Chinese Quad bikes

[LandyAndy]

Had a mate bring one around today to weld the chassis up.(Albi on here,lives in town drives a TD5 130)
Its a 110cc kids quad,honda copy motor.
Only get one if your kids are small and you intend throwing it away later.NOT SUITABLE FOR TEENAGERS OR BIG KIDZ(read DADZ)
The chassis is unblievably thin,and obviously very poor quality steel.Not alot of our good Pilbara iron ore,melted down exported HOLDEN carbodies I suspect.:D:D:D:D
Fixed it up and gusseted so it shouldnt snap again.Also had to weld the muffler back onto the exhaust off another,it was marginally thicker than a beer can!!!.There is a real mix of bolt sizes,like metric/imperial and combination on the same nut.I kid you not depending which pair of flats you pick the spanner is too big ,too small or just right:eek::eek::eek:
Albi bought 3 for the kids to ride around their hobby block.Reckons the kids have got the moneys worth out of them,the quality is just real poor.He got the 3 for much less than the cost of 1 good quality bike,and no arguments as to whos turn it is:cool::cool::cool::cool:
He did mention the wiring on one machine faild costing him $200 for a re-wire.
Great entertainment for the kids,just a throw away item unlike the old Honda minibikes that are still going today,passed on from generation to generation.
Andrew

[BMKal]

It's not just the Chinese that have these quality issues.

At the new office that I've just moved into in Fremantle, all of the office furniture was imported in from Malaysia. They even had a team of Malays from the factory fly in to assemble it all. It looks very trendy and modern, but you wouldn't want to lean on any of it. We're already seeing cracked armrests on some of the office chairs, and it's only 3 weeks old.

I'm just glad that they new company cars that we're getting are not Protons. I'm getting a Holden Astra hatch (don't know if that's much better, but they wouldn't let me have a Landrover).

[Andrewpv01]

I have a few of the bikes and seem to spend more time fixing them than the kids are riding them.

They don't seem to use spring washers so EVERYTHING comes loose.

The batteries in them don't last long so expect to use a jump starter on them.

The upside is as above - no fights over whose turn it is. When they go properly the kids love em.

Andrew

[Captain_Rightfoot]

A friend has two of them and they have been good so far. There have been some BIG people riding them too. I guess it depends on which little factory they come from...

[LandyAndy]

Hi Andrew
That was another 2 things pointed out.The 3 batteries were all duds,needed replacing from new.
And everything coming loose constantly.I couldnt belive the play in both the play in the threads on the rear axle nuts and the axle splines.
These bikes were xmas presents 5 months ago,the kids arent exactly what you would call BIG or brave enough yet to punish the bikes like kids can.
Andrew

[HangOver]

Hi Andy
I bought one of those cheapies a few years ago and kept if for about a year. Bang for buck it was fantastic and I really did give it hell, poor little quad, but as you say build quality was suspect.

IMO if you buy one chage ALL the bolts for good HT's with spring washers or nylock's and buy a good quality chain and change it before you even use the quad. Do the above and it should be right.

I sold it after a year,( excluding the chain n bolts etc) I lost about $200. ;)

After saying that I would would not go any further on the quad than I would be prepared to walk back if it died.

[CraigE]

They are not bad for the money, but dont expect them to last as long as a dearer name brand. We have a 250cc buggy that is great and you could not build for the price. Great fun, parts are cheap. You do need to know hoe to carry out repairs on these things and expect higher maintenance, but we are LR owners so are used to that anyway.
My nephews 110cc cracked the frame but some minor welding and gusseting fixed that.
We have an Eton 90cc quad and that has been great over the last 6 or so years and not missed a beat with kids and adults. Their service backup leaves a bit to be desired since we lost the Kalg and Esperance dealers. Trying to arrange to buy parts from the distributor is nothing short of a joke. Ended up getting aftermarket bits.
Next time will stay a bit more mainstream (even though Eton are one of the biggest atv manufacturers in the world, thre is little support here) will go Yamaha, Polaris etc. Dearer to buy and dearer to get parts but dealers everywhere.

[Fusion]

I'm wanting to get a quad for the kids . The one i am looking at is a 110 for $850. says it can handle up to 90kg's . Just hoping it is better quality than the cheaper ones :(.

[Bushwanderer]

I'm probably teaching my grandmother to suck eggs, but anyway:

Quad bikes are inherently dangerous, they have no protection.

A farmer on the South Coast of NSW, rolled one while he had his son riding with him. The son died (how would you like to have to live with that). :eek:

Further, my (bulletproof) nephew was riding one when it rolled. Broken leg, pins & ongoing problems. :(

They are NOT a toy.

[Fusion]

I'm probably teaching my grandmother to suck eggs, but anyway:

Quad bikes are inherently dangerous, they have no protection.

A farmer on the South Coast of NSW, rolled one while he had his son riding with him. The son died (how would you like to have to live with that). :eek:

Further, my (bulletproof) nephew was riding one when it rolled. Broken leg, pins & ongoing problems. :(

They are NOT a toy.

I have been riding motorbikes 2 and 4 wheelers from the age of 5 and still yet to break something ( come close a few times ). With all the right safety gear on and someone teaching you how to ride properly it should eliminate a lot of the silly accidents that happen ...... But in saying that you will crash it will hurt and you will get back on and do it all again . Most offroad bike stacks are caused by the person not knowing the bike or showing off in front of others . What people forget is you have to ride to your limit not the bikes limit

And lets face it everything we do these days has a risk to it ...football, cricket , swimming and running can be just as dangerous as motorbike riding .

And i have always treated my bikes as toy's cos geez they are a lot of fun :D;).

[Bushwanderer]

I have been riding motorbikes 2 and 4 wheelers from the age of 5 and still yet to break something ( come close a few times ). With all the right safety gear on and someone teaching you how to ride properly it should eliminate a lot of the silly accidents that happen ...... But in saying that you will crash it will hurt and you will get back on and do it all again . Most offroad bike stacks are caused by the person not knowing the bike or showing off in front of others . What people forget is you have to ride to your limit not the bikes limit

And lets face it everything we do these days has a risk to it ...football, cricket , swimming and running can be just as dangerous as motorbike riding .

And i have always treated my bikes as toy's cos geez they are a lot of fun :D;).

Hi wannalandy (you must change that name now ;)),

Essentially, I agree with you. The danger seems to be that many people seem to consider the quad as safe (because it has 4 wheels?). With 2 wheels, one tends to use safety gear & can "drop" the bike. With 4 wheels, one can't.

[Fusion]

Hi wannalandy (you must change that name now ;)),

Essentially, I agree with you. The danger seems to be that many people seem to consider the quad as safe (because it has 4 wheels?). With 2 wheels, one tends to use safety gear & can "drop" the bike. With 4 wheels, one can't.

Mate i agree with that as well . I have found that working on farms and racing bikes that on a 4 wheeler it's the farmer side of thing is where most accidents happen. I have never seen a person without a helmet or boots in the bush or track . Some more education needs to be given to farmers and the kids on the farms also .

[stone]

To think 4years a go i got a polaris efi 700 turbo . it has done 2500 hrs i've had to replace 2 drive belts ,2 spark plugs 3 sets of tyers , high beam light, 1 set of injectors & fuel & oil filter X 25 & it is still as good as the day we got it . the old honda trex300 after 5000 hrs is still going all she needs is a bit of TLC to get it going of an AM . the boys turned up with a (chinise) 4X4 we had it ni the hills on the Abercrombie near to where we live in the end the only thing good about it was the winch (clutch burnt out , drive to the back snaped , tyers* 2ply falts X4 . I think you under stand now .The Polaris & honda draged it back ho what a day

[CraigE]

I'm probably teaching my grandmother to suck eggs, but anyway:

Quad bikes are inherently dangerous, they have no protection.

A farmer on the South Coast of NSW, rolled one while he had his son riding with him. The son died (how would you like to have to live with that). :eek:

Further, my (bulletproof) nephew was riding one when it rolled. Broken leg, pins & ongoing problems. :(

They are NOT a toy.
Quads are no more inherently dangerous than any other motorbike, atv, buggy, abseiling, rock climbing, mountain biking or just walking across a road etc. Most people just do not know how to ride them or leave kids unsupervised. I have been riding bikes, 3 wheelers, atvs for 30 years with no serious injury.
How many kids have had broken legs from playing sport, riding pushbikes and in car accidents with so called maximum protection.
I do agree they are not a toy and need supervison and respect for new riders.
Yes you can get hurt and die (not common though) but so is the case with so many passtimes including life itself. It amazes me how many people treat motorbike and atv riders with disdain when they get hurt but have the upmost sympathy for a similarly injured netball player or car accident casualty.:o

[Jamo]

I have been riding bikes, 3 wheelers, atvs for 30 years with no serious injury.

That's 'cause you always land on your head!
:Rolling::Rolling::Rolling:

[Brick]

Quads are no more inherently dangerous than any other motorbike, atv, buggy, abseiling, rock climbing, mountain biking or just walking across a road etc. Most people just do not know how to ride them or leave kids unsupervised. I have been riding bikes, 3 wheelers, atvs for 30 years with no serious injury.

I can only agree to a point. Having raced both (and come off both including a quad rollover at speed while racing) a quad is much susceptable to rolling particularly if only one of the front wheels hit something, eg a rock, IMHO. Once a quad goes over, it will start to follow the rider. A 2 wheeler will just compress the suspension and with luck continue on its merry way. If a 2 wheeler does go over it tends to (but not in all cases) just lie on its side. However most definitely agee with your comments on supervision.

Have also just today picked up a couple of Leatt Braces for myself and my son. Cheap insurance for a bit of added protection. Scares me when I see people out riding with woefully insufficient personal protection equipment.

Cheers

[Brick]

If you are really interested about Chinease quads, the ATV Action magazine has has a few interesting articles over more recent times. There is a good one in the current issue, and does show that not all are poor quality.

[CraigE]

I can only agree to a point. Having raced both (and come off both including a quad rollover at speed while racing) a quad is much susceptable to rolling particularly if only one of the front wheels hit something, eg a rock, IMHO. Once a quad goes over, it will start to follow the rider. A 2 wheeler will just compress the suspension and with luck continue on its merry way. If a 2 wheeler does go over it tends to (but not in all cases) just lie on its side. However most definitely agee with your comments on supervision.

Have also just today picked up a couple of Leatt Braces for myself and my son. Cheap insurance for a bit of added protection. Scares me when I see people out riding with woefully insufficient personal protection equipment.

Cheers
What about the old 3 wheelers?:p Have come off them a few times, now they are more dangerous than quads. Design dictates that if you do flip a quad with it being heavier and bigger injuries are more likely, but they are not inherently more dangerous. the majority of quad bike fatalities are farmers riding big heavy overloaded quads and usually no helmets and head on crashes. It is a fair slice of the offroad market now and I do not personally know of anyone killed on a quad bike, but personally know of 12 plus on dirt bikes.
There are risks with everything we do, we just need to decide in ourself wether they are acceptable risks.

[CraigE]

That's 'cause you always land on your head!
:Rolling::Rolling::Rolling:
Is that not the right way to land?????
:eek2::eek2::burnrubber:

[Fusion]

This is not a bikes fault but it happened while a girl was riding a quad to get the cows in of the morning ( 5am ) . She had gone out to get the cows and was slowly getting them out of the paddock when she seen she had missed one . So she raced over to get this cow not realizing this cow had been on the other side of the fence . Next thing she had gone through the fence and the top wire ripped her off the bike . she got up to see the bike wrapped up in the fence with a rag hanging on the top wire ....... with closer inspection it was a huge piece of skin . the top wire had taken a good few layers of skin off her neck from the collar bones to her chin ....... very lucky girl not to be dead or disabled from such a scary accident :eek: .... she has a scar now but is 100% fine .... very lucky indeed .

[CraigE]

This is not a bikes fault but it happened while a girl was riding a quad to get the cows in of the morning ( 5am ) . She had gone out to get the cows and was slowly getting them out of the paddock when she seen she had missed one . So she raced over to get this cow not realizing this cow had been on the other side of the fence . Next thing she had gone through the fence and the top wire ripped her off the bike . she got up to see the bike wrapped up in the fence with a rag hanging on the top wire ....... with closer inspection it was a huge piece of skin . the top wire had taken a good few layers of skin off her neck from the collar bones to her chin ....... very lucky girl not to be dead or disabled from such a scary accident :eek: .... she has a scar now but is 100% fine .... very lucky indeed .

Oww. Not nice. Wire fences the bain of all bike riders of any sort. Have heard a few of these. There was a young boy killed on a quad her in WA a few years ago riding unsupervised.
:(

[Brick]

What about the old 3 wheelers?:p Have come off them a few times, now they are more dangerous than quads.

Which is why they are no longer made. Manufacturers decided to stop making them before just before they were going to be legislated against in the US.

I think we all have read or heard of stories of people being seriously injured or killed from a temporary lapse in judgement.

[mcrover]

I'm probably teaching my grandmother to suck eggs, but anyway:

Quad bikes are inherently dangerous, they have no protection.

A farmer on the South Coast of NSW, rolled one while he had his son riding with him. The son died (how would you like to have to live with that). :eek:

Further, my (bulletproof) nephew was riding one when it rolled. Broken leg, pins & ongoing problems. :(

They are NOT a toy.

There is idiots everywhere and nothing in life is really safe.

A 2 wheeled motor bike is no safer than a 3 or 4 wheeler, they just has to be rien differently from each other and a motor bike of any type is no safer or worse than riding a horse and in some situations riding a horse or motorbike can be safer than walking.

Always a shame when someone gets hurt or dies from doing a recreational sport but these things are exactly that, a recreational TOY.

Both my kids have motor bikes and my son (11yo) has been riding since he was 6yo and my daughter (6yo) since she was 3yo, both attend mini bike club meets on a purpose built motor bike track on our family farm to learn how to ride safely.

They are a toy and thats what they have always been intended to be but it is up to us as parents, relatives or freinds to make sure people ride them safely and responsibly.........thats all.

By the way, my kids ride good quality Yamaha PW 50 and TTR 90 and the only thing I have needed to do has been to fit a new brake handle to the 90 because the boy dropped it.

The reason that I prefer them to ride 2 wheelers is to give them balance more than anything, kids tend to lean outward on 4 wheelers when they are learning and if going quick can easilly tip them so if they only have a 2 wheeler to ride then they have to learn to lean in to go around a corner and then if they go onto a 4 wheeler later they will turn safely.

It's not the fault of the bike if the rider doesnt ride it properly.

[stage1slave]

[quote=CraigE;758190]What about the old 3 wheelers?:p Have come off them a few times.


Yeh, so have I. Dangerous alright. Good fun but, so much so that i am about to do a full retso on our old atc 90. Seems they are quite collectable now. A lot cheaper to fix and will take up much less space in the garden, than the landies.
Has anyone got an '75 onwards model honda 90 atc for wrecking?

cheers
ER

[Fusion]

Would have to say tractors are more dangerous than motorbikes but you don't see people up in arms trying to stop people from driving them :o;).

And at the moment the drought is killing more farmers than machinery :( . A lot of farmers are taking their own life with all the pressures of the drought :( . It's a sad thing and hopefully things improve soon :).

[D-Fender]

Hey everyone, ive got a 200cc chinese quad with a 'shineray' engine, i havent had that many problems with the body, just the engine.bit of fun tho, belting through the bush on it,-when i can get it to start tho.

The only time i have ever had any accidents on it was when i was pushing it (engine switched off) down the road to a paddock where i used to ride sometimes and i would push the quad while running beside it (on the left side of it) and then jump onto the foot peg, so i could stand on it while it rolls along the ground, then i jumped onto the peg but instead of landing on the peg only, my foot also hit the gear lever and it went from Neutral into First gear and the quad stopped and i went flying over the handlebars and hit the ground about 3 meters in front of the bike and i rolled along the ground for about another six meters. lucky for me i was wearing my helmet because when i push the quad the helmet falls off the seat so i was wearing it,, now my helmet is covered in scratches from the amount of times i hit my head on the concrete.

Cheers
Andy.