Best rides for kids

[DAM shop]

Here is one of my grandkids riding one of the Honda's today. Mind you I have 4 grandkids. This is our 110 that I put a throttle limiter on and stuck it in low gear. All the kids did fine on it today except for one kid he high centerd a rock in the garden.
Anyway the reason for starting this post is to get some other ideas from you parents or grandparents as to what your kids ride. As far as I am concerned a trike is not the easiest to ride for a part-time rider. i would think that something with a centrifugal clutch might be a better option, let off the gas it stops. I have a 74 70 that needs some work to run top notch but even at that I'm not sure that is the ideal machine, plus the fact that two of them have outgrown the 70.
Just wanting to hear if Anyone has any experience good or bad with other machines for kids, go-cart 4-wheeler, mini bikes? I suppose with grandkids it's a new training lesson everytime they ride beings we are not together enough to give proper and effective riding lessons. Ideas and thoughts always welcomed. A few things I learned today.

Brakes both foot and hand are hard to operate for little kids .
Don't put your feet down goes against all of your protective mechanisms when things get a little out of sorts when you are a kid .
Kids have no fear at least 3 of the 4 that rode today.

[barnett468]

.
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CVT trans

Front and rear suspension

Full floor boards

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[Troyg25]

Just got my 2nd tri zinger yt60 up and going tonight.



Had my kids as young as 3 years old ridding with a rachet strap on the rear grab bar. Some good back yard fun.

[DAM shop]

Just got my 2nd tri zinger yt60 up and going tonight.



Had my kids as young as 3 years old ridding with a rachet strap on the rear grab bar. Some good back yard fun.

The ratchet strap was for what?

[Troyg25]

To slow them down. I would run behind them for the first bit and teach them how to take a turn, braking and stopping. Something I used to teach as a motorcycle instructor. M1 to M2.

When they picked up the basics it would be a fight who gets to ride next. Having two will be pretty awesome

[67Sport]

I have a son 11 and daughter 12. They went from 50cc to 70cc bikes, started when they were 6/7. Son is now on a crf80, learning clutch. He wanted a 2 stroke after the 70, but I didnt want him learning the clutch and the power band thing at the same time, so a 2 stroke may be next. He's better on 2 wheels than I am.
We have an ATC 125 that they both ride, and both like.
We ride spring/fall only, and never as often as I'd like. Every time we ride, and every step of the way, I have made them use braking as the default panic reaction. When they were little, I'd run beside them, and make them brake at random times. It has worked pretty well. They both panic react stop, instead of whiskey throttle. I've seen friends kids do the whiskey throttle thing when they panic, no fun for anyone.
Here's the daughter, we were out today, it was a good day.


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[ps2fixer]

I started at 12 on a 350 warrior, clutch and all. After a few times learning the clutch stuff I was pretty good. I was a pretty moderate teen though, like I had a fairly good head on my shoulders to know not to floor it and pop the clutch etc.

My cousin around the same time was about 5, he road a TRX125. Doubt he could even use the brakes, but it could stop in gear. The riding area is very flat, so no real hills or anything so I suspect that's a pretty big factor. By the time he was 7 or 8 he learned how to shift it with his hand and would drive it in like 3rd gear all the time. He only tipped over once that I'm aware of, and that's because he got on a cement surface and turned too sharp going too fast (was slow but still too fast for the turn). He was more worried about the machine and his dad getting mad than anything else.

My sister started riding an ATC70 at 5 years old, she was given rides since she was months old by my dad. We live in a sand belt, so nice soft sand. She was taught to use the brakes and such and she did alright on stopping machine. She tipped it over once when she had a friend over and was trying to show off, never got hurt or anything, but it spooked her a bit for the 3 wheelers (my mom doesn't like them much). She also had one of them chinese 50cc quads, thing barely ran and couldn't go though the sand hardly at all unless it's floored. She's 19 now, and since about 15ish she's been driving a 680 rincon and she's 19 now.

For learning to ride, a semi automatic (at least where you can stop in gear) or cvt (belt drive) is the easiest to learn on, but it's defo not a requirement. Kind of hate to say it, but a quad is probably more ideal than a 3 wheeler. Again, that's just based on paper, I suspect learning on a 3 wheeler would make the rider respect the machine and the limits.

Going back to when I was 12, I wasn't discouraged about the manual clutch or anything, but I did have a limit of max 3rd gear and they were counting cuz I hit 4th once lol. Of course by that age, I had experience driving vehicles off road and such too, I had a bit of an odd childhood vs most people. Just my thinking, but I think the teaching process is more critical than the actual machine. I don't have any kids, but I'd think you'd kind of know when your kid is ready to try and drive an atv.

[350for350]

I used to have a 1975 ATC90 that I used to teach a couple of neighbor kids to ride on. I would keep it in low range until I felt that they were ready for the big time (high range). Their biggest problem was remembering to let off the throttle when turning.I usually looked like this.I'm not sure what it was about those poor lilac bushes. They seemed to be a magnet for that ATC90.

[Jd110]

Got my little guy started on a atc 70 because the ct-70 was too tall at 5 y/o. these kids absolutely love the three wheelers and check them out every time they’re here.



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[DAM shop]

Got my little guy started on a atc 70 because the ct-70 was too tall at 5 y/o. these kids absolutely love the three wheelers and check them out every time they’re here.



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Yes my younger grandkids did like the 70. Maybe I would be happier with it after I do a top end on it this making it perform better. My other issue is room, not having enough room to store everything.

[keister]

I have a 1981 ATC110 that I keep at my house as a "trainer." It has 450 hubs which makes it wide, and short tires (that look like ag tires) making it very low slung and stable. A 110 in low range with small tires can be painfully slow, so it's great for first time riders. After we master starting / stopping and turning in L1, we move up to shifting gears and eventually get it in high range. Probably a dozen kids, and even a few adults, have learned to ride a 3 wheeler on it over the past decade.

One thing I have noticed is a majority of kids have trouble with the concept of shifting gears. Upshifting is generally not a problem, but they can't seem to grasp the concept of shifting down for slower speeds and when coming to a stop. They just like to leave it in a high gear and then try to take off from a dead stop. This was never an issue when we were kids. Then again, a high percentage of this generation has never ridden in a vehicle with a manual transmission.

[DAM shop]

My latest acquisition for the kids.

[bkvette3]

Great thread, DAM shop.

My oldest boy learned how to ride my '84 200es back in 2011 @ 9 years old - under great supervision - nothing past 2rd gear, no hills, low throttle. If he didn't follow the rules - no riding - we were going home. Great memories watching him. As he progressed - I taught him the proper technique to ascend/descend very small hills - also how to turn using proper speed & techniques. He mastered everything. Never any mishaps - kept it on all 3s'. I still can remember people's faces and comments as they walked by - " Those things are dangerous". "They are illegal". "You're a bad parent" Etc, etc. I am a firm believer if taught to ride responsibly with the correct technique - all is good - everything will fall into place. That applies to all recreational vehicles. My boy at 10 years of age could handle my speedboat on the lake and at the boat launch better than many adults.


In 2014 - he moved up to the Liquid 250R @ 12 years of age. Showed him the technique on how to work the clutch and explained what it does. After a few attempts and stalls - he worked the clutch like a boss. (Watch the attached video - turn on your speakers - ***having problems attaching video - will try again ***) Again - under great supervision - if rules not followed - end of the ride. We never had any issues - rides never ended early.

*** I guess I am not able to attach videos to this forum - damn.. ***



*** CLICK ON PIC TO ENLARGE ***





Today as a responsible 17 year old - driving his truck on city streets - he drives with utmost care - no accidents, traffic infractions or tickets. Everyone of his friends have tickets/accidents already accredited to their short driving carrer. One of his friends is on his 3rd vehicle in a one year period - bagged drove into the ground or totaled them (yikes). My son does all his vehicle maintenance on his own - last weekend - he just replaced the leaking valve cover gaskets on his F-150 5 liter which required R&R of the intake plenum - 100% repair done by himself. Life skills - I won't be here forever to help them. Parents - spend time with your kids - educate them - guide them - get them off the screens - it is worth it in the long run.


Over & out - cheers.

[bkvette3]

My latest acquisition for the kids.

WOW - great picture, DAM shop - it brings back fond memories teaching my boys to ride. Long live ATCs'. The next generation will keep it going

[Wbeverly07]

6 yrs old rides the 200 better than most adults lol