Youth ATVs are sold against a manufacturer age grade — Y6+, Y10+, Y12+ — and each ships restricted, with a faster setting a parent unlocks. Buy to the grade and the rider's weight, not to the horsepower. The Renegade 40cc at $849 and the E-Bully 36V at $999 are the Y6+ starting points; the Bull 125cc at $1,399 is the Y12+ machine. A helmet is not optional on any of them.
- Every ATV here has a restricted factory speed and an unrestricted speed a parent enables.
- Age grades run Y6+, Y10+ and Y12+, and they track seat height and speed, not engine size.
- The three gas ATVs cite the CPSC ATV Action Plan or EPA approval on their own spec sheets.
- Rider weight limits are low — 143 to 220 lb — and are a real constraint on who can use one.
- A UTV is the pick when two children want to ride at once, or when a parent needs to sit alongside.
Youth ATVs are one of the few categories in powersports with a genuine, manufacturer-declared age grade on the box. Use it. It is not a legal formality — it reflects the seat height, the speed and the controls, and a six-year-old on a Y12+ machine is not a smaller version of the same experience.
The five machines
| Machine | Power | Age grade | Restricted / unrestricted | Max rider | Seat height | Price today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renegade 40cc ATV | Gas 40cc 4-stroke | Y6+ | 9 mph / 13 mph | 150 lb | 20 in | $849 |
| E-Bully 36V 1000W ATV | Electric 36V 1000W | Y6+ | 9 mph / 15 mph | 165 lb | 21 in | $999 |
| Rex 110cc ATV | Gas 110cc 4-stroke | Y10+ | 9 mph / 14 mph | 143 lb | 24 in | $1,099 |
| Bull 125cc ATV | Gas 125cc 4-stroke | Y12+ | 14 mph / 28 mph | 220 lb | 28 in | $1,399 |
| Raider UTV 48V 1200W | Electric 48V 1200W | Not stated | 8 / 15 / 23 mph | 165 lb | Bench seat | $1,399 |
What does the restricted speed actually mean?
These machines ship set to a low speed — 9 mph on three of the four ATVs — with a faster setting a parent enables when the rider is ready. That is the mechanism that makes a $1,399 ATV a three-year purchase instead of a one-year one, and it is the reason it is reasonable to buy slightly ahead of the rider rather than exactly to them.
The Bull 125cc is the outlier: it is restricted to 14 mph and unrestricted to 28 mph, which is genuinely quick. It is graded Y12+ for a reason.
How do I pick the right size ATV for my child?
Three checks, in this order:
- Age grade. Start with the manufacturer's grade — Y6+, Y10+ or Y12+ — and do not buy above it.
- Weight limit. Read it carefully, because it is lower than people expect. The Rex 110cc is rated to 143 lb — less than the 40cc Renegade's 150 lb — so a bigger engine does not mean a bigger machine. Only the Bull 125cc carries 220 lb.
- Reach. The rider must be able to reach the bars and the brake with their back straight and their feet on the boards. Seat heights here run 20 to 28 inches.
Gas or electric for a first ATV?
The E-Bully 36V 1000W at $999 is the electric option and it is a good first machine for a specific reason: no fuel, no pull cord, no engine noise, and a waterproof motor. It runs 8 to 16 miles on three 12V/15Ah sealed lead-acid batteries and has forward, neutral and reverse plus a parking brake — reverse being genuinely useful when a small rider wedges themselves against a fence.
Gas wins on run time. The Renegade 40cc at $849 refuels in a minute and rides all afternoon, which on a big property matters more than anything else on the spec sheet.
When is a UTV the better buy?
When two people need to ride, or when an adult needs to sit alongside a young driver. The Raider Kids UTV 48V 1200W at $1,399 has a bench seat, full suspension, shaft drive rather than a chain, and three speed modes at 8, 15 and 23 mph. Shaft drive is the underrated part: there is no chain to tension, lubricate or throw, which on a machine driven by children is one whole category of maintenance removed.
A helmet is not optional on a quad, and neither are gloves and over-the-ankle boots. ATVs have a specific hazard that two-wheelers do not: they roll rather than fall, and a rolling machine can trap a rider. Ride with an adult present, keep to the age grade, and start on the restricted setting. Our gear guide covers what to buy in what order, and where you can actually ride covers the legal side, which differs by state for quads.
Parts and consumables
Kids' machines get used hard and parked wet. We keep per-model catalogs for the two most likely to need them — E-Bully 36V ATV parts and Raider 48V UTV parts — covering battery boxes, meters, charging ports, wiring, bodywork and brakes. Buying the charging port and battery wire kit with the machine is a cheap insurance policy on an electric quad.
