Jump to content

Looking for ATV or gokart for 8yo


Scruit
 Share

Recommended Posts

My son just outgrew is power wheels jeep renegade. Looking for something for him to drive around 2 acres of grass. Gocart or ATV? Looking to spend less than $1k.

Advice?

EDIT: Or is it time to get him onto a mini dirt bike? Is there some place i can take him to try a dirt bike before i buy him one?

Edited by Scruit
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was going to say CRF50 or KLX110. Both are tough as nails and have lots of upgrades to keep the kids happy as they grow. My 6 year old rides a CRF50 and my 15 year old still plays around on a 110. I think I bought him the 110 when he was 8. I did the go carts and the china atv thing it was a pain. Work on them for 2 hours and the kids ride for one hour. I live in Loudonville if you want to check out some little bikes PM me. Alan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

K, so I need to avoid the cheap gokart thing. I wonder how my son will do with a clutch. Should I go for a clutchless type or just throw him in at the deep end?

Need to find some kids riding lessons or something.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Go cart will beat the shit out of him they ride rough

yeah, like 8yr olds are fragile.... I still have my go cart from when I was 8, best $150 ever spent

$110 5 horse tecumseh, and $40 flea market frame = 1 awesome cart that still runs like a charm 20 years later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

yeah, like 8yr olds are fragile.... I still have my go cart from when I was 8, best $150 ever spent

$110 5 horse tecumseh, and $40 flea market frame = 1 awesome cart that still runs like a charm 20 years later.

+1billion

I had a flea market special kart and it ran fine for over 10 years, no suspension, a seatbelt we pulled out of a junkyard van and wired in. Hell of a lot of fun for only $100

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At 8 I would say he is past the 50 stage, unless you want to buy another one next year. 2 wheels I would suggest crf 70, yamaha 80, or klx 110. Worried about the clutch? Don't teach him to shift until he's comfortable, just keep him in 2nd gear. 4 wheels I would say honda 90, or polaris 90. Not sure about the Honda, but I had a Polaris, its auto with a throttle limiting screw. Thing held up well, pulled me around just fine too, Only caution Deep water fried my Stator oem $160.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

+1billion

I had a flea market special kart and it ran fine for over 10 years, no suspension, a seatbelt we pulled out of a junkyard van and wired in. Hell of a lot of fun for only $100

There are no more $100 go carts all the old ones are junk and the new ones are way over priced. If you do find a old one the brakes always suck, the gearing is way off. If you put a big sprocket on the rear to gear it down then its digging in the dirt and with a small sprocket you have no power and a 50mph cart with NO brakes. Old carts are one wheel drive so dad is changing tires all the time. My son got one day out of a new tire a few years ago. Sure he had fun but I had to buy and change tires all the time. If you buy a go cart buy a wire welder to go with it frames are also junk. The other problem is unless u have some one to race with its just like riding the lawn mower around the yard after the first week or so. Dirt bikes you can take places and ride on tracks maybe learn to jump or do some wheelies. I still have 2 old carts both still run but I dont care if the boys ( 15, 6, and 5 years old) ever ride them again we we are sticking with 2 wheels. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

mine is solid axle rear, so 2 wheel drive positrac, dad built scrub brakes for it, so those work...ehhh good enough for a 2 acre lot

it's not fast, top speed is approximately 35, but it's got enough ass to pull around likwid with no issues at all...

you could still build it today for less than $300 probably, less than 500 definitely...

4 wheels, steering wheel, a pair of steering arm bearings, a half a dozen other bearings, centrifugal clutch, tecumseh/briggs motor, throttle cable, chain and large sprocket, and then if you wanted to splurge and put a nice disk brake system on it, that might cost $50.

some scrap steel, and an old seat, you're set.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What about the go-karts that you can buy at Tractor Supply. They any good?

I can see him on a motorbike some day, but not sure if he's ready yet. He can't even ride a bicycle (we have to drive him to the park to practice, so it hardly ever happens). He's nuts about motorbikes though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

At 8 I would say he is past the 50 stage, unless you want to buy another one next year. 2 wheels I would suggest crf 70, yamaha 80, or klx 110. Worried about the clutch? Don't teach him to shift until he's comfortable, just keep him in 2nd gear. 4 wheels I would say honda 90, or polaris 90. Not sure about the Honda, but I had a Polaris, its auto with a throttle limiting screw. Thing held up well, pulled me around just fine too, Only caution Deep water fried my Stator oem $160.

Brother in laws might be a 90 not sure. He is almost 11 and still rides it all the time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

both rear tires...

scrub brakes, very very low tech, but actually work well enough thanks to the levers it's attached to, and the heavy duty linkages.

that bar is solid steel, and is almost ground in half from all the friction off the tires over the years...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My 7yr old rides a KLX 110... The great thing(s) about the KLX is that they are cheap, take a beating (I know because I've rode the crap out of it), and they are clutch less automatic trannys. Just like an ATV, you just push up or down on the shifter (3 gears). My son started out on keeping it in 2nd all the time.

The only thing I don't like about it is that the bike is a little on the heavy side, but I can see my son owning this dirt bike for a long time with all the upgrades you can do to them now

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is there any place in Ohio where we can rent dirt bikes so he can try it a few times before we buy. I'm not opposed to buying father/son dirt bikes - but I don't want him getting bored of it after trying it twice.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...