would you let a 5 yr ride a 400ex by himself?

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i had replied with how irresponsible this is, both as a parent and an atv owner. my response was deleted. it seems like they can't take some criticism.

they make kid sized atv's for a reason. there is no way that the boy can physically maintain the 400ex. i can see him giving it too much gas and the ex coming up over and landing on him. not only that, but the helmet does not fit properly. i hope other responsible parents let this guy know how irresponsible this is.

i can't imagine how much fun the anti's would have with this video should this particular kid get hurt while on that atv.

[ProspectorJim]

They probably had the speed governor(or whatever that screw on the throttle is called) screwed in most of the way. If not wow. Kid did a pretty good job though.

[250r rider 88]

this kids gonna have a hard time getting to 1 finger on the clutch, most people for from 3 or 4 fingers, he is going from 2 hands haha, other than that i was surprised he got it moving

but no i would never let a 5 yr old ride a 400ex

i would bet that they didn't...if this is your atv, are you going to do that every time you do something like this? and besides, it don't cut that much off the the throttle, the bike could still easily go over on him.

these are the parents that will blame the atv the first time the kid gets hurt on it.

also, the kid can't even pull in the clutch with one hand..he can barely reach the pegs, meaning no rear brake control...

there are just so many things wrong with this video. as a responsible parent and atv enthusiest/owner, it makes me sick.

[cglester]

i have a son that is 8 yrs old, he constantly asks for me to let him try to ride my 450r, but there is no way, not even with the fuel governed. Doesnt matter how well the kid rides they have laws regulating the age of a child in relation to the size of the motor for a reason. this guy is a moron, and has a complete lack of concern for the kid:mad:

lol thats funny how he used 2 hands for the clutch. the quad doesnt even know its hauling someone around being that small. where i ride there is a kid thats 9 years old on a z400. has nerfs, tires, exhaust and the kid is a little wreckless but he tears it up he will hit the same jumps and stuff most do but goes a lot slower and is constantly pulling off no footers its hilarious. the kid can ride for being so small when he grows up more he's probally gonna be awesome.

[SRH]

the kid was riding responsibly, granted its too big for him and if he got into trouble he couldnt save it, but his father wasnt letting him ride it where he would get into trouble, the kid knows how to ride, the only thing i see dangerous about the video is the helmet, and lack of riding gear, other than that i think its great his kid can ride responsible enough to handle a much more powerful machine than what hes use to, hes probably a kid you wont hear about getitng hurt unles shis father lets him ride it on a regular basis without gear

[Ruby Soho]

thats is dangerous.. ive seen kids my age (16) that can't handle 400ex's or even 300ex's, getting hurt with the clutch. what if the kid went over a bump and accidentally punched the gas, sending him on his way.

[NJ450rider]

Wow yeah 5 is way to young. although there is a kid here that rides a well modded 400ex and just straight rips on it. Im talking c maybe b class mx racing. Oh yeah hes only 10 and its his quad. LOL

speedy i have to say i cant disagrre with you more , this was done in a responsible and safe manor he had all of his saftey gear and was learing hell id let my child[if i have one] ride my yfz450 or raptor, if you think about it theres just no way this child is going to kick it up into 3rd or fourth gear and go ape**** crazy!

Originally posted by mxcowboy
speedy i have to say i cant disagrre with you more , this was done in a responsible and safe manor he had all of his saftey gear and was learing hell id let my child[if i have one] ride my yfz450 or raptor, if you think about it theres just no way this child is going to kick it up into 3rd or fourth gear and go ape**** crazy!

i was riding my cousins new 400ex at 7 , and his banshee at tweleve its all about saftey,trust, and experience.

[justin1022]

Originally posted by cglester
they have laws regulating the age of a child in relation to the size of the motor for a reason.


just thought id point this out but those ages. they are just the recomened age. out hear if you get stoped by the cops they dont even say anything about the age on the sticker because its just the recomened age of use. they just ask for insurance and regustration. thats if yo uchoose to stop:grr:

[justin1022]

Originally posted by Ruby Soho
thats is dangerous.. ive seen kids my age (16) that can't handle 400ex's or even 300ex's, getting hurt with the clutch. what if the kid went over a bump and accidentally punched the gas, sending him on his way.


even if it did happen you got to remeber he is in only 1st gear. i have droped the clutch lots from not moving into first and smacked grab bar and never once have i went over. only time i went over is 5th taped on the highway and hit a unexpected bump i highly doubt the quad would come onto him even if he did smack grab bar.

Originally posted by justin1022
even if it did happen you got to remeber he is in only 1st gear. i have droped the clutch lots from not moving into first and smacked grab bar and never once have i went over. only time i went over is 5th taped on the highway and hit a unexpected bump i highly doubt the quad would come onto him even if he did smack grab bar.



buddy that sounds wrong you dont think the atv would "COME ON TO HIM"
if he smacked the the grab bar lol just thought it sounded funny!

[Wills77]

the kid is probably what? 50 pounds... even if he did let the clutch fly while on it hes most likely just going to spin

[powermadd400ex]

i think this was done in a responsible manner, much better than other people. ive seen 6 or 7 year old kids on 450s riding with no helmet and sandals without supervision from a responsible adult.
this boy was being supervised by his father and was wearing a helmet, sure the helmet wasnt a perfect fit, but its better than nothing. if you rele wanna bust somebodies chops bust people that let their young kids ride 400s and 450s un-supervised without a helmet.

[JJs450r]

in north carolina they are more then recommendations, they are laws, with that said i want you to sit on your quad hold on very loosley and pump the gas one good time, keep your body limp and see what happens even though he did a good job i dont think he should be on a 400 jmo

[krt400ex]

the kid could barely reach the footpegs. clearly too young. what a doornob for letting his kid ride it

What's crazy is a 9 year old having his own banshee.

I must say though, the kid seems pretty damn good for being 9 on a modded banshee.

But even if I was the father, I wouldn't let him have his own banshee like that. Maybe a 300ex.
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Originally posted by JJs450r
in north carolina they are more then recommendations, they are laws, with that said i want you to sit on your quad hold on very loosley and pump the gas one good time, keep your body limp and see what happens even though he did a good job i dont think he should be on a 400 jmo


well there are lloop holes like parents or 18 0lder people watching you

found this out at busco was riding my cousins banshee and the patrol man dude guy person authoritay officer police told me the deal

[KXRida]

that is how accidental deaths happen. Look at the rhino law suits. Sorry guys, but video's like these are what make lawmakers crack down harder on motorized vehicles. They make kids sized quads for a reason.

That kids parents should be taken out and slapped.

[NacsMXer]

I probably wouldn't let a 5 year old ride a 400ex but it really depends on the person. I've seen some stupid kids been allowed to try even a 50cc quad, hop on, and treat the throttle like a powerwheels on/off switch. This one kid just hopped on and pinned it the entire way just frozen until he slammed into a tree...not even an attempt to hit the brakes or let off. He destroyed the quad and broke a wrist in a matter of 5 seconds.

But nobody knows their kid like a parent, and whether or not they are ready/responsible enough to handle something yet. There are kids out there that are able to listen and follow the instructions of their parent without being reckless. Its the reckless ones that haven't been instructed in the right way IMO. That being said, the kid in the video appeared to be able to listen to his father's instructions and to safely operate the quad despite his physical limitations. I saw it as nothing more than learning how to use a clutch. Again, I generally wouldn't support a 5 year old riding a full size quad, but you can't completely eliminate parental discretion at the same time.

[LTRracer4]

i rode a modded raptor when i was 12, got an mx ready yfz when i was 13. its nothing on my parents, i taught my self how to ride the raptor, and im sure you can bet i got a lashing when i got found out, but i didnt stop, and i figured it out pretty well, now im 16 and i race A class. The kids that can ride a 400 at the age of 5 are the kids that will be cody gibsons when they get 17

[Rich250RRacer]

Originally posted by ProspectorJim
They probably had the speed governor(or whatever that screw on the throttle is called) screwed in most of the way. If not wow. Kid did a pretty good job though.

Since when does a 400EX have a throttle limiter? No matter what the arguement, the kid shouldn't have been on it PERIOD!

[JJs450r]

Originally posted by mxcowboy
well there are lloop holes like parents or 18 0lder people watching you

found this out at busco was riding my cousins banshee and the patrol man dude guy person authoritay officer police told me the deal

yes a loop hold meaning a controled enviroment, busco is nowhere near that, i watched 2 drunk people go head on, ya i can understand the kid parents riding on the back with them, but alone thats nuts like i said one good crack on the throttle will probably throw him off if not that i dont think he could possibly hold on if it were to go any faster then that. i seen a dad get thrown of a 50cc fourwheeler when his kid gave it to much gas but jmo they gotta live with it if there kid gets hurt or not

[ProspectorJim]

Originally posted by Rich250RRacer
Since when does a 400EX have a throttle limiter? No matter what the arguement, the kid shouldn't have been on it PERIOD!

I believe every newer model quad does. My raptor660 had one and my ds450 has one.

[k4f5x0r]

i rode a 300ex at that age. ofcourse its a bit less but i dont agree or disagree with it.

the father was tehre and was watching closely. the kid was responsible and wasnt crazy. even if he cracked the throttle its in 1st. 1st on a quad isnt anything. i dont even use 1st.

only time a situation like that is unsafe is when an idiot kid(such as myself) hops on a quad and trys to come around a turn without leaning and rolls it and runs over his own leg(:D ) wasnt hrut but i was too small to flip it back over. so i had to get my neighbor to help me lol.

[JJs450r]

first is unsafe for a 5 year old i dont think he would have the arm strength to hold on, let alone hand the quad, first is fast enough for the father to not be able to catch him from jumping the berm his hands werent big enough 2 grab the clutch i dont seem him taking a hand off the bars 2 grab brake, like someone said he could barley reach the pegs(speaking in an emergency situation)

[JParisi48]

i dont think it was a good idea, he still could have gotten hurt in first gear, he weighs like 40 pounds...:rolleyes:

[BlaineKaiser450]

i wouldnt of let him ride it. He needs a 90 or something till hes big enough for a 250 :rolleyes:

[ridered11]

haha you guys act like this guys it hittin the trails hard with his 5 year old son riding a 400ex by himself


he is closely watching, and teaching his young son how to operate a clutch and you can tell he has been learning by trial and error. "don't forget to pull in the clutch when you want to stop". if anything it's impressive that his son can grasp the concept of doing that at that age.


don't get all pissed that some guy is spending some quality time with his son, teaching him how to ride a quad. people do the same thing all the time with their younger kids teaching them how to drive a car (which have the capabilities of far more fatal consequences than a 400ex in first gear in the middle of the woods) well before they are of age of operating one.

take a chill pill

[Pipeless416]

why does it matter if the kids father is watching him? all it takes is a bump that causes him to stab the throttle and freak out. a 40 lb kid can not hold 400 lbs off of him if the worst did happen. most of the people defending this guys actions are 13-14 and don't have much personal responsibility to begin with, let alone the responsibility of another human. some of the biggest lawsuits can start because somebody had good intentions and they went wrong.

[tri5ron]

that is just flat out dumb.

What comes next? letting him cruise in the truck to the range and fire Dad's .44 mag.? but it's o.k. cuz pop's is watching? I don't think so.

My 9 year old son, and my 7 year old daughter, dont get anywhere near my quads, guns, cars, trucks, or any other Adult intended toys, and will be quite a while before they do.

that's why kiddie quads come with rope-pull, and remote kill switches.
I just hope the kid dosent get hurt before his Dad wise's up.

[Kickstarts-suck]

I dont see anything wrong with what was in the video. Dad was watching, he was staying in 1st gear, and no one else was around.

[JJs450r]

just remember dads not gonna be able to catch hiim if he does get in the throttle, dont get me wrong the kid did good being on a 400 i just dont think its the right size for him i got my first 70 when i was 6 and my brother was 5 and we both ended up wrecking it and that was after we got used to it


its kinda like this im sure this kids been riding for a while look what one bump did 2 him

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[KXRida]

Originally posted by Rich250RRacer
Since when does a 400EX have a throttle limiter? No matter what the arguement, the kid shouldn't have been on it PERIOD!

THANK YOU!

it is the tweeners that are defending this guy. nothing wrong with being a tweener, but the responsibility gene hasn't kicked in for ya yet. not only is it dangerous for the child, especially since daddy is a few hundred feet away, but it does not help the atv community look responsible when the anti atv faction are pushing for smaller engine sizes and atv weights. one of their biggest complaints is that kids are riding atvs that are too big for them. let's just hand them a nuclear bomb to use against us. like it or not, we all have to do things as by the book as possible because of the antis.

little guy does well and i commend him for that, but all it will take is one little slip of the hand to give the throttle a quick little push. and we all know it can happen it has happened to me recently. i was able to do what was necessary to get my 400ex back in control, and if anyone had seen, they would not have known i accidentally blipped the throttle. but i have years of experience, ADULT reflexes, and physical size to control the atv. should this kid blip the throttle, his weight would not keep the front end down, it wouldn't handle the weight of the atv should it land on top of him and the large, non-fitting helmet would actually create a lever effect to make breaking his neck easier. a responsible parent would not allow their 5 year old on an atv intended for adults.

another video of the same kid...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-g4ksO1KnSk

[woodsman250r]

OK...I agree with all of the people defending the fathers choice of putting his 5 year old on the 400ex. This is perfectly safe, what could have possible gone wrong? He was wearing all of his gear and in first gear with the dad watching??? I let my six year old nephew drive my truck alone while I watch? Of course he wears his seat belt and stays in first gear. And I let him shoot my 12 gauge while I watch. But he wears shooting glasses and hearing protection. And just the other day I let him cut down some tree's with my chainsaw while I watched. He did wear some eye protection tho.

Does anyone else see the sarcasim here??? Why put your kid at risk for an accident that could be avoided? Put the kid on a bike built for his size and let him learn on that. Basically that guy in the video and the people who support him live up to the term "Quadtard." We need more guys like him to put their kids in those kind of situations to ruin our sport and to draw more fire from the media. :rolleyes:

[ProspectorJim]

And I let him shoot my 12 gauge while I watch. But he wears shooting glasses and hearing protection.

My dad let me do that when I was 8. I geuss I'm kind of a redneck though,living out in the woods.

[chris46250r]

Depending on the situation yes I would. Apparently this Dad knew and trusted his own son well enough to do this. If I had a son or daughter that I had gone over the concepts since the day they could pay attention to me and I knew that they were confident in themselves and in me also, you can bet your hindend I would let them try with me right there watching and coaching them. Some kid down the street or I dont know, heck no I wouldn't let them. Some people probably think its so awful because there was nobody in thier childhood who give a damn enough about them to teach them something like this. I'd be willing to bet this father and son have enough trust between them that both were confident in each other to do something like this. Dont hate, be glad for them.

EDIT since the age thing came up, I'm 36 years old.

[Pipeless416]

Originally posted by chris46250r
Depending on the situation yes I would. Apparently this Dad knew and trusted his own son well enough to do this. If I had a son or daughter that I had gone over the concepts since the day they could pay attention to me and I knew that they were confident in themselves and in me also, you can bet your hindend I would let them try with me right there watching and coaching them. Some people probably think its so awful because there was nobody in thier childhood who give a damn enough about them to teach them something like this. I'd be willing to bet this father and son have enough trust between them that both were confident in each other to do something like this. Dont hate, be glad for them.

confidence and trust are negligible concepts when panic mode sets in. nobody ever plans an accident.

[rbgnwa45]

I would love to see a 5 year old that can handle a 400ex, but I doubt one could even reach the shifter. I'd say an 8 year old is much more able to handle high power at a young age, but even then, being that light, he'd fly on a 250 or 300ex and it'd be less money.

Originally posted by Pipeless416
nobody ever plans an accident.


I seem to!!

[fasterblaster09]

Originally posted by chris46250r
Depending on the situation yes I would. Apparently this Dad knew and trusted his own son well enough to do this. If I had a son or daughter that I had gone over the concepts since the day they could pay attention to me and I knew that they were confident in themselves and in me also, you can bet your hindend I would let them try with me right there watching and coaching them. Some kid down the street or I dont know, heck no I wouldn't let them. Some people probably think its so awful because there was nobody in thier childhood who give a damn enough about them to teach them something like this. I'd be willing to bet this father and son have enough trust between them that both were confident in each other to do something like this. Dont hate, be glad for them.

EDIT since the age thing came up, I'm 36 years old.

x2--except the 36 year old part :p

[bossman525]

THE ONLY WAY i would let my 5 year old son ride a full size quad is if i was sitting behind him with my hands on the bars. but then i wouldnt do that either, thats why they make 50cc and 90cc quads. its easy for everyone to say that guy was in his right, only because its not your kid. if it was your kid i really think you would be singing a different tune. and being in first gear cant do anything to hurt him? that right there is an ignorant response. i dont care if your in first gear doing 5mph or tapped out in 5th gear, if your that small or inexpeirenced, you can get hurt. hell, ive done that, just nonchalanlty putting in first gear all relaxed and a bump makes my thumb hit the throttle and then the front end comes up and almost lose it. we are not the haters here boys, we are the responsible parents and atv riders. but each into his own, if thats what the guy wants to do, then so be it, i just think he is taking the health and welfare of his child into his own hands....just my .02