Posted: 10/31/2024 3:33:08 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Earax][Edited]
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Just purchased 2 Chinese made 125cc Apollo ATVs for my 2 kids. Can't talk me out of it, it's done. What am I in for? They arrive in 3+ weeks assembled. Got both + shipping and assembly for $2700.  I have a 1986 Yamaha 110 quad that I got when I was 7 back around 1990. I've kept it running, rebuilt it a few times and the kids still ride it. It has no suspension and we ride is extremely rocky terrain. That little thing will beat the piss out of you. My brother bought a Yamaha 80, I think, and my kids hate it. Very slow. Kids are 8 and 10 and figured if I can get 4-6 years out of these with some upgrades and regular maintenance I'll be come out ahead. I'll plan on selling them for $500 each when the kids move up to our current fleet of full size Polaris ATVs. Already planning to upgrade front suspension, change gearing, swap the chain and add rear wheel spacers. Anyone have insults to hurl my way, things to keep an eye on or other parts to upgrade out of the crate? |
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Originally Posted By Urimaginaryfrnd: My kids were good a flipping them. I like dirt bikes better. |
Award: 24/365 Most likely to be an appendix.
"Arfcom makes me happy. Arfcom is like a giant, heavily armed, dysfunctional family that smells like cheetos and gun oil." - Undefined
"Arfcom makes me happy. Arfcom is like a giant, heavily armed, dysfunctional family that smells like cheetos and gun oil." - Undefined
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When you get them, check ALL bolts and nuts for tightness. I would pull the A arms and install grease zerks. I’m sure you know this but make the kids wear protective gear. ATV injuries are almost always caused by the stupid actions of the rider. Control yourself on an ATV and you’ll rarely be injured. Kids suck at self control. Sounds like fun. They aren’t the highest quality but for small kids they can be a lot of fun! |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
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Originally Posted By ColtRifle: When you get them, check ALL bolts and nuts for tightness. I would pull the A arms and install grease zerks. I'm sure you know this but make the kids wear protective gear. ATV injuries are almost always caused by the stupid actions of the rider. Control yourself on an ATV and you'll rarely be injured. Kids suck at self control. Sounds like fun. They aren't the highest quality but for small kids they can be a lot of fun! If the kids get on them an just scoot around the property, gravel roads and easier trails, they'll probably love them. If they are jumping, pulling wheelies, 2 wheels, climbing or descending large rocks and crap, good chance they'll break stuff including the frame and a-arms. |
LARUEMINATI
NRA Endowment Life Member
Originally Posted By Boom_Stick:
""AKs are for villagers you have to tell not to shit in their water supply.""
NRA Endowment Life Member
Originally Posted By Boom_Stick:
""AKs are for villagers you have to tell not to shit in their water supply.""
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Originally Posted By Earax: Just purchased 2 Chinese made 125cc Apollo ATVs for my 2 kids. Can't talk me out of it, it's done. What am I in for? They arrive in 3+ weeks assembled. Got both + shipping and assembly for $2700. https://pioneerpowersports.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/APOLLO-BLAZER9-125CC-ATV-2__19410__88953.1568619501.jpg I have a 1986 Yamaha 110 quad that I got when I was 7 back around 1990. I've kept it running, rebuilt it a few times and the kids still ride it. It has no suspension and we ride is extremely rocky terrain. That little thing will beat the piss out of you. My brother bought a Yamaha 80, I think, and my kids hate it. Very slow. Kids are 8 and 10 and figured if I can get 4-6 years out of these with some upgrades and regular maintenance I'll be come out ahead. I'll plan on selling them for $500 each when the kids move up to our current fleet of full size Polaris ATVs. Already planning to upgrade front suspension, change gearing, swap the chain and add rear wheel spacers. Anyone have insults to hurl my way, things to keep an eye on or other parts to upgrade out of the crate? Now when you need to get rid of them, resale is likely to be terrible. If you're able to still get parts to keep them running. |
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I buy mostly Chinese dirt bikes for my work in Madagascar these days. Hondas and yamahas cost 3x as much and all the parts out here are Chinese anyway so after they get broken they get fixed with Chinese parts. So all our japanese bikes are half Chinese at this point anyway. The Chinese bikes do come with stuff unscrewed or not tightly assembled. The speedometer cable wasn't correctly attached in my most recent purchase for example. I think the Chinese parts are lower quality and more susceptible to damage. I'm not sure a Honda's wheel would have done this, but my guys are super tough on everything so who knows. Attached File |
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If they are cloned from a big brand you can get parts. If not you are SOL unless you have mad skillz and angry toolz. I'm guessing you don't. Liffen copied Honda so well they got a C&D letter and most of the liffens stuff worth buying are not allowed imported to the USA anymore due to a agreement between honda and who ever does import embargos here in the USA. There are some clone chyna bikes walmart sells that honda parts bolt right onto. I have no idea with those things that you purchased though. You would need to check that out and probably would have been a good idea to do that before purchasing. |
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Originally Posted By slowr1der: Putting aside the quality and parts availability, you think your 14-16 year old kids are going to still be riding a 125cc atv? You're delusional. I got a 100cc dirtbike when I was 10 and I'd very much outgrown it by the time I was 12. I jumped up to a 400 when I was 14 and a CR500 when I was 16-17. There is no way a 14 or 16 year old is going to want to ride a 125cc quad if they are interested in riding at all. Now when you need to get rid of them, resale is likely to be terrible. If you're able to still get parts to keep them running. My 15 yr old grandson rides my Arctic Cat 150 all the time. So does my wife. And they enjoy it. The point is to have fun not ride the perfect machine. |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
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Originally Posted By ColtRifle: My 15 yr old grandson rides my Arctic Cat 150 all the time. So does my wife. And they enjoy it. The point is to have fun not ride the perfect machine. Going over to Grandpa's house and hopping on a small atv because you're looking for something to do is a lot different situation that having your own that you ride on a regular basis. Especially if you're riding with friends, others, etc. I grew up around a lot of friends that rode both dirt bikes and Atv's on a daily basis. None of them would have been happy on a 125. |
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Originally Posted By slowr1der: Going over to Grandpa's house and hopping on a small atv because you're looking for something to do is a lot different situation that having your own that you ride on a regular basis. Especially if you're riding with friends, others, etc. I grew up around a lot of friends that rode both dirt bikes and Atv's on a daily basis. None of them would have been happy on a 125. I guess they can ride nothing then. Maybe that'll make them happy. |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
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Originally Posted By slowr1der: Putting aside the quality and parts availability, you think your 14-16 year old kids are going to still be riding a 125cc atv? You're delusional. I got a 100cc dirtbike when I was 10 and I'd very much outgrown it by the time I was 12. I jumped up to a 400 when I was 14 and a CR500 when I was 16-17. There is no way a 14 or 16 year old is going to want to ride a 125cc quad if they are interested in riding at all. Now when you need to get rid of them, resale is likely to be terrible. If you're able to still get parts to keep them running. My kids are 8 and 10. I said that in the OP. I don't expect to get more than 5 years out of them. That puts my youngest at 13. We have 4 full sized quads already. 2 x Polaris 800, a Polaris 250, and a Honda 350 (that's 40 years old but always starts). I need something to bridge the gap between the 80cc and 110cc Yamahas and the 800cc Polaris. I honestly don't care about the resale value at all. If I off load them in 3-4 years for $300 each, whatever. What I didn't want to do was buy 2 Japanese brand ATVs for $3k each only for them to be used for 3 years. My brother picked up that Yamaha 80cc for 3k about 2 years ago a now the kids don't want to ride it because its too slow. |
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I had a used Tao Tao 125 much like that one. Parts sourced from a few different online places. Easy to work on. The chain tensioner was wonky and would ocassionaly come off the sprocket. There are videos on how to diassemble the carbureter for tuning. I was able to ride it and a Hensim 49cc bike if I wanted to. They were fun. |
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If I cant afford a new japanese machine, I'll buy used. I've got a 2001 Honda dirt bike I bought for $700, we beat the crap out of it, riding it every weekend. It's as reliable as a tractor, I've only had to change the spark plug and oil this year. We've got a half dozen older japanese bikes in the family. They are all super reliable and were very affordable. I've also got a Honda Rancher 4x4 that I bought new from the dealership, that's been a great machine, but 10x the price of a used ATV. See if you can get a refund on the china bikes. They have a terrible reputation online, and when talking with people at the MX and offroad parks we frequent. |
| Do they have a Honda clone engine? Regardless they will probably do reasonably well if they are maintained and not abused. Hope you kids enjoy them. |
If you think I am sexy now just wait until you find out I have full medical and dental.
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Personal pronouns are kiushgvlakjbnoiuvb/nxunefu ewdf/lkujghfoiuanxy;ople
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Attached File Bought this yamaha brand new Friday for my daughter for Christmas. $3800 otd assembled with warranty and being jap made it will last longer than us. Her age and size she should be able to get 5 years out of it before she grows out of it. When she does I’ll sell it off and get her a new one. |
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The distributor that assembled these ATVs for me 2 left out cotter pins in the front steering resulting in a castle nut coming lose after about 4 hours of trail riding. Front tie rod fell out, threads are destroyed. Luckily we were going about 5 mph when it happened and my kid didn't get hurt. Company is non responsive so Ill need to repair myself, but it should be pretty easy and cheap. Had both new batteries shit the bed before even riding the things. The Jetski styled kill switches are a pain in the ass. I removed one of them. The connectors are NOT water proof. We went light mudding in the rain on Christmas day and had a blast. We washed them off after getting back. Well water got into some of the electrical connectors, a lot of water. It grounded out the electrical system and the spark plug wouldn't spark. Took me hours to figure out what happened resulting in me breaking down a significant portion of the ATVs fairings which involved removing the handle bars. Blew out all the electrical connections and its started back up. A battery tender is absolutely essential on these. You MUST have one. Even with the issues I have had I would still buy them again. If you plan on going the same route I did you need to be handy. If you hire a handy man to install ceiling fans and don't know how to change your own oil these aren't for you. |
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The 10yr old will out grow it fast. While I bought my kids a Recon 250 and an Outlaw 110, yeah I'm not brand dependent. Those quads you purchased will be enjoyed by your kids! And that's all that matters. Edit to add after reading your last post: You have to go over everything! Tighten bolts, screws, zip-tie wires up out of the way, etc. |
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Originally Posted By Earax: The distributor that assembled these ATVs for me 2 left out cotter pins in the front steering resulting in a castle nut coming lose after about 4 hours of trail riding. Front tie rod fell out, threads are destroyed. Luckily we were going about 5 mph when it happened and my kid didn't get hurt. Company is non responsive so Ill need to repair myself, but it should be pretty easy and cheap. Had both new batteries shit the bed before even riding the things. The Jetski styled kill switches are a pain in the ass. I removed one of them. The connectors are NOT water proof. We went light mudding in the rain on Christmas day and had a blast. We washed them off after getting back. Well water got into some of the electrical connectors, a lot of water. It grounded out the electrical system and the spark plug wouldn't spark. Took me hours to figure out what happened resulting in me breaking down a significant portion of the ATVs fairings which involved removing the handle bars. Blew out all the electrical connections and its started back up. A battery tender is absolutely essential on these. You MUST have one. Even with the issues I have had I would still buy them again. If you plan on going the same route I did you need to be handy. If you hire a handy man to install ceiling fans and don't know how to change your own oil these aren't for you. If you buy them, always go over them carefully before you start using them to look for loose bolts, missing cotter pins etc. As you have found, connectors aren’t water tight. Some silicone on the connectors can help waterproof everything. Zip ties to make the wiring harness neat and protected are also a good idea Those are generic machines so there should actually be pretty good parts availability but you’ll have to figure out the specific manufacturer of your machine to find a parts supplier. In the case of my Arctic Cat 150, it’s made by Kymco so I order Kymco parts. They are usually much cheaper than the same Arctic Cat branded parts. It did require a little research. |
"It behooves every man to remember that the work of the critic is of altogether secondary importance, and that, in the end, progress is accomplished by the man who does things."
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
| Hopefully those are higher quality than these chinese quads I got off amazon for my kids a few years ago. Went through 3 clutches on each of them, and eventually, they just stopped making any power. They would only be able to propel themselves on flat grade or downhill. Both were the highest level pieces of shit I've ever encountered. |
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These seem decent so far. I changed the sprockets to give it more torque. They would have been useless on trails before the gear change. They would also be Soooooo much better with a manual transmission. One of them drains the battery for no reason so a battery tender is a must. |
