kids ATV

[bsl..master]

I am looking at buy an ATV for my Boy (3.5 years old) and I am looking at some off market atvs. Clone of a Honda engine, anybody have any of these off market atvs or heard any remarks about them. I can get a 110 cc new one for around 490.00. Has remote speed control etc. Thanks for any advice.

[Dave S]

3.5 years old is a little young for a 110cc. I would look more to the 40-50cc range if you plan to put your son on an ATV at that age.

[bsl..master]

It has a speed controller on it, remote shut off etc. The name brad is Taotao. Thanks

[Dave S]

Speed controller and remote shut-off doesn't mean anything if your son doesn't "fit" the machine.

It's never a good idea to purchase something with the mindset they'll "grow into it".

You'll get your money back with almost any youth size machine. But if you're going to put your son on one, atleast buy something that he fits.

[bsl..master]

Will fit him just fine. thanks for being concerned about my boy though.

[rundrave]

I have to step in here, and echo Lep7mm's thoughts.

If you are worried about him outgrowing a quad and starting him on one that is too big, it's a dangerous way to think. If you take care of the quad you will always be able to sell a youth quad with a minimal amount of loss compared to the amount of fun he will have. Perhaps drop down to even a 70cc quad with a lower center of gravity, but my vote is for a 50cc

Regardless if you think your son can handle a larger quad, the regulations are in place for a reason. Our sport already gets enough bad press from kids crashing on larger machines then they are supposed to be riding.

Please dont give all the naysayers of our sport any more reasons to close down our ridings areas or the opportinity to expose any bad press. All it takes is one wreck. And make sure you buy him a nice helemt and make him wear it at all times.

[LightningBG]

Does anyone actually have any comments about the brand he's considering?

[Dave S]

I honestly haven't heard of them.

[bsl..master]

Thanks guys, I have owned wheelers my whole life and there is no way he would be riding in danger. He already has a helmet which he wears snowmobiling and if I buy him a wheeler it will be a controlled speed that is super slow and under my supervision with a remote shut off. In addition, he will be riding in a field away from any roads or trees. For no reason should this give wheeling a bad name.

This 110 cc machine has controlled speed, I can govern it down to 5 mph. The name brad is Taotao. I am not a fan of off brand products but I couln not buy a polaris for even close to this price.

[Dozer]

My brother bought some off brand thing like that about a year ago. I dont know if it the same brand or not. You get what you pay for IMO. His is very cheaply made but has taken alot of abuse, his boy is only 2 so he cant ride it at all. My brother rides it around in his yard and just plain beats on it. The kid will be lucky if it still runs when it comes time for him to ride it! He has had a fair amount of problems with it but that can be expected with the life its had.

Like I said before you get what you pay for, but they are only $495. Cant buy much for that nowdays.

[Dave S]

I haven't kept up-to-date with the ban on the sale of youth machines. Anybody else know if that's still in effect?

It may be a case of a dealer still cannot legally sell a youth machine. Purchasing used from a private party is a different story.

[chasineyes]

One of the problems when governed down is the lack of "power" to get up a hill. My daughters 110 wont even get up the drivway when tuned down. It was one of those "knock-offs" that we have had for 4 years now and not a single problem to speak of. I'm kind of shocked!!!! We got her that when she was 5 and now she's riding my 500 (go ahead LEPP abuse me here) with the maturity and understanding of most adults. Again, in my opinion can we please give the PARENTS some CREDIT!!! Lets be honest, taking away our "riding" areas has NOTHING to do with injuries.

[Rippinlip]

Bought our daughter a Mach brand wheeler in the 110cc model 2 years ago when she was 8.

It is an okay machine, like stated earlier you will get what you pay for.

Suspension is extremely stiff making the wheeler bounce bad on any irregular terrain, there is no simple adjustment.

Battery died within days, hard to keep charged, ended up finding out it is because of all the remote things on it.

I ended up putting a quick disconnect from the battery wires.

Does not start very good after the break in period.

It did get her some riding time on a wheeler without spending bigger money.

We will be upgrading this year to a Polaris 90...

[Dave S]

One of the problems when governed down is the lack of "power" to get up a hill. My daughters 110 wont even get up the drivway when tuned down. It was one of those "knock-offs" that we have had for 4 years now and not a single problem to speak of. I'm kind of shocked!!!! We got her that when she was 5 and now she's riding my 500 (go ahead LEPP abuse me here) with the maturity and understanding of most adults. Again, in my opinion can we please give the PARENTS some CREDIT!!! Lets be honest, taking away our "riding" areas has NOTHING to do with injuries.

RFLMAO @ Chasin'.

We as parents should know better than anyone else what our kids' riding abilities and comprehension levels are. But then again, we don't live in a perfect world and accidents will happen. We just need to ensure that we do what ever we can to ensure our kids safety. Taking away their recreation IS NOT THE ANSWER.

Just a little story here.

At one point I had a Kawasaki V-Force (KFX700) and a Bombardier DS650. I took my oldest son to Redtop for a day of riding. It was reaching that point in the day that we decided to head for home, but we were at the entrance to Red Top on the Soo Line. I asked my son (I think he was 14 at the time) if he was ready to head for home, he nodded his head and pinned it. If I wasn't on the DS, I never would have caught him.

Once I caught him, I motioned to slow down. Once we arrived at the trail head in Isle, I had a bit of a stern lecture for him. Something to the tune of unfamiliar terrain, speeds too high for the conditions, and well over the speed limit. He was doing at least 60 mph by the time I caught him.

[tracker x-2]

Back to topic. I have not herd of the brand you mentioned, but I bought a 110cc for just rippin around with my buddies and built a mini quad race track. As said above you get what you pay for. We were way hard on ours but as long as you are handy with a welder and fixin your in good shape as a lot are forign made and pretty hard to get parts for.

As for the age and size im sure your aware of the DNR regs. So just choose what ever you think your son can handle sounds like he would be fine with anything under the supervision you have in place.