My friends wife is 5'0" and about 95 lbs. So far he has bought her an 87' 250X. She liked it but couldn't start it, she could stand on the kicker all day and nuthing would happen.

He then bought her a 300EX. She liked the electric starter but she couldn't keep up with us. The bike was a dawg! Even after we piped it ,air filtered it and jetted it my stock Mojave would run circles around it. She would have to drop 2 gears on any small hill. Are all 300's dawgs or did they get a lemon?

She's now riding a 400EX which is much too big for her. She has the tail wagging the dog effect now. She has crashed it twice. I don't think that she weighs enough to controll this bike. Basically it rides her.

So what is a small/lightweight bike that would be good for her? I was thinking of a Blaster as they are a smaller bike. What about the kickstart? Anybody have any kids that ride one and can start it? How is the engine in the Blaster? My friend is anti 2-stroke and talking him into one may be difficult.

Anybody got any other ideas?

 

Chris142,

This is a hard one to answer.

I am a little surprised with her weight she could not keep up on the 300EX. The reason I am saying this is if she can't keep up on the 300EX which handles in my opinion better than a blaster, I don't think she will be able to keep up on the blaster either.

I am not the expert here but it seems to me the 400ex should be kept and the shocks loosened up so the tires remain in contact with the ground.

Its her weight more than anything. That 400EX set up correctly would be her best bet.

Chet

 

I think that the 300 EX was a lemon. It just didn't have any poop. I traded with her for a while and she smoked me with my Mojave. It just didn't go.

Anyways. The 400EX is very long for her. She is stretched out just to reach the handlebars. Plus it weighs 400lbs full of fuel. The fact that it has a twist throttle only complicates things for her.

I was thinking of tilting the bars back closer to her and talking her old man into putting the thumb throttle back on it.

All in all she does ride pretty good, She follows us guys everywhere we go.

 

I think that would help.

I know a lot of people here on the forums use twist throttles and I sure like mine on my KDX200 dirtbike but for my quads the thumb is the only way for me.

Chet[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

What about something in between the 300 and 400, like a Warrior? I'm 15 pounds heavier than she is, but the Warrior is totally controllable for me. Electric start, 4-stroke (so you wouldn't have to worry about talking into), reverse, plenty of spunk, and can easily be made spunkier. Dry weight is 407 pounds (I think) but because of the design, they don't seem heavy, to me anyway. Have her go sit on one and see how it fits. Sounds like whatever she goes with, her handle bars will need to be messed with to give her a more comfortable fit.

Just an option...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Hadn't thought of a warrior. Electric start and reverse. Is the power more controlable than the 400 EX? Her problem is that shes riding the tank to keep the front end down.

The blaster is out of the question since it's a 2-stroke and we live in SoCal.

 

I can't speak from experience regarding the EX. I have a friend who rides one, but she is a larger lady, she also never runs it through it's paces. So, I'm afraid I don't know how they compare in that regard. Just by the way they sit, though, I'm thinking the little bit of extra weight of the Warrior might be the advantage in keeping all four on the ground. They sit pretty low (seems like to me), they feel real stable. They're good grunters. I have made the usual bolt on modifications, so the front will pop up pretty good (better with a heavier person, I kind of have to work at it). I've never had it get away from me (uh, well...once, but it was entirely rider error). The only time I need to severely throw myself over the handlebars is when I'm doing some major mountain climbing (pretty much places that I probably really shouldn't even be [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]).

The best way to tell will be to get her in to sit on one. She will more than likely know instantly if she likes the feel of it or not. At least that's the way it worked for me. One please!

IMO, she will be sold on it once she rides it, but then again, she may not care for it at all. Worth checking out though.

Have her get a new red/black one! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

Forget the Warrior!! The bike handles big and heavy (I know, I rode one for years!!). The Warrior handles way worse than the 400EX, and if she can't handle a 400 well....... I had a friends who's wife was that size, and she was in over her head on the 400. I would have thought the 300 would be ok for her. Like you said, must have been something wrong with the bike. We had a piped 300 and it was a pretty respectable machine. I could bust out some pretty big air on the little bike. Maybe it wasn't jetted properly, or had some rediculous gearing, or something.

As for the Blaster (I had a Blaster for years too!!), it is more appropriate for her weight and size than the 300 (it is like 50 lbs lighter than the 300). The motor can be finicky and hard to (kick!) start, but with a pipe the bike will rip. But, the stock suspension is minimalist so that limits the bikes performance. But, there is the red sticker thing to deal with.

What about the 250EX or new Suzuki 250??

 

lakota? or mabey a warrior?

 

Sounds to me like the 300ex was sick..

RoostKing...