My son, now 12, started with a 325 Trailboss at age 10, after it blew an oil line we patched it up and got a great trade-in on a 4x4 425 EXP.
It's got an H.O. cam and a 38mm flatslide Mikuni.
It's as quick as my H.O. and he's got over 1,000 miles on it. He always wears a full coverage helmet, as do I.
The EXP is big and heavy, but handles great, very stabile, goes anywhere, gets out of almost anything, and has enough ***** to keep him interested without going to a sport quad, but he wants a Raptor anyway. He weighs 85 lbs. He has learned a lot, and only rolled 3 times, no serious injurys to boy or bike.
I can't imagine him on any of those little toys. He had a go-Kart when he was 6. He rides with the big boys, ridin' big dogs. We ride mountain trails and go way too fast, and I can barely keep up with him.
Silly Later,,,Fourlix

 

Rifleman, you have know clue how good the TrailBlazer is. I have had no problems with mine. I have been riding Polaris since '96, and have had NO problems. So, reliability isn't an issue here.

 

Guys, guys we are talking about kids here. Everything obeys the laws of gravity. Sooner or later, it will catch up to you. You don't want to be the ones in that hospital telling yourself I could have prevented this had it only been a smaller quad. Ask yourself if you can live without your child in your life. Please be safe everyone, these things do happen. Everyone will make their own choice but please heed the word of 3TV. Naturally, this is just MHO.

 

3TV is right on the money. If I have to buy and sell 5 atv's to step my child up a little at a time I will.

 

I agree with the majority here. Accidents happen in a blink of an eye. Just because someone has ridden a larger bike with "no problem" does not mean it won't be on top of them on the next ride.

My kid (3 yrs) rides a 40cc Eton Rascal and has a full face helmet, chest protector and I just got him some alpine star mx boots. He has already flipped his quad (120 lbs) twice when going around a berm, both times the quad rolled on him. He did not get injured except for being a little scared, but still got right back on and rode.

The berms he flipped on were ones he rode on hundreds of times. Take your time and for Gods sake dress him/her appropriatly. Too many times I see kids riding in sneakers, bicycle helmets and tee shirts. This is just asking for a trip to the hospital.

 

Although I have never ridden a TB but from Teens point of view it would be great. I started riding at age nine on my dad's big bear (600 pounds w accessories)and had total control. a year after I started my dad bought me a timberwolf 4x4.Although the handaling was different i could control one just as well as the other. I am glad i have always had decent size Qaud(i have driven smaller ones that my friends have)instead of a small one, the small ones always bottom out on logs and in ruts and suck in any kind of mud.So yes a tb or similar machine would be fine for a 10year old. you might want a throttle limiter for the first couple months though until she lears to control it.

 

it would be fine for a ten year old. I got mine when i was 11.It has tight steering so it turns with no problem and also doesn't take that much strenght at all.As for getting hurt if you teach her how to ride it right she won't

 

The most important thing is knowing your kid[s] and how mature they are. We all hear about some over confident parent putting their stupid kid behind the wheel of a Corvette or buying them a gun or whatever. There are ten year olds that can handle guns [my father was taught respect for fire arms from childhood and would NEVER act foolishly any where near a gun] and there are some 16 year old kids that can handle the power of a Corvette. Since you are the one buying the quad you better figure it out. Make sure that YOU are being honest with YOURSELF when you pay the money for the quad YOU decide on. If your kid gets messed up then you will stand alone on the decision you made. Even though there are many people that would advize you on what quad may or may not work for your kid the decision rests with you. Keep in mind that quads the size of the Trailblazer are not recommended by the manufacturer for kids the age of your kid.
I'm not trying to come down on you for buying a quad for your kid. In fact I applaud the idea. But there have been those that have bought quads for their kids and had disasterous results because they relied on the advice of others. I am encouraging you to find out for yourself which quad will suit your kid the best and not rely so much on others experience.
My experience with the Trailblazer has been good and opperation is simple and enjoyable, however I would never suggest that you buy one for your 10 year old because it's not my call to make.

 

Oh, you mean like Dale Earnhart?? Just like the stock car drivers we accept the risk by starting up our machines. Live and learn I guess.

 

Dude,
do you value your daughter? Do you want her in your life for along time? Think about it they don't put recommended age limits on these machines just to keep from getting sued. A lot of body engelish is required to ride over rough terraign. I was 16 and had a yamaha enduro 100, it had a pipe and was very fast I rode with 250s 400s, it was a mountain goat. i rode 75 mile a day all off road and i could still manage to hurt myself. Please start her out on a smaller machine, i just don't want to see her get hurt bad. The trailblazer will run, anything that goes above 40 off road if you roll it and its 400lb vs 85lb, i dread the thought. i know there is a lot of hero stories in reply to your question, No offense guys. but buy the smaller machine they hold good resale unless totally beat.

wild thang