Cheap quads...

[timdog]

Does anyone have any experience with the el cheapo Chinese made quads that have popped up all over the place?

I want to slowly buy my family into the hobby and was figuring a PEP BOY special or a gatormoto.com would be a good way to test the waters without investing too much...in case my plans don't work out quite right.

Maybe one like this
http://www.gatormoto.com/index.cfm?action=ViewDetails&ItemID=16

Thanks for your help
Tim

[blupits04]

dont buy one,you will have a hard time finding parts for it.and they are junk we bought our son one and after about 5 min. of riding it would get hot and slow down to almost nothing and he's only 5 and weighs 35lbs.cheap made junk.buy a good used name brand one like eton.

[Fox17]

we bought cheap hondas then kawisakis then suzukis and then yamahas. our first bike was a 86 trx 250x then we got a 94 kx 80 and then a 98 cr 80 and then a xr200 and mojave. we had a few bikes since then and we now have a 03 recon, a 05 rancher, a 00 300ex, and a 05 yfz450. it started out as a 500 dollar sport and we now have easily 30,000 in it. probably more. i think total we have had 12 bikes or somethin. we now have 5 for dirt and one street. i forgot bout the 04 cr 85. we have had a lot of relatively cheap bikes that were great and all along upgraded to better and better. it took us almost 2 years to get top notch bikes but we finally got them. good luck with your purchases and im sure you will love ridin. get something worth it though. if you get a bike wqith a lot of problems it wont be fun and you wont stay with the sport. sorry for the paragraph. just thought it might be helpful. 

[blupits04]

Talk to the gatormoto guy he has no problem e-mailing me about what I think of these cheap little quads.maybe he has a cheap quad that will be right for you and your whole family.myself I would buy a name brand and you want have any issues.and there a whole lot easier to sell if you want to get out of riding.and make your money back.no offence to the gatormoto dork but dont email me about my opinion on what I think about these cheap made quads.just my .02

[Hoosier Daddy]

I agree, the cheapeys are JUNK plain and simple! IMO the Eton is one of the better bikes out.
Plus there are 50 zillion aftermarket parts for them.

[Loven It]

I have to save everyone has their own experience's. However I will stand behind the Kazuma 50cc anyday. We have had only one problem with ours. The gas cap broke. Fixed it still not another problem. We have been suprised by how well this machine has been!!
This thing ran through this puddle probably 20 times and never died. Shut it off and started right back up every time. Only thing I don't like is how long they take to warm up when they are cold.





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[aksone]

Have to agree with LovenIt about the Kazumas. I bought my daughter one a year ago and have zero problems. My brother also got one for his kid at the same time and has not had any problems either.
I figured I would start with a cheapo (< $500) and if she had the aptitude for riding and enjoyed it, then I could always upgrade to a name brand. I didn't want to spend upwards of $2000 for a name brand one and then end up having it just take up space in the garage.
Now I have $500 investment in a great little machine that will most likely be the starter quad for my youngest when she gets old enough to ride, but right now she is only 3 months so hopefully the quad will last that long 

For some pictures and videos of the little Kazuma in action, see my post in the Photo Gallery.
http://www.atvflorida.com/forum/index.php/topic,17272.0.html


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[timdog]

Thanks to everyone who has replied.  I didn't realize that this was a technical question and needed to be in this forum.

I haven't made any final decision, but will let you all know when I do.  I may take a ride down to Gainseville to see what is up.  I don't think I want to invest $1500-$2000 per bike yet in case I find out that my kids don't like it, or that it is just too far to get to some legal and fun riding.

There doesn't seem to be too many spots nearby in Jacksonville.

Thanks again
Tim

[stacktester]

Hey Tim,
Where in Jax are you? I'm over near Butler and Hodges. I bought a Baja 90 for my daughter last year and it's been an ok bike. I had to clean the carb. though and lost a small clip. I had to spend $90 for a new carb. because Baja doesn't sell just that. I suggest a name brand bike because they're proven and it can be passed down to many generations if u keep the oil changed. I'm fixing to buy my daughter a 125 Grizzly. She should have it for a while and we can pass it down.

[timdog]

I'm right up San Pablo by Atlantic.  We're do you go riding with your daughter.  I took my truck back when they cleared out the Target/Wal Mart megaplexes by you and was told it is a felony to drive back there.  I was just showing my kids the woods...but I guess some people have screwed them up in the past.

I was up at Ron Turners getting some stuff for my bike, and they were selling used quads for $1200 on sale...

That's when I started looking around for a cheaper alternative.  I have an old sand rail I think I am going to start fixing up...but wanted some fun for the kids to remember while they are young since it'll probably take me a while to get around to the sand rail.

[Fox17]

you can find a decent bike that runs great just might not look good for 500-1000. our first bike ran perfect. it just looked crappy.

[UncleRico]

I don't know if this count's for anything, but at Durhamtown they rent quads...and if I remember, they were KYMCO.

I'm thinking they have to be pretty durable, since those people beat the hell out of them when they rent them. Although, I've never ridden one before.

[BIGWORM3699 ( ECP RACING)]

Tim, What is your price range I am a dealer for Apex minis there are several people on the site that can contest to our bikes rock soild. They were in dirt wheels, Atv Illustrated as well and they gave them 2 thumps up. The link to our site is in my signature, ck us out I would love to help you spend time with your kids. I also live out side of jax. so you can deal with a local person. Thank you

[a1fla]

I searched alot looking at several Chinese ATVs for my son, finally buying a 150cc.  It came mostly assembled in a crate, I had to put wheels on, shocks, handle bars and it was ready to roll. I put synthetic in it and changed the gear oil as well. Bought 2 months ago and it has been a great little machine.  Paid $1050 for it, it is a Roketa 150. Bought in Florida.

[aftrmath99]

i have bought a few of the cheepie chineese bikes. i found they seem to run ok but dont leave them in the rain!! all the hardware seems to rust overnight.we bought two 110 bikes and they were plenty powerful but everything is very cheaply put together. if you buy one  make sure you go through it and tighten all the nuts and bolts before you ride them.also  if you ever decide to resell them, we couldnt hardly give ours away. they have hardly any resale value. most everyone wants to stay with the brandnames for the warenties and service. most are hard to get parts for.another problem we had is that they were very hard to shift into nuetral for some reason.i dont sugest buying one but i did find one name that seemed to hold up really good. it was called  TANK. check out their websight. we got  a 110cc and my kid rode the heck out of itand it held up very well. it had plenty of power and speed and he would ride it for hours on end.we finally sold it (for a substancial loss) and upgraded him to a kx 60 from kawasaki
 good luck

[johnnygun]

life is too short to ride(and fix) a cheap quad...save or buy used.

p.s.
the thought that you kids won't like it! what? is you drunk?

seriously, good luck what ever you do and be safe, then they'll love it.