[tbucket]

Hey all,,,I'm looking at getting my boy and my self into atving, and was wondering about the minimum ATV age is in Texas,,all ATV's are tagged 12 and under max cc is 50,,,is that a law or a suggestion,,,my boy is 7 and I'm not looking to trow him onto any thing big and get him hurt, but the 50's are all most to small for him now, I don't want him to out grow it in a year so I was looking at a Polaris predator 90,,,Any info or tips would be great-fully appreciated.

 

[Shifted]

Working at a shop, I can tell you the age limits are more than just a "suggestion". It's the FEDERAL law. Most dealerships don't pay too much attention to it, but larger ones like ours get phone calls and fake walk-ins from the government all the time to make sure we're not cheating.

Weird thing is, they could care less what size dirtbike you buy em! Anyway, law says 50cc is the limit til he reaches 12. Then he can bump to 90cc until he's 16... It's bunk, but it's the law. If you go used, you can get whatever size you want FYI.

IMO, the most important thing is parenting. If you do your job as a teacher, and supervisor, the kid can start out on whatever. If you're looking for larger body 50's, check out the Yamaha Raptor 50 as well. Good luck. Remember, the only reason the government stepped in on this was because parents were irresponsible... don't add to the statistic!

 

[KSmotoXrider15]

my main question is, how the hell do they expect someone who is 5'10-11, and 175-180 pounds to ride a friggin 90???? my knees hit the bars on a 90. i am 15 and i ride a 400ex. i dont really care what the law states, i know my limitations, and know what im doing on it. i dont think it should matter as far as age goes, they need to look at body size, and ability.

i know numerous people who are in their 20's, and never ridden an ATV in their life, and they end up in the hospital because they dont know what they are doing. and then you have 14-15 year olds who can ride the thing like they were pro racers.

 

[wildchild]

check your states dnr site for state laws governing atv size.
here in wis it is up to 12 can ride a 50 or 90cc machine. after 12 it's whatever size you think they can handle.
i made my son ride a bike until he was 12 now he has a blaster. great machine, plus he got to learn how to ride cycles first.
if a shop gives you a problem buying it tell them it's for you, or go somewhere else.

 

[wildchild]

looks like you're gettin a fiddy. here is a link i found.
the raptor 50 is pretty sweet looking, but i know what you mean about the power.

http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/msb/atv.htm

 

[tbucket]

Thanks for the link Wildchild, i Guess I could get him a 90 and redecal it with 50 decals,,,lol,,but at least the fine is at max 200,,,but on the seriouse side--better safe than sorry,,I'll get him a 50,,,the polaris looks like it will fit him for a few years.

 

[wildchild]

being that he is 7 he should be pretty happy with the 50 for awhile. the hard part is trying to ride with them on the small bikes.
i think if you go with the suzuki you can do some hop ups as he gets better. i know you can bump the power on the 80 zuki, and think the 50 as well. may be worth looking into.
watch the redecalling, the wardens know their stuff pretty well when it comes to what bikes are acceptable
have fun with it.

 

[JBTX]

Please keep in mind the TX law that was linked applies to ATVs ridden on PUBLIC property. There really is no public property that allow ATVs in the Austin area. The only public area is the motorcycle trails at Emma Long Park, and ATVs are not allowed (nor could they make it around the trail). All of the motocross tracks are on totally private property. You sign a release, pay a usage fee, and ride... As for buying it, just don't bring him with you.

 

[yamahagurl450]

ALot of tracks in the Houston area are becoming ATV friendly on diffrent days. If he plans on racing there will be age limit for diffrent classes. I know one kid who is 15 and is racing in the pro class, but has a false birth cert etc..
Good Luck & most of all have fun!

 

[1angel91]

So these laws apply in every state then? My son will be 11 next month and we've been talking about getting him a kx85, I had down at the shop with me, and he is as tall as I am already, I can't see him on a 50cc....I'm in Washington, does anyone know what the laws are here?

 

[wildchild]

1angel, the laws are different in every state, but mostly on dirtbikes there are no restrictions. the laws usually only apply to quads.
unsure of other states but here it is because quads must be registered and therefore tracked as far as incidents, dirtbikes on the other hand are unregistered.

 

[Krabill]

Yeah, what wildchild said. You're looking at a dirtbike, not a quad. Dirtbikes don't have any restrictions except for some common sense

 

[1angel91]

Thanks guys, I just assumed dirtbikes/quads would have had the same guidelines. Learn something new every day