Hey!!! Ranger got an X!!!! Right on brother!!! As far as hitting the thumb for some more juice to keep her from puking, bear in mind that your X has a steel gas tank. I found that there was much rust scale build up in my tank when I got it. After a trip to Home Depot and a few hours of sucking muriatic acid fumes, the tank is very nice inside again. But a little rust in the tank wasn't the only problem. The shutoff valve and the carb need a roto-root as well. Okay. Now..... performance. I have raced my X against a number of different quads because we have a nice stable of stuff to ride at the family retreat. My bone stock X ( well, I have an air filter ) got smoked by a bone stock 97 300EX. It tarred and feathered my X pretty bad but this is a "stock" 300 that barely gets pulled by new 400EXs. Something is really weird about the 300 so I can't say that it represents a realistic test. I also raced 2 Warriors; a 97 Warrior with a rude megaphone race pipe and jetting, and a bone stock 99. The "piped" Warrior pulled my X but the 99 was a dead heat. I also rode next to a 00 400EX that my friend just purchased. He was breaking in his new 400 that day and rolled on the throttle a bit in 4th. He walked away from me clean. It is possible that my X isn't running as well as a fresh X so I wouldn't take my findings as gospel. I have a lot of other info on the X in terms of suspension and what not. Let me know if you would like to hear about the rest of my X research.

JSR9900
87 "X"
And a wallet full of cash that is looking for a 250R

 

1) i have never seen any problem or had anypeoblem with electric starts on the 300ex's and although i wouldn't mind a BACK UP KICKSTARTER i don't really care because nothing has ever happend.
2) 300ex's are newer
3) 300ex's are faster
4) they both rule because they are hondas
5) i like 300ex's color better but that is a personnaly preference
6) and 1 more thing i don't know what everyones problem is about the reverse jesus christ it isn't bad at all and nether is the choke (once you get used to it i never know the difference) and besides not to many other sport quads even have a F U C K I N G
revrse so stop moning

ride red or go home

DG_300EX

 

JSR9900- I would like to hear about your suspension and such, also what did you to clean the tank, i have not checked it, but i will in a bit.
mxracer98- how do you know that a 250X is FASTER than a 300EX? cuz umm i have been riding with my friend who has a 99 EX and well they are the exactly the same top end. and sorry to say but your mojave is not faster than a 300EX, the guy with the 99 300EX just raced a kid with a 94 mojave, the kid was lighter and the EX is was still 2-4 mph faster than the mojave. thanks

Ranger
'87 Honda 250X

 

Has anyone ever tested the top speed between the 300ex and the 250x? For reference, my 93 300ex was clocked at 63mph with a supertrapp ear muffler, k&n filter and a bigger mainjet. I also went 1 tooth up on the front sprocket, but it still felt like I was pretty much at redline.

All my plastic is oem stock and I was pretty much sitting upright (I weigh 180lbs). I believe I was going up a slight incline, but perhaps not. However, my alignment was/is off so I believe I could have went a bit faster and my tires were at stock PSI. I didn't think 63 mph was too bad. So, is it?

 

Ok, to clear everything up here. a 300EX IS faster than a 250X, stock vs. stock, period. No, a Mojave is not faster than a 300 and I'm not sure about the 250. Also, the 400EX will KILL the 300 in a drag race.
Here are top speeds of all the bikes except the 250X-not sure of it probably about the same as the 300

300ex-55.3
Mojave-54.7
400EX-62

Cason Simmons 98 300EX

 

Greetings again!!!! I was hopelessly lost in dreams of turning an X into a haul-*** desert racer. Finally, reality set in and I realized that it was pointless. There are however many things that can be done to an X to make it indeed cruisable for riding down your local whooped out desert powerline road.

Let's talk about springs.

The 87 X rear spring is a 7-point-some-odd kg/cm single rate that kicks like a mule. The 300EX has a dual rate that it is much more smooth and plush. I ended up with a Progressive dual rate 4.3-7.0 kg/cm that gives the back half of my X some good sack and allows the shock to work.

Problem is... my 13 year old KYB shock is worthless even though it is still holding all of its nitrogen. The budget minded solution? Glad that you asked. A 97-up 300EX Showa rear shock will work darn spiffy on the *** of an X and will not break your wallet.

Is it worth the money to put a $ 500 shock on the *** of an X. Definitely not. Keep it cheap 'cause she ain't ever gonna keep up with an R or 400EX in the rough stuff.

Swingarm?

Stock is way too short. The stock swingarm is 15.5" centerline of pivot to axle. To put things into perspective, the shorter, preferred motocross "R" ( the 88-89 chassis ) has an 18.5" swingarm length under the same measurement criteria.

What does that mean in terms of performance?

Well, you are very limited on travel and the bike will have a tendency to rotate easily about the center of mass when jumping. Basically, the X chassis does not want to fly straight and true like a longer wheelbase ( 50.3" to 51.5" ) "R" chassis.

Is it worth the money to put an LSR or Laeger swingarm on?? Well, in my honest opinion, a 3" over arm is a must for the thing but I am not going to do it until I have money burning a hole in my pocket.

Track width....

Ohhh Lord does a set of tires make a difference. The first thing that you notice about an X with a stock set of Ohtsus is that you are rubbing the plastic on the tires every time you lean back to unload the front end. Further, those tires are sooo damn close that it is actually pretty easy to get sucked under ( It happened to me and I got pegged to the bone on my shin - Nope, I wasn't wearing my Tech 8s that day if you were wondering ). Further, the stock Ohtsus are tall with lots of sidewall and a rolled edge which make the X want to barrel roll on hard turning. The solution? Glad that you asked. Some 20"x11"x9" Holeshots on 9x9s worked for me. The wheel spacing of the Douglas's and the added width of the tire really stabilized the rear. In addition, the plastic rubs the fender less. Overall, it was the best move to make.

What about the front??

Well, this is again a budget-conscious response. If I had my way, I would complement a +3" swingarm with a set of +3/+2 a-arms and that would bring the X into the semi-decent category for desert geometry. Unfortunately, I can't see dumping that kind of jing into the X when you can get soo much more out of an R thus my solution is simple; buy a set of take-off 400EX a-arms for a couple hundred bucks and call it done. Unfortunately, you won't get the forward throw that the X needs with a 400EX arm but you aren't spending $ 500+ either. The 400EX arms will bolt right in and are approximately 2" wider than a stock X arm. The result will give you much more stable handling and will allow you to equal your track width with wider tires. We are going to do this tweak on a 300EX first so I will keep you posted on travel increases and what not.

Front shocks-

I am currently working on an "X" solution for the front shocks in conjunction with the 400EX a-arms. I can guarantee you that it will not be a set of $ 500 aftermarket shocks because......Why??.... once again.... it is coin that can be better spent elsewhere.

Overall the X is really neat for trail riding and really tight twisty-turny stuff. I rode for 3 days last week and did everything from 5th gear powerline road sessions to 2-foot-deep whoop sections to rock crawling adventures on old mining trails. In my honest opinion, the X does a great job on good close slow whoops and trail rides because the front end is soo responsive and manageable; you can practically wheelie an X whenever you want by yanking back and hitting the pipe.

The X really fell short on the high speed rough stuff. I was looking for more travel, more wheelbase, and a lower center of gravity as soon as we got out of 4th gear.

I am personally struggling with what to do with my X. It is possible to turn the X into a "fun" MX ride by throwing some 8" wheels on widening it out +2 overall. I don't know if I will go that route or just leave it stock to trail ride. It is funny because riding a quad is just like any other sport; you cannot have one ride that does it all really well.

Hope this helps.


JSR9900

87 250X....
And a good home for a 250R

 

Whoops!! I almost forgot. I cleaned the tank with muriatic acid. I diluted the solution down to 4 parts water to 1 part acid. Don't forget to keep a big box of baking soda nearby in case you need to neutralize quickly. Muriatic acid is nasty stuff.

 

We can't let this die now it is just getting good.

------------------
Y2K300EX

'00 Honda 300EX

 

Does anyone know if I can replace the stock rear spring on my 87 250X, with a 300EX spring??? JSR9900 says it is a plusher ride, and that would be nice for the kind of riding i do. please help me out!

------------------
RangerSX 1987 Honda 250X(completely stock)

 

Gather round laddies! The "X"-pert is back. The whole stock 300EX *** will bolt into the X chassis. Spring, shock, swingarm, the whole 9 yards. It is identical. The 97-up 300EX has a nice dual rate spring and a nice Showa shock. Call the junkyard folks and see if you can score one cheap and your X will feel worlds better. Our 300EX feels as plush ( spring-wise ) stock as my 250X with the Progressive aftermarket dual rate spring. The Showa shock on the 300 is also a ton better than the stock X KYB.