Hi all, I'm not overly famililar with the Suzuki LT250R but there's one for sale in my area. I don't recall all the mods he has on it but it has new racing plastics and the engine was rebuilt recently. I currently own a 2003 400EX and my wife wants somthing similar. Can anyone tell me how they compare? With light engine work how much horsepower can I squeeze out of it? He is asking $2350 for it, is that a decent price? Do they handle as good as the 400EX? How are the stock shocks? If I do buy it should I give my wife the EX and keep the LT for myself? Thanks for any help.

 

i have an 88 and love the thing.it will take some tinkerin from time to time but they will flat out move. it prolly isnt what your wife would be interested in though. if any thing i would give her the 400 and keep the lt for yourself . this thing when stock should eat your 400 for lunch.i woldnt get it though unless you like to work on the things cause remember this is an old machine and without tinkering and maint. it wont last...

 

motodog1: Thanks for your info. I do like to work on my quads, though not all the time. It can't be as unreliable as some of my vintage(70's) 2 stroke quads/motorcycles.

I guess this one has been ported/polished and was bored .20 over. It also has some aftermarket reeds and I believe he said a pipe.

 

The 87 LT is the fastest of all years. It should be considerably faster than your ex, although the handling is not as good. I would think the ex would be better for her 'cause of the smoother four stroke powerband and honda ergonomics fit smaller people better.

 

I have an 87 Lt 250R and it's really fun but if you wanted somthing close to your 400ex your going in the opposite direction. The Lt is a Racer at heart and is not as Driver "Friendly" as a 400. The Power is at the top and it likes to be run wide open (at least the way I have mine set up).
I would'nt give it to your wife because it's going to be more of a time investment and frankly not as easy to ride, but don't let that scare you, it's alot less expensive than a Honda 250 or any one of the new quads but if you set it up right it will hang with all of them, and the fact that she could beat the pants off you with it.
As far as performance it's far ahead of the 400. With the Mods I have on mine I can beat Z400's 400ex's ds650's and raptor's as long as they are not heavily modded, and even stock banshees. I'm happy with mine, I would'nt trade it for any of those thumpers, the 250R is in a world of it's own thats why they are still popular after this many years.
Hope this helped...Good Luck

 

Thanks for the good info.

My biggest concern is handling. I like to ride my 400EX on MX tracks and love how well it handles I have it moded a bit so the speed is quite a bit up from stock. So is the LT250 better for just straight line speed? Is it's weak point in handling(like a Banshee)? The things that attracted me to the LT250 is the 2 stroke(I like tinkering), the lighter weight and the price is cheaper than a Honda 250R.

 

The handling on the LT is marginal in the front end department. They have short a arms and the shock travel to a arm travel is poor also. +2" a arms would be a large help especially with the lower shock mounts moved outward. The frame in front is wide, and the a arm angle is parrallel to the ground rather than raked back (look at your EX) so the bumps are transmitted to the frame more.

That's the only bad point, albeit a rather large one, but I do like the way I can ride and manipulate my LT with it's light weight and good (for me) ergos.

 

The Handling on your LT will never be that of your 400.....I personally own both a 400 and my LT and my 400 is only driven when my LT is down....you wanna know why ????????????? THE FUN FACTORY BABY!!!!! I love the 2 stroke rip, i love running it when noone else has one and everyone is curious how this old beast is just as fast as the $6500 quad they just bought hahahah'

But the past posts are correct, it takes some turning, some loving etc

 

This would also make it more prone to bump steering. I suppose I could re-weld the mounts to put some rake in the a-arms. Of course the shock mounts would have to be done as well.. Has anyone done this?

 

If you set up the tie rods so that their length and angle is the same as the length and angle of a 'string' between the upper and lower a-arms pivots and the centerline of each ball joint, you will have almost zero bump steer. This may require modifying the steering arm that bolts to the spindle.