ATV Florida Forum

I am thinking of getting my son a small quad (50cc).  He is almost 4.  I have seen some young kids with full body protection on quads riding Ocala. 

Any opinions or experiences with small kids ?   

i'd say go for it but let him ride in a parking lot a few times before the trails.

Make sure you buy all the gear and never let them on it without it! No matter what! ;)

Thanks, 

Any suggestions on where to buy a small helmet and other safety gear ?

Each child is different.  Do you think he will listen and do as told? 

I started my oldest on an eton 40 at 3 1/2.  Along with all the safety gear, I also bought helmet communicators so i could talk to him while he was riding and give him pointers.

My youngest is a wild man coming up on 3 years old.  I don't think he's going to be ready at that age as he has a mind of his own.  So the point is, only you can evaluate whether he is ready.

Good idea Backinsaddle,I have a 7 yr old son and would like to keep track of him when we ride.How much are the helmet communicators and how far can you be for them to work or not work?

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I think each kid has to be individually evaluated to see if he/she is ready. My 3 1/2 old girl would be all over the place on a quad right now. She's extremely smart, but just figured out the coordination to ride a big wheel recently. 6 months from now it could be totally different.

Oh yeah, check out Cycleworld's Kids section. They just ran a story this month on kids and motorcycles. Just about all this info applies to ATVs, too.

http://www.cycleworld.com/cwkids/index.php

Another good site with kids and quads in mind.

http://www.off-road.com/atv/kidskorner/

I'm using ones by chatterbox (www.hjc-chatterbox.com).  The cheap ones go about $200 each (cheaper on ebay) with 2 mile range, their high-end ones go for about $325 each, with 5 mile range...all their units are voice activated.  To keep it cheaper, you can get the helmet mount for him, and a handheld for yourself for about $30.  I also think you can probably make one yourself with a walkie-talkie (duct tape to helmet) and earphones attached to the inside of the helmet for a lot less money.  a third option is the garmin rino gps's that have built in radio communicators...they vary in price depending on the model you buy.

there are some other companies that make the helmet communicators, Collett i believe is one of them (do a web search).  Supposedly a lot of the guys that run the baja's use pci radios: http://www.pciraceradios.com/  Military spec, but expensive

hope this helps.

Mark

This is my son on his 50cc. This is after about 4 months of riding. He was 5 in this pic. I gave him this bike just before he turned 5. You should be just fine. Just make sure he is always wearing a helmet and he will get it on his own. I hardly had to teach my son anything. He grasped it pretty well. I just turned down the governor and within a week, I turned it back out and he has been fine.

Let me know if I can help out with your purchase of a 50 or a helmet. Thanks!

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my son started on a 50cc at the age of 3! but my son is very controlled and listens well! so its like they said, if you think your son will listen and is capable then go for it!!

this is my son at the age of 5 on his new lt80 ;D

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Dang dreth!!. Your son is doing better than you, ;D I got two cousin's and they both got 50's one is 4 and the other is 2 1/2 years old the four year old does not drive that good but the 2 1/2 year old has more commen sense but usally the 2 year old is with his dad.

Thanks for all the advice.

Like father, like son.

  The one thing you have to remember when you put a little kid on a quad is how easy they panic. My brothers son has a 50 and his throttle stuck once and he panicked so bad he couldnt hit the kill switch. Another thing when buying smaller quads is look for quality. My nephews quad is a piece of crap, the starter broke, and we have been waiting for 3 months for the company to ship us a starter that we have already paid for.