumas and one 50 cc suzuki. The kazumas are great little starter machines. my son (just turned 3) is just starting out. the kazuma has a kill switch on the back that you can attach a cord to it and kill the motor when needed. so does the suzuki, but everytime you pull the cord, you have to reattatch it (kind of a pain if you are stopping every 3 feet). also, the cord attatched to the kill switch on the kazuma is strong enough for you to stop the bike from moving (you should be strong enough). i screw the thottle thumb stop practically all the way in so its a slow crawl. like i said, i just started my son out on it and im hoping by the end of the summer he will be able to ride without the cord. i started my daughter out this way (hence two 50 cc kazumas) and eventually she needed better suspension, in comes the suzuki lt50. she is 6 now and is doing quite well.

 

Here he is in his last arenacross.

 

travel meaning suspension travel, or just no traction and can't travel far from pavement? I hear you can put screws in the tires for better traction... suspension, yeah, a real atv, little kazuma won't be much better I wouldn't think...

 

the other thing i did was took a stick set of trx 400 ex handle bars, chopped em all up and re-welded them to be smaller. then welded them to a metal plate that bolts to my quad. my son rides well with them when he sits in front of me. yea, i know...its overkill, but at least he gets the idea of handle bars and grips.

 

Ok, every time I read a thread like this, I cringe. Let me bring you into the real world for a second. First off, do some research and read the accident reports on children deaths. Second, there is a reason why they don't recommend a child under a certain age even sit on one of these.. Third, unless you have the future wonder woman, take a look at what you are trying to put her on. Can she reach the brakes? More important, I seriously doubt she could operate them. Even throttled down they can roll. Now consider the fact that in a crash, an ATV will do much more damage than a bike, or dirt bike for that matter... Why, well weight is a factor, and the fact that a dirt bike and a human body usually take seperate paths when crashing. Not so with an ATV. It will be right there with them breaking bones... Now the real biggie... Brain power. A child under the age of 6 has an attention span of about 15 seconds. It isn't about being able to get big air, or can work the gas and steer. It is about reacting in an emergency situation. Like that tree that jumped in front of them, or the rock, or someone coming the other way on a trail.

I believe if you think about it for even a half second, you will realize that you are bordering on child endangerment. So NO, I DON"T THINK A 3 YEAR OLD SHOULD BE ON A REAL ATV.

You say you love your child. Then act like it and find other ways to spend time with them. Let them grow up at their own rate. Don't push them to be something YOUR want. Let them develope into whatever they want to be. That is the secret to being a parent. Don't try and relive all your failures through your child. Nurture them, let them discover on their own, but you can't create a clone of yourself. Each is an individual.

 

As I can see your point I am gonna have to disagree with you as far as my daughter goes. First thing I taught her was the brakes. And she was really good a the brakes and could pull them fine. Yes when they are young they have a shorter attention span so you can't let them ride as long. Their reaction time is not as good as an expierienced rider but neither is any first time rider. I have had her on the trails for 2 years now and she respects them and handles them very well. Do I want anything to happen to her? NO but I can't shelter her either! Some people can't chew gum and walk down the sidewalk at the same time those same people have no buiseness on a quad!

 

Ive read the accident reports....most of them are fluke accidents and they are rare. Last time I checked more kids were killed in swimming pools then on ATVs/MCs.....far more. The thing is they dont break it down by age....so for arguements sake its pointless in this context as they consider a child anyone under the age of 16 if I remember right and we are talking about very small children. I have no numbers but I would be VERY suprised if we could find any report of death of a 3 to 5 year old on one of these smaller ATVs.

My daughter at 3 years old and 20lbs could reach the brakes fine.....operate the brakes fine. There was a picture on page 1. Thats her on Christmas.....she was 2, she didnt turn 3 until June.

Here it is again, she is in the 19th percentile for height and weight. At 5 now she still can wear 3T clothes.....she is very small.



The brake pedal is tall....so in that picture she is actually already stopped and it holding her foot on the brake. See her knees are bent. Im sure I have some pictures of her 6 months somewhere. On to the next statement. Yes they could roll.....if you were riding technical terrain.

Follow with me here. If its throttled down to 3 to 5 mph like a Power Wheels......and your riding it in a flat yard......hows it going to roll? My daughter rides her ATV in the yard.....not on a motorcross track. She rides at an appropriate speed limited by me in a gear I select. The machine will not go faster, no matter what she does. She could ride flat out into a stationary object at 3 to 5 mph and be fine....heck she goes faster then that on her bike. At that speed and on flat ground the ATV isnt going to follow anyone and break bones, its not going to end up on top of them or anything. The brain power argument is a good one....and its valid except my yard has no rocks and no trail riders.

I dont think anyone is advocating taking a 3 year old on a regular sized ATV to a technical trail.........in fact I think we are talking about a very small ATV with limiting features and safety switches everywhere riding around in a flat yard with parental supervision.....hell you can even walk behind and pull the kill cord. The neighbors kids on Power Wheels passed my daughter when she first started riding her quad.

I believe that if you think about if for a second you will realize your bordering on fear mongering.

Actually both my daughter and son both owned ATVs and dirt bikes BEFORE I did. My son rode dirt for 2 years before I even bought a dirt bike or ATV. I bought one so I could ride with him (he was 7)......not the other way around. I had ZERO interest in dirt until then. Hell even when I did buy an ATV I didnt go buy a huge machine....I bought a 200cc Honda to learn on. My daughter and I spend far more time in dance and ballet then on ATVs, she has plenty of other interests and I nurture them just fine. She uses the ATV as a recreational toy......neither her or I are picking out her motocross gear. We are having fun in the yard, nothing more....ease up there Dr Ruth.

I have no idea why you think your smarter then everyone else but we are plenty capable of using our brains and making our own decisions regarding our children.

 

Look fellas, Dragginbutt is refering to Blevinsbulldog. Go to his reply and watch the video. It makes me sick.

As most can see, there are proper sized machines out there that your kids can reach the controls.

 

I watched the video just now....yeah thats a bit extreme. That size machine would be appropriate for my son at 8....not my 3 year old daughter.

None the less I didnt get that from his post.....nor did he quote that post specifically.

If he got that entire post out of one guy doing nothing but linking a video among all our more appropriate discussion and talking about models, reaching the controls etc then he was wasting his time with his reply. The guy posting that video probably hasnt given this thread a second look as hes not interested in the same things we are.