Anyone got any good safe(r) setups/seating for bringing along your small kids?

Specifically I've got a son who just turned 4 that I took out for the first time a few weekends ago while camping that absolutely loves to ride the 4-wheeler with me, literally for hours, but is too small for his own. Even when he get's older there's a lot of places I go that he couldn't go on his own.

Riding with him on the Warrior worked "ok", I put him on the gas tank between me and the handlebars. The Warrior has a thin support bar running between the grips that he holds on to.

http://198.237.72.28/atv/miles-warrior.jpg

For along time now the Warrior just hadn't been doing it for me, I needed something more utility minded for the ranch/home and riding with a passenger was difficult due to the clutch and high first gear. Luckily I was able to find a person with just the opposite needs as me so the Warrior has been traded off for a Yamaha Kodiak;

http://198.237.72.28/atv/Kodiak-1.jpg

The new dilemma with my son riding with me is the Kodiak doesn't have a support bar in the handle bars so there is really no where for him to hold on. I could just weld something in there, though I hate to do that.

When I ride with him we always go nice and slow but with the bumps and dips even going very slow he needs to be able to grab on to something.

I considered even strapping his car seat to the back rack but that just can't be safe and he's still too small to ride behind me and hold on. At least when he's sitting on the gas tank I can still hold on to him with one arm when need be.

We're also going to get him a full face helmet and chest protector, right now he's just using his bike helmet but I'd rather he have the full setup even as an occasional rider, accidents do happen.

Jordan

there really is no safe way to do that........


I rode with my son on the tank of a xr100 from the time he was 2 up till he had more fun on his own bike.....

Jordan,

Take this for what it's worth - it's your call and I'm the last one to want to tell you what to do with your own kids, so this is just a gut check for you.

As Kyron said, there's no safe way to do it - look at thepotholes in your first pic - they look hard to see yet big enough to send the kid for a real nasty tumble - especially if you're relying on the strength of a 4 year old to hold himself on or you're controlling the quad with only one hand.

At the very least he needs a full face helmet as you say.

And not for nothin' but in the first pic are the kids fingers inches away from a loaded firearm that's pointed in the direction of those other people?

If I was you, I'd get the lad a little Yamaha PW50 or the like and get him riding along - he'll have more fun and be way safer.

Jordan,

As Kyron said, there's no safe way to do it - look at thepotholes in your first pic - they look hard to see yet big enough to send the kid for a real nasty tumble - especially if you're relying on the strength of a 4 year old to hold himself on or you're controlling the quad with only one hand.



Yeah I do agree with you, there is a risk in this activity but I'm very careful and just putt around. Maybe I'm a little vain to riding 4 wheelers with kids because my parents always did it with us. Right around when i was 4 dad would put me on the front, my brother behind him and take us all over the same ranch on his Honda Big Red 3-wheeler... talk about a death trap. But, he always went slow and carefully.



At the very least he needs a full face helmet as you say.

And not for nothin' but in the first pic are the kids fingers inches away from a loaded firearm that's pointed in the direction of those other people?

If I was you, I'd get the lad a little Yamaha PW50 or the like and get him riding along - he'll have more fun and be way safer.

That is a 12 gauge pump on the front pointed towards the left, in their direction. The firearms safety nut in me doesn't like that setup but I always double-check a clear chamber and safety on when in that gun rack. I never carry a rifle or shotgun with a round in the chamber. Being a pump shotgun there would be no way it could be loaded and fired with-out taking the gun out of that rack.... but it still bugs me.

At this point putting him on his own 4-wheeler would be an inevitable accident. He doesn't even look where he's going most the time when he's driving his Power Wheels Jeep around the house until he runs into something.

I did come up with a plan to built a hoop he can hold on to. I'm going to bolt the base to the 4 bolts that hold the factory handle bar on. That way it's very sturdy and easy to remove later.

With a full-face helmet and a chest protector he should be pretty set I think. With the Kodiak he can also hang his legs straight down so I can also press them between my legs and the bike.

Thanks for all the input though, you can never be too safe but at the same time I won't be so anal as to not let him come along when he can. Also, if he rides with me more now, he'll be better off when it is time to put him on his own.

why not something like this?

YouTube - Stamatakis child seat for scooter motorcycles atv quad (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FLvNQeZCQE)

why not something like this?

YouTube - Stamatakis child seat for scooter motorcycles atv quad (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FLvNQeZCQE)

That's interesting. I still prefer him on the front at this point. I'm wondering of some kind of belt setup, where I just belt him right to myself. I have no idea how that would be done in a correct manor but it would work well.

That's interesting. I still prefer him on the front at this point. I'm wondering of some kind of belt setup, where I just belt him right to myself. I have no idea how that would be done in a correct manor but it would work well.

There is a company that makes a belt set up that straps the kid to the adult. Not sure who sells it or how safe it is.....do a search for it.

the Kodiak doesn't have a support bar in the handle bars so there is really no where for him to hold on. I could just weld something in there, though I hate to do that.
If it's a cross bar you want, then swap out the handlebars for a set that has one.

(No comment on the safety of your plan.)

If it's a cross bar you want, then swap out the handlebars for a set that has one.

(No comment on the safety of your plan.)

I thought about that but it might be better to give him something that actually fits his hands and uses grips. The factory bar uses four 3/8's bolts (or metric equiv.), I can build a plate that bolts to that and then weld a hoop or a some other type of handle bar. I've got a couple idea's to research on that.

I've found some harness's like what were mentioned, Sloth from the Goonies daughter looks pretty happy with it in this picture; Kid Karrier (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Kid-Karrier---ATV-%2f-Snowmobile-Child-Safety-Harness_W0QQitemZ330275526971QQcmdZViewItem)

Jordan,

Cool, I think you're on the right path.

I hear what you say about attention span (oh, to be a kid again!) - I should have been more specific - a PW50 is a little 2-wheel dirtbike. They're tiny - 19" seat height, and automatic. I like the 2-wheelers more for the kids because they HAVE to pay attention when riding them. The problem I find with quads is, because of their inherent balance, it lulls new riders into a false sense of security - they think they're safe and stable when they may not be, add an attention lapse, and suddenly the heavy quad is over and on top of them.

I'm biased too though - I like 2-wheel bikes.

Ultimately you are correct - there is risk in all of it, and we all have to make our own choices (and choices for our kids).

Good luck, have fun, be safe...and I always say I'd rather see my kid with a broken leg from crashing his dirtbike than turning into an anti-social Nintendo zombie!

I've found some harness's like what were mentioned, Sloth from the Goonies daughter looks pretty happy with it in this picture; Kid Karrier (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Kid-Karrier---ATV-%2f-Snowmobile-Child-Safety-Harness_W0QQitemZ330275526971QQcmdZViewItem)

That looks pretty neat.

I am looking pro-actively now at getting him his own bike, 4 or 2 wheel depending what I find used with a known brand name for a decent price. Even if he's too small right now, he won't be for long. We have a few acre's of open space around our house he could tear up.

What you say makes good sense about the motorcycle versus quad. If he starts out on a 2 wheeler then he'll understand what can happen and handle a 4-wheeler better maybe. But, he hasn't even rode a 2-wheel bike with training wheels yet because we only have gravel and grass on our place and he gets discouraged easy. I'm going to clear out my shop pad enough to get him working on that soon.

Kinda OT


heres the best way to teach a kid to ride a bicycle .........


make sure the bicycle is the right size OR smaller.

throw the training wheels FAR away.

remove the pedals from the bicycle (even better if you can remove the cranks and chain)

put the seat in its lowest position and have the kid sit on the seat whith their feet flat on the ground.

now with their but on the seat have them push them selves around (if you have a small grassy hill even better)

now for the easy part.... just walk away OR ride around on a bicycle so they can see you having fun.

what happens is the kid will push them selves around and then push hard and lift up their feet and coast...... AS SOON as they get good at that and can make turns with their feet up put the pedals back on AND walk away from it so your kid can do it for them self.

IF you LEAVE the pedals off for to long your kid will put their feet down when ever they get scared (hard bad habit to break)

My daughter was riding around the block a little after her 3rd bday and my son at 3 1/2 was riding a pw50
YMMV :D

Got the "Kid Karrier" harness, looks like it will work pretty well. We tried it out last night and far as I can tell the only way he's coming off is if I'm with him, it straps us together with a 5 point harness.

I need to get him shoulder protectors to keep the straps from rubbing on his neck but otherwise I'm diggin it. I'll get some pictures pretty soon.