i have a 500, i am also 17 years old... when i was 10 i drove my parents 300 arctic cat... no problems... kept it slow, wore a helmet...

then i turned 17, got some money, and bought my polaris 500 HO sportsman... now im retarded and go too fast.... hit 1 tree already due to snow pulling me into it on a hill at 15 mph... that one hurt the quad more then me, thus lightening my wallet 150.00 and my thumb now moves slower [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

now i moved onto matress surfing with friends... get a mattress, a chain, and some stupid friends... drive around towing the mattress with them on it... the mud id fun, covers them... but the dry dirt gets EVERYWHERE and still covers them... it's REALLY fun... we did it tonight, got some videos, gotta upload them yet...

the 500 chugs right along towing 400 lbs worth of people and a mattress filled with mud.... it is not a little machine...

that beings said, my 4 y/o nephew will not ride it untill i feel he can do it safely, at least 12... depends on how well he listens to me about speed, and how mature he is...

the 500 is a neat machine, but VERY dangerous in the wrong hands

safe ridding, have fun!

 

I was almost 36 when I got my first ATV and it was a Sportsman 500. It was the right size for a full grown man over 6 feet tall. If you're a 12 year old and over 6 feet tall, go ahead and ride one. Robert Wadlow was 7 feet tall when he was 12 and was big enough to handle a 500. If you're a normal sized 12 year old the 500 is way too big. Maybe if you whine and beg enough you can get the 300. Or maybe you'll have to get a job and buy it yourself. My parents didn't buy me a quad or snowmobile or even a car. I learned responsibility by buying them all with my own money. I didn't get an allowance either, so if I wanted anything, I had to work for it.

 

Jumbo its good to hear from another "deprived" person like myself-lol-kids these days don't have a clue, when I was a kid my allowance was .50 a week and wanted my first mini-bike(atvs were not made back in the early 60's) I had to get a paper route + lie about my age so I could get a job for $1.65hr washing dishes to buy it-although I will admit my kids 23son & 21&18daughters had a lot of toys that I bought them when younger. ---But you did solve the problem- if you can earn the dough your probably mature enough to own&ride what you can afford-case closed imo

 

i dont get allowance.

 

No you might not get cash BUT you have parents who'll spend 4+K on a wheeler for you, so I'd say you get a real GENEROUS allowance, when I was 12 I'd of been happy to own ANY motor powered toy that I could ride and could never at that age imagine the luxury of being able to choose and be picky about it.

 

aaaaa i never said they would get me one! trust me Ive bagged them for 2 years to get me one. they said NO its to much money. so im gonna try to get one but its doubtful

 

According to the CPSC, ATVs killed more than 500 people in 2006 and of those victims nearly 1 in 5 was a child. In addition to ATV deaths, accidents involving such popular vehicles sent 146,600 people to hospital emergency rooms that same year. Some 75% of the ATV accidents result in serious damage to the head or spinal cord of the accident victim. Head injuries are a major cause of serious life threatening or lifelong physical problems and ailments. Injury to the spinal cord can result in paralysis of the entire body for life.

Most of the deaths and injuries to children are the result of youngsters riding adult-size ATVs, and consumer groups say the agency needs to do more to keep kids off ATVs that are too big and too powerful for them. Consumer advocates have called on the CPSC to ban the sale of adult-size ATVs for use for children. The agency has declined to do that. There is only a voluntary agreement in place with major ATV distributors in which they require dealers not to sell adult-size ATVs to people who might allow children to ride them.

 

A 300 would be great. My 250 Ozark has plenty of power to pull me through my swamp with no problem and climb steep hills with no problem. I've pulled other ATVs from the sticky stuff and pulled them up hills. A 300 would have plentiful power especially for someone of your age.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008 Suzuki Ozark 250
Iterco Swamp Lite Tires

 

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

Jumbo its good to hear from another "deprived" person like myself-lol-kids these days don't have a clue, when I was a kid my allowance was .50 a week and wanted my first mini-bike(atvs were not made back in the early 60's) I had to get a paper route + lie about my age so I could get a job for $1.65hr washing dishes to buy it-although I will admit my kids 23son & 21&18daughters had a lot of toys that I bought them when younger. ---But you did solve the problem- if you can earn the dough your probably mature enough to own&ride what you can afford-case closed imo</end quote></div>

when i turned 12 my neighbor had my 2001 500 scrambler 2/4 beat up condition but working. I wourked 2 strait years every day durring teh summer and at least once a week during the school year and worked it off. i did everything from yard work witch i still do to helping him with paving stons on his driveway to working in the house. i got worked and i have more calises on my hand than anyone else in my grade. I definitedly worked for it my mom bought me and my brother our 400 and i am beond spoiled i have to say my dad spent thousands on my racing hobby and i realy apreciat it but i do know what it is worth and i try all the time to get a job but damb inshurace won't let me work any were close by. i tryed an atv place right down the street have to be 18 and a trailer place never called me back i can't get anywere else even on bike. im 14 and can't find a job i know more than the guys down there at teh atv place do and that is a fact. Ive done everything acept break deap into a 4 stroke engine rebuilt 2 stroke and transmistions and can diagnos almost anything i am more than qualified to push a broom anywere. haha