youth sleds

staggs65

staggs65

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any guys that have sleds for their kids, how old did you start them out. my daughters 5 and my sons 4 and they've been riding a suzuki 50 atv for 2 seasons now. thought about getting a sled but i dont know if they could physically turn one yet. is a kitty cat easier for a younger rider than a 120? i know a 120 is more engine than they need yet, but there must be a throttle stop. any insight would be appreciated
 
The 120 is great. It is limited to 8mph. All my kids started on it at the age of 5 or so.
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thanks, thats good to hear, i want to get em going early but didn't want to buy something they wouldn't be ready for and have to stare at it a few years before they were
 
I seen a Mini Z on here before that was done up in all blue and had custom SRX graphics on it, so if you get a 120 it may be a cool idea to make it into a 120 SRX
 
staggs65 said:
any guys that have sleds for their kids, how old did you start them out. my daughters 5 and my sons 4 and they've been riding a suzuki 50 atv for 2 seasons now. thought about getting a sled but i dont know if they could physically turn one yet. is a kitty cat easier for a younger rider than a 120? i know a 120 is more engine than they need yet, but there must be a throttle stop. any insight would be appreciated
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We started Johnny Jr. at roughly 3-1/2 ( Christmas - I dragged it into the house and under the tree) and got him an ATV for his 4th birthday in May.

He's about the smallest little guy in his Kindergarden class and had no problem controlling the kitty-cat. He hasn't out-grown it yet size wise but he's wanting some longer legs - "this thing is too slow dad". I was pulling him around behind my SRX towards the end of last season.

Picked up a used PW80 that needs some work for his Christmas present this year and I'm stoked to get started cleaning it up but will roll it in as received Christmas morning. He's taken a real interest in helping dad "make 'em go fast".

Here's the little budger:
 

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Initially, I was going to go the mini-120 route but then was concerned that the kids would out grow it within a couple of season. So instead, I found a Sno Scoot (90cc) which was small enough for him to ride at age 4 but yet big enough for it to last more than a few seasons. Unfortunately, there's not much height in our family so he too is smaller than other kids his age but the Scoot has been great for him. Even I could ride the Scoot and when we first got it, I would double with my son. There was a time we were busting drifts and I could literally hear him laugh through his helmet as we were going through the drifts. With it being a 2-stroke 90cc, I was concerned with it having too much power at first but I was able to govern it by putting slack in the throttle cable. As he gain more experience with it, I would give him more throttle. I also added plastic ski skins so it would be easier to turn with those old metal skis. Now at age 10, he's riding a Phazer 500 and has the throttle discipline to respect that much power and can easily handle the sled.
 

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Christmas - I dragged it into the house and under the tree
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thats great, i was thinkin of that too. don't know if the wife would like it though
So instead, I found a Sno Scoot (90cc)
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thats a good thought too, they're just hard to come by around here, the ones i have seen i could by another srx for what theyre asking
 
RobX-1 said:
snip - There was a time we were busting drifts and I could literally hear him laugh through his helmet as we were going through the drifts. - snip


Awesome! I was hearing the same thing this summer when jr. was on his ATV.

"woo-hoo, yeah baby"!

It spit him off a couple times until I showed him to lean the correct way... Now he's doing naknaks.

Can't wait to get him on his, new to him, Yamaha two wheeler.
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My step son was on my ol '73 kittykat at age 5. By age 6 I moved him into a '76 GS300 that I paid $300 for. I removed the front set of boggies and adjusted the throttle pull so he could only run 1/2 throttle. He is now 13 yrs old and still like to beat on the ol GS. All my nieces and nephews from 6-9 fight over who drives the "big kids" snowmobile and the kitty kat now sits idle.

Best $300 investment in a sled I've made
 
staggs65 said:
thats great, i was thinkin of that too. don't know if the wife would like it though

thats a good thought too, they're just hard to come by around here, the ones i have seen i could by another srx for what theyre asking
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LOL - Once I told her I'd drain the fuel out before dragging it in, she was as excited as I was for Christmas morning.

I hadn't given the sno-scoot any thought and we too don't see many around here either... but if I could have found one, I think it'd be the way to go. I think you'd get more years out of it. Junior's already whinning his kitty is too slow.

...and the kitty cats hold thier value pretty well too so I don't think you'll find anyone giving them away but near as I can tell they're still much cheaper than the few scoots I've seen for sale.

Another thought is that the kitty cat is a bit of a turd in any kind of fresh snow. I break trail with my sled and then he can get around the yard on the kitty without too much trouble. Off trail, forgetaboutit.

Good luck Jeff.
 
My son is about to turn 9 and he's been riding a 2002 Indy Lite 340 for the last 3 years. He came off a 70cc quad about that time and now has a TTR-110 for summer riding. I picked up the Indy in '05 for $2200 and was a new left-over. They can be found cheaper used, and it's newer tech, electric and recoil start, hand warmers, easy to work on and get parts for. The little 120's may be fun for a season, but the kids will find the limits real quick and probably won't be happy for long.

On a different note, there's a US company building a modern 4-stroke sled in 200cc and 300cc that's a little bigger than the Scoot and a little smaller than an Indy 340. Check them out:
http://premierrpc.com/Premier_home_page.php
 
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first sled

i bought my son a kitty kat for his first sled. had to buy it new because i couldn't find a clean used one but didn't lose much money when i sold it 3 years later. picked up a 20 year old 250 enticer to replace it and he rode that all over the u.p. with us. the lessons he learned on those little sleds and the time we spent together were invaluable.
 
things to consider with the 120's, from the voice of experience. great starter tool, especially if you have other kids to hand it down to. trail rides are out of the question. speed factor at 8mph is not condusive to following mom and dad, even after bypassing the governor and a few other mods and rolling at 15+ mph. then theres the undersized fuel tank. great for around the yard or acreage, if you lay down a good path first. kids grow out of the capability of these sleds in a hurry. figure about a 50% loss on resale.
 
good points snowdad4, for some reason i was thinking they were more capable, but obviously not, my kids are too young to go out on the trails for a few years, the trails are too tight in the area and people go too fast for them, (ive been guilty of it myself) but too dangerous for them
 
Mtn-Track said:
My son is about to turn 9 and he's been riding a 2002 Indy Lite 340 for the last 3 years. He came off a 70cc quad about that time and now has a TTR-110 for summer riding. I picked up the Indy in '05 for $2200 and was a new left-over. They can be found cheaper used, and it's newer tech, electric and recoil start, hand warmers, easy to work on and get parts for. The little 120's may be fun for a season, but the kids will find the limits real quick and probably won't be happy for long.

On a different note, there's a US company building a modern 4-stroke sled in 200cc and 300cc that's a little bigger than the Scoot and a little smaller than an Indy 340. Check them out:
http://premierrpc.com/Premier_home_page.php
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I looked at the link and I think I saw a couple of them at the Novi show this year or something similar. I had forgotten about them but they might be an alternative. Got to sit on them and one thing I can remember was how light they were. Good call on the Indy lite too.
 
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