A couple of publications (ATV Sport and ATV) have stated "First and second (on the 250) remain the same as on the Recon, but the remaining three gears are higher". Well, that's NOT what the owners manuals say, and definitely not what you experience when riding. There is a long, steep, really challenging (stall it and you are dead!) hill I ride, and the 250 really has to rev out to get my 200+ lbs. to the top. The Recon has to work hard too, but you can tell it just doesn't rev out as much as the 250.

Gear Ratios: Primary and Final Reduction are the same, 3.086 and 3.692 respectively.

250EX Recon
1st- 2.846 3.545
2nd- 1.933 2.266
3rd- 1.444 1.631
4th- 1.130 1.272
5th- 0.913 1.041
Rev- 4.769 5.850