All you Lakota owners, Tell me all the pros and cons about your lakota sport 300!!!

Its a toss up right now between that and the 250 ex...
I like the lighter front end of the ex, turning radius is way better but has no mud protection at all. The lakota seems to have better splash protection, any comments?

Does the Lakota wheelie good? (just a bonus[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

I have never owned a chain drive machine, how long do they last...?

Thanks in advance

 

stock for stock the lakota is a much better machine. I road the 250EX just recently and kinda laughed at the poeple I have read about in this forum that even compare the two. Dirt wheels compared the two as well and have pretty much the same opinion.

It's a real well mannerd quad wich needs a little help in power and speed. For $300 you can get all the mods I listed below and it is no comparison to stock.

I'm not trying to bash the honda, but the only simallarities is the auto clutch.
Yes it does wheelie!!

 

Gaff is right, check out the march issue of Dirt Wheels magazine...Excellent article and comparison on the two quads. I had the same delima of which one to get. But watch out! The local Honda dealership had a price tag on the quad, but when I asked "What would the take home price be", things were all different. When I asked them why the two prices were so drastically different they said there was freight charges, docking fee, etc., etc..."Several hidden charges".
It pushed the price up and over the Lakota.
I'm not knocking Honda or the 250EX, don't get me wrong, they make a fine atv. But the dealer helped make my choice. I am extreamly pleased with the Lakota, more torque, adjustable shocks, more suspension travel and hey if theres a problem with the battery, the Lakota has a manual starter...250EX doesn't...Down side, the Lakota is 100 to 110 lbs. heavier.
Either way, they're both good machines, check out the article. Happy wheeling.

 

Mt first machine was a Lakota. It was very dependable and a well balanced machine. The automatic clutch made it simple to ride and easy for the family also. The lakota never gave me any problems even in twenty degree weather, it would fire right up ! However, I out grew the machine. It did not have enough speed or power to keep up with the fella's I ride with. They all ride 400 ex. I recently traded my lakota for a 660 raptor and the difference is like night and day. Now I lead the pack and have everyone choking on my dust. The Lakota will be a great entry level machine, but if you want to compete or atleast keep up, buy the 400 ex or raptor. There are hundreds of accessories for both, unlike the Lakota. Dollar for Dollar though, the Lakota is worth the price. They sell them around here for 3,500.00. If you have anymore questions, I'll be happy to answer them.

 

Thanks guys,

This machine is for my wife, she wanted something sportier than her Kodiak. And since we live in Maine, there is mud and she doesnt want to be covered and wet all the time.. Ie 250 ex.

So we have narrowed it down to the Lakota 3900 is the cheapest in Maine
or a 2001 leftover Wolverine, 4825.

 

I ride with a Raptor and a 400ex and don't have any probs. keeping up, after the mods anyway. Granted in a straight line drag or wide open fire roads I would not be able to, however, up here in IN mostly tight woods riding. This is the Lakota's home. I'm not sure what would happen against a Wolv.

 

i''ve had my lakota since '99' and have no problems or complaints. gaff and stebob are right on the mark. i have drag raced two wolv's ,this was before i went to the 13 tooth sproket. by the time we got mid way thru 5th gear they were two lengths ahead. they had jet kits, pipes, and k&n like me. in the woods they are too tippy (wolv). i havnt been in the mud against them. the race might have been closer but i could not hear my lakota over there e-pipes and couldnt tell for sure when to shift.



99 lakota
ids2, 12 discs
jetted
k&n
13t counter
no racks
"cool" lights from auto zone
douglas .190's
front pros
all tracks and holeshot xct's
broke a piece, so just the footlever for the rear brake

 

Vlucdog,
I see you have Holeshot XCT's. How do you like them? How do you like the All Tracs? Are the XCT's heavy? What size do you have? How do you like the Pro fronts? Did you gain/lose weight with the aftermarket tires and .190's? Sorry for so many ??'s, I'm so torn between tires it's not funny. I've narrowed down to Razr's, XCT's, All Tracs, I have also considered the Pro for fronts too. I'm really leaning toward the Razr's but I just don't know!

 

the xct's are great on dry areas, they slide really good around corners. on mud their not so good as they dont clean out very well, if i know im going to be riding in muddy conditions i put the all tracs on. when i bought the front pros, all tracs, and .190's i weighed them on my bathroom scale there was'nt more than a 1 lb. difference total, from stock. i like the front pros fine, but if i have to replace them i would go with the razr's on the front. the pro's are the stock size as well as the all tracs. the xct's are 20" altho when measured there closer to 21". the xct's are also on the stock rims. the only problem i've had are with the all tracs are, rubbing the battery box espessialy when backing, i have slotted the box mounting holes to the max but they still rub a little. i hav'nt been to the badlands yet but from what i've heard i'd use the all tracs, i know you've been there from this forum. on gaff's sugestion i turned the fronts around, for a wider trac. had a slight problem with the valve stem hole , tried to just reverse a new stem and found out they only stop air one way, ended up tapping the hole and using a 1/2 x3/4 bolt and a o-ring and loctite, had to grind the head of the bolt down 1/8" and grind down two small flanges on the brake caliper, works fine know but hav'nt riden much since to see a difference in handling. sorry about the long post. i got carried away.

bill

 

I knew about only holding air one way, I should have told you all I stuck a oring in a stem cap and then glued the cap on. I'm ready for any of the problems to come up, I'm just going to weld the hole shut.
I rely like the handleing with the rims reversed, realy lets me carry alot of speed in the turns. I took a realy good look at the added stress, and I don't believe it's a problem unless you were to MX it and carry big air. Other than that the stress is not that much.
I have my quad and tons of changes on it to braek in this week end, I should have a graet report coming.