I was thinking of buying one of these for my son who is 5. His ability to ride has been proven on his grandads big bear 350 4x4.

Any thoughts on the atv ?

Thanks

 

Actually in my opinion, if its worth anything, go with the breeze, the baby raptor is just a badger with the raptor plastic. I purchased the breeze for my son at age 5 and he is turning 7 next month and its still the ride for him. Its real easy and has the foot and heel gaurds built on so he dont get pulled off the bike if he decides to put his foot down. By the way, we did have the badger and it lasted about a month in my garage until I sold it after it pulled him off a couple of times because his foot kept slipping off the pegs and getting sucked up by the rear tire. Also, the breeze is like a timex, takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'.

 

Check the link to the Raptorette in my signature.

I bought and rebuilt one of the baby Raptors for my 5-year old son. There were many things I liked about the Yamaha, like the 4-stroke, electric start in gear, and manual 3 speed tranny with auto clutch. And some things I really didn't like, like the suspension. Knowing all this in advance I did all the work before giving it to my son, last Christmas.
......The results are fabulous. The Works shocks with Blaster A-arms and heavily modified frame to accomodate the suspension travel increases from 2.2" to 7.0" front and rear. It is 10" wider than stock and has a little longer wheelbase.
......It was a lot of work and cost a buch of dough. 50 hours and $1,500. And it was a lot of fun too!
The manual 3-speed is great for a little kid because he won't be able to shift it till he's ready. Mine is still screaming around in 1st gear, doing doughnuts at will and very comfortable in the backyard track. Out on the trail he's really not up to it yet. He needs familiar territory. A log or rock, or worse, really throws him a curve. Cruising up and down the sandwash is okay though, got to keep an eye on them at this age, I do let him ride with his brother and other friend age 12, they keep a good watch on him and don't take him into the rough stuff.
.......But is the Raptor 80 worth it without all these mods? I don't think so. I think the best new mini is the Predator 90. I rode it, as did my 14 year old. It has 4.5" suspension, and an electronic speed limiter you can take out later. It is low and wide and is not tippy at all, unlike every other quad out there, including the Yamaha 80.
.......Is a 5 year old ready? I think the littlist Suzuki 50 might be a better choice. One speed, low mph, low weight. The thing only weighs like 160 lbs. If a little guy flips it over, and even my little guy has managed to flip the Raptorette, it doesn't weigh enough to hurt him. Those are my two picks for production minis.
.......If you could buy a Raptorette that would be the answer to both questions, as both my 5 year old and 14 year old love riding it. But a stock Raptor 80 for a 5 year old may not be the best choice. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

I got my 01 mojave by trading in my 01 raptor 80 it was very nice it carryed a 13yr 160 lb rider around til I traded it
for a big atv I think he would like it alot specially because its bigger than the lt80 and trx90 but one think I have to say is does he like the foot shifting and sportyness of the raptor80 or the belt driven putt around breeze I dont think the breeze has a rear shock the raptor does

 

My breeze isnt belt driven and I dont think the new ones are also. The breeze does have a rear shock but neither bike, breeze or Raptor 80 has any good suspension at all. Most bikes below 80cc have no suspension. Also, where my kid loves the breeze the most and this is a great selling point is when he comes up to something he dont want to go down or an obsticle in his way is that he can put it in REVERSE which no other bike that size or smaller has. And when you dont think they will need it is when it really comes in handy when they do.

 

Raptorowner, the Breeze is,and has always been a CVT,or belt drive-the final drive is a chain and sprocket,but that big cover on the side is where the belt is,like a Polaris. As far as my opinion, the LT50 is a good choice, I got a good deal on an LT80 when my son was 4 1/2, turned the throttle limit way down until he learned control and safety. The main drawback with a lot of the minis is suspension,as mentioned before. The Pred 90 sounds good, don't count out Kasea, their minis come with 4 or more inches of suspension travel,and have been proven pretty reliable. Eaton,while not top on the durable list,does have floorboards,decent shocks,and has the electronic throttle limiter,too,making safe speeds easy to control and set up. Just make sure the quad fits,and allow a little room for growth,or you can always move up later,little quads are easy to sell, always someone looking for wheels for the new rider in the family.

 

95wolv, I have never new there was a belt on that thing, I just always thought it was the automatic trans doing the work to the sprocket like a car. Thats a new one on me. I still love that breeze though and since his 5 yr old all ready sits on a big bear 4x4 and rides it, I dont think he would want something to small. Yes I was looking into something like a lt50 for him but then I thought about my daughter which when she started riding I got her a small bike which I cant remember what it was then but she out grew that in no time but like you said people are always looking for a small beginner bike for sale.

 

The Breeze also has width and stability, which all the other minis lack. Hmmm. There's a project. A Breeze mini with Blaster A-arms and Works shocks. Have to do something about the looks, maybe use Raptor 80 plastic......[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

fourlix,
by the time you're done with a Breeze, the damn thing would probably be the size of a ds 650 and have 12" of suspension !!!!!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img][img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img] Really enjoyed your mini Raptor article in ATV action mag, I suppose in a few months we'll be reading the article on the "Hurricane" ( highly modified Breeze). Keep up the good work,and let us know how the raptor ripper is doing. ( the little guy)

 

as much as little quads are cool when your kids get a little bit older you should get them a dirtbike. I got my first 80cc 2 stroke dirtbike when I was in second grade. I am now 16 and have a 180cc two stroke dirtbike and two ATVs. I love to ride my atvs but there is somthing about a screaming 2 stroke dirtbike that always draws me back to it. I know this is a little off topic but I think that all kids should see what a 2 stroke is like because they won't be around for much longer at the rate emmisions are becoming a problem.

are any of the mini atvs 2 strokes?