Hello all.  Looking for recommendations for a kids first real gas powered ATV. My daughter is getting too big for her battery powered one. I see where a several manufacturers make small 40cc - 50cc models.
That will probably be the best size for her.  ( Getting ready to turn 7 years old )  

Any brands or models that I should steer clear of ?

Most of the youth size 4 wheelers that I see are not your typical Yamaha or Honda brands.  They are from manufacturers that I have never heard of.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you !!

Look for an Arctic Cat 90 or 150. The 150 is a little on the big side for a small child.

The small ones you are looking at are made in China....so some are good.....some aren’t.

I'd suggest get her going on two wheels as I think those are ironically safer overall

Look at anything not made in Japan or North America as disposable. May not be a huge issue for something under 100cc that will only be used for a couple years. But I still doubt you'll get your money's worth out of them even after reselling.

Search the used market. Good deals can be had.

We have the kawasaki kfx90.  Is just right for a 7 year old, don't get anything smaller.  
Never had a problem with it.

You're seeing all the Chinese brands, that's why you don't recognize the names.  Some of the "big name" youth ATVs are made in China and have the "big name brand" stuck on them, I don't recall which ones.

A RZR 170 is an option, too.  There are always lots of people selling them because their kids outgrew them.

We had a Yamaha Grizzly 80 for the boy until he grew out of that. I picked up an RZR 170 for him after that. The RZR provides much more protection than a dirt bike or ATV. He has now outgrown the RZR and I'm going to sell that and grab a new Ranger 500 or something similar for him.

FWIW....I have not owned the RZR 170 but have heard they are very poorly built.

I have mixed thoughts about this. I've had one here for several years relatively problem free. They are not made by Polaris, they are Chinese machines badged as Polaris. They are not truly designed to be anywhere as durable as the bigger RZR lines, think of them more as a glorified go-kart that looks cool to the kids. They are not well suited to mud or water and don't have a ton of ground clearance. My kids enjoyed theirs and had fun in the yard, fields and miles of old logging roads on my property and adjacent properties. As far as maintenance, I had to replace a choke cable that broke and I have to rebuild the final drive assembly of the transmission due to a cracked case. There are reports of stripped gears and cracked cases occurring when chain alignment issues come up. At the end of last year, the kids told me that the chain kept popping off and had been for a few weeks. I looked at it and the chain tensioner was shot. I ordered another one and installed it, finding the cracked case in the process. I tore it down last week and I'm in the process of sourcing the parts to repair and then sell it and buy something bigger. I really don't have any complaints about it. They didn't beat it badly or abuse it and held up well. Conversely, there are accounts out there of people destroying them while trail riding. All in all, I wanted a 2 seater with seatbelts, roll cage and doors (nets). The 170 worked well, but they have outgrown it. I bought it used and well taken care of, so I won't take too bad of a hit selling it. I would buy one again under similar circumstances.

I understand what you are saying. The Chinese are capable of building quality stuff but they are incapable of or refuse to do quality control. So, just like the Chinese ATVs, they are all over the place quality wise.

Some of the larger RZRs make a ton of power and as a result, are hard on drivetrain components. A 170 doesn’t make much power so the drivetrain should hold up to everything but abuse.

I would like to have one of those 170s for my grandkids to ride but am concerned about all the bad stories I’ve heard on them.

Agreed. There just isn't much out there for kids between 80cc and 250cc with 4 wheels. He was way too small for a 250 at 10 years old, so I rolled the dice on one and it worked out for what I needed. I initially just figured that it would be disposable until he was big enough for something else. I don't know how the Polaris Ace is holding up. That's a decent concept for a 150cc.

What have you heard about them?

I know a ton of people do big bore kits, heads, cam, and tuner to double the hp for racing, and often slap bigger tires on them.  I can't imagine doing that and racing them hard is good for longevity. ??

Overall poor quality. If you want some first hand info from those who have owned them, check out RZRforums.net. There is a forum devoted to them there.

Look at the Rosso e-quads.  Three speeds, twist throttle, fully adjustable suspension, disc brakes, great customer service....and around $600. Got our 4yr old daughter one for Christmas...it's been great!  The fact that it has a low/med/hi speed makes it great for kids to learn on! On hi..it will run close to 20mph....crazy fast.

I picked up Yamaha Grizzly 125’s for my boys.    They are not so large that the boys can’t handle them (10 and 8 years old) but actually big enough for me to ride on.   Got one for $1000, and the other for $500(not running, only needed carb cleaning).   Parts are readily available, and they should last until the boys outgrow them, at what time I will probably get most of my money back, unlike a Chinese model

Could not agree more.  This approach teaches fundamentals of reading the terrain and how to "ride".  Falling over or crashing barely (sometimes not) moving really gives perspective of how things can go wrong (and they will) and how to react.  Starting on 4 wheels generally seems easy and effortless, everything is fine until it isn't.  Nearly always ends in a crash at high speeds resulting in much more severe injuries.  Add to that, a machine 2-3x the weight landing on the rider.  Dirt bikes are much cheaper too.

what about mini  bikes? there seems to be a resurgence in the last few years

I found a Polaris 50 2 stroke for $350 for my 5 year old. It needed a little work but has been great since.

He puts lots of miles on it.

The guy I bought it from said his kid didn’t like to ride and it just sat. It looked brand new but was 10 years old.

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I recently bought at Arctic Cat full size ATV like that. It is a 2008 and had 72 miles on it when I bought it.

My kids had the Polaris 50 and 90, both great machines.

Dead-set on something with four wheels?  
ATV's scare me.  They give an illusion of safety being on four wheels.  
2 wheels more funner anyways, have to build some skill/balance before you can get yourself in too much trouble.

In that small size, i'd shop more on price and condition vs. a "good brand".  You're probably not going to put a ton of miles on it or really beat on it like you would a utlity or sport quad... and in a few years you'll be sending it down the road.  Get something decent in your price range, do your basic maintenance/repairs, and call it a day.  
Some of the chinese stuff is "okay", you get what you pay for though.  Any of the big names (yamaha, cat, poo, canam, honda, kawi) will have better parts availability and service/support.