Little ATV

   / Little ATV #1  

jwstewar

Elite Member
Joined
Sep 6, 2001
Messages
2,616
Location
South Central Ohio
Tractor
Kubota L3301
Visited the in-laws this weekend - Mother's Day - gotta visit both sets of parents ya know. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif But my s-i-l as a little 50cc 4 wheeler for her 2 1/2 year old. We are now considering one for our kids. They are 5 & soon to be 4. They both road the little one there of my s-i-l's and loved it. It is a 50cc Cobra 2-stroke. Never heard of the brand. It is electric start with a remote kill switch that can kill the engine from up to 250 ft. away if need be. We are now considering one of these for our kids as the Power Wheels just aren't cutting it as far as battery life and everything goes. What I have found is out of the the "big" names only a few make the small ATVs. Those that do seem to be fairly expensive and don't have some of the features of some of lesser known brands - like the wireless remote. Just visited a dealer locally and they were bad mouthing the wireless. I personnally think it is because the Suzuki/Kawasaki's they had, didn't have the wireless kill switch. On them you have to tie a rope to the back of the 4 wheeler to be able to "pull" the kill switch. I will be watching them ride at all times, but I don't wanna be chasing them as they are riding. /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Now here is my question, I know some of you have some of these little ATVs, what brands do you have? Any problems? Where did you buy? Do you have the wireless kill switch, if so, any problems?

Hey this sounds like a familiar theme, Should I buy Kioti or Kubota, JD, or NH. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
   / Little ATV #2  
Jim,

So many thoughts but let me throw out some of the big ones that come to mind.

First are the riders themselves. My "soon to be 4" year old son is too much of a maniac to be put on an ATV by himself. He'll have to wait awhile. My daughter is a bit more reserved and does very well. I guess the first thing is to assure the kids are ready. Safety equipment is obviously a must.

OK... now let's talk ATV's.
I have 3 Suzuki's for my 2 kids (and only one of the kids can ride.... don't ask). (2) 50cc and (1) 80cc. BTW - the Kawasaki's are now just re-dressed Suzuki's.

The pull cord vs. remote controlled kill switch wasn't that important to me since I took a different approach. Inside our helmets I connected headsets that connect to FRS radios. This is VERY handy. Whether I'm riding with my daughter or I'm hanging around in the yard (not riding), I have constant communication with her. This is for safety (if I think she's getting a bit wild) as well as letting her know general info.

All the Suzuki's have been very reliable. Actually, none have ever needed any service. The 50's don't have electric start and do require several pulls to get going if they've been sitting awhile. Honestly, I'm kind of glad they don't have electric start since I then have full control as to whether they get started. My son gets on the ATV's all the time and I'm afraid that if it had electric start, he'd be able to start it.

For the "off-brands", quality, service, parts and dealer support are obviously a must. The neighbors have some of these machines. To my knowledge there has been very little (or no) mechanical issues but most of the "bells and whistles" didn't last more than a few months. I also noticed the plastic is pretty thin and suseptable to cracks.

I'm pretty sure they all have it now but will mention this in the event you may consider a used unit. DON'T get something without a suspension. The kids have a tendency of literally flying off the machine when they hit something and there's no suspension to buffer the impact.

I can't speak for the off-brands but the name brands are a lot like tractors. They really hold their value. I see them being sold on e-bay for very near new prices.

Gotta run for now. I'll let everyone else throw in their thoughts.

Brian
 
   / Little ATV
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Thanks for the input Brian. I was looking on e-Bay last night and came across one that I really liked except for the coloring. It has all of the features we are looking for - at least that I think we should be looking for. They are 4-strokes with high/low beam headlight & LED brakelight, electric start, semi-automatic, speed governor, full running boards from fender to fender to keep their feet out of the tires/suspension, wireless kill switch, and a pretty decent suspension. It is chain driven vs. one of the others I was looking at was shaft driven. I had some concerns with that one about their feet and such. I also talked to a couple of people (unfortunately, one was the guy selling the one's that I'm now interested in, so I have to discredit him somewhat) but they are having problems with the other brands pulling hills. Do OK on flat ground, but the clutch slips and it won't pull a hill - so that scared me off the shaft driven one. I've noticed most of these "off" brands though don't have brakes on the front. I know that can be a good and bad thing all at the same time. One way I wish they did - faster stops, but at the same time I know if you catch front brakes too hard, you flip pretty easily - especially going down a hill.

Here is one we are looking at: ATV We didn't want the camo ones, so he is supposed to see if he can find us a couple of solid color ones and give us a call back. If he can find these, looks like we might buy a couple of these. We can get 2 of them for $4 more than her sister paid for one of what I consider similar quality to these. Was having a hard time justifying $2000+ for a Suzuki or Polaris which is what our local dealers were asking. For the price difference I can buy a few parts and do some repairs if need be.
 
   / Little ATV #4  
Jim,

That looks like a nice little ATV. I reviewed the seller's feedback and everyone seems happy with it. If you do get it, let us know what you think.

Brian
 
   / Little ATV #5  
Take a look at the Kasea ATVs. They have established dealer networks and quality wise are on par with the major brands. You could kind of think of them as the Kioti or Mahindra of the ATV world. They are not going to be as inexpensive as the Ebay ATV's but you might have better support. We have a Kasea Outback 90 we bought in January.
 
   / Little ATV
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Those look like nice little machines. I haven't run across them in my searching. I sent them a note, we'll see if a dealer is close enough to contact me. We are still looking around at others too. Nice thing about the "cheap" ones, is we might do two - no fighting. If we go up in $, will probably only do one.
 
   / Little ATV #7  
</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Nice thing about the "cheap" ones, is we might do two - no fighting.)</font>

Exactly why I have 3 kids quads. I actually have a spare 50cc for the neighbor's boy once he gets old enough (same age as my son) since my daughter has already moved up to the 80cc. Shhhhh. Unless you want to buy it...
 
   / Little ATV
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Sure, now you offer /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Believe it or not, I just ordered a red and a blue pair of these from the guy:

Hunter ATV It looks like it is pretty much the same ATV that I've been looking at and the guy had the colors we wanted in stock. I may have made a mistake, but we didn't go through eBay - but we still used a credit card so I'm hoping that will protect us - well actually I'm hoping I don't need to worry about anything like that. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif He sold us these for $600 each with $130 S&H. Price was more than the other, but shipping was less. Cost ended up being about the same. This is also a full automatic vs. the semi-automatic. It is supposed to ship Friday or Monday. I'm as probably as excited as the kids about them showing up.

Now, I've just got to find a secure place to store these things as I'm sure they would grow legs rather quickly. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
   / Little ATV #9  
Jim,

I would have honestly struggled to sell 1 of the Suzuki's at the price you just paid for 2 machines. The kids will be happy you got 2 of them. Now go get some helmets!! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif Actually, if you haven't gotten helmets already, they have them now for kids where they can grow with the kid. When it gets too small, you just buy a new insert that's got a little less padding.

For securing I don't know what kind of setup you have for storage but a cable run through them and locked to an immovable object may help.

In OH, do you need to get them registered/titled/insured? (PA requires all /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif).

Brian
 
   / Little ATV
  • Thread Starter
#10  
I'll eventually have the garage for storage, but right now w/o a floor and no door for the tractor entrance it isn't real secure. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif But I do have an 8x16 & a 12x16 shed that I'll have to rearrange and make room. I think I can do it, but it might be one in one shed and one in the other. I still might do the cable thing through the wheels even though if they broke in the shed, they probably could cut the cable as well, but it might slow them down a little bit more - of course I could probably pile enough stuff in front of them so that they could never find them /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif of course neither could we. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

I figure for the price we paid for the both of them, I can do a few repairs, heck if I have to, I can buy a third one and still be ahead dollar wise.

Thanks for the comments about the helmets I wasn't aware of the "growing" kind. We'll keep an eye out for them. I at least one to take them in and let them try them on. Might pay a little more, but at least it'll fit correctly. I'll skimp on the ATV itself, but not when it comes to protection their little noggins. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

As far as registering or anything, that is a no. I will call and get them listed on the homeowner's policy though in case something would happen to one of the sheds or they do grow legs.
 
 
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