Quad bikes for kids are a pretty great present, and a toy that will provide hours of fun if the kids have the space to use them. They range from small electric bikes for very small children to fully fledged monsters for the teenagers. But these do come with a hefty price tag and are not to be taken lightly in terms of safety.
Quad biking is a great recreational activity and is something the whole family can do together, if everyone’s into the more adventurous type of activity. Quads are also known as “All Terrain Vehicles” or “ATVs” and the name is very apt and suggests just exactly what kind of enjoyment you can get out of these little machines. You can go touring over mountains, across beach sand, you can navigate rocky terrain, soft mud, river crossing and pretty much anywhere you could want to go short of flying. On really steep slopes, up or down, quad bikes will put most respectable 4x4s to shame.
So weekend trips of even overnight camping trails on these bikes can be anywhere you want them to be and can be a world of fun. They’ve also got quite a bit of zip to them, depending on which model and engine size you go for, but they all go at a fair rate. However navigating tricky terrain is all dependant on know-how, especially when dealing with kids who feel invincible and are certain they can do anything on their first try.
If you get your kid a quad bike make sure he or she is properly taught how to use it, and always wears their helmet. Biking gloves are not a bad idea either. These things can go up or down almost sheer cliffs, but if the driver doesn’t know how to ride you can be certain the bike will topple onto him or her, and for a small child the weight of even a kid’s quad bike can easily result in serious injury.
It’s also important that you select the correct bike for your kid too, you don’t want an over zealous, 50kg 8 year old boy trying to handle a half ton 650cc quad bike as that can only ever end in disaster. But you don’t want to put your 16 year old on a 15cc pink scooter either, since that’s not really going to lend itself to much fun or adventure.
For younger kids, 8-12 years old, the Yamaha Raptor 90, is pretty much the bench mark. It has a 88cc engine, which is definitely enough to go pretty speedily with only a few kilograms on its back, but isn’t too much for a child to handle. It’s 1.49 metres in length and weighs only 116kg, so it’s nimble enough to be moved around corners or sweeping bends pretty quickly by small kids. It has hydraulic disc brakes at the back and sealed drum brakes at the back, so you won’t need to worry about your little angel having a braking failure after a river crossing, where standard disc brakes can get clogged with wet mud. It will cost you though, you can pick us second hands ones for around R10 000 and expect to pay nearly R20 000 for a new one.
Have a look on gumtree, or www.quad-atv.za.net for quad bikes for kids, or look any of the standard used vehicle online listings. Check out engine size and weight before buying, make sure you purchase sufficient protective wear too when you buy your kid a bike, and of course budget for the fact that sooner or later Dad’s going to want one too.