Does anyone have any experience with Yamaha's 80cc Badger?

If so...

1. How old is your child?
2. Is your child small, average, or big for his age?
3. What other "Kiddie Quads" did you look at besides the Badger?
4. What made you select the Badger over something else?
5. How well does the Badger handle moderately difficult terrain, such as mud and hills?
6. Did your child have any difficulty mastering shifting?

Any comments relevant to the purchase and use of the Badger 80 would be appreciated.

Army Man

 

i bought my boy a badger 3 years ago. He is now 9 years old. He weighs approx. 70 pounds, 4 foot tall. he rides it about 4 hours a week. The only maintance to date, adjusted valves once, change oil every two monthes, rear axcel fluid once a year. The badger has a screen for a oil filter. About due for rear brake shoe. My thoughts on the machine- starts every time, electric start no back up starter. He is just now starting to use the front brake. The reach for the handle seemed to far to grab, so i bent it in for him. For the first year he preety much rode in 2 gear,could not shift with foot. Power seems good,will climb hills a well as my wifes boyou 220. I ride it some, pulls me around 185 pounds. Turns around real quick, shocks seem stiff probably should weigh a little more 85 pounds or so. the machine has a solid front axcel sometime on front wheel will not be on the ground crossing ruts, ditches, etc. It appears to be well built and sturdy. He is not allowed to jump it, but he does like to skid the rear tires some. I think he will get another three years use out of it before he wants another one. Hope this helps. Sorry about spelling

 

be carful not to ride on a quad that is not built for you weight. i was told by my dealer that people have broken the axle on their kids quad beacuse the adults were riding it! repairs = $1000.

 

I bought a 2000 Badger about a year ago. My son is 7 years old, 55lbs, and is short for his age (inherited his mother's height genes). I would have to say the Badger is slightly big for him. He can sit on the seat and reach the pegs just fine, however shifting is difficult. He understands the concept of upshifting to go faster without buzzing the throttle. Kids seem to figure that out easily. Downshifting is another story. He still learning the how's and why's of downshifting. My Badger does have notchy shifting which makes it difficult for smaller kids to shift. This really isn't such a big deal since my son is not allowed to shift unless he and I are having "shifting lessons." I never let my son ride unless I am present (either just watching or riding my 400ex or Kodiak!). I also have the throttle limiter turned all the way in. I actually like the fact that the Badger is a shifter quad. Automatics are easier yes, but I believe shifting is a basic skill all should learn just like math or reading. Just as well start 'em early.

I looked at just about all of the current Taiwanese and Chinese imports (E-ton, Alpha Sports, Kasea, etc) and the Honda Fourtrax 90. I narrowed it down to the Yamaha Badger and Honda 90 because of their name. The other imports look like nice quads, but I know that wherever I live or wherever I may be that there will be a Yamaha or Honda dealer nearby that can service the machine and get parts easily. Yamaha and Honda will still be in business in 1, 2, 5, 10 years from now. Can that be said about E-Ton or Kasea? A lot of these smaller brands seem to come and go.

I finally picked the Yamaha over the Honda because of its electric start and shaft drive. Servicing the chain on my 400ex eats up enough of my time. The Badger has been trouble free and always starts even in winter (I live in Minnesota). The Badger has been around a long time and its suspension design reflects this. However I think it's just fine for kids.

I know that allowing a 7 year old to ride an 80cc quad goes against the Consumer Product Safety Commission guidelines. However I believe that arbitrary age guidelines are not enough when determining if a child is ready to ride. Size and most importantly maturity play a part.

I also encourage the use of protective gear and a high-quality helmet. I see kids riding on quads (most of the time double) with nothing but shorts, and sandals on and I just cringe. My rule is long pants, shoes, gloves, helmet, and goggles. I don't care how fast or slow he is going - that's the rule. I purchased an HJC full face Motocross helmet for my son. I think his head is worth more than a $25 Wal-Mart special. My son also has some Thor and Fox racing riding gear. This stuff all costs money, that is for sure, but it's worth it because he really wants to wear it. I don't have to fight with him over wearing the right clothes. In fact he won't ride without his gear because he thinks he looks cool in it with all the "extreme" style graphics and logos and such

 

Armyman,found specs on Honda 90 and Yam. Badger, suspenion/travel front- Honda 2.6 inches rear-2.6 Yamaha 2.2 front and rear. After my little boy wore out the tires, bought new ones 2 inches larger for more ground clearance, seemed to greatly improve the ride. Honda is probably sportier. I was going to buy one, but dealer was a turd. Ended up buying Badger for 500 dollars less. I really did not want to deal with rope start. I also thought to add plastic on the handle bar would get broken easily. Badger is slightly longer, 2.5 inches narrower, and 1.75 inches taller. Both machines weigh 243 pounds. The badger will start in gear if you apply the hand brake. That feature has come in handy once or twice. I have added a light behind the front push bar. All three machines could be improved by the manufactures for the price they sell them for.

 

3Tv what do you think the top speed of the honda is? I would think the Honda and Suzuki are both faster than the Badger but that is just my guess.

 

Gentlemen,

Thank you for your input on the Badger.

I have been considering a gas-powered mini-quad for my son (since the day he was born if you listen to my wife tell it). He is currently 4-1/2 years old, 3-feet 8-inches tall, and weighs about 40 pounds. He has been riding a battery powered “quad” for two years now. He has also ridden on my Bayou 400 4x4 seated in front of me, and he has ridden on my Bayou 300 4x4 seated in front of me, or seated in front of my 15-year old daughter. He has a good grasp of how to ride and he should be ready for a gas-powered mini-quad next spring when he turns five, if indeed he is not ready now.

I have looked at the mini-quads from Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, E-Ton & Kasea (both the 40cc and 50cc models). I plan on keeping whatever I buy for a long time. The low price of the Chinese imports was an initial attraction. But parts and service may be problematic down the road, whereas the Big Three Japanese manufacturers will most likely still be around.

Of the Big Three Japanese minis, the Honda TRX90 is presently too big for my son. That leaves the Yamaha Badger 80 and the Suzuki LT80. Either one fits him well, though the Badger is slightly larger than the LT80. In my back issues of Dirt Wheels, I’ve located two shootouts between the Honda and the Suzuki. The Suzuki won the first one in the August ‘96 issue, and the Honda won the second one in the August ’98 issue. Both shootouts specifically referred to an earlier shootout (which I don’t have access to) that had included a Yamaha Badger, and both pointedly reminded the reader that the Yamaha had finished a distant third against the Honda and Suzuki. The shootouts also noted Yamaha’s refusal to give Dirt Wheels another Badger for subsequent testing.

I don’t believe Dirt Wheels’ quad shootouts are the final word on the suitability of any given quad for any given individual (the Bayou 400 finished third out of four in Dirt Wheels 400cc 4x4 shootout in the August ’95 issue, but I bought it anyway because I used and emphasized different criteria than did Dirt Wheels). However, since no other information was available on the Badger, I posted my question here to get some “real world” user perspective on the Badger.

I realize that according to official Nanny State (CSPC) guidelines that either of these quads is “too big” for my son. But I believe that freedom, the ability to make my own decisions, and personal responsibility for those decisions, overrides ANYTHING the Nanny State has to say about the conduct of my life.

Five years ago I started my then 10-year old daughter on my brand new Bayou 400 4x4 (my first quad). I made sure she had all of the proper safety equipment, and for three years (due to time constraints) I drilled her over and over on basic riding techniques (in the past I posted long screeds on that subject here, so I won’t recover the same ground again). Two years ago I bought a used Bayou 300 4x4 for her to ride. And during the Spring of ’99, when she was 13, she rode the Bayou 300 at the Cochranton Poker Run. She covered the 35 miles of trail B with no problems. She also had no problem keeping up with the rest of the adult riders in our group, the Eclectic ATVers (which happened to include Tree Farmer). She also rode at the second annual Quads-On-The-Rocks ride at Tasker’s Gap last spring (see the Tasker’s Gap article of 8-15-99 for the details of the first QOTR ride). So I am more than conversant with instructing youngsters to ride in a safe and responsible manner, but many thanks anyway to Jaxberg for the important reminder.

At present, I am leaning towards the Suzuki LT80 as being the most effective (and fun) mini-quad for my son to use up until he is also about 10 years old, at which time I will put him on the Bayou 300. The LT80 has a great reputation as a “Kiddie Quad”, and it has a Harley-like resale value.

While the Badger has electric starting (as does the LT80) and shaft drive, the front suspension on the Badger concerns me. As 14mins pointed out, it is possible under certain conditions for one of the front wheels to come off of the ground due to the solid front axle.

I believe the LT80 will probably be a better choice for me. Nonetheless, I once again want to thank everyone for taking the time to thoughtfully respond to my initial post.

Thanks, Army Man

 

I am 14 and weigh 110 pounds and I had a 86 badger 3 months ago and I jumped it went mudding with it and It never gave me any trouble now I have a 1990 Mojave and all it does is break.

 

armyman I am in the same boat as you. My son is 4 1/2 weighs 40lbs and can drive battery operated which top speed is 5 mph to a gas powered riding mower and is able to manipulate the environment very well. (needless to say I am very proud of him) I talked to an E-Ton rep who let my son drive a rascal which is 40cc and has a top speed of 15mph. It is a very safe quad and is a good beginning quad but like yourself I want this quad to last him 6 yrs then buy him something else so I would like to get something bigger. I too have been referred to the lt80 but my son hasnt sat on one. If yours has let me know how he fit on it!!

 

That sounds pretty cool!
Do you know of a website that shows a pic of the polaris 50?
thanks