I see these two adds for sale:

"1986 SUZUKI LT125 QUAD,
With reverse, needs brake shoes, runs good, $550."

"1985 Suzuki Quad Runner 185
It ran when I parked it, now it won't start, $300."

Are they small enough for the 9 year old to ride (average height).

Do they have electric start. Are they worth messing with?

I thought I would ask the experts before I start calling and going to see these things.

 

i had a 185 quadrunner when i was little, worked great for me!!
it's a pull start , 4 speed automatic clutch with reverse.
great for making the transition from something smaller to a larger quad. it's extreamely reliable, i rode mine for about 4 years, and only thing ineeded to replacwere rear tires and brake shoes, and i really rode it hard too!!!!

 

I still have my old LT125. That thing was a great beginner quad. They have a pull start which can be a problem in the cold but always started. The auto clutch was good too. My dad bought it a while ago for $400 in mint condition, I wonder what those look like. We beat the hell out of ours and it ran strong even to this day! One bad thing about ours was it didn't have suspension. Get Tthe 125 it will probably be a better fit.

 

A new '82 LT185 was my first quad and I loved it. I was about 11 at the time and kept it until about '90. We never had any issues with it. Rear suspension would've been nice though. We even used it for hunting once. Picture me (about 140 lbs at the time) and my dad (about 200lbs), on it with full hunting clothing, guns and some food. It wasn't happy, but worked great. Another nice thing about these is the low range gear. If I remember correctly, it had 4 forward gears and reverse.

 

Yeah there good for kids. No shocks tho. LOL!

 

My first quad was an LT 185. It was very reliable unless abused. I managed to ruin my tranny by powershifting it too much. After it was fixed I rode it for another year without any major problems. A few things to look out for is the fuel pump, after all this time I'm sure it ould use a rebuild. The lack of rear suspension really sucks as well, but it does have reverse. I seem to remember the tranny being a 5 speed but 1st was super low so you never used it.

 

Yup. That's right. 5 forwards with 1st being the low-low for pulling/climbing/etc . . .