I'm looking at a 97 Explorer 300 in pretty good shape. What are the pro and cons of this model. Issues that interest me are; air cooling, power for hill climbing, top speed, mod options, overall reliability. Thanks in advance.

 

I have a 98 xplorer 300 and it has been very reliable. I haven't had any problems with the motor or tranny. The only negative I can think of is the chain drive. It needs attention quite a bit, like cleaning and adjusting. The fact that it is air cooled is not a problem. As for hill climbing, no problem, I'm 250 lbs and it takes me wherever I want to go, and only once where I didn't want to. Top speed is only about 45, but with me, thats fast enough. I have put probably around 6000-7000 miles on it in 4 years and have had the usual maintenance to deal with. New sprokets and chains, a couple of spark plugs, tires, air filters. I did change the concentric bearings last fall on two of three chains, but it wasn't too tough to do. I would say its overall been very dependable.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I used to own a 99 explorer 300 and i loved it..kinda small for what i used it for but i liked the 2 stroke get up and go power unlike my mag 500. i sold it and bought my 500 though . inever had any problems wit it i think the top speed was about 55 on a good day. Very dependable machine.. the kid i sold it to is still driving it everywhere with about 5,000 miles on it. thats just my 2 cents. later