i've been on my 250ex since june of 2004. i'm ready for a step up. i cant afford monthly payments on a 400ex and be able to get the things i need for it. so this is why i think i've decided on a 300ex, that way i can afford the payments and be able to get nerfs, tires, handlebars and whatever else i might want to get for it. sound like a good move? who else has made this move?

 

The 300 is a sweet little machine, and maybe the best trail bike of all time. You will get a real manual clutch, and real sport bike suspension. It is a definite step up in preformance from the 250. Now that my kids are older, I wish I had hung onto mine!

But, if you are on the large side or a growing kid, you may outgrow the little 300 pretty quick??? Might want to just save your money and wait and step up to a 400???

 

well im 5'11', 160 pounds. 16 in 11 days, so im not sure if i'll keep growing or not. but anyway, with my job it would probably take 2 years of saving to be able to afford a 400ex, and thats if i were to go ahead and sell the 250 and pay it off. but with the payments now i dont think i'll ever be able to save up for a 400, so i figured i might as well get the next best thing.

 

I agree with every part of this. Even with reading you are almost 16, and 5'11". You would like the 300ex, but will want a faster bike within about 2 years if it takes that long. I think you should save your money, and get a 400, if its possible.

 

well today i intended to get the 300 but i came home, well not quite, with a 2006 black 400ex... we did the paperwork and such today and im pickin it up on monday. 130 bucks a month, im not sure how im going to afford it but my mom and i decided i might as well get the 400 since its only 30 dollars more a month.

 

I'm in the same position. Or I was. The only difference was that I refuse to be in debt/make payments because you lose money like that. Debt also does bad things to my concience. I digress. Im almost your height and just turned 17. I too previously owned a 250 and got mad at its poopy power. Worse yet was the suspension. I cracked out A-arms and ovaled shock mounts. So, not having enough money for a 400, I got a showroom floor 300. I've ridden both, and the 400 does have noticably more power, but I can't whip it around as much as the 300. So, when I got used to the power, I did a little prehiprial engine work (HMF pipe and heavily modified intake) and got a few more HP. What I really appreciate is the clutch and the suspension, which you would also get with 400's. But with less money, you can nearly match the bottom end of a stock 400 for a little less money. Plus, I think it's cooler to have a quad and the money to work on it and make it cool, than it is to have a stock bike that has to stay that way for financial reasons. ---$0.02

 

oh. whoops. nevermind.