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

I have a great video of Jayna doing a fly -by,,,,,,I think the rangers were after her... I'll post it later.



: )</end quote></div>

Gotta catch me to ticket me. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] Having issues with my card reader, but I will post my pics of your woolies tonight as well.

New roads in up there, too. You can get to the campground again and there's a couple new offshoots heading up the mountain. LOTS of really nice firewood along the road where they are clearing. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

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

Hey thanks for the great replies and warm welcome! [img][/img] There are 3 of us in the family, myself, wife and a 14 year old daughter. I am a big/tall guy, 6'4", 275lbs, my wife is around 5'8", average weight. We are mid-30's. The 14 year old is very tall for her age, she is about 5'7" and slender.



I have been leaning towards sport quads as of late just due to my perception that they will be easier to handle in general, and it sounds like that is probably the case based on the replies here.



As far as brand, I am not brand loyal, but right now its looking like Yamaha, Honda or possibly Kymco have machines that could work for us. I am willing to buy a mix of brands, they don't all have to be the same. I've been thinking roughly something in the 300-450cc range for me, 200-350cc for the wife and 250cc or preferably less for the kid. Am I off-base here? A few of the dealers I've been to will only recommend 90cc machines for the kid. Meanwhile when she sits on them, she dwarfs the things being so tall. I don't want her to have too much power, however I think if she is that much larger than the machine and uncomfortable that it will pose an even greater hazard in general. Again, we are all novice riders for now, so I'm wanting to keep that in perspective when choosing the right machines.



BTW I live southeast down in Maple Valley. Thanks again! [img][/img]</end quote></div>

hello and welcome. i am 5'2" and have been riding a 250 recon for a few years and recently move to the 300ex and overall i love the 300 over the recon it handles so much better than the recon and is a smoother ride. but IMO my hubbies 400 is what i want my daughter 16yrs old 5'4" also rides my 300 and loves it and she has no experiance with a clutch but was able to learn quick and handles it fine. but then the new honda 300ex has a sport clutch nice for the beginner.

 

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

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

Hey thanks for the great replies and warm welcome! [IMG][/IMG] There are 3 of us in the family, myself, wife and a 14 year old daughter. I am a big/tall guy, 6'4", 275lbs, my wife is around 5'8", average weight. We are mid-30's. The 14 year old is very tall for her age, she is about 5'7" and slender.

I have been leaning towards sport quads as of late just due to my perception that they will be easier to handle in general, and it sounds like that is probably the case based on the replies here.

As far as brand, I am not brand loyal, but right now its looking like Yamaha, Honda or possibly Kymco have machines that could work for us. I am willing to buy a mix of brands, they don't all have to be the same. I've been thinking roughly something in the 300-450cc range for me, 200-350cc for the wife and 250cc or preferably less for the kid. Am I off-base here? A few of the dealers I've been to will only recommend 90cc machines for the kid. Meanwhile when she sits on them, she dwarfs the things being so tall. I don't want her to have too much power, however I think if she is that much larger than the machine and uncomfortable that it will pose an even greater hazard in general. Again, we are all novice riders for now, so I'm wanting to keep that in perspective when choosing the right machines.

BTW I live southeast down in Maple Valley. Thanks again! [IMG][/IMG]</end quote></div>

The LTZ 400s are a great all around quad and dependable. They do everything well and tough as nails. Plus,,,,reverse. Your wife and daughter will fit fine on the 400 too(no worries on the size of the quad being to big for them,(my wife is tiny and rides a 400). The 400s aren't overpowering but with a few bolt ons can fill your need for future power upgrades. If you buy the smaller quads you'll wish later you went with the next size up.

With your size you may want to try a quad like the KFX700 although the 400s would still owrk fine but you may feel a little cramped on the 400. Suzuki, Yamaha, and Honda all make larger quads in the 700 range.

JMO</end quote></div>

I think for the wife and kid either a Suzuki 400 or the Raptor 350 or Warrior (which ever way you look at it) will be a good choice. For you since you are so tall I would say a Raptor700. I know a guy that is very tall and that is what he has and he really likes the power it has.

The Suzuki and Raptor I have both owned. They have plenty of power for the woods and both have reverse. They also have plenty of power for the dunes. I'm not sure if you guys are into riding the dunes but you want to get something that can make it up the hills and not bog down all the time.

Your best bet is to go to the dealer and sit on these quads to get a fill of them. Some people think my quad (Suzuki 400) sits funny. But you can always change that by getting handlebars that sit up higher. We will get to that after you pick which quads you guys are getting.

If I lived closer to you guys I would let you guys ride it to see if you guys like the power.

 

Hey WQ,
Did you and Justin ever track down a firewood permit for out in Darrington? Just curious because they seem to be doing a whole lot of work out there and there's a good deal of down material with easier access now.

 

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

Hey WQ,

Did you and Justin ever track down a firewood permit for out in Darrington? Just curious because they seem to be doing a whole lot of work out there and there's a good deal of down material with easier access now.</end quote></div>

I found where they issue the permits but they are saying that they are not issuing any right now. They lady I spoke with said probably around the middle of October, but from the looks of their site they aren't issuing any right now. http://www.dnr.wa.gov/htdocs/agency/firewood_permits/


I wonder if we need a permit for up there?! :confused

 

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: warriorqueen
<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: LdyJay
Hey WQ,
Did you and Justin ever track down a firewood permit for out in Darrington? Just curious because they seem to be doing a whole lot of work out there and there's a good deal of down material with easier access now.</end quote></div>
I found where they issue the permits but they are saying that they are not issuing any right now. They lady I spoke with said probably around the middle of October, but from the looks of their site they aren't issuing any right now. <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.dnr.wa.gov/htdocs/agency/firewood_permits/
">http://www.dnr.wa.gov/htdocs/a...rewood_permits/
</a>
I wonder if we need a permit for up there?! :confused</end quote></div>

Dunno. There were around half dozen rigs we ran across in various places up there looking like they were collecting, but I didn't stop to track them down and ask for permits. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] It's all easy access at this point.
Isn't it middle of October now? [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-confused.gif[/img]

 

It's five o'clock some where in the world OOOOOOOO WAIT it's five O'Clock here. Do you know what time it is??????????????


MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmm CoRONa with a lime again this time

.................................................. ................[img]i/expressions/beer.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img].................................................. ...

 

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

Hey thanks for the great replies and warm welcome! [img][/img] There are 3 of us in the family, myself, wife and a 14 year old daughter. I am a big/tall guy, 6'4", 275lbs, my wife is around 5'8", average weight. We are mid-30's. The 14 year old is very tall for her age, she is about 5'7" and slender.



I have been leaning towards sport quads as of late just due to my perception that they will be easier to handle in general, and it sounds like that is probably the case based on the replies here.



As far as brand, I am not brand loyal, but right now its looking like Yamaha, Honda or possibly Kymco have machines that could work for us. I am willing to buy a mix of brands, they don't all have to be the same. I've been thinking roughly something in the 300-450cc range for me, 200-350cc for the wife and 250cc or preferably less for the kid. Am I off-base here? A few of the dealers I've been to will only recommend 90cc machines for the kid. Meanwhile when she sits on them, she dwarfs the things being so tall. I don't want her to have too much power, however I think if she is that much larger than the machine and uncomfortable that it will pose an even greater hazard in general. Again, we are all novice riders for now, so I'm wanting to keep that in perspective when choosing the right machines.



BTW I live southeast down in Maple Valley. Thanks again! [img][/img]</end quote></div>


With that being said I would recomend a Raptor 700 for U, a Honda 400, or 300 for the wife, and the Raptor 250 for Ur daughter. Now thats just my opinion and that is considering U want to spend the $$$ and want to play with the big boys on the Raptor 700. It will be able to handle anything U throw at it and not leaving U wanting more power, plus it has a good learning curve so it won't buck U off while starting out.
There are a ton of great quads out there on the market these days and we are really lucky to have so many to choose from, so don't rush and I'm sure if U show up at a ride location someone might let U try out their quad for a couple of mins. Also RMC in Renton is a great place to visit, sit on quads and do Ur homework. They have almost all that are available, but unless U have a real good friend who works there or U go with Wingdude, watch out on buying from them with their higher then most prices and add ons. When U are set on buying if U run it by some of us we can steer U in a direction that might save U some $$$.

 

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

Hey thanks for the great replies and warm welcome! [img][/img] There are 3 of us in the family, myself, wife and a 14 year old daughter. I am a big/tall guy, 6'4", 275lbs, my wife is around 5'8", average weight. We are mid-30's. The 14 year old is very tall for her age, she is about 5'7" and slender.



I have been leaning towards sport quads as of late just due to my perception that they will be easier to handle in general, and it sounds like that is probably the case based on the replies here.



As far as brand, I am not brand loyal, but right now its looking like Yamaha, Honda or possibly Kymco have machines that could work for us. I am willing to buy a mix of brands, they don't all have to be the same. I've been thinking roughly something in the 300-450cc range for me, 200-350cc for the wife and 250cc or preferably less for the kid. Am I off-base here? A few of the dealers I've been to will only recommend 90cc machines for the kid. Meanwhile when she sits on them, she dwarfs the things being so tall. I don't want her to have too much power, however I think if she is that much larger than the machine and uncomfortable that it will pose an even greater hazard in general. Again, we are all novice riders for now, so I'm wanting to keep that in perspective when choosing the right machines.



BTW I live southeast down in Maple Valley. Thanks again! [img][/img]</end quote></div>




Welcome I just got into this sport last spring myself. My girlfriend recomended Polaris to me and my 11 daughter My daughter is tall also (Pass for 13) and she rides the Pheonix which is a 200 cc and automatic it will last her. The 9o's are way to small for her, My friends 8 y/o son has a 90 he is small and does great on it but I wouldnt put a bigger kid on it. Just don't tell the dealer that a bigger than 90 is for the kid.

 

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

Hey thanks for the great replies and warm welcome! There are 3 of us in the family, myself, wife and a 14 year old daughter. I am a big/tall guy, 6'4", 275lbs, my wife is around 5'8", average weight. We are mid-30's. The 14 year old is very tall for her age, she is about 5'7" and slender.

Welcome to this site. You'll find a lot of really nice folks here. I have learned a lot in the short time I've been riding quads by watching what is posted here. Like an extended family that disagrees about all kinds of things but always comes together when it counts.

You'll find one of the big disagreements concerns the choice of quad type and power level that is proper to have "fun". Personally I ride a ute and have found it to suit my needs and wants to a "T". But then I'm 65 years old and have no desire to have the thing airborne half the time.

From your posts I get the impression you have done some shopping and tried on a few quads. This puts you a step ahead of many folks that start asking about what is the best rig to buy and rush out to get what popular opinion dictates. How aggressively you intend to ride and the kind of area you will frequent most of the time should play a major part in your selection. As an example, my ute is great for running trails a moderate speeds and excels at crawling around in rough country. If I were interested in playing in the sand and running at full throttle on mountain trails then one of the sporties would be appropriate.

Unfortunately only time on the trail with the rig you choose will enable you to really decide if you have made the right choice. With three of you starting at the same time there is a good chance at least one of you will be dissatisfied with the choice of quad and/or venue. Being kind of negative here but experience has taught me this. My wife is simply not interested in the quads at all. We had originally thought we may both ride but this has turned into a "boys toys" kind of thing.

I would really suggest you go to several dealerships and set on a number of quads, talk with the people there and see what fits each of you. Having an excess of horsepower is nice but it also can cause problems especially for the inexperienced rider.

whatever quads you decide on be sure to take the ATV safety course the dealer/manufacturer will offer you. You'll be paid for taking the course and the time spent will give you a limited amount of important information.

Good luck with your quest, this is a fun and safe or dangerous sport depending on how you go about it. Much like so many of the fun things in life.