I am a beginner/intermediate atv guy. I've ridden a 250ex and a Ozark, both of which i had a blast on. I have about $2000 to spend on one and my parents agreed to pay the rest of one if it wasnt that expensive. The z250 MSRP is 3899 if i am not mistaken and i found a nice used 2002 300ex for about 3k. Since i am fairly new at riding, which quad would you suggest? I know that the 300ex has a clutch (most quads above 250 do) and would the clutch be a turn down for me purchasing this quad because i am not used to it. Or should i just get the old reliable z250?

 

You can learn to work the clutch in a matter of an hour....once you get the hang of it it's a piece of cake. When I got my XR80 when I was 12 it only took me 15 minutes to get going and a day to have it down where I would never stall or have any trouble.

 

the manual clutch will have a performance advantage over the auto clutch, there's less hesitation. plus i think it's fun
but the auto clutch will be a nice conviniece because u don't have to worry about it, just shift and yer done.
you'll get used to the clutch real quick and i think it will be more fun to play around with

 

I'd pick the 300ex, there's a bunch of parts for it and clutching is just more fun.

 

I began riding ATV's only 7 months ago. I started on an Arctic Cat 375 automatic then went to an Arctic Cat 400 auto clutch. I just fell in love with riding. When my husband (Pechmial) bought a Preditor, he also got a Honda 300EX for me. I was a bit scared to think of making this switch at first....BUT...after one afternoon of riding the Honda, I was HOOKED!!! It only took me a very short time to get the clutch down. Using a clutch is so much fun...I couldn't imagine being on an automatic again. I absolutely love my 300EX and learned to ride it well in a very short amount of time. I'm currently planning to do some modifications on it until I have the money to upgrade to a faster HONDA. So IMHO...go for the 300EX over the 250EX.

 

My wife began riding ATV's only 7 months ago. She started on an Arctic Cat 375 automatic then went to an Arctic Cat 400 auto clutch. She just fell in love with riding. When I bought a Preditor, I also got a Honda 300EX for her. She was a bit scared to think of making this switch at first....BUT...after one afternoon of riding the Honda, she was HOOKED!!! It only took her a very short time to get the clutch down. Using a clutch is so much fun...she couldn't imagine being on an automatic again. She absolutely loves her 300EX and learned to ride it well in a very short amount of time. She's currently planning to do some modifications on it until she has the money to upgrade to a faster HONDA. So IHHO...go for the 300EX over the 250EX.

(Love ya, Honey. I couldn't resist)

And I'd recommend the 300ex over the 250 any day. Way more modifications possible on it. Don't worry about the clutch. I went from the AC 400 auto clutch to the Predator and had the clutch down in a matter of minutes. I still took the time to practice and be sure I had it down, but it actually took more time to get used to braking (the Arctic Cat's use single lever braking on the left side, where a sport's clutch lever is) then using the clutch to shift.