My wife currently rides a 250EX. As my youngest son is getting better at riding, we are finding that the family is now usually waiting on mom. I think she would ride a little faster if she had a better ATV. She likes the 250EX because it is small and does not intimidate her - but it is really too small for her. It has sufficient power, but she is 5'11" tall and the thing is just physically too small. She has never ridden a "better" or "bigger" ATV, so she doesn't know what she is missing.

I would like to upgrade her to a bigger machine, but I haven't yet convinced her that it is worth the money. An alternate approach would be to upgrade the suspension. It would still be too small, but with better suspension she might do better.

I have currently narrowed my selection down to three new (2005) quads:
- Honda Rancher 4x4 ES - This probably has enough power for her, but I worry that this is not a big enough step in ride comfort.
- Honda Foreman 4x4 ES - This is probably my first choice at the moment. I like the 5-speed ES transmission (although I have never ridden a machine with one). I just wish it had IRS.
- Yamaha Kodiak 450 - I don't like the tranny as well, but it has IRS and I have heard it is fun to ride.

Comments on those choices - with regard to my wife's needs?

If I upgraded the suspension on the 250EX, what kind of ride improvement might I expect? Would my wife be able to tell the difference? She doesn't race or jump - just putter along the trail, bringing up the rear of our family outting.

What kind (brand/model) of suspension should I consider? What would it cost? How hard is it to install? (do I need to have a mechanic install it? Or can I do it myself?)

Thanks for any advice.

 

you could go to www.worksperformance.com for new shocks. they are cheap and will provide a 100 times better ride than those stock shocks. if your wifes really likes that 250 then you could throw a pipe and air filter on it for power gains so she could keep up. i cant tell you about those three other atvs as i have never ridden one.

by the way what is IRS?

 

IRS is independent rear suspension. They say it gives a much plusher ride, and the expense of more body roll on corners.

 

the 250ex is a good bike all around, but even adding shocks isnt going to help soften the suspension THAT much, sure it will help. the suspension wont bottom, and it will surely handle better, should be plusher, but there is so far that the narrow frame geometry on a 250ex can be taken. the narrower the bike, the less suspension travel, and the bumpy more jarring side to side motion when you hit a bump.

take this for example

a stock 400ex rides pretty darn good, but if you put a set of axis or elka shocks on it, even works for that matter, matched with +2 a-arms, and +4 axle, giving it a total of 4 inches wider, the suspension has more "leverage" in the a-arms, thus provideing more bump controll, and a plusher more forgiving ride.

i know from expirance, that the honda sra line have a bumpy, forgive you if you may honda guys!, go cart like twitchy feel because of the frame geometry on the utilitys.

my rubicon doesnt handle all that well, due to that fact.

the ranchers are nice play bikes, but i have a feeling the lighter more agile 250ex will ride better, same goes for the foreman ES. i for one have never ridden a kodiak 450, but i did ride a grizzly, i am not a irs fan, for corners there is body roll, it did ride DECENT, but i honestly can't say it was a night and day difference over SRA(single rear axle) , for the amount of body roll it had, i would take a little less comfort, and a stable maching planted on the ground.

i would consider the polaris's , strange coming from me guys!, but one thing i have to admit is they sure do ride good, with irs on the sportsmans. but then you are giving up a little bit of reliability to ride comfort.

can your wife handle a fully manual quad? a 300ex or a 400ex really rides decent, the 400ex is a nice nice all around trail bike, espacially now the 2005 models have reverse, and nice bonus.

i would say take her to the dealer, and ask if she can ride what she wants, thats the only way to tell if she is too big for one, or too small.

v581

 

Thanks for the detailed input.

My wife can handle a manual transmission, but I think she would prefer something more automatic. My main reason for wanting an auto is because I want full floor boards. Most of the family rides dirt bikes, and when we get on the quad we tend to try to put our foot down and we have almost had some injuries. I think a full floor board would minimize that risk.

My wife has ridden a 300EX and we have friends with a couple of 400EX. They are pretty fast machines, and scare my wife a bit - she hasn't even dared to drive the 400EX.

I wanted to move to a utility quad with racks so we can carry more gear. We currently load up the kid's camelbaks to the max with jackets, lunch, and cameras. We could lighten their load AND go better prepared for emergencies or bad weather with a cargo box on the back of the ATV.

When I ride the 250EX it is the side-to-side pitching that drives me nuts. On bumpy terrain I can only handle a few minutes of riding. I suspect, as Vinson581 suggested, that a larger frame is crucial to a better ride, and that shocks alone won't do the job.

One problem we have in SLC is that most of the dealers won't let us test drive machines. A few will let us ride around the parking lot, but that isn't much of a test. Some won't even let us start the engine.

 

Family Rider,

Where do you usally go riding?

DWT

 

Soapstone is one of our family favorite day outtings.

The kids like 5-Mile Pass. I only like to go there if it isn't crowded.

I like to take the older kids to Diamond fork for some single track.

We rode American Fork a few times last year, but most of the jeep trails are really rocky (one reason I want a smoother ride for my wife).

For spring break we usually head south around Green River - White Wash area, San Rafael, Caineville, etc.

Always look for new places too. We mostly do family rides (kids range from 9 to 22), but sometimes I will just take the older ones and their friends and do something more aggressive.

How about you?

 

I think she would be much happier with Rancher or something similar. I personally would not upgrade the suspenion on a 250ex because i dont think she would be happy in the long run.

My wife has a 400EX and I sometimes think she struggles with the clutch even though she wont admit it.

It looks like we ride a lot of the same areas. I was wondering if you rode at any sand dunes because a 250ex would be much more fun than a 4X4 IMO.

DWT

 

We don't ever ride sand dunes. My son rode the dunes at White Wash for about 5 minutes before he rolled and it scared him pretty bad. He won't even ride the ATV any more. Everyone but my wife rides bikes and we hate sand.

We bought the 250EX instead of the Recon because we liked the "sportiness" of it - but we would be better off with a utility quad for our riding style. We now know that we go often enough that a better machine is worth considering.

 

I bet if she ever rode the Rancher 350 or 400 auto's she would fall in love with them. I now own a Foreman which I very much love after a lot of modifications, but it is a handful to handle compared to the ranchers. Used to own a Rancher and it handles so lightly that it was a pleasure to ride all day. Now the Foreman isnt a bear or anything, but it takes more effort to control it than the Rancher, especially in the 4wd mode. I am looking at purchasing a Rancher 400 automatic for my girlfriend to learn to ride. It has the esp mode also so you can shift if you prefer and the automatic mode for no hassle riding. The rancher gearing is so much better for trail riding than the Foreman as well. The Foreman is geared so low in the first two gears, that first is almost never used. I am always trying to find another gear and realizing I am already in fifth gear on trails...the rancher I had I was usually in third gear most times. Never fifth. The rancher feels so much lighter also and more sure footed and secure than the Sportrax 250ex.