I'm trying to decide between the 05 300ex and 06 250ex (with the sport clutch ) .The quad will be used by myself and my wife . I have years on the street and some dirt experience . My wife has minimal experience but can use a clutch .We want to trail ride and go to some small local dirt tracks with my daughter age 6 and her suzuki 50 .

I don't know if there is much of a performance difference between the two. I want something sedate enough for my wife , but that is also fun for me and that i won't quickly outgrow . I am 6ft , 200 lbs. She is 5ft 10 135lbs. Any advice ?

Thanks

 

Welcome to the forum.

The performance and handling edge will go to the 300EX but[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

I hate to say this but at your weight you will get bored with the performace pretty quick. Your wife will like the 300ex because of her size and weight.
I think the 300ex isa one of the best trail/wood machine out there.

Its been about 5 years since we had our 300ex but I shouldn't sold it.

 

Any specific suggestions ? 400ex ?

 

I have had a 250ex and it got old. If you're going on ANY track, a 250 will be inadequate. Personally I got bored with the 300 pretty fast (again) and am now moving to a 400ex.

 

Both are to small for you, and maybe a little tight even for her. I am 5' 7" and am comfortable on either one, but I wouldn't want to do an all-day ride on them. I love riding these machines though, because it is like riding a toy that you can toss around.

I say 300EX based on its better suspension. The 250EX is a sweet machine, but it is sprung a little to tight to be as comfortable as the 300.

The one place I would give the nod to the 250 is if you ride a lot of slow technical stuff (where the autoclutch is the hot ticket) or if you ride a lot of wet and mud (it has shaft drive).

The balooney stock tires are lame on both machines, so replace them right away!

You might want to consider a 400EX instead........

 

look at used warriors. 300ex is better than 250, by far, but id say the warrior is much better than the 300ex. 400ex beats em all!

 

Seeing that someone mentioned the Warrior, got to chime in here and say that I rode a Warrior for many years and it was by far the WORST of the quads that I have owned. It handles heavy and clumsy...........

 

i'm 6 185, the 250ex isn't that bad of a ride. i have been on mine nearly all day took a couple fo breaks here and there. it isn't that bad. if you are looking for great speed then this isn't the bike for you. if you are looking to keep up with the jones' then go with a bigger bike. if top end speed isn't that big of a deal to you then you can get away with a 250ex. if you have ANY inkeling that you will want to go faster then get the 300ex from jump street. your wife will be fine on it.

i always have to chime in because people absolutely dawg out the 250ex. usually it's someone that has a 400ex or a 660 raptor or some other really fast bike. what a lot of people on this board don't understand is that not everyone want's to break the sound barrier when then ride. some people are cool with going 50+/- mph when they ride, we don't all have to go 60-70mph. as far as on the trails i've taken my 250ex everywhere a popo 400 4x4 went. i could climb all hills, went through all mud/water, made all the jumps,etc. the 250 is a great bike, the really great thing about it is if you ever decide to go up you can keep it and let your wife have it while you go bigger.

basically you have to ask yourself one question."how fast do i want to go?" if your answer is really fast then get a big bike. if your answer is you really don't care, then the 250 will do you just fine.

 

As long as your wife doesn't mind a clutch, go for the 300. More oomph and better suspension/handling. Yes, the 250EX makes a great trail quad. You will be dissapointed if you take it to a track and try for any kind of airtime though. Suzuki 50's aren't very fast at all, and even after you upgrade to a 90 either of those will be fast enough. I will say though, putting along behind a youngster on a 50 is much easier with an auto clutch or even a cvt.

 

OK....seems that most have stated their feelings on the issue. I myself [as you see from my sig] have been riding 300EX's ever since they started as the 250X back in 1987. I like the 300. It has the power for whats really needed, they ride on the cushy side, and can go anywhere another quad can.
As you can see, I also have the 250EX's. My son and wife each have one and enjoy them a lot. My son and I ride a LOT of tight trails, hill climbs and everything else. Myself...I'm sold on the 300. I weigh 145 and 5' 10" in height and have never had issues for comforts in long rides, jumps or anything else.

Now....when it comes to the 250EX and trail riding, that's the ticket. It does JUST as good as the 300EX in my opinion because I've traded bikes with my son several times to take a ride. Yes....the suspension is a bit on the stiff side, and it revs out rather quickly, but all in all, it's a great little quad. And the sport clutch comes in handy.

On the trails the 250EX keeps up fine with my 300EX.

@ fisher62...

For YOU, I'd say get the 300EX and enjoy it. It'll keep you happy as long as you don't get easily intimidated from anyone else suggesting you need more power. Taking other peoples quads for rides is fun, BUT...you'll be starting something and the next thing you know, you'll be on a power craze. Also..if your wife is comfortable with a clutch, you'll be better off in the long run. Do keep in mind though that clutches have a tendancy to cause other problems if good shifting sequences are not done correctly. The clutch will not only go bad, but the shifting forks will also get rounded over and have to be replaced.

I'd recommend the 250EX also. Not more-so for you, but your wife instead for the ease of use features and simple reverse. In otherwards, gas-n-go. I think the longevity of this machine will keep her happy.

I've also got to add my opinion on the 350 warriors because I've had one.

Too heavy overall...not enough power....nose heavy....bad suspension. Stock for stock, I'd by a 300EX every day.

Hope my thoughts helped in your decision. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.


Floorit