To often in this forum I find guys actively discussing their big-bores, and by all means they all have great things to say and good mods. This forum is kidna weak in terms of its discussion of the smaller (yet capable) 300s and 250s, in my opinion. I have a 2002 300 4x4, warn 2500lb winch, custom diamond plate skid plate, handle bar mounted light, rear bag and have ordered a moose lift kit, yet not installed it. I am still running the stock 489s but I am thinking about mayeb 25 front and 26 rear 589s.

My point here guys is to motivate all you 300 and 250 owners to write in here and discuss your mods. What works, what doesn't? Any tuning tips? Good tire combinations? Aftermarket parts you like or do not like? I know with my bike (which I love dearly), there are two large faults, ground clearence and power. I am hoping my lift will help with the ground clearnece, maybe tires soon too. Guys, have any of you gotten SUBSTANTIAL power gains from any motor mods, like jetting or K&N? Anyone found a good exaust that works well with the bike, I don't think anyone makes one or do they? There are alot of smart and mechanically inclined people in here. I wanna hear about your 300/250 upgrades. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have, I will do my best to help you. Thanks Guys (and gals if the case may be).

 

Smoke, I used to have a King Quad with 28" Outlaws and loved it. In my opinion the 300 AC and KQ are the best in its class. There is not a lot of top end power, but they have the torque to turn any tire out there in super low.

The only downfall of having a 2002 AC 300 is that it is the first year AC put in the non locking front diff . Your front diff is the same as the 02-04 400 and 500s. One good thing about this is, you have the option to change the gear ratio to the 3.60s ran in the 500 manuals. You could then run the same size tire in the front and get a little extra torque and ground clearance. Though I would not recommend it if you trail ride, there is even the option of putting a full lock up spool in it. With a lift you could run 28s on all four and ground clearance would no longer be an issue.

I had good results with a K&N power kit and if there is not an after market pipe available for the AC, just gut yours and rejet. With the right mods the 300s are just as capable as the big bores.

 

I couldn't agree more, but I think the problem is these guys with the big bores have an inferiority complex. They always have to go bigger, badder, which usually just breaks things...like axles etc. My 250 2x4 has some mild mods, has half as much invested, and on our trails up here it is as capable as any quad out there. I am planning on buying a 300 4x4 very soon, just for the added benefit of 4x4, but in all honesty what can a 400 or 500 do that a 300 wont. In my experience the answer is nothing. I ride with a large group, all with different makes of ATV's, and to be honest, the guys havin the most fun are myself, my brother on an old moto 4 225, and my other buddy running a 325 polaris 4x4. The big guys are always dissapointed when they cant show up the little guys, and are mighty pissed when a $4000 bike pulls out an $8000 bike.
I even know a guy who traded in his 500 sportman on a new 700 sportman.....only to trade it in a year later to get a 500 sportsman again. Just like snowmobiles our insurance rates are going to rise, we are going to get a bad reputation, and the "Big Bores" are going to ruin ATVing for the rest of us! Remember not all that long ago when the biggest, meanest bike out there was a 350 Big Bear....those were the good old days. I am not saying that smoother riding and selectable 2x or 4x4 are not great, I am just saying...enough is enough with the big bores...before its too late.

CanCat

 

Cancat I would have to agree with you about big bores, I have a 400i and that is plenty. When I am on the trails I can keep up with the big guys and with better tires[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] I can dig out of the mud better. I hope the bike companies don't get bigger. & bigger?

 

Why would anyone want to place limits on the displacement of a Quad motor?

Kind of like saying, "Because I don't like it that my neighbor has a 7 bedroom house (even though he can affort it and the insurance) since it is bigger than my 2 bedroom house, no one should have a big house."

Who was it that bough a small one, then had to make it bigger by adding a lift kit, bigger-than-stock tires, etc? I'm confused.

I have a 400i, and wish it had more power. Not to go faster, just to get me going fast more quickly. I would have gotten something bigger, just didn't see the value in laying out any more $$$.

 

DirtDoc
The guy with the 7 bedroom house pays more for insurance...this is true, but my three bedroom house is much cheaper to insure, Snowmobiles are now a different story. I can't afford to insure a 440 snowmobile now because liability is so high for snowmobiles in general that rates are through the room, if you think quads are not going the same way you are blind. Used to be a 440 was a big sled, now 1000 is a big sled, 70mph used to be a quick sled, now if you can't do 100mph you are left behind. Same is starting to hold true with ATV's. Used to be 350 was big, now 700 is big, used to be 45mph was quick, now if your 700 won't do up to 70mph it goes back to the dealer cause somethings wrong.

It's not that I don't like the 700cc bike, its just that I feel it is unneccesarry and soon stats will prove that more accidents will happen. Now you and I both know that you can get hurt just as easily on a 300, I admit it, but just like the snowmobiles, fatalities will start, rates will go up, and we will all pay for the dumbass that was doing 70 on a trail he should have been doing 30 on.

Cancat.

 

CanCat,

Yes, you are right, accidents do happen. And of course the more people riding, regardless of displacement, the more accidents will happen. Reason? People are idiots, and accidents happen.

But please remember - different strokes for different folks. I don't need any more "sissy" rules, restrictions, or regulations that prohibit me from having more choices. You might cry about 700cc quads today, and tomorrow someone will cry about your 1-ton pickup. Because when you think about it, no one really needs a 1-ton pickup - they are so big and dangerous and make my insurance rates go up.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] /sarcasm=OFF

You see, this is a slippery slope. My advice: if you can't beat em, ignore them. Oh, and feel free to ignore me as well![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

Peace

 

I will try hard to ignore Dirtdoc here but how can you compare a 1 tom to an ATV you must be 12 years old [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]Sarcasm=off. I too am worried about insurance going up because some dumpa$# wants to show every one how big his ego is. Now for the people who have larger cc bikes and ride responsibly this should not apply. And as far as my neighbour having a six bedroom house all the power to him. He can also pay the extra insurance for it and leave mine alone [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] I was out on the trails last year and was hit by............700 sportsman who was going too fast and could not stop? He hit the side of my cat [I was on the side of the trail trying to get out of the way] and if it wasn't for my foot pag my lage would have been mush. The guy was looking pretty upset with himself and helped me and my broken cat out of the woods that day.
Ride safe[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

I agree guys ATVing is about necesity not over abundance. I have as much fun as the next guy, with a bigger or more expensive bike, I have pulled out AC 500s, Honda Foremans, you get the point. I think you guys are loosing the point of my original poist, I was hoping to get guys to talk specifically about there 250/300 experiences, particularly in making them even better than they already are.

Cancat you talk about "mild mods", lets hear it, I wanna hear what you have done.

Glad to see such a good response already, now lets hear all about them modified 250/300s guys.

 

Hey Smoke,
Sorry I got off topic on you...
I haven't done a whole lot of mods, the best combo mod I did was a 1.5" lift kit (Only 100 canadian) with 1" taller tires on the back, and moved the rear tires up to the front, giving both front and rear 1" taller tires. I chose the Kenda Bearclaw tire as it is a grat all purpose tire, it self cleans in the sticky stuff, the tread keeps a good edge as it wears down, and they hookup great for plowing with a 2x4. I found that the Titans wore out fast and didn't keep a good edge when they started to wear, I was really dissapointed with them. Other than that I just did some bolt ons...Winch, Winter windsheild, as I ride year round, a two up seat for the wife, and some soft luggage that attaches to the racks for camping etc. I tried wheelspacers, but they made the steering sloppy, and it really darted bad on the trails, even after numerous front end allignments, so I wouldn't reccomend them.

Just an FYI as well:
Not sure with a 2002, but if it is like my 2000 and has a cable shifter linkage, when it comes time to replace it, and the time will come, buy the solid linkage off of a 2003 and up, it will not freeze, wear out, stretch, or break like the cable linkage. I had more than one headache over this flaw.

Let me know if you have any questions, I practically live on my bike, almost 7500 miles on it now.

Later
Cancat