I knew Gage would like it! So when you getting the wife a wheeler?

Those kids quads are really stable, its hard to flip one over, luckily we haven't experienced that yet!

Does his have a horn? I think horns are cool, might get one for my quad.

 

4wheelindakota,
As usual,I liked Tree Farmers response.His post was well said and his advice is second to none.Apptitude and attitude is very important,without these,its a difficult learning task.

I bought my son Rocky a 50cc Suz quad when he was about 5yrs old.He was a natural on it from the time he sat on the seat.The boy had it in his blood,so to speak.At the early age of 2,I had him as an OCCASIONAL second rider on my Honda road bike.He took a liking to motors at an early age.

Sounds like your on the right track,
Bill

 

Park it?? I don't think so.

If I had an extra 2k I would buy my five year old one. My boy drives my Trail Blazer (with me helping) and does just fine. I know that it is politically incorrect for a five year old to drive a 250cc or a 50cc for that matter but I think it's good experience.

Should you wait a few months until the magical age of 6 when overnight he becomes mature enough to handle the 50cc? I don't think so, every kid is differant. The best think you can do is have him ride it. I'm sure you can "tune down" the little scrambler and start with easy terain, then adjust both as his abilities increase which I suspect will be fairly quickly.

We live in a sue happy world, I am of the opinion that the 6-12 on a 50cc and 12-16 on a 90cc (or whatever it is) is a liability thing and not necessarily practical. I can't see my boy riding a 90cc when he's 15, or a 50cc when he's 11.

 

Chainman,
we are in agreement with the age recommendations that the ATV manufactures give our kids.Its WAY off.

I bought my 14 yr old daughter a 229cc Honda Recon.My Xplorer is a TANK in comparison to the Honda.I dont want the quad[Xplorer] to navigate her,thats the reason I bought the lighter Recon for her.

I went to enroll her into an ATV safety course,they refused her because of the Recons size of 229cc instead of the RECOMMENDED 90cc.Check out these manufactures RECOMMENDATIONS,

Under 70cc---6yrs and older
70-90cc---12yrs and older
over 90cc---16yrs and older

Are these guys insane?No they really are not.I beleive you hit the nail on the head when you said the manufactures are protecting themselves from lawsuits.They HONESTLY want you to buy the bigger,more expensive model ATVs,but they must cover there own butts first.These lower CC labels on the new quads assist in doing so.

But lets be for real?What experienced ATV father is going to put his 15yr old on a 90cc quad?Not many.

Im headed into the direction of becoming a future ASI instructor,so I to will have to someday turn down a kid from the safety course because very few parents are made aware of the CC recommendations made by the manufactures when they buy the quad from the dealerships.After all,the saleman is very unlikely to sell you a 90cc quad for your 15 yr old when your really looking at buying a MORE expensive CC quad.He makes more commission on the higher priced quads,
Bill

 

Bill,

You are correct about having to turn people away if their kids don't meet the CC & Age limitations.

We have a husband & wife team that are ATV instructors in our club & they have told us this story on several occasions.

They also don't agree with the limitations but you have to abide by the rules especially when you are getting a paycheck from the ATV Safety institue.

 

I think it is a great idea to start kids early on ATV's under the parents' supervision. Way better off that way than waiting till they are 14-15-16 to ride one. When they are 14-15-16, they are more likely to ride with friends, and get into some deep $hit. Better learning from a father or mother rather than 14-16 yr. old friends. When they are young they can learn to respect the machine and it's power from you, the parent, not a neighbor kid who has never even ridden a quad. I think you made a wise choice. Just make sure you upgrade with his age, or he will get bored with the little one. All motorcross friends I know, all started out with an 80cc or smaller, and at a young age.
Good luck :-)

 

day three and we moved from the open field to an easy trail system by the river. no hills over 6' high, no ruts, etc. lots of trees, some mud and snow. he's doing extremely well steering rather than being steered. he's got the speed thing down and i am proud dad of the year.
he even passed me on trail a couple times.
(of course, i let him - but someday he'll woop me)

 

Snowshark,
you are so correct.We [ASI] instructors are paid by the ASI,so we have to abide by their rules.I dont agree either with the CC and age requirements,but,you gotta follow the rules,
Bill

 

Sounds like you are doing good. The only advice I would have had to add would have been to hook up a string to the kill tether & walk behind him so you could kill the engine if needed on his first couple of rides, but it seems like the little guy is progressing faster than I thought. Just a little advice. Take it easy & have fun! Also, when your wife rolls her eyes because her 'kids' are gonna run around on their 'toys', get her some flowers or something.

 

Advice: Just be there when he needs you. Have fun, I remember all of the goodtimes my Dad and I had. Gee he even taught me about "guns" and I am still hunting and teaching my grandchildren to be "gun" aware. He even let me have a knife when he thought I could use it with some intelligence. He even shouwed me how to carve wood into something you could recognize.
I am glad people now have dig. video, etc. I have an old memory, that sometimes fades.
Enjoy your children as YOU see fit and don't listen to all of the goodie two shoes.
regards.
Al