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Motorized Fun Company ATVsEntry-level and kids quads without breaking the bankJuly 9/04 Written by Canucklehead BackgroundMotorized Fun Company, or MFC, is one of the off-shore ATV brands manufactured in China and distributed in North America. My immediate suspicions with regards to off-shore brands are somewhat jaded and prejudiced, similar to the way we all thought Japanese manufactured products would be garbage in the '70s. We also thought the same things about Korean products in the '90s. Clearly, Japanese products are generally preferred and have superior resale value. Korean products such as LG, Samsung, and Hyundai are all gaining a positive reputation. In a similar vein, I suspect that Chinese manufacturing will soon gain similar consumer confidence. At this point I believe there are both good and bad Chinese manufacturers in the childrens' ATV market. The US market has been flooded with childrens' ATVs manufactured in China. Consumers are mostly confused; however there are a few brands which have gained acceptance such as Kasea, Eton, Dinli, and Extreme. There are others that are routinely trashed, such as like Kazuma. I purchased a Kasea Mighty-Mite 2-3 years ago from an auction. I suspect the auctioneers had bought hundreds of these and were selling them two at a time at a variety of different auctions. It is unanimous amongst the owners, and even the distributor, that this particular model was a lemon, something that was only discovered after the purchase. The Mighty-Mite was manufactured for Kasea, the distributor. Kasea subsequently went to a different manufacturer and has had nothing but success since. Local DevelopmentAccording to MFC's website, they have been in business since 1990, and have been distributing ATVs since 2001. I noticed a fair amount of advertising for them in Alberta. I contacted a couple of dealers and the feedback was very negative. When Greg and I met with the local distributor, Malcolm from Marlon Recreational Products in Surrey, BC, he acknowledged the foregoing and did not try to deny it. I found his willingness to deal with the negative feedback reassuring and honest. Had he tried to deny the criticism I would have been very suspicious. Malcolm admits their first entries were not built to the quality standards they expected; MFC has subsequently found a new manufacturer and are very pleased with the manufacturers willingness to build to their specifications, and to correct any of their complaints or concerns. Accordingly, I would suspect if you did some research on MFC products you might find some negative feedback based upon their past performance. Do not judge this company or their current products on the past. I went to the demonstration with an open mind and found that Malcolm answered all of my questions with candor, and acknowledged every concern I raised with appropriate, reasonable answers. Malcolm informed is that MFC has a huge parts warehouse in Nanaimo, BC, and that MFC has excellent dealer support and plans to service their dealers and customers for the long haul. Although I wondered how accessible parts would be coming from Nanaimo, and why they would want to incur an additional expense transporting parts from the Island, I was shocked at how inexpensive some of the replacement parts are compared to the Japanese makes (ie. carburetor, $30-40 retail). MFC's warranty, according to their website, appears to be one year on the engine and 90 days on everything else. 90 days seems a little weak, as I was under the impression that the industry standard was 6 months. Test PilotsWe test drove four different units; 250cc, 125cc, 90cc and 50cc. Interestingly, some of the competition has 40cc, 70cc and 110cc models sandwiched in between. Malcolm reasoned that they felt the additional models offered did not substantially appeal to a wider range of riders, and they felt they had enough ridership covered with their 4 models. I fully agree with their reasoning. All of their models are four stroke engines. All of them have a built-in safety requiring the brake to be engaged before you can start them. I will review each unit individually, starting with the 50cc entry level quad. I suppose I am by no means an expert; I have owned eight different models of childrens' ATVs and feel I have some insight into what makes a good childrens' ATV. Just in case I am wrong, I brought along two "experts" to provide their independent feedback, my 8-year old son Matthew and his 7-year old brother Riley. 50cc UnitOn the positive side, the 50cc unit has an electric-start, four stroke engine. It is very small to accommodate a young rider, and gives them confidence that they are bigger than the quad so that aren't intimidated by its size. It has stylish graphics. This quad is equipped with a brake light, a great safety feature that really should appear on ALL quads. The hand controls were easy to operate for Riley who is quite small for his age. On other quads, the kids have complained about thumb fatigue from the throttle. Riley rode this quad for 2 hours and had no such complaints. The quad was quite fast for a 50cc unit. Parents are often concerned that the 50cc ATVs will become too easy too quickly for their child. I think this unit's speed will keep both parent and child happy for a couple of years. There is also a throttle-limiter screw that can be adjusted as the rider's ability increases, and an exhaust restriction which can be removed for additional power and speed. The kids rode through some water areas, and it performed well. One deep puddle taken at high speed swamped the engine, but it started fine, shortly thereafter. There are fully enclosed footwells which is a bonus. This particular unit had anti-slip rubber inserted into the footwells; both rubbers came off during the course of the test as they used little nipples which were plugged into pre-drilled holes rather than using screw-in hardware. I found the quad very similar in design to the older Suzuki LT50, as far as its size and features (or lack of). The major difference is that the Suzuki uses a two stroke engine. There are no front brakes and only a rear drum brake. The drum picks up mud and dirt which rapidly wears out the rear brake without even using the brake. During the test, I found Riley unable to stop and had to adjust the brake, which was easily accessible by hand. I have found this type of brake wears out quickly, leaving the adult wondering if the child will have brakes in an emergency situation. It should be emphasized that wet and muddy conditions will amplify this effect. On dry roads, the brake seldom requires adjustment and lasts much longer. Nonetheless this has always been a safety concern and I am surprised that in 2004, this machine wouldn't have front brakes. It's hard to criticize the suspension because there is none! No springs or shocks. Many other units in this class have shocks and a suspension. In a sense, I have found suspension in kids quads to be overrated, but some suspension should exist. As the rider's confidence and speed increase, it is scary to watch them hold on as the machine bounces over bumps and ruts. This can become dangerous depending on the terrain. There are no color choices, only school-bus yellow. Malcolm informed us that the company plans to change the colors to school bus orange, again with no choice. The MSRP (manufacturers suggested retail price) is $1899.00. While this may be as much as $600.00 less than some of the comparable units, the comparable units have more features including front brakes and suspension. Overall I would rate this unit 2.5 out of 5. 90ccMalcolm was almost giddy about their 90cc unit. He described it as probably the best 90cc unit available, saying that their dealers claim it's the best 90cc unit on the market. The 80-90cc class is by far the most competitive class in kids quads. Parents fear their child will outgrow the 50cc too quickly, and often mistakenly start them on a 80 or 90cc unit. Kind of like when dad bought my first pair of ice-skates 2 sizes too big, so I'd get a couple of seasons out of them. The problem is, the child can easily be intimidated by the large size, and people forget the relatively high resale for kids quads, due to the lack of supply. In the US, there is a huge and competitive race circuit for this class. I thought Malcolm's claim was very bold with the foregoing in mind. On the positive side, the 90cc unit is a four stroke shaft drive unit. It is one of the few shaft drive units. This makes it almost maintenance-free and a delight for the parents to simply watch their child ride. It is a three speed, semi-automatic. The shifter is a clever design which Malcolm described as a "Harley Davidson" style shifter. In other words, it acts like a pivot. The rear of the shifter can be pushed down to shift up, or the rider can shift from the front of the shifter in the traditional manner of lifting the shifter lever with their toe. I have noticed kids have a tough time lifting a shifter lever with their toe, and think this is a great idea. My son Riley shifts the toe shifter on our Raptor 80 with his hand while riding, which is scary and dangerous. I do foresee one problem with this type of pivot shifter; the rider may kick the front of the shifter intending to shift up but instead will be shocked with the ensuing compression skid from shifting down. Overall, I like the design and the ease of shifting for kids. I asked Malcolm if the engine was a Honda clone. He said he did not like the term clone because he did not know if Honda parts would be interchangeable. He did state that most mechanics would recognize that the engine is almost identical to a Honda CT90 engine. Again, I think this is a positive. The front suspension is wishbone with dual shocks. I forgot to ask if they were adjustable but I don't think they were, and their website doesn't specify. I noticed there were several grease nipples on the front end, and Malcolm indicated there were eight. Again I think that is an excellent feature to be able to grease and maintain these areas. The air cleaner is big and easily accessable for cleaning. There is an air-cleaner restriction that is easily removable. There is also an adjustable throttle limiter. There were front headlights and a rear brake light. The rear brake light is an excellent feature. I've noticed that most of the off-shore ATVs are going to a front headlight. They don't appear to be very bright, and I don't think they would adequately illuminate for night time driving, nor do I think it is very prudent for a child to be riding at night. I also don't think the electrical design is adequate to power a bright light. I think of the headlight as more of a gimmick; in four years we've never done any night time riding with our children nor do I foresee a point when I will. The brake light, however, is an excellent idea and great safety feature. The rear tires are mounted on an 8" rim which is pretty standard. They are quite wide at 9.5" which adds to the stability. The tread seemed very aggressive on both the front and rear. When riding, it seemd to wander, and I found it difficult to keep it straight. Greg suggested this was from adult weight being unevenly distributed. I thought it might have been from the aggressive tread design on the front tires. The fronts are 19x7-8. The expert, Matthew, said he noticed no problems with steering or handling. His only criticism was that it had a wide turning radius, and he was accustomed to being able to turn one of these quads much sharper. Malcolm explained it was a Transport Canada regulation that the turning radius be wide to prevent roll-over. I would defer to Malcolm on that point and agree it is probably a safety precaution. I personally think that children will learn from experience where the tip point is on anything, and make the necessary riding adjustment after one or two errors. Again, the thumb throttle and brake lever seemed easy to operate, and there were no complaints of rider hand or thumb fatigue. Riley also rode this unit and found it much easier to shift. Personally, I like the 3 speed transmission but many others criticize a 3-speed for children, saying it's difficult to learn to shift and they should be concentrating on steering, acceleration, and braking only, not shifting. I also think it's good that they learn different gears can assist them in slowing down. Due to the foregoing conflicting opinions, many of the manufacturers are producing a fully automatic CVT transmission in their 90cc quads. I've noticed that these are mostly 2 stroke engines. Somebody commented to me that CVT automatics just make it so that stupid people can ride too. Perhaps a bit of a harsh assessment, but it does allow the rider to be somewhat lazier. Appearance-wise, the 90 seems to be a clone of the Raptor 80. It is quite stylish. It has a chrome front bushguard and some chrome on the engine which was very sharp. It is only available in one color, school bus orange, and it has some flame graphics. Unfortunately, I'm not a big fan of the style or graphics used by the Chinese manufacturers; all of their graphics seem the same and make their ATVs look like a dragon in a Chinese New Years parade. The footwells include foot pegs with a standard basket-type foot-rest area. There is very little to dislike or criticize about this unit. Some of the competitors have a rear disc brake whereas this unit only has sealed drums on the front and back. While I like the shifter, I can see potential problems with inadvertent downshifting. Also, while I like the idea of children learning how to shift, opponents would argue children are hard on transmissions and engines as they don't shift when they should, and downshift when necessary. Some of the competitors offer a horn; I'm not certain how loud these horns are, or how well they would be heard with a helmet and engine drowning out the horn. Finally, the unit seems quite heavy at 256 pounds, compared to others which are quite a bit lighter. I am a little confused by the specs page as they say the dry weight is 256 pounds. The curb weight is only slightly more, but fuel alone would add 20 pounds. The MSRP is $2,650.00. This is about $500.00 less than the MSRP of the Japanese brands. I often see the Japanese brands offered at around $3,000.00. Malcolm informed me that none of their dealers discount from the MSRP. MFC is a relatively new company to the ATVs. They don't have a long track record to draw from where you can find out how well they stand the test of time, or what their owners think about them. While they have tempted the buyer by being $300.00 - $500.00 less, I am not sure which way I would go considering it is somewhat of a great unknown. These may well prove to be as good or better than the competition in which case the price is a bargain. Eton's quad in this class is also worth comparing. I would rate it 4 out of 5. 125ccMFC's 125cc unit utilizes a fully-automatic CVT transmission and a four-stroke engine with a chain final drive. It also has a headlight and a brake light. Surprisingly, there is no reverse. It has the same size tires as the 90cc unit. It also has a hydraulic rear disc brake. It is remarkably similar in size and weight to the 90cc unit, weighing only weighs 30 pounds more. This unit may appeal to the opponents of a 3-speed manually-shifted ATV. The styling on this unit was a little more simple, seeming more practical than flashy. Again, only one color is available. The unit we test drove was yellow, however Malcolm indicated they will be changing this to school-bus orange. After some riding, we noticed a distinct rattle from something loose in the muffler. One of the tires went flat which only gave us a limited chance to check this unit out. The expert Matthew said it went really fast. This unit had enclosed wheel wells, similar in design to the 50cc unit. The anti-slip rubber was poorly attached and again needs to be screwed down rather than plugged into the pre-drilled holes. According to their spec page on the web-site, the fuel tank seems relatively tiny at 4 litres. The 90cc's tank shows as 7.8 litres, almost double the capacity. I would have similar concerns about the lack of history to draw from on this unit as well as the overall longevity. The MSRP is $3,000.00, a considerable bargain when compared to the price of other 125s; however, the other units have reverse. In my opinion, this unit offers the greatest savings over the competition and may be worth the purchase risk considering you will save over $1,000.00. I would rate it 3.5 out of 5. 250ccThis is a four-stroke, 5-speed manual clutch-operated transmission, with reverse. It has two front headlights covered with a grill guard. It also has front and rear racks and a brake light, and drum brakes all around. The suspension seemed adequate. There is an electronic LED display to show what gear you are in. I really liked the concept, but unfortunately, medium-bright daylight made it difficult to read the display. I found the 250 had lots of top end speed and was very fast. Malcolm said it was a twin 250 (two cylinders), and it was as fast as most 300 - 325s. I really liked the tubular steel racks as most of the racks today are either cheap plastic or thin gauge metal. I also liked the lights, brake lights and the light covers. The suspension seemed to flex a fair amount to riding conditions. I had a tough time adjusting to using a clutch to shift gears. It was awkward. I always had to be cognizant of stalling at low speed. I couldn't do any of the type of riding that I would normally enjoy at low speed such as crawling over rocks, etc. The front plastic fender/mud flap was cut too low, and constantly bottomed out in areas where I would not expect it to bottom out or rub. I think they could trim 2" off the plastic, but then that would expose the gear shifter lever, and your foot, to possible debris. I found the 250 constantly got high centered and would benefit from larger tires. Interestingly, it had 10" rims so there would seem to be room to install larger tires. Due to the low clearance, once high centered, it was impossible to get your tow under the gear shift lever or to pull it up into neutral. Reverse is a large bar you pull out and turn with the clutch engaged in ANY gear. It will be in reverse, but in the gear you select. I wasn't fond of this design considering the technology currently available to make it easier to shift into reverse. These are probably things you'd easily adjust to once you've owned and ridden this model for awhile. I am accustomed to riding a bigger 4x4 quad. Malcolm said they are not appealing to that market at all with this quad and felt it would be best suited to a farm type use, or at a cottage. Personally, I think that would be a very limited market which would make me question why anyone would even bother making such a unit. I think it might be a good quad for a teenager. Again, it's always good to learn how to use a clutch and to shift but I don't like the inability to crawl at a low speed, with risk of stalling. The MSRP is $4,800.00. For an unproven 2-wheel drive quad, I thought it was rather expensive and something that I wouldn't consider. I would rate it 1.5 out of 5. ConclusionMalcolm indicated that they researched MFC extensively before they decided to become one of their distributors. He was very positive about the company and seemed legitimately excited about the business opportunity ahead. He was very helpful and patient with us and took on all of our questions and concerns head on without trying to BS his way around. I found him a refreshing change from most major dealerships. I think they have a great quad in their 90cc, and possibly in the 125cc. Certainly the 125cc would appear to be a great value. The 50cc is adequate but lacking safety features. I'm not impressed with the 250 but my expectations may be unrealistic as I was expecting it to perform like an adult quad and maybe I'm too big for it. I sincerely hope Malcolm and MFC succeed both for their benefit, and for the benefit of the consumer who could use a refreshing change from the attitude of some of the major manufacturers. Also, don't forget the huge savings on parts and maintenance. Notes from GregI'm definitely not an expert in kids' quads, and I've only ridden my own quad in the past. My preference is for four-wheel drive quads, so while riding these units I had to remember that I only had traction at the rear. I did notice that the 250 was very fast, and seemed to have more pickup and and top-end than my Arctic Cat 300. I had no problem airing it out when I flew up our ramp. However, I was not used to a clutch or the motorcycle-style toe-shifter, so I had difficulty shifting it (no fault of the quad). I didn't like the big front push bar and headlight style. It didn't have enough ground clearance for some of the terrain we were on, and I was constantly hitting the undercarriage or getting hung up on bumps or ruts. I ended up cracking the fender plastic on the lower right side. The 250 would definitely benefit from taller tires. I found that the 125 was very easy to ride with the CVT, although it was a bit small for my weight. Despite a similar ground clearance, it didn't have as much clearance issues as the 250 in the same terrain, probably due to its shorter wheelbase. The kids spent a lot of time on this unit, and seemed to enjoy it. It would have been nice to have a reverse gear, but it's light enough so that the rider can drag the front end around. The 90 was by far the coolest-looking quad, and was clearly the "crowd" favourite. I took it for a ride, but at higher speeds I found it too unstable for my weight. The pivot-type shifter was similar to my Arctic Cat's shifter, so I had no trouble shifting it. I don't share Canucklehead's concerns about accidentally shifting down instead of up, because if I can figure it out, well, anyone can. Again, reverse would have been nice. As for Canucklehead's comment about the stickers, it's nothing a heat gun can't cure. There's no way I was going to try to ride the 50, but it can be best described as "cute". Our young experts seemed to enjoy this one as well. Cosmetically, I told Malcolm that the wheels would look much better in black. He said they were switching to silver-grey, like many of the mainstream manufacturers. I guess grey is better than white. I appreciate that Malcolm allowed us to ride his brand-new quads all over our test area, splashing through the mud, scraping over the rocks, and generally abusing his products. These quads are available at selected dealers throughout BC and Alberta; contact MFC through their website to locate a dealer near you. On a side note, Matthew took an MFC dirtbike for ride, and said he liked riding it even more than the quads. But since this is quad website, we won't talk about that! Addendum - July 12/04When this review was first published, Canucklehead commented that the 90 did not have a foot brake. In fact, the 90 DOES have a foot brake. Some of the concerns raised have already been addressed in the 2005 models. The 250 now comes with higher-profile tires, and is now equipped with an electronic switch so that reverse will only operate in first gear. Several cosmetic changes were made to the 125, giving it a much more appealing look. Contact InfoMotorized Fun Company Website: www.mfcd.com Phone: 1-800-973-3334 Email: "support at mfcd dot com" |
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