I agree with Hondas old 2 strokes being very reliable. I had an 85' CR125 bike that just ran and ran and ran. (and on and on)
I disagree with the Zuki fit and finish comment.
I believe the opposite.
My 88' Zilla, and my brothers 86' LT250R are both VERY solid. No play in the tie rods,
no play in the steering stem whatsoever, no funny suspention sounds or feelings, and the plastic on both machines is screwed down in many places. Yes, the plastic is kind of a pain to remove, but at the same time this makes it very tight and stout.
My bro had his 86' LT in Glamis along side my 440EX a few months back. (before I bought the Zilla)
His bike ran great all weekend long in the dunes right along side my EX every minute of the trip, without a drip of coolant leaking, or any other shadow of a doubt.

My Zilla is the same way. It did require a recent rebuild due to the dreaded main bearing issue. (14 years old, cant complain)
Let me remind you guys that the Zilla's rear swingarm is among the strongest ever put on a bike.

I am not compairing the Zuki's to what I imagin a Honda to be like. I currently own my 99' EX (for sale). Past bikes include: 2001' Honda 400EX, 85' Honda 350X, 84' Honda 200X, 85' Honda CR125, 80' Honda Odyssey (sp?) and long term exp. with my buddies Hondas.
-Matt

 

Let me lend you some advice. I owned an 86 LT250R for 2 years, it ran for about 2 months of the year, it had AWESOME power compared to my 400EX I have now, but it was always breaking. I cracked the swingarm 4 times, went through a stator and stripped the crankshaft. If you plan on JUST duning it would be great, that is if you dont plan on jumping to hard. If you do choose to get an LT get a 87+.

 

well, as a big 2 stroke 250 fan, I must say honestly that the TRX was the most complete of the 3. The 88 model was named quad of the century by dirwheels! The TRX won almost every 250 shootout back in the day except the ol' ATV Sports '87 shootout which suzuki eaked out a win over the Honda. And that mag is out of business if that tells you anything! hahaha. I've always partial to Team Green and the Tecate 4 is my sentimental favorite and I ride it more than my R. Definitely the most peak power out of the 3. Here's what the 3&4 wheel action 88 shootout archives say:

Best lowend: suz-hon-kaw
best midrange: kaw-hon-suz
best topend: kawi-hon-suz
Best powerband- kawi-hon-suz
top speed-kawi 74.87
Overall Handling-hon-suz-kaw
stabilty-honda (suz-kaw tie)
turning-hon (suz-kaw tie)
front shocks-honda or suzuki
rear shocks-all good
rims and tires-kawi
ergonomics-hon-suz tie
ease of maitenance-honda-suz-kaw
OVERALL-honda-suz-kaw

honda also won most of the 87 250 shootouts, 86 head to head w/ suzuki before kawi jumped in and 89 head to head after kawi jumped out.

Ofcourse, very few of any these quads are stock anymore. once you hop'em up, it's anyone's ballgame.

 

oh, HP. I'm sure about suzuki but the Honda's stock rear wheel HP was 28 (33 at the crank) and Kawi's was 33-34 at the rear wheel and 42 at the crank. I think the suzuki was about 30 at the rear wheel..not sure about the crank though...probably 35 or so.

 

For power id want the tecate. Sand and dunes, tecate. mx 250r. and xcounrty trails i want lt all around tecate kicks

 

1 thing bad about the tecate

they are hard to come by in good shape.

and when you do find one it will be a lot of $$$

 

I'm somewhat fond of the Hondas.
They too can be piles if abused over the years.
I think it depends on how well the quad has been taken care of over the years.
All things being the same, I would pick the Honda.
They have a high resale value for a reason.

 

how about a 1991 lt250 w/ fmf exhaust ,renthals, and brand new sand skate 2's for 2600....is this a good price?

it looks pretty clean...any suggestions?

 

the price sounds good assuming the internals are not on the brink of needing a rebuild. Things like low compression, a worn out crank, worn bearings or a carb that will soon need a rebuild or replacement may not get noticed even with a good hard test ride. But hey, that's the chance you take with ANY used quad. Chances are the quad isn't in too bad of shape and may be truly perfect or near perfect. My tecate needed a carb rebuild right way and I soon discovered that the crank needed a rebuild too...not to mention the powervalve was improperly connected and wasn't working! Now it's truly in PERFECT shape and restored. My advice: Buy it. Chop him down to maybe $2400 and take the time and do it right: Let a GOOD, honest 2 stroke guy look it over, rip it apart and tell you where the quad is at. Even if he finds nothing, it's money well spent. At least you can ride with confidence that you won't ruin anything or make a big problem out of a little one.

 

thanks 2stroke...i could get it torn apart and looked at for free...the money goes to the parts that are in need of replacement...my grandpa has a friend that knows just about everything that has to do w/ mechanics.he rebuilt my dads trail bike (1973 honda xl350) and man does that thing have power.