I am compairing the 300ex with the Kawi Mojave. Any info on the EX such as durability, common problems, etc would be very much appreciated.

 

In most cases, I'd say the 300EX would be the best choice.

The Mojave is a pretty neat quad, and considering it's the only four stroke sport quad with water-cooling and dual cams, it should be great. Unfortunately, the water cooling and extra camshaft actually decrease performance (more moving parts in the engine) in this small of an engine without adding much in the way of reliability.

For a taller rider, the Mojave will feel really short and tippy. For a small inexperinced rider, it may feel a little more comfortable than the 300EX, but it's still not as stable in the corners.

Performance parts are available for both quads, but there are a bunch more companies making stuff for the Honda.

The company I work for used to race the Mojave back in 1987 - 88, and did pretty well with it on the national circuit (AATVA National Champ in '87). So it can definitely be made fast. All you need is $$$!

As far as reliability goes, the 300EX is more reliable in most cases. The Mojave is really prone to worn valves if you don't adjust the valves frequently. And it's not an easy job! It takes special shims. But the Mojave is pretty much bullet proof if you treat it well (same as the 300EX).

Although Mojave's will put up with lean jetting or overheating a little longer than the air-cooled 300EX, the higher compression Mojave engine will detonate on crummy fuel.

As far as problems with the 300EX, it really has no glaring errors. Only when they're modified do you start to have problems. Especially with bikes that have had the rev limiter modified -- these have a tendency toward crank problems. If I were looking for a used one, I'd try to get something relatively stock, stay away from the highly modified ones.

Hope this helps you out!

Pam


[This message has been edited by PamFalcioni (edited 09-27-1999).]