I am thinking of bumping my kid up from a Bomb. DS-90 to a new Honda 250EX. We mainly ride in Glamis. He weighs in just under 100lbs. Should he be able to move through the dunes pretty well on that quad? I am not too familiar with the 250. He just wants to be able to ride from Gecko to Olds, up Comp. Hill, and keep a nice pace on Sand Hwy. He has 3 years on his DS-90 and his ability has just passed the ability of his bike, but being that he's a little guy still (12 years old & 100 lbs.) I figured the 250 would be a safe bet, and then I can always mod the bike out as he gets older (for a couple years anyway). Any comments or input would be great. - Thanks
P.S. I know that the Blaster is a little rocket.... I am trying to avoid 2 strokes!

 

We were there over new year,s, I took our 04 z-250 and 04 250ex. Without paddel,s both did great, I was surprised where they would go. Even with paddel,s I do not think it will make it up comp, but give it a try.

 

12 yrs old and 100#? The 250ex will take him everywhere. My wife rides a 250ex in the Oregon dunes and it will take her almost everywhere except the biggest hills.
Keep in mind there is not a lot you can do to mod the 250ex except pipe, filter and jetting.
Your son will get a good kick out of jumping from a 90cc to a 250 (239cc).
It's also a great trail quad since you don't have to use a clutch. It will go just about everywhere.

 

By the way the Suzuki z-250 is a way better machine. Just my 2-cents.

 

With nice light six-paddle Skat-Trak Edges in back and Mohawks in front (on some light rims), the little EX does surprisingly well. With a light rider, even better.

Avoid any of the newer molded sand tires......they are to heavy for the little machine!

 

I know many will disagree with me, but in MY experience your son will outgrow that in less than a season. My kids started out on small three wheelers and went straight to 400exs at the ages of 9 and 10. I think the key was them slowly progressing on the 400. They didn't jump on the 400 the first day and open it up. I hated the idea of them outgrowing their bikes quickly. I think the 250ex and the 300ex are way less stable than the 400ex. As soon as your son starts to ride his 250 at its peak, he more likely to crash than going the same speed on the 400, because of the stability.


I bought my younger son a xr100 at 10 and a week later had to buy him a kx100 because the xr100( I thought was to big for him) was to slow and has no suspension.

 

thanks Chili, I know the Suzuki 250's are pretty good, but the 2 Suzuki 250's in our group are Dogs.... always wrenching on them, I wanted lower maintenance and better reliability, willing to sacrafice a little performance for reliability.

 

Reconranger:

Thanks. I was wondering about the paddles for this bike. I have Skats on all our bikes, have Gliders on his DS-90, did great. I had some tires thrown in on the deal, but I think I am going to return them (too heavy) for the 250, I have the ITP Sand Stars on ITP Cast wheels - A very heavy combination between the 2. Nice tires, but not sure If I want to weigh the bike down that much.

 

dariusld:

Ohhh, the endless debate on bumping the kids up to the next bike - I agree, the 250 is NOT a long term fix. Given my situation, it wasn't a bad move. my 12 year old has a little brother coming up right behind him, and I have no plans on riding my Raptor forever, plus my lil brother has a 400EX that he rides one trip per season that just sits in my garage, so, I wasn't too worried, buuuuuut, yes, I do agree with you, I look at the 250EX as a 2 season bike, but my wife likes it, and she'll be fighting my other boy for it in a couple years.

 

My (now) 14 year old rode a ttr-90, then a trx 90 for 3 years. We're old school, 90% rider, 10% bike. He had to be able to master the 90 before I moved him up. I put a big bore kit and a pipe on it and it took him most everywhere. Then the stinker grew bigger than me.

I put him on a 250ex last October when he was 13. He'll stay on that until he buys his own big quad - probably when he's 17 or 18. We looked at the 250 ex, the Z250, the Ozark, Blaster, Rally, and Trailblazer. The 250ex is what I settled on.

At 100 pounds, your son should be able to ride more than 2 seasons. He should have it completely mastered before moving up in my opinion.

Good luck in your search - get the right quad for him NOW. Safety is paramount.