For someone considering the possible purchase of a playbike for trailriding, light jumping and such (no racing though!), how does the 300EX compare to the 400EX?

I love the 400EX, but as I asked in another thread, I am curious as to how much power and handling I'd be giving up to get the less expensive 300EX, which does have reverse at least. And, does anyone recommend the Yamaha Warrior over the 300EX?

I would appreciate your thoughts if you have owned or ridden any of these machines.

 

I've ridden all 3 of the bikes mentioned and I've owned a Warrior, and a 250x that I swapped a 350x motor into(to my knowledge, the 250x and 300ex are the same other then motor and such). The Warrior was a great trail machine, good torque and its somewhat fast(slightly faster then the 300ex). But I wouldn't plan on jumping it over 4 feet unless you enjoy bottoming out the suspension! Everything the 300ex can do, the 400ex can do alot better, except back up! LOL. It jumps better, more power, faster, the perfect trailbike(IMO). Wheelies is questionable, the 400ex can wheelie really well(1st, 2nd, 3rd, and sometimes 4th gears), but the 300ex is so small you could pretty much pull it up in every gear. I know I could with my 250x. With the Warrior, I could pull a wheelie in 1st and 2nd, but if I started in 2nd, I could shift through the gears and keep the front end up until I shifted into 5th. Another thing to look at is size, at 6'-1" and 230lbs. I'm a little big for the 300ex, but my Warrior fit me perfect and so did my buddy's 400ex. Just try to ride them all and that will help out alot. Sorry about the long post, but I wanted to give some info on all three since I've had experience with all three. Good luck. Lata.

 

I had a Warrior for years, and I CAN NOT recommend it to anyone!! It handles big and clunkey, and it is relatively expensive. You can do way better for the money!! Yamaha should retire this design!!!

The 300 is OK, expecially if you are a smaller rider. It is without a doubt the BEST (production) tight trail bike there is, and it jumps as well as anything. The suspension is good (but not great). For the trails I ride, I actually prefer the 300. It is just enough smaller than the 400 that I can rail around the corners (rather than just "riding" around them). Stock power is kind of mellow though, so you will want to do some basic mods right off the bat (K&N, mufler, header for sure, and tires).

On the other hand, if you are going to spend a bunch of extra money on a 300, you might want to just go ahead and get the 400. The stock 400 kind of starts where the moded 300 leaves off. But it is a larger machine.

 

The 250ex is good for trail use , jumping and wheeling.

 

I've ownen both Honda's and have ridden the Warrior. I have to second everything Cowtit said. I'd just add that the 300EX can be pretty scarry in big whoops at speed, where it constantly trys to swap ends. Also, one big pluss of the 300 is ease of maintenance and the fact that it's vitually bullet proof. I'm 6' 220 and felt a little cramped, even on the 400, but I think this has more to do with the pegs being too far forward than the size of the bike.

 

I too considered buying a 400EX, but I want reverse due to the fact that I trail ride and climb hills which demands reverse in most sticky situations. So I turned to the 300EX, which has reverse, but I found that it is only $200.00 cheaper than the Warrior. The Warrior's engine is 70cc larger than the 300EX (279cc vs. 349cc) and the Warrior has one more forward gear (5sp vs. 6sp). The Warrior's reverse gear is also light years ahead of the 300EX when it comes to ease of use, since you have to reach over to the left side of the 300EX with your RIGHT arm to engage it! The Warrior is an old design (out since '87) but it is tried and true and there are many available aftermarket mods for it since it's been out so long.

Don't get me wrong, I think the 300EX is an awesome machine. But for $200.00 more the Warrior is the clear choice. If Honda dropped the price of the 300EX $500 to $1000 maybe I would have bought it instead. It's just not competitive with the Warrior at it's current asking price.

 

well i have rode the 300 ex and the 400ex. the 400ex is the 1 to go with. the 300 has half of the horse power as the 400, im not going to dog the warrior out b/c i havnt rode it but myself, i am a honda fan.about the reverse, if you can ride good and make good choices you wont need it. besides, is all the extra weight and power lose over reverse really worth it?the 400 is a good all around bike. in the trails it is the best, hillclimbing it is fair(i have never had trouble getting up 1 yet), mud its okay if you keep your tires spinning(not really deep mud, 1-2 feet is okay, no prob), pulls wheelies in 1,2,3,and 4th gear, with the use of the clutch,hanles like a bmw sport sedan.lol. well just my 2 cents. if i was you i would go test ride the 400 and the warrior and you make the call. good luck and let us know what you decide to do.

 

I agree get the 400. The Warrior is just to heavy. The 300ex is nice but is nothing compared to a 400.