We have a few for the kids at the PA house. I had a hissy fit when the decision was made to buy them. Granted, they are my nieces and nephews, not my children but I was against it. They are not toys. I do not believe children should have them. Just because you could, doesn't mean you should.

Off soap box....

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Current:
2016 X6 ///M Black Sapphire Metallic

Ajogu:

A word to the wise should be sufficient. If you google the word Coma and quad you might be surprised. Ask Zack, He can tell you.
Zack doesn't ride anymore. He's takin up fishing..........


http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/artic..._1__OKLAH53557

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"What you hear in a great jazz band is the sound of democracy. “The jazz band works best when participation is shaped by intelligent communication.”
Harmony happens whenever different parts get to form a whole by means of congruity, concord, symetry, consistency, conformity, correspondence, agreement, accord, unity, consonance…….

I'm with you 1000%. Can't tell you how many patients I see with spinal injuries, brain damage or amputations. Yes, it is all about how the machines are used. That being said, it only takes one time of an over zealous rider to cause catastrophe. My kids won't be getting on them. If you decide to go ahead with them, educate your children about all the dangers.

Wow, not very good news about Quading. I have a totally different take on the subject. My whole family has quads and we have a track at home that is about 1/2 mile long. Now we are not dare devils on the things but they are alot of fun and I have had many of my children's friend ride them. My kids are now 14, 12, and 10, and we started about 2 years ago. I started my daughter on a 50 cc and she is now riding a 90 cc. The first thing that you need to know is what type of riding that you think that you want to do. That will dictate the type of quad. We like the trail stuff. We all have sport quads which have great suspension which I feel is really important. The larger quads (my wife's 250, my oldest son's 250 and my 400) did not come with nerf bars (they are the nets between the front and back wheel that stops your feet from hitting the ground). I put them on all of them. There is a safety course you can take to show you how to ride and all of the quads come with a limiter so you can turn down the throttle so you do not go to fast at first. The quads are heaver than a motorcycle but it is very hard to turn them over. You can defiantly turn them over when do jumping wrong but you won't be jumping right away. I think that motorcycles are much harder on the body and you can get injured much easier.
Now about the different types of quads. There are many different brands and some can get very expensive. I would stick with the major name brands and not buy the cheaper ones from China. We have Suzuki and one of the 90 cc is a Polaris. We did try the less expensive quads, but we had many problems with it and it was new. The gas filter broke several times, the trans housing broke in half (reverse for a younger child is not a good thing) and the rear wheel came off even though I had use blue lock tight on it. We got the less expensive one because the major manufactures line for sport quads go 50 cc, 90 cc, 250 cc, 400 cc and 450cc where as the Chinese ones you can get 125 cc, 150 cc and even a 200 cc. It is a big jump from a 90 cc to a 250 cc. We thought that the 250 was just to large for our 12 year old. It turns out that it was fine, but I am glad that we started him with the 90 cc first. It is real important that you limit the throttle first.
If you have any questions please feel free to email me.

Ron

PS. The only injury we have had is with jumping. My middle son hit his privates a few times and the other one landed wrong and hurt his wrist a little. He was fine a couple of days later and was jumping again.

I have a Yamaha Raptor 700, I belive Yamaha offers a riders saftey course when you buy a new quad, I didnt take it but is a good idea to. As for the Raptor 700 I dont recommend it for anyone it is outlandishly fast, I have had it up to 90mph and still had some throttle left!!!

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"To become a member of a crew you've got to be 100% Italian so they can trace all your relatives back to the old country. See, it's the highest honor they can give you. It means you belong to a family and crew. It means that nobody can f@ck around with you. It also means you could f@ck around with anybody just as long as they aren't also a member. It's like a license to steal. It's a license to do anything"

Yamaha raptor is scary as hell to ride. Its pretty damn fast so fast. My friend has one and let me try it out one time and I nearly ate it. I'm told you can do 70mph in dirt and gravel in it.

Wow, you guys have to admit that I should really re-think this issue. I went through the links you guys posted and got a few shudders. I don't think I would forgive myself if anythink happened to my daughter. I have to say my wife was like "why start a thread with my question". Well ... I'm glad I did. It has brought a lot of light to my topic. Sh!t, I still don't know what to do.

Dr Jay - 90mph on a quad

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2008 Saphire Black on Biege.

I have mixed feelings...

Growing up my parents didn't let me do anything that even resembled motorized danger. No mopeds, no motorcycles, no fast cars, etc.

But we did go skiing, rollerblading was fine, skate boarding was ok, same with bicycling.

On the other side of the coin, I did also grow up shooting guns, trap and skeet type stuff.

Looking back, I know my parents just wanted to protect me. But at the same time, I wonder how much of the fear was rational and how much of it was irrational.

Of course there are people who get hurt and killed on quads. But there are also people who get hurt and killed skiing and rollerblading and bicycle riding.

So how as a parent (which I am not,) do you decide, what sports, hobbies are ok and which are not?

Today I race cars, a sport that is generally thought to be very dangerous and I'm sure if I researched I could find examples of people who have been hurt or killed racing. But I've also, in all my years going to the track, I have come to my own conclusions that a day of driving at the track at high speeds is still safer than driving on the 101 freeway. Many of the people I race against are kids, no older than 12 and 13 years old, who have been racing karts and such since they were toddlers. And yes, once every 5 years of so, you hear of someone who is SERIOUSLY injured racing or karting. But compared to the amount of racing and karting that exists on a weekly basis in the US alone, you can see, the risk of serious injury is pretty low.

Like anything else in the world, there are going to be risks. Boating has risks, high school sports like football have risks.

I think it's important to get proper training and proper safety equipment. And set rules and guidelines of how they can use them, where, when and with who supervising..

Leave the beer at home and have some good, safe, fun...

P.S. - The same can also be said about Waverunners, etc..

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"When two people agree on everything, one of them is not necessary" - Arliss

70mph on dirt is easily attained by 4th gear (give or take a few mph) you just have to keep the front down , I have to dig up my video of my friend in his Subaru STI racing me from a stand still, I keep up with him until about 70 and then he blows me away

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"To become a member of a crew you've got to be 100% Italian so they can trace all your relatives back to the old country. See, it's the highest honor they can give you. It means you belong to a family and crew. It means that nobody can f@ck around with you. It also means you could f@ck around with anybody just as long as they aren't also a member. It's like a license to steal. It's a license to do anything"