What little four wheeler to get a 6 year old?

[canuguzzi]

Little dude visits with relatives and they are city dwellers. We have a great space for a small 4 wheeler to let him try things out.

He will grow but I'm not looking for a grow with kind of deal, others will be along that are a tad younger so they can use it and maybe he'll like it enough that Uncle can splurge for something bigger when the time comes.

Could be gas or electric but needs to be a four wheeler ( easier to get the parents to go along). I don't want to get the most expensive model made but something decently good.

I'll build a trackway of sorts with some small hills maybe knee high, curves, dips and straights. Plus there will be a free for all area to experiment with.

Anyone have experience with these little 4 wheelers? I do not want to build something.

[drlapo]

My boys started around 6 but all learned on 2 wheels
Honda z50 or Suzuki 50

[Curtis Harper]

Yamaha PW 50. Safest kid bike on the planet. at 6 , he's got 10 years to learn four wheels. (IMHO)

[canuguzzi]

I appreciate the suggestions for 2 wheels but I'm not going to fight parents, it is their kid. I just want to get him something to have fun on and the 4 Wheeler is a compromise I need to make.

So, if someone has experience with a tiny 4 Wheeler, all ears.

[Curtis Harper]

I got nothin. Stay away from chinese. Can't go wrong with a little Honda though

[Demar]

China and Amazon are your friend.....

http://www.amazon.com/Razor-Ground-Force-Drifter-Kart/dp/B002S143RK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1454622085&sr=8-2&keywords=go+karts+gas+powered

http://www.amazon.com/Razor-25143511-Dune-Buggy/dp/B000VEWWF6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1454622085&sr=8-4&keywords=go+karts+gas+powered

Go Kart Kit
http://www.gokartgalaxy.com/go_kart_%26_minibike_kits.htm

[Sasquatch Jim]

  When I was that age I had a borrowed go boy.  The same lever that steered it was worked back and forth
 to make a crank turn the rear wheels for drive motivation.  Probably why I still have the shoulders of a gorilla.
  It is not even to be found on the internet anymore.

[Dean Rose]

http://www.atvspowersports.com/?gclid=Cj0KEQiAisy1BRD7_YSgpduD2cEBEiQAPR3UuKL12UHLYzV6bmKrdEv9l0yXvutxR-q6XWvQfh1OazQaApeQ8P8HAQ

https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en#hl=en&q=small+go+karts


Dean

[Zoom Zoom]

Chances are, any small 4 wheeler from Yamaha, Honda, or Suzuki will be decent. We had gotten one when my daughter was about that age. (34 now)

Anyway, a couple things that I had not considered until I bought it was, a kill switch on a tether, so I could follow behind on foot and kill the engine, and the stop screw on the throttle to keep the speed down, (so I could follow on foot and kill the engine. )

Ashley quickly picked up on it and was soon going without my needing to be right there. Then gradually allowing her to get more speed out of the thing. My former brother in law, who was handicapped, put water in the fuel tank one time, and diesel fuel in it another time. He thought he was helping. (We lived on a farm.) That all got fixed and then Ashley grew up. It sat stagnant in a barn for many years until recently, when my step son put a new carb on it for the grandson, now 4. Darn thing still runs like a top after all these years. It is 2 stroke with oil injection.

It is nice to see it being passed on to a new generation. If I had to do it again, I would still buy a decent brand.

John Henry

[canuguzzi]

Thanks zoom zoom. I see the new models have speed controls so I could start the little guy out slowly, not worry that a quick twist of the throttle will send him into orbit.

I saw one model that even has a remote kill switch, used like a car fob. You can instantly shut down the engine if things get out of hand.

Insurance is all taken care of if something does go wrong. He'll probably be safer on the back part if the property than riding a bike on the streets.

If he shows he can handle himself on a quad then maybe I can convince his parents to let him ride a small motorbike when the time comes. If he were my kid...but he isn't so I have to go with the flow.

If I don't expose him to the sport its unlikely he'll get chances otherwise so doing what I can. His older sister has quite a bit if tomboy in her so I'll end up getting two or end up play referee. Easier to get two.

Spoiling nieces and neohews , isn't that what uncles are for?

[canuguzzi]

http://www.startribune.com/part-one-four-wheel-thrills-drive-child-injuries-deaths/282589231/

BTW, that site has malicious active code running on it, so says Chrome and AVAST.

Anyway, with more kids getting involved there will be more accidents. They did cite that one primary reason for the injuries and deaths was allowing young children to ride ATVs designed for much older kids or adults, something that isn't a concern here because the quad will be age specific, used only with supervision and in a grassy field with no rocks or trees.

I think the kids will be far safer riding the Quads than walking to school, crossing busy intersections even with parents and riding in a car on the freeways and city streets.

Thanks for the heads up though.

[Noguzznoglory]

Got a kawasaki kfx50 for my granddaughter which is actually a kymco.  It has a tether attached to a kill switch, adjustable throttle limiter and a speed limiting clutch. I think all the major brands have those features.  It has enough power to carry my 200lb self around. I've been told you can modify the clutch and it will go even faster. Has been a good piece for us so far.
I'd be ok with any yamaha, Suzuki or Honda. The cheap  Chinese ones are junk.

[canuguzzi]

Wow, disk brakes too. That little Kawasaki looks stoutly built. I'm going to line up the few best and take them shopping next visit.

Biggest joy comes from watching the little ones.

[Zoom Zoom]

Re: thebaileylee

One could take your view point in another direction as well. Which do you think would be better, a child going out behind their parents back at some point and operating a 4 wheeler that belongs to a friend, or to be taught its proper operation under adult supervision?

Sorry dude, but I would much rather be there making sure they are wearing a helmet and teaching them how to ride it. That way when they do go out on their own, I would hope they would be a bit more competent. Same applies to firearms!

Read my post. I was walking behind my daughter and pulling the kill switch cord before she ran into something. When  we began getting the hang of things and I was confident she could steer the thing, I would still walk behind until I was completely satisfied. Then I Ty-rapped the cord on the frame and followed her on my 4 wheeler, as I gradually allowed the speed to increase.

Stop and think about that for a minute. My kid learning behind my back or my kid learning under my supervision. Who do YOU think will get hurt first?

My 2 cents.

John Henry

[charlie b]

I like that approach.

Me?  I have a lawn tractor that I would have them ride.  I'd remove the mower deck and have a kill switch on a cord like John Henry.

You may think they can handle it, but, you may be surprised.  I found out that steering is not that easily picked up unless they have had push cars or something like that.  I let my kids drive the golf cart one day on the course.  Learned that they did not automatically relate moving the steering wheel to make it go where they wanted.  Even after many vido games (the games have joysticks not wheels).

[GearheadGrrrl]

Sounds like you're trying to raise an ATVer, assuming he survives. I didn't have a two wheeler with a motor 'til I was 19, the lessons learned riding bicycle made me a much better cyclist...

[cwiseman]

Best bang for the buck is a good Kymco 90, like said above same as the kawasaki. I've sold many of them and never had a problem with any of them. I've also been amazed by a Eton that my 21 year old nephew started out on and now my daughters have been riding for years. Most name brand small kids wheelers will be fine, a good quality used should run around $1,000 and it kept nice will bring the same money 5 years from now. Honda being my least favorite for kid and grandparent user friendly.

[Tobit]

The child is six.  Probably just about to start losing baby teeth.  Unless the parents are 100% behind this, which if stated I missed, "The biggest joy comes from watching the little ones" is a red flag.  You sure you don't want this more than the child?  Even if the child is excited about it, how did they become aware?  Kids can be told no.

Tobit

[jabberwocky]

Can the kid ride a bike with no training wheels? My idiot neighbor got his five year old a little dirt bike with training wheels, and the kid
 isn't even able to pedal a bike. I love motorcycles tremendously, and wanted a dirt bike, three wheeler or four wheeler as a kid in the worst way. My dad wouldn't go for it. It bummed me out, but it's not like it ruined me and my relationship with him. Looking back, I think he was right, and certainly don't have any bad feelings toward him for it. I've got two kids of my own now, 7 YO boy, and a 10 YO girl. The girl isn't interested, except for getting rides around the yard on the back of my bike, and the boy thinks it would be cool, but is pretty happy to ride his mountain bike, which will serve him a lot better in the long run.

Six is really young.

[acogoff]

     No four wheeler at 6 years old. 12 maybe, depends on the kid, but 6, absolutely not.

[cwiseman]

I watched a neighbors boy learn to ride on a dirt bike with training wheels before having them taken off, he could ride the dirt bike without before he could pedal without.
I think it mainly depends on the kid and what they are on, you can turn down the throttle to a bare walking speed and some have a remote control kill switch like a cars key fob.

[canuguzzi]

The question was if anyone has experience with the small four wheelers.(quads).

I appreciate all the relevant comments.

The joy of watching the little ones isn't a red flag, it was a statement by itself and unless you don't like kids, it isn't anything close to a red flag, I'd say the opposite is true. If you don't like watching little ones grow and gain experiences then that is a red flag.

I wasn't asking for parenting advice, I'm not the parent, they visit here often and we have the space they do not.

Kid is 6, rides a bike well and would like to try it out. If he doesn't like it he doesn't have to do it. Simple. It isn't anything more than that.

[Doppelgaenger]

I first rode a 4 wheeler when I was about 6 or 7, I don't recall it being too difficult and there is a picture of it somewhere where I'm concentrating very hard but really enjoying it. The family we were visiting who owned them actually had 3 wheelers at the time as their main "fun machines". I don't recall any scares when I was riding it and I'd be inclined to let my kids (If I had any that is, which I don't) ride something just to get a feel for it.

I say go for it!

[PJPR01]

Start him out proper and get him a Range Rover Sport...he'll graduate from this to the real one in about 20 years, might as well learn good offroad techniques from the beginning...who knows, could be the next Paris-Dakar winner if he starts early enough!

Fun project!

[canuguzzi]

+1

Seems like telling kids no for the sake of saying it. Another how to parent thing which this is not.

Every child is different. Some 6 year olds are 8 year I'll in size and depending on their upbringing, as sophisticated.

As for the how do they become aware? They have eyes, ears and experience what is going on around them. They have adults to help guide them in their formative years. There are some parents who cloister their kids and do the helicopter parent thing. Others believe in total hands off free range.

And then there are those who see interests, foster those interests and as best they can do what they can to keep the kids safe as they grow, allowing them to experience decision making while watching boundaries to give them the best chance going forward.

Parenting is like an oil thread, everyone has their ideas of what is best. I only asked about experiences with small 4 wheelers (quads).

Thanks for the comments and now let the parenting thread portion continue.

[Perazzimx14]

DRR-50 2 stroke liquid cooled atv (Denalli motor w/ CVT transmission). My daughter (she was 6 or 7) had one after I went to a GNCC race and they were everywhere. Quality and components better than all the other big Asian companies and 1/2 the price. It was wide for stability. My daughters had double A-arm from a 90cc model it was something like 52 inches wide. Stock was 48". It was impossible to roll over.

You can also put a 70cc jug on the 50cc block later for more power. Even the 50cc would haul me 200+ and my daughter easily around the yard. Add a set of Carlisle snow blower tires (look ITP hole shots) and it was ready for some seroius thrashing. Awesome running, handeling and sounding little 2 stroke. Sounds like a Stihl big boy chain saw and ran just as well.

Prior to the DRR she had a 50cc cheapie that ran well (Honda 50cc clone)but was very narrow and top heavy. She easily could ride the DRR 3 or 4 times as fast and be more savfe and secure. MAybe the speed thing is not the best selling point

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gsJQwSzRTE

[charlie b]

Egad, get off the nanny wagon.  I would have LOVED to have been able to ride anything at 6.  Look at many of the pro racer drives.  Many started with powered wheels when they were 6 or younger.  I watched a 12yrd old kid race a modified stock car on a dirt oval and he beat most of the adults.

I'd much rather have a kid outside enjoying something than inside on the video games.

[bigtex]

Grandparents started LittleTex out on a cheapo Chinese model.  Ran fine, broke all the time.  Utter junk.  One scare was the carb top popped open, instant full throttle.  Kiddo did amazing, 1/2 gainer with a full twist.

Got him a Suzuki 80 after that, he's now gone through successively larger Suzukis.  Very happy.  Stone solid machines if they haven't been abused.





Helped a bookish, computer nerd kid get out and enjoy the real world.  Still does.  Forget the nannies, go have fun.

Now, as to whether Suzuki ATV's are a gateway drug leading to bigger addictions like Studebakers, well I just don't know...

[jabberwocky]

Nice Studebaker! My Dad had the station wagon version of that, the one where you could open the roof over the way-back, making it about as useful as a small pickup. We loved that car!

[canuguzzi]

OK, that's it. Now you arebhunting up old threads of mine and taunting for no good reason.

I'll say this, you go your way, I go mine.

I am not the parent, just an Uncle introducing the kid to a sport and I don't need you to tell me about parenting, OK? I've said I am not the parent from post #1.

I am offering you a choice. Don't post to me, I will not reply to you.

That is all I can do.