50cc atv or dirt bike

[Aarons 01 400EX]

I've been looking at getting my son(3yrold) an atv or dirtbike(w/training wheels) of his own in the next year or so. He has riden the battery operated ride on toys at some of our friends houses, but I can't see spending $200 for some plastic pos that will break in a year and has to be recharged every 30 minutes. I started riding a Honda 70 mini trail bike at 5yrs old with any training wheels.

Who makes 50cc atvs?
Is yamaha the only brand that makes 50cc dirtbike(pw50)?

I have seen some other atvs that are 50cc but I have never heard of the brand before.

Suggestions?

[quad2xtreme]

My opinion is to put him on a dirt bike from the start. Quads just end up costing too much. Even Dan Harris (owner of Breezewood Proving Grounds) has his daughter on a bike now when she used to ride ATVs.

[jake55]

yamaha makes 2. they have the 2 stroke pw50 and a four stroke ttr50. the ttr is a three speed automatic and is great for starters. i let my boy ride it for about a year before i told him about shifting. i would put it in first and let him go. honda also has a four stroke, crf50. the yamaha ttr has electric start and the honda and yamaha pw is kick start only. KTM also has 50cc stuff however they are not for first time riders.
quads, if your looking for a good yard or hayfield quad the polairs outlaw 50 will run forever. if you think someday you want to go racing then DRR is the way to go. you can make these things tame as heck or crazy fast without alot of money. the DRR is a two stroke and the polairis is a four stroke. both come with electric start and kicker as a back up.

you also should post this question in the MINNI section. lots of help over there on these 90cc and smaller quads.

[01boneless]

id pick him up a little quad on craigslist. (dont bother with the off brand chinese pos's) the old suzukie 80's are tough and great starters. or you can pick up the little pw 50's with training wheels real cheap.

[tbrackman84]

my dad got me a PW80 when i was 8 and it was awesome for me, i was always smaller too, lol. I personally think a PW50 would be BA for a little kid to ride

[Aarons 01 400EX]

Originally posted by quad2xtreme
My opinion is to put him on a dirt bike from the start. Quads just end up costing too much. Even Dan Harris (owner of Breezewood Proving Grounds) has his daughter on a bike now when she used to ride ATVs.

I rode dirtbikes from 1980-1996, then took a break and bought a 400ex in 01. Most of my buddies ride quads and that is the only reason I have one and not a dirt bike.

[Aarons 01 400EX]

Originally posted by jake55
yamaha makes 2. they have the 2 stroke pw50 and a four stroke ttr50. the ttr is a three speed automatic and is great for starters. i let my boy ride it for about a year before i told him about shifting. i would put it in first and let him go. honda also has a four stroke, crf50. the yamaha ttr has electric start and the honda and yamaha pw is kick start only. KTM also has 50cc stuff however they are not for first time riders.
quads, if your looking for a good yard or hayfield quad the polairs outlaw 50 will run forever. if you think someday you want to go racing then DRR is the way to go. you can make these things tame as heck or crazy fast without alot of money. the DRR is a two stroke and the polairis is a four stroke. both come with electric start and kicker as a back up.

you also should post this question in the MINNI section. lots of help over there on these 90cc and smaller quads.

Thanks for the info.

It would be mainly for cruising in the yard and taking it to a friends land that is mostly flat. I'll look on CL for a ttr50 and crf50 dirtbikes and a polaris outlaw50.

What is DRR?

Mini section? Who knew....lol

[jake55]

DRR is a mini quad that most of us use for mx racing. you can get them in a 50, 70 or 90. out of the box they are lower and wider than the polaris with better suspension. another brand very popular in mx is apex. both of these brands in the 70 and 90cc range are very capable of reaching speeds in the high 50mph range with the right modifications.

look up Hetrick Racing. these guys are top notch when it comes to the mini quads. they can set it up to go or set it up to go slow pending your riders ability.
i started my boy out on the little polaris and the yamaha ttr50 at age 4. now he's 9 riding a ktm65 and kx85 and in the quads he rides the DRR 70 and 90 at nationals.
main thing is to get them comfortable with the controlls. going from the battery rides that stop when you let off the pedal to having to remember to use brakes is tough on the little guys. trust me, the light post along side my sidewalk has a distinctive lean to it due to "i forgot to use the brakes"!!!!

[Aarons 01 400EX]

Originally posted by jake55
DRR is a mini quad that most of us use for mx racing. you can get them in a 50, 70 or 90. out of the box they are lower and wider than the polaris with better suspension. another brand very popular in mx is apex. both of these brands in the 70 and 90cc range are very capable of reaching speeds in the high 50mph range with the right modifications.

look up Hetrick Racing. these guys are top notch when it comes to the mini quads. they can set it up to go or set it up to go slow pending your riders ability.
i started my boy out on the little polaris and the yamaha ttr50 at age 4. now he's 9 riding a ktm65 and kx85 and in the quads he rides the DRR 70 and 90 at nationals.
main thing is to get them comfortable with the controlls. going from the battery rides that stop when you let off the pedal to having to remember to use brakes is tough on the little guys. trust me, the light post along side my sidewalk has a distinctive lean to it due to "i forgot to use the brakes"!!!!

I'm definetly not going to push him into racing. It would be mainly trail/field riding. I don't want to spend a lot of $ either.

[finsteratv]

LT80's have a nice throttle governer too, polaris is decent (dont know much on em) but the LT's have major room for mods too as he grows and seem to be somewhat popular due to how many have been produced

[Aarons 01 400EX]

The wife is convinced that a powerwheels style quad is safer for the little man, but I'm trying to tell her otherwise.

[4punksdad]

I have done this a time or two or 5. Training wheels suck. They just dont work well or teach the balance skills. Do the dirt bike the day after they learn to ride a bicycle. Until then a small quad is the way to go. I started all my kids on a TRX70 at around age 2. This machine has low center of gravity and the fact I could just leave it in 1st or 2nd gear and let them ride was awesome. If they left off the gas, the bike would stop on compression alone. I suggest you look for a good used TRX70 and expect to pay between 300 and 1000 for it. I would pay a grand for a very clean used one.

good luck.............and a good helmet.

[lem dad]

Been on both sides go with the bike wan stay off the quad I wish I had never put Dylan on a quad We had a lot of fun But in long run if your boy does want to race bike only to go less money more places to race more bikes at gate some local racers lucky to have two minis show up

[HondaRacing83]

i had a polaris scrambler 50 2 stroke from when i was 3, till i was like 7 or 8. I was to short to touch the floor boards when i was 3 so he put bricks on them. its an automatic, bullet proof quad. i put it through hell. one time me and my dad rode it from my house to the woods to my grandparents which was a couple miles. it went through. the thing had so much snuff for a 50. id suggest one of those over anything anyday