First machine for my son.

[WinchBreaker]

Hi Folks,

For those of you who have introduced you're children to the fun activity of quadding, what type of machine did you start your child out on and at what age?

Just wondering about engine displacement, 4 wheel drive versus two wheel drive, automatic versus manual transmission.

I am thinking about a 250 or 300 cc two wheel drive for my 11 year old son. Anyone with this experience please chime in.

Thanks in advance.

 

[storm1972]

Hands down a Honda , indestructible


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[wildthangci]

Started my son at 13 with a Sportsman 500. He did/does well with it and he won't grow out of it, at least not until he can buy his own.

 

[mavrick]

yep a honda at that age depending on his size a older 300 or 350 would probably do well my son was riding at 4 on polaris 90 now at 12 rides a honda 350 or the canam 400 we use to have no problems

 

[tko sled ed]

Get him on a dirt bike way safer


If you never slow down you never grow old

 

[HOTLAP]

I started my son on a 1996 Honda TRX300 4X4 standard shift, in fact he is still using it today, fantastic little machine.

 

[Zrock]

Find him a automatic machine. when they are learning to ride they don't need the extra hassle about worrying about when to shift. Depending on what kind of riding you do now you may want to get a 4x4 machine if you have places where 4x4 is needed. Also check your provincial laws. In some provinces its against the law to put a kid on a machine younger than the manufacturer recommendations. Also make sure to get them proper riding gear, helmet, gloves, good footwear, and riding pants and jersey or something that will protect just as well. I would even recommend a chest/spine protector at least until you feel confident in their riding abilities. I started my little girl out just after her second birthday riding around in the back yard. She is now turning 6 and i will grantee she rides more responsible than most adults. I found the biggest help in her riding when she started riding on her own i bought helmet communications. The biggest thing that hurts kids when they are riding is panicking. With the communications i could hear she was starting to panic so i could just talk to her calm her down and guide her through the issue.

 

[DaveB]

I have a few buds that have now or have owned in the past, the Polaris Phoenix 200s. Seem like good machines for the youths and not too pricey.

 

[Bnorth]

I started at 10 or 11 on a Honda TRX200 2wd. Had a ton of fun on that little bike.

 

[Russell P]

I had my son on a Polaris Sawtooth, (same as a Phoenix but with front and rear racks) It is a nice size for kids of that age, has plenty of power for them and is about three quartes the size of a typical quad so it is not intimidating for them. Plus for me anyway, I felt better knowing that if he happened to tip it over he would not get crushed and stood half a chance of gettinbg it back on its wheels.

Automatic, electric start, reverse and for sale by the way, LOL.

They are a great machine.

 

[Absledder]

Find him a automatic machine. when they are learning to ride they don't need the extra hassle about worrying about when to shift. Depending on what kind of riding you do now you may want to get a 4x4 machine if you have places where 4x4 is needed. Also check your provincial laws. In some provinces its against the law to put a kid on a machine younger than the manufacturer recommendations. Also make sure to get them proper riding gear, helmet, gloves, good footwear, and riding pants and jersey or something that will protect just as well. I would even recommend a chest/spine protector at least until you feel confident in their riding abilities. I started my little girl out just after her second birthday riding around in the back yard. She is now turning 6 and i will grantee she rides more responsible than most adults. I found the biggest help in her riding when she started riding on her own i bought helmet communications. The biggest thing that hurts kids when they are riding is panicking. With the communications i could hear she was starting to panic so i could just talk to her calm her down and guide her through the issue.

For a 5 year old I agree automatic but a semi auto Honda or even a normal clutch shouldn't be that big of deal to learn at 11. I never rode anything till I was 13 and picked up the clutch pretty quick. I think manual is a useful skill that everyone should know, both cars and toys included.

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[Zrock]

Yes I agree it's a skill everyone should learn. I'm going by my personal experience at the age of 20 I started riding dirtbikes. Never had experience on them or a standard car for that matter.. I ended up screwing up and severely hurting myself. I'm still in pain to this day 25 years later.

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[WinchBreaker]

Thanks everyone for the replies. Great Info!!

 

[team dirt]

Get him on a dirt bike way safer


If you never slow down you never grow old

so true. I have seen some serious wrecks on dirt bikes with very little injury versus a 250 pound or heavier quad rolling over a hundred pound kid. I do own a 90 bombardier for my kids when we're at the cabin to ride down to the lake on but I prefer they do the ripping on the dirt bikes.

 

[j335]

X2 on the Honda TRX 300, I rode the piss out of my 1993 at his age. Light and reliable.
If an 11 year old can't figure out how to shift a quad then they might not be cut out for quadding. He'll learn quick how to shift so I would worry about it.

 

[ATV Rancher]

We always have had an assortment of full size ATVs around, and he would ride one of those at a pretty young age if an adult was with him. Probably the first new one I bought for him was a Sportsman 550, but when he was younger we got him a (don't laugh) Kubota RTV 1100. The over priced diesel one with a ROPS cab. Rough riding, gutless, slow pos. But him and his buddies drove the crap out of it, all over hell, and none of them got killed. It was sort of an investment in the kids safety and they could still have unsupervised fun.

 

[leonard]

x6 on the 300 Honda Rancher.
They are tough , Light and nimble for a younger rider.
The 350 Ranchers are also similar but they are definitely larger than the 300's in almost all ways.
There is also the Older Bigbear's from yammy they are similar to the ranchers.

I wouldn't go smaller than a rancher 300 because your kids 11 and he will grow out of anything smaller soon.
he can ride the 300 for quite a while , and depending on how big your son gets could ride it until he can afford his own.

I know grown men who still ride 350's and prefer them for lots of things. the 300's slightly smaller than that you can drive it into a 6ft box and close the tailgate.

also if you get them something like a 300 or 350 rancher they aren't going to be crying about getting stuck everywhere because those little machines can go anywhere the big ones can if the rider uses his head, which saves you from always pulling your kid out of everything along the way and will make your riding together far far far more enjoyable.

I've done rides with the small (fake) kids atv's Utv's like the mini rzr's and stuff and its a chore since they are always stuck in anything resembling a bump on the trail. id say at age 11 your kids far old enough to not be in a 2wd fake atv.

I was riding 90cc / 110 cc Honda Trikes when i was like 7 or 8 and remember feeling out grown the 110cc by 12 and it wasnt a whole lot smaller physically than a 300 rancher. nice thing about trikes was they could go nearly anywhere also lol.

I should add their are more things you can do too a 350 rancher than the 300, they have front and rear disk break kits , unlocker kits , you can run bigger tires on them and motor kits can be found everywhere, im not saying these are all things that need to be done but its something to know when choosing between the two , one has far more after market options out there due to how long the 350's were on the market and all.

 

[Zrock]

so true. I have seen some serious wrecks on dirt bikes with very little injury versus a 250 pound or heavier quad rolling over a hundred pound kid. I do own a 90 bombardier for my kids when we're at the cabin to ride down to the lake on but I prefer they do the ripping on the dirt bikes.

I dunno i would call it even... Im still in pain to this day from a dirtbike accident from 25 years ago. I could have walked faster than i was riding and managed to find my knee cap a new home, broke my leg 2x, and a few other things. It comes down to how you teach your kids. I was just tossed a DB and never taught how to ride properly, where my little one i spend countless hours with her teaching her what to do and not do. I have her to the point now that when i get her other machine up and running i will take her on some much bigger and better trail rides.