modded 400ex vs. stock 250r

[Rman]

my cousin has a 400ex with a pipe , air filter and jet kit and i was wondering if i got a stock 250r if i would be able to beat him in a race?

thanks

[Knips178]

I believe stock both quads have very close hp numbers. But the 400ex has much better lowend. I would think stock for stock the 400ex would get off the line better, but once they hit about 3rd gear the R would take over.

Now if you pipe, filter and jet a 400ex then race, and it depends on the pipe, the 400ex should win. The 250r in stock trim is fairly slow from what i've heard. They really get their power from the pipe and porting.

If you piped, filter and jet both.......no contest....the R would walk the 400ex easy.

[slick250]

A pure stock 250R is pretty slow by todays standards. A modded 400EX will kill one,..heck a stock 400EX would probably win in a race.

[beak7707]

Stock for stock the R will win. Yes I woud say your cousins 400 woud beat a completely stock R, but where are you going to find a bone stock R. You put a good pipe on the 250r and get it breathing good the 400 will be beat.

[wcr400ex]

My roomate has a stock bore 250r with a carb and a pipe and with my 440 and cam and carb and exhaust we were side by side. I did get him off the line a little but othere than that we were neck and neck....

[wilkin250r]

First of all, there is almost NO such thing as a completely stock 250r. If you have a 250r with the stock pipe, you should be slapped (unless it's a collectors item, and you never ride it)

So let's compare a piped 250r to a piped 400EX. The 250r is quite a bit faster in sand, but only slightly faster than a 400EX on asphalt.

[kruzofman]

i have both a 400ex, piped, jetted, filter.and the 250r has the same and i wounld have to say the 250r is quite faster. you can really tell the diff when you ride the 400 for a while, and then hop on the 250r...the 250 is more way more peppy

[Tom TRX250R]

My buddy raced his 86 stock 250R against a piped 400ex and still was beating it by a couple bike lengths. The only advantage the 400ex had was it wasn't spinning as much so it would hook up better in dirt but it killed it on the asphalt!

[zedicus00]

u guys hafta remember 88 is the fastest stock 250r while 86-87 is the slowest stock 250r. there is actually a noticable difference.

[1988R]

whats the difference between 88 and 89 that makes the 88 faster?

[zedicus00]

compression... the 88 was determined to be too hard to start for the average person so they dropped compression like 20lbs... i dont remember if it was a thicker gasket or a groove in the cylender or how they did it though

[deathman53]

no you have it backwards the 85/86 250r was the fastest,in 87 they put different 5th and 6th gears in, so that it didn't fall off the pipe when you shifted to 5th and so 6th wasn't like a overdrive gear. Also 2nd gear was updated in 87(stronger). there is other things the 88/89 got better traction due to a shorter swingarm and +1 a-arms. If you get a 86/87 250r, buy a -1 swingarm and +1 a-arms and you are at 88/89 geometry, there other differences inthe cluth, top end, etc. In 89 the put a groove in the head to decrease the compression, the 85/86 atc had the most compression, because it used a thinner head gasket, where the trx ones are thicker. It al depends on what your mods are and how well you can ride a 2 stroke that if you are gonna win.

[Rman]

so r u saying that an 88 would beat all the others in a drag, stock for stock?

[Rman]

one more question how many gears do all the 250r's have five or six and if they vary by year what are they and which setup works the best?

[papatrx]

One of my bikes is a 1986 totally pure unmolested trx250r. No pipe or anything, in fact it still has the original safety stickers on the fenders. One of my son's friends has a piped 400ex with corrected jetting. We have put the same paddles on both bikes and raced up olds hill at glamis which is a great test of power. We are about the same weight and I slowly get him out of the hole and then ever so slightly pull him the hole hill and end up about 2 bike lenghts ahead at the top. The bone stock r seems to pull a little harder and rev higher. The only modification to the r is the removal of the air box lid. The 400ex feels much heavier in the sand than the r.

[1988R]

Originally posted by Rman
one more question how many gears do all the 250r's have five or six and if they vary by year what are they and which setup works the best?
all the water-cooled 250R engines have a 6-speed tranny

[zedicus00]

the 88 had the most stock horsepower. the different 5 an 6 gear didnt go in till 88. plus the 88 had the better dimensions already. yes technicaly 85 86 an 87 would hav a higher top speed but the loss of usable 6th gear in sand an stuff pretty much prevents u from ever using it. it jus wont pull it withought a lot of mods. and in 87 they went to the longrod setup, torque engines.

[wilkin250r]

Originally posted by papatrx
One of my bikes is a 1986 totally pure unmolested trx250r. No pipe or anything, in fact it still has the original safety stickers on the fenders. One of my son's friends has a piped 400ex with corrected jetting. We have put the same paddles on both bikes and raced up olds hill at glamis which is a great test of power. We are about the same weight and I slowly get him out of the hole and then ever so slightly pull him the hole hill and end up about 2 bike lenghts ahead at the top. The bone stock r seems to pull a little harder and rev higher. The only modification to the r is the removal of the air box lid. The 400ex feels much heavier in the sand than the r.

That sounds about right, especially in the sand. I bet the 400EX would be slightly faster on asphalt, up until the 250r hit 6th gear, then the 250r would slowly pull ahead.

[ESR250R]

Originally posted by wilkin250r
That sounds about right, especially in the sand. I bet the 400EX would be slightly faster on asphalt, up until the 250r hit 6th gear, then the 250r would slowly pull ahead.


its alot harder to launch the 400ex than a 250r on asphalt (longer swingarm). so i think i would have the advantage there as well.