and I am deciding upon a Honda Sportrax 300 or a Warrior. I know thse machines arn't recommended for those under 16, but his skill level is as good as mine and he is pissed off at me for getting him a Honda Sportrax 90 which I am giving to my 8 year old daughter. Which is better? and why? Is it possible to get an unbiased answer? The "Yamaha Rules!" is not a valid answer and shows ones mental state. I would like concrete facts. Also, I had my bare bones Raptor at 8,000 feet around Truckee Cal., and it worked awsome. In fouth gear, it pulled like a champ. There was no hesitation, and I could feel no loss of power. It rocked crawled (but now I need a new swing arm protector) very well.

I know I'm a Honda owner but I am very unbiased. It depends on what you son like to do. The Warrior I would get for more wood oriented riding cause it just feels like it was made for that and ONLY that. Yes, it does that one thing and does it pretty good from my point of view. But the 300 can do trail riding like the Warrior but just not as good as it but the 300 can be riden like sport riding like hitting jumps and things like that. Also the 300 has a lot more aftermarket parts to buy than the Warrior. These are my opinions and the rest of the replies are probably going to be opinions too-- but remember my philosphy: opinions are like butts, everyone has one but most of them stink

get him a blaster and let him modify it to his likings

I haved owned them both. A Warrior has harsh suspension. You sit In a Warrior and On the 300ex. A Warrior will carve a corner better, because you sit lower. Power is equal. Honda has more plush suspension. Warrior has reverse. I like the 300ex better for more aggresive riding. My choice would be the Honda.

I would go for the Warrior. Personly, just owning own i can tell you many things about it. Every year we go out in colorado to the gunnison national forest. The first 2 years i took my blaster. All it did was bounce and bog down really bad. The 2nd year my dad rejetted his wolvy (the warrior and wolvy share the same motor almost) and it did great. It even pulled me over a few passes. Now i got a warrior. It is an 87 and rebuilt every part of it. Put a 45 tooth sproket on it and it had major power all though the gears up in the high elevations. The suspention is rough, but not harsh. You can set it on the softes setting and it will soak up every bump. Also, you can get a pull start for it if it is newer than 88. I have ridden a few 300ex hondas, but they did not impress me too much. Every Yamaha, i have owned has not give'n me any trouble at all.

Until the 400ex came out in 1999, the 300ex was rated the best trail quad period by Dirt Wheels. Most magazines say that the Warrior is a very dated design, although adequate. I take friends who have never ridden on my son's 300ex, and have converted several to ATV riders. They all love the 300ex, and it is considered very bulletproof. I just got back from 7 days of riding over 12,000 passes in Colorado, and the 300ex did it all with flying colors.

Good luck with whatever you decide,
Lorrin

Both machines are rated pretty equal. What is your sons opinion? He is going to be the one riding the quad. Let him sit on both and see which one fits his body size better. Owning the Warrior I know it fits a large rider comfortably. An experienced rider at age 13 should be able to handle either machine. Is he strong enough to move the quad without the reverse feature if he got stuck? I made sure the quad I got had reverse because this is not something you can add after you buy a quad. If I want better suspension or a stronger engine I can beef it up using aftermarket stuff. The aftermarket list for both machines is endless. With this in mind I would have your son very involved with the decision process. You explain things to him like reverse feature, suspension, aftermarket stuff. Tell him not to make a decision because his friend has this machine or that. If you let your son decide which machine he cannot blame it on you after the purchase. This is only after you have all the facts.
Have fun with this, they don't get any younger you know!!![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

First of all as you can see I'm a neutral Polaris owner in this conversation. The better overall quad I think would be the 300ex. Here are some factual opinions. The 300ex has a better suspension. It has reverse but the procedure is kind of difficult and needs to get used to. If you want a power machine go with the warrior. It has a higher top end and can hit 60. The 300ex can hit 52. Both have many aftermarket parts and can be maken even better than they already are. One last thing the 300ex handles better.

Another thing to consider is the 250ex. It is a smaller version of the 300ex. Not too smaller. It can hit the same top speed. It has auto clutch and an easier reverse. also it is very torquey.

So basically just get what your son likes. Both quads have their pros and cons.

All of your answeres have been very helpful. Most of our riding is done in high elevation mountain forests, with the once a year trek to Coos Bay, Oregon to ride the dunes. If I'm not mistaken, I think the Warrior also has reverse. Reverse is a must for mountain trails.
We're going to the mountains this weekend, and my son has no idea he is getting a new quad. I told my son that the Lakota is running terrible so he may have to use the 90EX or our old '83 ATC 180 (I know this is a mean trick) while dad happily ride the Raptor. He is bummed, but I can't wait to see the expression on his face when I tell him to hook up the ATV trailer to the truck and he sees the new quad.

I own a Raptor and one of my riding buddies has a stock 300EX. He has no problem keeping up in the tight trails with me. It is a little down on power but you can't really complain about the handling, as it is one of the best trail quads out there - and it has reverse.

Either way, both of your choices are better for him than that 90EX.