Here's something for you all to think about. I just purchased a 1981 Honda 185S ATC. That makes it 26 years old people! I picked it up for $150.00 and all it needs is a timing change tensioner. It will need a new set of rings later on in the year, but tell me if that does not have some proven reliability built in to it?
SB
Makes me sick! Back before I got divorced I had actually been given the exact ATC.. the same one I have all the scars on my back from using as a teen at my uncles house. During that insane divirce I sold it... Would love to have that sucker back now! The guy down the street still rides it and still thanks me for selling it to him. :-(
The chinese quad's are cheap and require a lot of maintance. But for the price to find out if the kid is even interested in riding it is the way to go.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]
I have only bought one. It's A Sun-l 90. It is now going through my 3rd grandson's hand's. The outher two grandson's are now riding A Polaris 90 & 50 Preditor's. No problems with them.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]
If you don't mind turning a wrench and are willing to take your success into your own hands then you can save some $ by going with a ChinQuad. If your mindest is plug-and-play, you want to keep your hands clean, and you tend to hire people for every little fixit, you'd be better off going Japanese.
If you're the kind of person who maybe loves an old British motorcycle or sports car, the ChinQuads are about the same kind of experience. I think the Brit sports-car folks employ a mindset that helps their attitude/success: it's not vehicle, it is a hobby. If you're going to approach a Chinese Quad with the same attitude as a 4-dr Chevrolet, you are setting yourself up for failure. Go Japanese. If you can think of it in a larger sense as a hobby and parent-child activity you're on the right track.
My Hi-Bird 200 needs regular attention, but it's absolutely no worse than my last Harley - and the Harley certainly didn't save me any money at ANY time.
Some folks like to talk about resale values, but such talk is mostly smoke and mirrors IMO. Guy # 1 spends $500 for a no-name kid's machine, then in a little while it is only worth $100 (just to pick a really low number ... some # that makes the "resale value" guys go into "I told ya so!" mode). Loss: $400. Guy # 2 spends $2195 for a big-name unit, then later he can sell it for twelve or fourteen hundred. WOOHOO! He's got - RESALE VALUE! Of course, in reality he lost whole lot MORE money than guy #1 ... but hey ... he's got that wonderful RESALE VALUE, and I'm sure that really makes him sleep better at night.
If you've got one kid who will outgrow the machine in a year or 2, then a ChinQuad might not be a bad idea. If you've got a lineup of kids like stair-steps, and this quad is destined to become a hand-me-down (a few times?), then maybe a Japanese unit will pay off long-term. (although MIDDLEAGEDCRAZY's experience above shows that the Chin unit can handle that kind of longevity, too).
... then check out your choice carefully enough to hopefully be sure that the big-name unit isn't actually the same thing as the no-name, just with different badges and a different price tag. (I HEAR about this, but I don't shop kids's quads so I could be talking outta my ... hat ... on this one)
I would do it again.. My son's quad has had 0 problems, and it's going on 2yrs... I think I spent like $500 on it... I bought a jetmoto 250, and a 150... Now I'm having a small issue with the 250, which should be fixed by the weekend.. But for the money, and the amount of time I can actually ride... China was the way to go for me... If you think about it... If you plan on riding 2-4 days a week all year long.. Then maybe you should spend the extra money, and go name brand.. But if you plan on riding maybe 2-3 times a month just during the spring/summer/fall... And don't mind turning a wrench now and then...Then maybe save a few extra dollars, and go with a china atv... I got 2 atv's for the price of 3/4 of one name brand atv....
If you're at all mechanically inclined, you can't beat the China quads for a kid's 1st machine. I picked up a HER CHEE 90cc engined unit last year for our 7 year old. Was checking out the 2-stroke DS50 the other day...exact same machine under the fancier plastic. I got 40cc and a headlight (and no CDI restriction) for a little over a third of the price. I could buy the plastic to make it look exactly the same as the DS90 for under $200. Found out cheap how much he likes riding.
That said, when he's ready to move on to a bigger quad, I'll go with a Japanese machine unless I see big improvements in the 200cc + class Chinese offerings.
__________________
Improved Custom Polaris 850
Mods:
Full Swap-out to 2008 Grizzly 700
Chassis, Running Gear, Plastic....
Runs Great Now
All right let's keep it going, I purchased a Pantera 90cc from pep boys for my son years ago. He did ride the crap out of it, doughnuts, wheelies and jumps. plastic fiberglassed twice, the red faded to pink so painted it black. constant chain issues, and electrical and eventually a quarter sized hole in the block.We got 2 years out of it. When mama's boy was heartbroken over the death of his machine ( as a reference to an earlier post, the price is not cheaper than a Jap brand to replace the motor, that is a fact, why because if the Chinese company does last more than 2 years it is a miracle, needless to say that you could not find a motor for it, there was always something off on bolting or such,there was too many man hours involved) we searched and bought him a Grizzly 125 auto, one little brake issue, quickly fixed by local dealer and no problems, do have pictures of him pulling out three chinese atv's at once, in a hole that he just came out of ( a Baja 150, a Falcon 125/150, and a Kazuma 50) now thats priceless. In the atv parks he has gone everywhere that I have with it, although I usually put him up front so if he needs a nudge I can help. We would always have kids over riding in our woods but this year I don't think there are any chinese quads left. Yes, there is maintenence on everything, from the wife to an atv, but how much time do you want to spend working on something that is supposed to be recreational? I am glad to see that some people are having good luck and feel very satisfied with kid's quads.
OKAY, keep it going, let's hear somethings that will help those that are buying but not for sure what they want.
Besides all of the quality issues, do you really want to actively support a communist dictatorship that oppresses it's citizens and wants to destroy your country? This is one purchase where you are actually choosing to buy Chinese over some other country, it's not like buying some other product where it's damn near impossible to find one that's not made in China, this product has alternative sources readily available.
I would buy one again but only for a machine to teach the kids with. I'm getting ready to move the yamoto 50 down to my 6 old to start teaching her. If both kids stick with it. Any larger machines will be a name brand. The yamoto has had its share of issues but it just keeps running. I all ready have someone inline to take it when his kids are old enough to start learning.
Originally posted by: Rhinopkc
Besides all of the quality issues, do you really want to actively support a communist dictatorship that oppresses it's citizens and wants to destroy your country? This is one purchase where you are actually choosing to buy Chinese over some other country, it's not like buying some other product where it's damn near impossible to find one that's not made in China, this product has alternative sources readily available.
Very few situations where you can actually choose not to support China in one way or another. There are parts on all mini quads that come from Chinese manufacturers, whether it be a Polaris, Can-Am, etc. Even the Japanese (with the possible exception of Honda) get their stuff manufactured there.
Buy anything at Wal-Mart lately? Biggest retailer in the world. Total Capitalism. Most of their product is Chinese in origin.
__________________
Improved Custom Polaris 850
Mods:
Full Swap-out to 2008 Grizzly 700
Chassis, Running Gear, Plastic....
Runs Great Now
Big name brand atv's VS. the little chinese
