These two ATVīs are very close to each other - according to product data.
But I would appreciate any suggestions from those who has real experiences.

THX a lot

 

I owned a Recon and liked it. Friends have the Ozark, and it seems great. I think the Honda will have better/easier re-sale. I'd go with whichever one you can make a better deal on.

 

Hey there,

The Recon is a great machine....so is the Ozark. The Ozark does have more displacement though, 246cc to honda's 229cc. So, you'll get alittle more torque out of the suzuki and probably a slightly higher top speed.

Both are shaft drive, both are light weight, both are fairly inexpensive....it really boils down to personal preference.

Good luck with your decision.....I'm sure you'll be happy with either one.

-sean

 

i'd say go ride them first. don't take anyone's opinion as law because you might get on one or the other hate one or the other. test ride them, then ask about maintenance, then ask about reliability. whichever one is closest to hitting 3-3 or 2-3 that's the one i would go for.

 

Thank you!
I always liked more the Honda brand than Suzuki, but after going through the Honda forum I have learnt that if I decide to buy a Recon it could face with some serious problems as it was written in some comments.
Just read some of them:

- My new Recon hates water/mud - help?!
sounds stupid but seems it was true:
Link to the post: http://forums.atvconnection.com/mess...hreadid=497585

- Recon es not shifting
I have seen this serious problem more times even in the case of Ricnon and Rancher!!! But for me the manual shifting is not a problem
http://forums.atvconnection.com/mess...hreadid=496214

- Recon has white smoke in the crankcase
Maybe not a real problem. Link: http://forums.atvconnection.com/mess...hreadid=499120

- Recon power loss
Link: http://forums.atvconnection.com/mess...hreadid=494368

- Recon engine problems
http://forums.atvconnection.com/mess...hreadid=493049

- Recon driving me crazy
http://forums.atvconnection.com/mess...hreadid=486656

- Recon help. My 01 recon keeps stalling while going uphill
http://forums.atvconnection.com/mess...hreadid=487613

- Recon electrical problem
http://forums.atvconnection.com/mess...hreadid=486006


Off course I have met also some Ozark problems in the forum, but not so many and not so serious ones.
I think the Ozark would be really more bulletproof and in addition it has better parameters than Recon. The only advantage of Recon is its Honda-image and thanks to this it is easier to re-sale.
I have test-driven both and were very similar, maybe I would say Ozark had a little bit better performance, but the shifting was smoother by Recon. But generally both of them were fine.

I rather want to know more about their reliabilities, what you cannot experience during a test drive. All the comments from the forum helped me realized, that Recon is a little bit sensitive princesses, who you have to protect against mud, dirty water and cold weather, while Ozark is really a wild boar.
The most of ATV rentals have even Ozark because of its reliability. I have never seen one, who had Recon - at least in Hungary or Slovakia (Europe) where I live.
If you have any other opinion, lets share it! I put this comment purposely both in Suzuki and Honda forum as well to know the opinions of the both side :-)

 

I would dare say that Recons out-sell Ozarks by a huge margin. And the Recon ('97 to present) has been out a hell of a lot longer than the Ozark ('02 to present). So if you are basing your decision on how many posts you are finding, you might be a little off.

Since you mentioned one of my posts" Recon has white smoke in the crankcase" I will give you an explanation... I went up a hill that was really steep and had my Recon almost vertical for about 4-5 seconds. Some oil must have gotten sucked somewhere it didn't belong and this is what caused the smoke. It cleared up after a few minutes and hasn't come back.

Ozark or Recon... flip a coin and buy one already! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

i was thinking of the ozark as well. and others in the 250 class, but all along wanted a 250 sport quad. from the days i was a teenager i has a lt 300 and it was heavy quad and not as nimble and light like the sport quads. they could do more fun things while i was heavy and lazy. the quad that is.

 

I always hear people raving about how great their Recons are. Don't hear that from Ozark owners. The Recon just inspires something in riders, that the Ozark can't........

Honda has the intelligence to turn its engines sideways, so the drive shaft comes right off the transmission, without having to make a 90 degree turn (and lose efficiency).......that alone seals the deal for me. Why reward Suzuki for being so uncreative????

 

I just sold my Recon, and replaced it with a nice new EX. If you don't need the racks or fenders, get a 250EX. It will do abosoutely anything the Recon will, and better, because it is way lighter! Better suspension and disc brakes.

 

And avoid ES like the plague!