Chineese 4 wheelers

My mom and dad want to buy my 5 year old a 4 wheeler for Christmas and found a person who buys them and assembles them to sell. A 110 camo was 579. A 125 was 799.

Where do people order these things from to re sell and are they junk? The person on the phone said they were identical to a Honda in terms of the engine and somethign abotu the company buying a patten from Honda?

Reply to
stryped
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Well, lessee -- they're hard to get, there's no one established who's willing to sell them, and they come from China.

Does the phrase "Chinese Copy" ring any bells?

Ask yourself the following questions, then make your own decision:

"Where am I going to get repair parts?" "Who do I go to if it dies on day #2?" "Who do I go to if it dies _and_ injures my kid on day #2?"

Reply to
Tim Wescott

--FWIW a couple of years back there were a slew of these around and I bought one with the Honda 150 clone engine. Engine's OK but you might want to improve the air filtration: it's lousy. Things to be aware of, re: Chinese vehicles: they don't race 'em and it shows; i.e. steering geometry is horrible, suspension sucks, brakes adequate; tubing for fluids is wrong, various other shortfalls. Needs a bigger battery, etc; everything about it spells 'minimal'. If you're going to beat it to death you'll succeed in short order.

Reply to
steamer

It's like with most Chinese stuff. If you buy 100, you MIGHT get 20 real nice ones - well assembled, with good tolerances and metalurgy that will last 5 years. You might get 20 that are total junk right out of the box, and 30 that last 9 months and 30 that last 18.

It's not that the Chinese CAN"T make good product - it's that they are terribly inconsistent, and quality control is next to non-existant - on the whole.

Reply to
clare

Death by a thousand paper cuts.

Reply to
Half-Nutz

They don't always make good product because people will preferentially buy crap that's $1.00 cheaper than the good stuff.

Cheers! Rich

Reply to
Rich Grise

Seems to me there's a good chance of injury to a kid running a 110 or 125 cc machine. That's a fair amount of power, can a kid that age handle it? But then I'm old and stuck in my ways.... phil

Reply to
Phil Kangas

Google ATV accident statistics for children before you make up your mind. Manufacturers are required to put a 16 year old age minimum on ATVs. The manufacturers get around this by making them less than a certain cc displacement.

Don't take this the wrong way. ATVs are dangerous, and no child that age is capable of operating one, and I don't care how smart your grandson is. Hell, I broke my back on one a year and a half ago, and I've been riding motorcycles for 45 years, and ATVs for ten.

Children that age do not have the capability of processing all the information it takes for one of these. You are buying heartache if you do get the kid one, I PROMISE YOU. If you are dead set on getting one, get one of the major brand name ones, as at least you'll be able to rebuild it when he crashes and give it to their surviving sibling when they get old enough to ride according to your standards.

I am serious. The statistics and facts tell you :

DON'T DO IT.

I don't agree with the sixteen year old thing, but I'd say that at least ten or twelve, and then supervised. Most of the worst accidents happen in two scenarios: 1. unsupervised rides and 2. carrying passengers. And usually ANY accident on an ATV is bad. My retired AF buddy crashed his two weeks ago, totaled it, thrashed $2500 in camera gear, and got pretty banged up. A grown man who flies airplanes.

It can happen.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

I'm with you, Phil. It's the lack of experience. I saw a kid get killed on a motorcycle when I was 14. He had owned it two days.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

Close, The companies (3 of them) actually are using a 70's Honda design for the engines/trans. They did add CDI ignition though. They also use the same engines in many versions, So if you buy a 125 dirt bike, 125 4 wheeler, 125 road bike they use the same engine with just a different exhaust pipe. I get a few in to work on and they are not badly built. You do want to go over them close to make sure they are together correctly. And you will want to check for the vent, fuel and tank overflow, are properly routed.

Parts are available for most of them easy enough. Some parts are knock-off parts and the original makers parts usually fit. The biggest problem I have seen is in the carbs. The ones they use are OLD designs and have a nasty habit of sticking floats and leaks, just like the originals they copied! I usually change those out with a good replacement. Makes a world of difference.

Reply to
Steve W.

A mate of mine got his son of a similar age a Lotus 7 style go cart but he did ditch the engine and fitted the motor and electronic controls from a mobility scooter. Kid loved it and it wasn't fast enough to be dangerous. He used it to play around the garden. IIRC he did use it under supervision and dad fitted a remote control kill switch just in case. The latest project was doing similar with a wheelhorse? lawn tractor. A guy he knew also came to me for some machining on a similar project, that was to build a miniature Landrover for his god son, again based on mobility scooter components.

Reply to
David Billington

Damnit. I had a BRM racing car _pedal_ car at that age. It was the best present I ever got!

Mark Rand RTFM

Reply to
Mark Rand

The is typically NO documentation, schematics, spare parts source, etc, for these things. Caveat emptor. JR Dweller in thre cellar

stryped wrote:

Reply to
JR North

A friend of mine repairs motorcycle and someone brought him a Chicom ATV with a bad starter. Good news, the stater was available, bad news the starter for the $700 ATV was $500!!! Greg O

Reply to
Greg O

5 year olds can't even cross the street correctly.

not sure why anybody would put them on an ATV.

Reply to
Cydrome Leader

At 5 years old a battery powered car is plenty of fun.

Reply to
ATP*

What about one of those dune buggy type things from trator supply?

Reply to
stryped

For a 5 YO I'd 3rd the electric battery powered version. I did buy my kid a Chicom 110 CC dirt bike, $200 on ebay VS $2000 for the Honda. Ran well, bolts kept getting loose and falling out. He did break the frame in half, It's a good thing I own my own shop.

A buddy of mine did get a helicopter ride off the side of a mountain when he crashed his ATV, Kawasaki 650. big thing!

Thank You, Randy

Remove 333 from email address to reply.

Reply to
Randy

Now yer talking. We have them for our two grandsons, 4+ and 6+. Those two get into enough trouble on those not following rules, I can't imagine what they'd do with anything faster. They love them, and they're still fast enough to get them in trouble.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

What about one of those dune buggy type things from trator supply?

reply: For a five year old? Now I KNOW you're trolling.

Steve

Reply to
Steve B

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