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 without 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?

I have a thread in the O-T section too.

[jake55]

welcome to mini quad hell. lol the guys on here will lead you the right direction, just be real clear in what you want for your son other wise these guys on here will have your boy riding a wheelie popping demon of a quad.
good luck and have fun!!

[LT80]

Suzuki JR50 and the PW50 are good choices for bikes.
The Suzuki LT50/LTZ50 may be a good atv option.

IMO, fitment of the child to the machine is what's important here.
If he cannot fit on the machine, work (and understand) the controls, the battery machine is the way to go.

You'll get many answers in here but I think all will agree that $200 +/- is a drop in the bucket of youth riding. :)
We had to buy a extra battery so that one was on charge. :D

It's not a waste if the child has fun as opposed to being scared on a too big of machine.

OOOOPs gave you 3 cents worth. :eek2:

Good luck on your decision. :)

[jake55]

i waited till my boy could ride and peddal a bike without the training wheels before i put him on the ttr50. i'm not real crazy about the trianing wheel thing. i agree with lt80, make sure the bike and or quad fits the little man. the polaris 50 we started with had removable risers on the foot boards, that alone helped alot.
the little 4 strokes are great yard and field bikes, they go pretty good but wont freak the little guy out when he hits the gas.

[selbygirl]

we started our boy on a suzuki ltz 50,, its a very small quad and great for little hands .. but if i was to do it all over again . i would of started my boy on a dirt bike . there a lot cheaper and most tracks allow dirt bikes over quads . but he loves quads and wont change ... plus get your child a nice light helmet and a neck brace,, i no neck braces are expensive but i think ours saved brodens neck atleast 3 times.. rocky mtn atv may still have evs braces for around 80 bucks.. ktm makes a nice 50 dirt bike

[Aarons 01 400EX]

He is a big 3 yr old, so fitment shouldn't be an issue. I figured for $500 I could find something halfway decent that he could rid in the future if he doesn't want to ride it now. He currently has two broken powerwheels quads that we got for free and he loves to sit on them and make noises. :cool:

[Aarons 01 400EX]

He is a big 3 yr old, so fitment shouldn't be an issue. I figured for $500 I could find something halfway decent that he could rid in the future if he doesn't want to ride it now. He currently has two broken powerwheels quads that we got for free and he loves to sit on them and make noises. :cool:

[nitrofish]

PW 50 for a dirtbike is best. I agree, skip the training wheels. If he can ride a bike he does not need them, it is easier to ride a dirtbike than a bicycle. Jack started on a Kazuma quad at 2yrs of age. They are throw away models, but you can pick them up cheaper than powerwheels. LT 50 suzuki, 2 stroke since your 3yr old is a little bigger. The 2 stroke will give ya better performance and there are ways to make them move pretty good for cheap. You can find an lt50 for about 450 bucks. Like what has been said in previous posts, start em on somthing that fits. It is best that they learn the basics then the skills of manuevering the machine. When he starts to blow things up and break em, move up. I started jack on a powerwheels jeep at 1 1/2 then modded it with some dewalt 18 volt drill motors and a harley battery. LOL. That jeep would stand up, had to put wheelie bars on it! Not sure where you are from, but I have a nice pw50 for sale on craigslist. Good luck. Matt.

[337450r]

Get the pw50 it's a good bike, and IMO starting every kid off on a dirt bike is safer and teaches better riding techniques

[Aarons 01 400EX]

Originally posted by 337450r
Get the pw50 it's a good bike, and IMO starting every kid off on a dirt bike is safer and teaches better riding techniques

That's exactly what i told the wife. She thinks he would be safer on a powerwheels quad.

[337450r]

Originally posted by Aarons 01 400EX
That's exactly what i told the wife. She thinks he would be safer on a powerwheels quad.
Any kid that starts off on four wheels gets a false sense of security and is more than likely to get hurt worse in the long run due to this.........My boys 9 and 10 started off on dirtbikes until just 2 months ago, you should see them ride, they know all about body english, proper lines on trails and constantly scanning the trail ahead, all this comes from riding there dirtbikes............Also, they had plenty of spills on there dirtbikes, 98% was no damage to them other than there egos, and the other 2% was a bruise, on dirtbikes most of the time a wreck is a simple laydown, on a quad its a whole differnet story...............Also most moms are way more cautious to a point of actually making the kids learning exp for the worse. You have to let them ride and take there spills under a control scene, without those spills they wont learn to respect them and wont learn proper technique..........goodluck and enjoy!!!

[Aarons 01 400EX]

Originally posted by 337450r
Also most moms are way more cautious to a point of actually making the kids learning exp for the worse.

You have that right. My son is a mommas boy when he falls and she is around, but when it is just me and him, he acts completely different.

[Aarons 01 400EX]

I took my son who will be 3yrsold on the 30th to a buddy that had a crf50 and it was too big for him. We decided to get him a Powerwheels Raptor ATV and he has been having a blast on it.

[LT80]

IMO, A wise decision. :)

[Aarons 01 400EX]

Thanks LT80 and everyone for the advice!


He rode for about 45 minutes the other day and can't get the hang of the pedal to make it go and stop.