OK, the new 250EX is sitting in our garage now, I rode it last night for about an hour, here's what I think:
It looks really great! Maybe the best looking plastic on any Honda... the front and rear fenders have subtle flares that add a real classy look to it all... not to mention 400EX-style graphics, and the 250R-style headlight.

OK, down to the nitty-gritty... as soon as I stepped onto the footpeg the soft, cushy sport-quad suspension quietly squatted the machine down, and it rebouded without any quick jerky-bouncing motion... this is the first evidence that I was NOT sitting on a Recon frame and shocks. However, even before that, as I was visually inspecting the quad when I first saw it, I noticed that the shocks are NOT pre-load adjustable... kinda dissapointing in a sport quad.

Anyway, what amazed me was when I fired this thing up (handlebar mounted choke lever... nice) and immediately put it in gear, with a quick touch of the throttle the front wheels came off the ground about a foot-and-half, it surprized me, I guess I gave it too much gas thinking I was on a Recon or something. In fact, THE 250EX CAN COME OVER BACKWARDS IN FIRST GEAR AT ANY SPEED, CAN WHEELIE ENOUGH TO RIDE ONE OUT AT A 45 DEGREE ANGLE IN SECOND, AND STILL LIFT THE FRONT WHEELS OFF THE GROUND IN THIRD... and that's without popping it into gear when the engine is revving... I'm talking about pure throttle response!

This is one peppy push-rod motor.

however I could feel a lack of top-end power when I opened it up in 5th gear. I'm used to riding my slightly modified '91 250X and I know it will run aprox. 55mph... well the 250EX didn't feel like it quite got up to that speed... I'd have to guess it will run about 50mph...needless to say I didn't let it wind-out for more than a few seconds being it is brand new and needs to go thru a gentle break-in period; so who knows, maybe it could creep up closer to 55mph, but I doubt it.

Let's talk about ergonomics... it does look and feel smaller than a 300EX and definately a 400EX, however it also feels more nimble and a lot lighter... the specs say it only weighs 349lbs., that's about 25 lbs. lighter than the 300 or 400. I can lift the front end or back end with ease.

the specs say it has about an inch less suspension travel than my '91 250X, but taking it thru the (2) 1' jumps, (2) 2' jumps, and (1) 4' jump in our woods trails, it didn't bottom out anywhere that my '91 250X did. Keep in mind I'm 5'-10" and weigh 190lbs.
Just for reference, at certain speeds, both quads bottom out the shocks on the steeper than normal 4' jump. I would rate the suspension as plush for trail riding, and good enough for normal jumping.

Handling... it's a bit narrower than the 250X, 300EX, and 400EX, but with the 400EX-style rear wheel tread (long ***** slanted sideways), it seems to slide quite well thru the turns. The tires aren't as rounded as 300EX tires, but not as flat as 400EX tires, a perfect medium if I should say so myself.

And now onto the less exciting stuff...

The automatic clutch works great and seems to be quite "grabby" unlike most utility quad clutches, the tool box is mounted under the seat and is HUGE by sport-quad standards... it has another tool box inside of that where all the factory-sent tools are stored. I put a pair of mini-jumper cables I bought for $8 at Ace Hardware in the big main tool box, since the 250EX has no back-up starter. I'm positive it can be push or pull started in any case. Also the reverse is so easy, just push the famous red button, pull in the parking brake lever (where the clutch lever would be the other quads) and click down on the shifter... to get out of reverse, just pull in the brake lever and click the shifter up.

Well, there it is, I don't know what else to say except I like it and I think it is the perfect trail quad.

here's a link to ATVConnection's review of the 250EX, and in the March issue of DirtWheels they have one as well.
https://atvconnection.com/atvconnect...50exreview.cfm

 

I am glad to hear its a nice quad. Congragulations on your new ride!

 

thanks, but it's my fiancee's
she's 24yo.

PS we ended up paying $4,199 for it.

 

good luck with your new quad. I personally don't like the looks of it.

 

Nice review. Honda is going to sell a bunch of these entry level sports quads.

Now that Honda has came out with a entry level sports their engineers can now get back to designing a new "Raptor" class sports quad.

 

DSAPP-I put in a few hours on my daughters 250 this weekend, and the bike is now fully broken in. One impression I have is that the bike tends to understeer to some extent. This may be in part due to the conditions we have out here-desert hardpack. In softer soil, it might do better. It was distracting at first, but I found I adapted to it after a while. I also feel the rebound on the front shocks is rather fast, which can give the bike a bouncy feel in the rough stuff. Just wondered what your experience has been?


Several of the neighborhood kids (who all have Blasters) rode it, and they all seemed favorably impressed. My daughter was getting some pretty descent air off the small jumps.

 

well. I haven't ridden it thru rough terrain yet, or whoops, or sand, or mud, I just ran it down some open dirt roads, some tight, and some open woods trails, and jumped it about a dozen times...

I can't tell about the push yet, but I can sense that the front may be a tad bouncy on the small jumps, but I'm not for sure.

Maybe I'll find out a lot more this coming weekend.

When did you get your new 250, last week?

 

I knew people would like it honda will make a killing off them and they should, a good looking maxchine thay anyone can drive. Decent price too.

 

We've had the bike two weeks today. Changed out the stock tires for Holeshots right away. I don't like the squishey feel of balooner tires (on any bike), and the square tires add some stability. Hope to have it out in the dunes soon. The stock Recon does surprisingly well in the sand, so this bike with paddles should do even better (50 lbs lighter!). I think this is going to be a great bike for older kids, and beginner adults.

 

It will take 2000km for it to fully break in. It will rev faster and reach top speed quicker. It will be especially snappier when you are goin, say 25mph, and you peg it, it will acellerate better than a new quad with 200km. Now, this may not be the case on the 250ex, but it sure was on my 400ex, my dad's rancher, and my friends rancher. Brand new, my friends rancher 4*4es would go 82km down a big hill on pavement. Now, after 2500km, it will hit 83 on level ground. It also acelerates noticeably faster as well. My ex doesn't have a speedo, but it is faster, although I didn't rev it much when it was new. But after a couple of months, I could beat my dad's old polaris sport(99) a lot easier than when my bike was new. His new rancher is too new to tell, and we cant drive anywhere because of over 2 feet of snow. And smowmobilers wouldn't take to kindly to "slow" ATV's on the nicely packed trails.