My son has been riding his Predator 90 for 5 years and recently went threw a growth spurt that has him standing at 5'5" and 160 pounds. I was looking at the Can Am 250 for his next quad. Any insight would be great. I have considered other makes but want to stay away from a manual clutch...Should I look at a bigger bike?

 

That's a tough call. My niece bought my great nephew (if that's the right term) a Honda 250 a year ago, he was 12. Now at 13, he's suddenly 6' tall and 200 lbs and it's way small. I offered to give him my 2002 Arctic Cat 400, but he didn't want it. So I sold it for $2,500, haha. Most all new stuff is automatic today, as far as utility ATV's. So maybe something bigger to grow into, like a 400-450. CanAm and most other makers make great machines that he is already big enough for physically. Of course they will be pretty fast as well. Another nice ATV is the Polaris Sportsman 450 HO. Jeez, my dad waited till I was 12, to get me a bicycle. I bought my first car when I was 14 and got my license.

 

Get him a polaris scrambler 500

 

You need to find something that fits him physically then ask yourself if he's responsible enough to handle it. I think a 250 is would have plenty of power for a 13 year old.

 

If you want an automatic, yes the Scrambler 500 is a good choice. It is a lot of power for a beginner though so make sure he's mature enough to handle it. The Yamaha Wolverine 450 4x4 is another good one, though they're getting harder to find. The Wolverine is smaller than pretty much every other 4x4 out there(including the Scrambler 500) but still is quite capable and has ample power. Not real fast on top end though, tops out at around 50 mph which is probably plenty fast enough for a beginner.

 

Honda Recon 250 is pretty bulletproof. Good in between quad. Yes, it's small for a big person but it's also a great quad that just about anyone can use.

 

I'll second that one. The Suzuki Ozark is good too. Both of these are good quads for a beginner. Enough power to be fun but not overwhelming. Honda and Suzuki have sport quads with equivalent power in the 250ex and Z250. They also have semi-auto foot shift as do all these quads. Not hard for a beginner to master as you can't stall them like a manual clutch. I have owned both a Recon and Ozark at different times and for 250cc class machines, they are pretty nimble and fun to ride. I'm 5'11" and 205 lbs and legroom could be better but for anyone say 5'8" or under, they should be pretty comfortable.

 

Be aware of where he will be riding this machine, many states have age restrictions on engine size and if he wants to ride on public (state) land he or you might get fined if he rides a machine to powerfull for his age. I know...government knows better than the parents...but just give it some consideration. Also consider any insurance claim should he get injured, the ins company might deny a claim if the boy was riding a machine the law considered to powerfull for him. Hate to throw all this out there to spoil your fun, but this is the type of world we live in now...big brother knows best!!

 

If he is 13 and fair sized, he could go bugger like a raptor 350.

When I was 13 I had a raptor 350, and 14 a 400ex. he could probably handle a raptor 350.