Pages: 1
Posted by: BigWaynester
my boy is 12 and 75# the 250ex is great for him, he rips pretty good on it. I would like to get him a used 400ex to start learning the clutch on, but in reality the 250ex is plenty for him, and a very reliable bike. If you get a new 250ex it comes with a sport clutch.
Posted by: duneaholic
My 80 lb. daugther can climb anything on hers. It's completely stock. The tallest hill around here is 100ft or so. It's a fantastic maintenance free bike. The blaster is a great bike too. I personally didn't want to be having to kick it over for her all the time until she got used to it. Her bike runs the sand shark paddles great.
Posted by: duneaholic
Yeah Raptorlegs. It's also important not to overpaddle them either. The Sand Sharks work really well.
Posted by: dariusld
I know many will disagree with me, but in MY experience your son will outgrow that in less than a season. My kids started out on small three wheelers and went straight to 400exs at the ages of 9 and 10. I think the key was them slowly progressing on the 400. They didn't jump on the 400 the first day and open it up. I hated the idea of them outgrowing their bikes quickly. I think the 250ex and the 300ex are way less stable than the 400ex. As soon as your son starts to ride his 250 at its peak, he more likely to crash than going the same speed on the 400, because of the stability.
I bought my younger son a xr100 at 10 and a week later had to buy him a kx100 because the xr100( I thought was to big for him) was to slow and has no suspension.
Posted by: reconranger
With nice light six-paddle Skat-Trak Edges in back and Mohawks in front (on some light rims), the little EX does surprisingly well. With a light rider, even better.
Avoid any of the newer molded sand tires......they are to heavy for the little machine!
Posted by: nwcutie
My (now) 14 year old rode a ttr-90, then a trx 90 for 3 years. We're old school, 90% rider, 10% bike. He had to be able to master the 90 before I moved him up. I put a big bore kit and a pipe on it and it took him most everywhere. Then the stinker grew bigger than me.
I put him on a 250ex last October when he was 13. He'll stay on that until he buys his own big quad - probably when he's 17 or 18. We looked at the 250 ex, the Z250, the Ozark, Blaster, Rally, and Trailblazer. The 250ex is what I settled on.
At 100 pounds, your son should be able to ride more than 2 seasons. He should have it completely mastered before moving up in my opinion.
Good luck in your search - get the right quad for him NOW. Safety is paramount.
Posted by: ShadyRascal
Okay I'll chime in here too. The 250 4 stroke bikes are very good and virtually maintenance free. But, don't forget the Yamaha Blaster. I've had a couple of them, plopped my boys on them when they were 8 or so. The Blaster can grow with the kid, if you don't mind a little wrenchin'. Once they got to where they wanted more power (we ride the Idaho dunes big HP is needed) I piped and ported one of them. Then put a bigger carb on. Darn near keeps up with our Z400 in a short race. With just these mods a 250 4 stroke couldn't dream of keeping up with this Blaster.
Now, rather than get a bigger wheeler for my youngest (age 11 now), I'm doing a whole makeover on the Blaster. Longer swingarm, wider a arms, more engine work. Now it'll be fast and keep him good for a couple more years.
Well, one thing I set out to say is, the Blaster stock is 325 pounds, and that's with steel wheels and a heavy pipe. You end up at about 310 with aluminum wheels and a decent aftermarket pipe. To me that's a very good safety feature, comparing to the 4 strokers that run more like 380 or so.
I could have easily upgraded to a Z400 or 400EX, I did get a Z for my older (14) son, but I feel better with an 85 pound kid on the lightest bike I can get him on. For what it's worth, my boys have ridden out of the cradle and are very good too.
SR
Posted by: Red400EXRod
12 yrs old and 100#? The 250ex will take him everywhere. My wife rides a 250ex in the Oregon dunes and it will take her almost everywhere except the biggest hills.
Keep in mind there is not a lot you can do to mod the 250ex except pipe, filter and jetting.
Your son will get a good kick out of jumping from a 90cc to a 250 (239cc).
It's also a great trail quad since you don't have to use a clutch. It will go just about everywhere.
Posted by: Raptorlegs
I think the key for the 250ex in sand is paddles. Think it's a must based on what I've seen.
Posted by: Quad4Fun
Quote
P.S. I know that the Blaster is a little rocket.... I am trying to avoid 2 strokes!
Doesn't sound like he wants a Blaster........................
We bought a 250ex for my wife, that was quickly comandered by my 80ish lb 11 y/o daughter.
Stock, with paddles, she zips around almost everywhere.
She has a blast on the 250...
As Red400EXRod said, I'm gonna pipe/jet/filter it.
Also, consider widening it out a little bit. I'm gonna go 1-1/2" front, and 2" in the rear.
As good a rider as my daughter is and is getting better, I won't even consider putting her on a 400 or bigger for a while. Anybody can ride a quad under "normal" conditions.
Putting a young, lightweight, physically weak (compared to teenagers and adults), on a quad that big and powerful is, and has been, a disaster. They "generally" just cannot handle them if they get into trouble.
Posted by: spsocal
I am thinking of bumping my kid up from a Bomb. DS-90 to a new Honda 250EX. We mainly ride in Glamis. He weighs in just under 100lbs. Should he be able to move through the dunes pretty well on that quad? I am not too familiar with the 250. He just wants to be able to ride from Gecko to Olds, up Comp. Hill, and keep a nice pace on Sand Hwy. He has 3 years on his DS-90 and his ability has just passed the ability of his bike, but being that he's a little guy still (12 years old & 100 lbs.) I figured the 250 would be a safe bet, and then I can always mod the bike out as he gets older (for a couple years anyway). Any comments or input would be great. - Thanks
P.S. I know that the Blaster is a little rocket.... I am trying to avoid 2 strokes!
Posted by: spsocal
thanks Chili, I know the Suzuki 250's are pretty good, but the 2 Suzuki 250's in our group are Dogs.... always wrenching on them, I wanted lower maintenance and better reliability, willing to sacrafice a little performance for reliability.
Posted by: spsocal
Reconranger:
Thanks. I was wondering about the paddles for this bike. I have Skats on all our bikes, have Gliders on his DS-90, did great. I had some tires thrown in on the deal, but I think I am going to return them (too heavy) for the 250, I have the ITP Sand Stars on ITP Cast wheels - A very heavy combination between the 2. Nice tires, but not sure If I want to weigh the bike down that much.
Posted by: spsocal
dariusld:
Ohhh, the endless debate on bumping the kids up to the next bike - I agree, the 250 is NOT a long term fix. Given my situation, it wasn't a bad move. my 12 year old has a little brother coming up right behind him, and I have no plans on riding my Raptor forever, plus my lil brother has a 400EX that he rides one trip per season that just sits in my garage, so, I wasn't too worried, buuuuuut, yes, I do agree with you, I look at the 250EX as a 2 season bike, but my wife likes it, and she'll be fighting my other boy for it in a couple years.
Posted by: spsocal
Bigwaynester.... yes, got the sport clutch, good training for the next step up. Overall, seems like the 250 should work out ok. Probably gonna go with a 6 paddle, Skat-trak Extreme 21x12x8 tire. Dealer through in some ITP Sand Stars on the ITP cast wheel..... too much paddle and way too much weight I thought. Next trip out is Jan. 28
Still gotta run some break in hours between now and then. I'll post an update on how the bike did after that weekend.
Thanks to all that posted their answers... much appreciated!!
Posted by: spsocal
Afamilyoffour....
I will let you know. For years now, I have trusted Joe at Fullerton Sand Tire. He has never given me bad advice. I have purchased many many tires from them and upgraded, and changed many - always good advice, anyway, he is the one that told me to ditch the Sand Stars and use the 6 paddle, 21x12x8 skat, he says that is the setup he's used on the 250EX for years. I will post a follow up on how they worked.
Posted by: chili3
We were there over new year,s, I took our 04 z-250 and 04 250ex. Without paddel,s both did great, I was surprised where they would go. Even with paddel,s I do not think it will make it up comp, but give it a try.
Posted by: chili3
By the way the Suzuki z-250 is a way better machine. Just my 2-cents.
Posted by: DuneRacer450
Ya the 250ex should do him good. My first quad was a 250ex and i rode it at the dunes. Since he is about 100 lbs he should have a great time on it that i did. I recently moved up to a 450r only because i got bored with my 250. Im also 135 and 15, so 250ex should be a blast for him.
Posted by: AFamilyofFour
We just bought our oldest a used 250ex (2001) and he is just starting to ride through the dunes. He only weighs in about 75lbs. The bike is completely stock, in fact, when we went out for New Years, my hubby rode it all through the dunes (225 lbs) and got almost everywhere. Although, the "Big Guy-Little Bike" looked funny...lololol He probably took a few years of life off of it...lol
I think you'll be very pleased with the 250ex in the dunes....we are!
Posted by: AFamilyofFour
spsocal...
let us know when you put those paddles on. We're torn between going to something like the Maxxis Razors or keeping knobbys on it or going with paddles. My husband runs ProWedges on my 400ex and he's thinking of trying those on the 250ex to see how that works too.
Good luck and enjoy!
Posted by: HobbitOnAZilla
i have to agree with shadyrascal. the blaster would be the better bet. i rode an 89 blaster for about a year then i moded it. i piped, ported and polised, raised the compresion 220 psi, put a bigger carb on, and pulled the oil ingection off it. its been on those mod's for a bout 6 years, and it is still on the origanal piston. so the engine will hold together pretty well if your worried about having to work on it alot cause its a 2 stroke.
