I am an old guy (40) 5'10" 185 lb. who is used to 2 wheelers but am considering getting a quad to trail ride and generally play around on. I like the idea of shaft drive, reverse and low mantainance and $3000 new. When anybody mentions the 250ex, it always goes to, get a 300ex or better yet the 400ex, you will outgrow the 250 in a months time. It is a good quad for 14 yr. olds and wives.

I guess what I really want to know is, are there any of you 250ex riders out there who are perfectly satisfied with the little ex and don't plan on getting a larger quad in the future. I am not into racing, but do like scoot down the trail at a decent pace. Also, I have always had a clutch.
Any comments?

 

I am only thirteen, but I am near six foot and I have a 250ex. I think it is a great quad and has plenty of speed. The loss of a manual clutch is a little dissapointing, but if you are only trail riding then you probably don't want a chain quad. As far as jumping I have never come across a jump in the woods that my shocks weren't good enough. Out on the Moto-cross track the shocks are occassionally a little soft, but I highly reccomend the 250ex. One day I hope to get a 450R to race, but if you don't want to race then get the 250ex. If you decide you want more power than the 250 go on to the 400.

 

wannabe1 - I'm 33 and started riding on a Polaris Trailblazer 250 back in 2000. Nice quad, but I was bored with it in no time. I sold it a year later and just bought my 400ex last summer. I'm much happier with it. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] EVERYONE tried to warn me away from the TrailBlazer, but I was convinced it would be enough for me - trust me, it didn't make the wife happy to see me sell a 1 year old bike.....

Will be interesting to hear from anyone who's 30 or older who has a 250ex and is completely happy with it. I'm sure there out there, but most guys want a little more than the 250ex has to offer, especially if they've got previous riding experience.

Good luck with whatever you decide. What you ride isn't as important as the fact that you ride!

 

Wannabe: My dad has a couple of old Suzuki LT 230 quadrunners, roughly the same idea as that 250EX but way older technology. He's 6' 2" and about 220 lbs, and he just loves those things. He's been ripping up and down the trails on his property for 13 years on them. If you're not into racing, just want a good trail bike low maintanance, I don't think you'll be disappointed with the EX.

Oh by the way you're not an old guy, you're younger than me, and my old man turns 70 this Sunday, still rippin up the trails.

 

The 250 is fun to ride, but has its limitations. The suspension is tight, and kind of shows its utility heritage at times. At you size, the bike will fit you OK, but you are at the bikes size limit. I definitely think you would be happier on a 400EX, with some real sport bike suspension!

 

Well i personally own a 250 and i love it. here is a list of pros and cons

pros- shaft drive, reverse, auto clutch(no stalling problems and more focus on the trail in front of you), reliable as the sun, light as can be and it handles nicely.

cons- Suspension is to light duty if you really wanna get crazy, Top speed is only about 50 if you can find a mile of dirt road haha, while it may be a useable powerband it lacks the power part if you wanna do any type of racing or mudding.

My personal opinion is that its a great trail quad if you dont need to lug around an extra 150lbs for a 4x4. Is mildy fast and can handle ruff stuff if you keep it under the 5 feet of air region. I actaulyl plan to put a pipe, nerf bars, pro tapers, and holeshots on mine jsut because.

Bottom line if you want a good basic quad with soem get up and go with room for improvemnt then you will like this quad.

 

Get it. I did and I love it. I'm 36 5'11 185lbs. Sometimes I feel like I'm being to hard on the 250ex but I haven't had 1 problem yet. I bought mine in 2001. On the trails its awesome.

 

I'm an "old girl" (43) and I ride a 2003 EX250 . . . but I'm only 5'3" and weigh 118 lbs. I really like my 250 - it's a great size for me, but I must say that most guys are happier with a 400. If your not interested in getting too crazy though, a 250 would be fine. My 21 yr old son rode it and said he was surprised how much power mine had, but he of course preferred my husband's Z400.

The only thing I don't like on the 250 is the suspension. If I didn't ride my husband's Z400 sometimes, I would probably never think anything of it, but his Z400 is like floating on a cloud - you can't even feel bumps/rocks, etc. - like riding on a Cadillac! Whereas on my 250 you can feel every bump and dip. I much prefer riding the 400 and feel a lot more confident on it, except my hand starts getting sore from using the clutch after a while. The 250 is definitely easier on the hands (for us old folks).

 

Ridinfolks welcome to the forum!



We have a 250X( I dont think a whole lot has changed from X to EX besides the obvious shaft, e button, auto clutch, etc) but it's an awesome machine wannabe1. It can turn on a dime, nice acceleration for being a 250..and absolutely bullet proof.
All in all, I say ride a bunch and pick whatever you like the most :-)
Good luck...

 

go with it its a good choice or go with the z250 but honda for reliability