400ex!!... 250r?

[bjjmoore]

just picked up a 400 with a 440 kit and a stage two hotcam. needless to say, I love it!!

I keep hearing about the 250r and was just wondering, whats all the hype about? Is this a bad *** machine or what? Is it fast? How does it compare to the ex or 450r? Just wondering, should I pick one up, are they worth it?

[UNBROKEN]

the 250r will smoke a 440 with cams , my buddy had a 250r and i was realy impressed with it but in the woods is were the ex realy shines , the 250r is a race bike the 400ex is a trail bike , apples to oranges here

[katch26]

they probably make close to the same power but the 2strokes have a better power to weight ratio.....those motors are much lighter.

[bigbad400]

i have rode with modded (ones a 310cc, bill ballance pipe on it!!)250rs now for a year or better and they all get on my 400 and say its way better, they have topend speed but i always, ALWAYS, take them off the line for like 30-40 feet, then they start to catch me but dont pass me till middle of 4th . but they have a 6 speed transmission and they are almost 15 mph faster on topend than my 400. there fun if thats how your ride, i want all my power now. and i hate the feeling that im gonna blow it up if i get it too reved up, my 400 dont need to be reved much to get the same results. reliablility is out of the question compared to the 400.

Originally posted by bigbad400
i have rode with modded (ones a 310cc, bill ballance pipe on it!!)250rs now for a year or better and they all get on my 400 and say its way better, they have topend speed but i always, ALWAYS, take them off the line for like 30-40 feet, then they start to catch me but dont pass me till middle of 4th . but they have a 6 speed transmission and they are almost 15 mph faster on topend than my 400. there fun if thats how your ride, i want all my power now. and i hate the feeling that im gonna blow it up if i get it too reved up, my 400 dont need to be reved much to get the same results. reliablility is out of the question compared to the 400.

That's the thing though, they won't blow up. They just scream to the moon.

And 6-speed? Only yamaha's came with 6-speeds...

[atv fan 28]

Originally posted by DMC-4OOEX
That's the thing though, they won't blow up. They just scream to the moon.

And 6-speed? Only yamaha's came with 6-speeds... nope! 250Rs came with a 6 speed too!

Originally posted by atv fan 28
nope! 250Rs came with a 6 speed too!

For real? Hmm you learn something new everyday. That's pretty cool, I like 6-speeds.

[slightlybent47]

I had the 250r trike and they are scary fast, and yes they had 6 speeds. Even with the six speeds you go through them so fast, it seems like just four. The 250r will launch you up the face of a jump better with the power band then the ex will. The r feels like a screaming race machine and the ex feels more like a tractor. Both are good machines. I also had the quad racer 250r and there pretty much the same thing. When the R's power band kikks in it's like a rocket but it don't last long, before you have to shift.

[atv fan 28]

Originally posted by bigbad400
i have rode with modded (ones a 310cc, bill ballance pipe on it!!)250rs now for a year or better and they all get on my 400 and say its way better, they have topend speed but i always, ALWAYS, take them off the line for like 30-40 feet, then they start to catch me but dont pass me till middle of 4th . but they have a 6 speed transmission and they are almost 15 mph faster on topend than my 400. there fun if thats how your ride, i want all my power now. and i hate the feeling that im gonna blow it up if i get it too reved up, my 400 dont need to be reved much to get the same results. reliablility is out of the question compared to the 400. a 250R handles alot better than a 400!! everyone knows that. and its going to have to rev higher to make more power since it is a 2 stroke. and as far as reliability i think your mistaken! i would take a stock 250R over a modded 400EX anyday!!

[CJM]

250R is a race machine and 2 stroke, needs rebuilds often imho. Powerband is quite good but you go thru the gears QUICK. However its lighter and will handle better to a degree. Most happy racing and the motor screaming.

EX is more reliable overall b/c 4 stroke and needs little maintenance. Has low end power but not like a 2 stroke, much better suited for all around riding.

Had a CR250, insane power and excellent rider but the rebuilds suck and so does mixing gas.

Originally posted by CJM
250R is a race machine and 2 stroke, needs rebuilds often imho. Powerband is quite good but you go thru the gears QUICK. However its lighter and will handle better to a degree. Most happy racing and the motor screaming.

EX is more reliable overall b/c 4 stroke and needs little maintenance. Has low end power but not like a 2 stroke, much better suited for all around riding.

Had a CR250, insane power and excellent rider but the rebuilds suck and so does mixing gas.

A 250r is less maintenance then a 400ex.. lol. I love how everyone assumes 4-stroke= less maintenance when it's actually quite opposite. There IS no maintenance really for a 2-stroke. You never really have to change the gear oil, and a filter to clean, a spark plug, and thats it. A 4-stroke you have valves to adjust, oil to change, spark plug, etc.

Rebuilds are easy and should last a decent while if it's tuned right.

[Ruby Soho]

if you know how to ride a 2 stroke, id go with the 250r.

nothing better then rippin on a 250 2 smoke

[Hoosierd]

Hi all, not a regular poster here but this one hit home and wanted to give my experiences. Started on a 200M...whew that sucked. Then a '86 250 3-wheeler.....that thing was flat out spooky! LOL But I loved it. Then started getting beat up by the quads so I finally broke down and traded in the 3 for a 4 ('89) 250R in the crate leftover in late '90.
That bike was the most reliable, fastest, best handling quad I have ever ridden. Slowly did some some mods and really made it even stronger and better yet. Sold it off to race sprint karts for a for a few years then came children so all the toys were sold off.

Now my son is old enough to really be into riding so I am restarting again. I bought a so-called "fully race built" 440ex with all the bells and wistles. Get it home, fire it up......and gotta admidt......this thing is boring. Boring to the point that I am thinking of giving it to my son and finding another 250R. I was spoiled by the 250R!
The following is per my experiences only:
250R - Very low basic maintainence
Very powerful
Great duner - Great MX - Great woods/even tight stuff

440ex
Low end torque - easy to wheelie - that gets old fast
Heavy..ill handling unless tons of upgrades
way louder to get to a performance level
Maintenance on the 250R way less than 440ex

Again, my opinion only and that usually ain't much! :D

[bjjmoore]

so how does the 250r compare to the 450r??

both race machines
gobbs of power for both

two stroke vs. four stroke?

[400man]

I own both a 86 250r and a 00 400ex. the 250r is setup for woods racing/trail riding with some mild mods (ported oem cylinder, exhaust, carb, intake ect.) and the 400ex is just piped.

me and my brother got out in the field one day and lined em up, they were even in the first 20 or 30 feet, then the 250r walks of and leaves the ex in the dust. these bikes are 2 completely different animals. the 250r loves to be reved and makes most of its power in the midrange of the powerband, where the ex feels the strongest in the lowend and midrange.

personally, I think the 400ex power is just easier to ride/race in the woods, especially the tighter trails. with the 250r, you have to have it in the right gear or your your either boggin' around slipping the clutch, trying to get the powerband to kick in, or your revvin to the moon and spinnin. with the 400ex, you can leave it a gear higher and not even touch the clutch and lug the motor all day long. and if i had to choose betwee the two.............i'd have to stick with the 250r cause I think its more fun to ride.

[slightlybent47]

They are both great machines, it comes down to ride ability. You don’t want a high rev supper torque machine in the tight woods. If you have too much power you can’t use it in tight woods. But for dunes or open track ridding TT racing there great. The ex is more controllable and more predictable and works better in the woods then the R.
Over the years they have been able to get some of that high rev torque from the 450 four stroke, but with that added performance comes less reliability and more maintenance.

[jfwyatt]

i have had both still have 2 400ex based machines ones stroked the others just bolt ons. sold my `86 250r last year i was the second owner and continued his maintence of oil change after every 10 hrs of ride time. when it sold it still had the original piston and clutch in it. every spring i tore it down and measured the piston it was always good so i just installed new rings . it never gave a minutes trouble in 12 years of riding at least one weekend a month thru the summers. my 400exs with the exception of the stroker have been nearly as reliable. they seem to wear brakes and clutches out on me. the 250r was faster and more fun to play on but the 400exs won out on the fact that i aint got to mix gas and the electric start. both are great bikes they just have different purposes. i hope to get back on the trail soon as my knee heals back up. Apperantly if your foot slips off the peg and gets drug under the rear wheel your knee cap dislocates. go figure maybe i shouldnt have trashed me heel guards.

[Nac's22]

I currently own a 250r and a 450r set up for mx and a 400ex that is set up for whatever I feel like when I get the money to get it back together. My thoughts on the fun factor on the 3 is the 250r wins every time. There is nothing like the hit of the 2 stroke power and if you know how to ride it they are hard to beat. The fastest one is the 450r followed by the 250r followed by the 400ex. The 450 is my racer now, the 250 is blown up(1 season of racing and riding is pretty good to me) sitting in the corner in need of a frame, top end, and new front shocks. If all 3 were running for woods my 400 would get the nod, mx race the 450 gets the nod, mx practice/ play riding/ some fun races the 250r always gets it
My 450R has a ported and polished LRD motor, 14.25:1 CP piston, Web cam, Sparks exhaust, and the rest of the mx stuff
My 250r also has a LRD ported and polished cylinder that was actually Greg Stuart's (sp) which is an old pro rider for the young kids in here (even though I'm only a few weeks away from being 22), bored to about a 265, LRD exhaust, running about 210 PSI of compression when it isn't blown up and again with all the other typical mx goodies.
My 400ex was my first baby. It has a 440 big bore kit, HD valves, springs, timing chain, and head studs, ported and polished head, 11:1 Namura piston, Magnum rev box, Magnum cam, FMF exhaust (leave me alone it is all I knew at 14 when I got it) and has all the suspention and other parts of a play mx'r/aggressive rider.

Don't get me wrong my 400ex is fast, the fastest one I have personally ever ridden, but my R's kill it every time. Out of all 3 the 450 has the most matinance, I am always doing something to it. The 250 was next just beacuse it was a race quad so I would rather be safe then sorry. The 400 was bullet proof stock, I went through a time when I was young when I just wanted to ride it and I skipped the working on it part and it kept on going. When I got to 18 I realized how dumb I was and started doing what I should have been all along but even then it was still less. Could I have skimped on the 250 a little? Yes I could but to keep it performing the way I needed I couldn't. Could I with the 450? Absolutley not, it is the most tempermental quad I have ever owned. If something is off it lets you know.
To the OP- Something that you need to learn is that sport quads and atv racing wouldn't be the way it is without the 250r. It is the most legendary quad ever built and untill only a few years ago it was the quad that all other sport and racing quads were measured up to. I personally feel that it is still the best handleing quad ever built by a manufacturer (sure a Leager framed one with the cr500 link, pro trax front end, and narrow framed one would be better but not everyone can afford that) Until the 450s came out almost all of racing was done on either a 250r or something based on a 250r. And yes it is a bad *** machine.:D
This is all my opinion and everyone is entitled to their own. Maybe stock vs stock it is different but being a racer my quads don't stay stock for long, I can't remember the last time I rode a stock quad. Sorry for the long post guys but I had a lot to say about this as you can tell.

[mineralgrey01gt]

Originally posted by CJM
250R is a race machine and 2 stroke, needs rebuilds often imho. Powerband is quite good but you go thru the gears QUICK. However its lighter and will handle better to a degree. Most happy racing and the motor screaming.

EX is more reliable overall b/c 4 stroke and needs little maintenance. Has low end power but not like a 2 stroke, much better suited for all around riding.

Had a CR250, insane power and excellent rider but the rebuilds suck and so does mixing gas.


not true about being rebuilt often, i had one and when i finally blew the engine we pulled the ORIGINAL 85 piston. That engine was bone stock with a 38mm carb, pipe, and filter kit and was set up right in the rear and would outrun my brothers 310. You can ask him, this bike was just bad. Im picking up a 400ex this weekend but only because its a killer deal. Ill most probably put a 250r engine on it since the power is great. 4 strokes are good for trail riding but im an all out type of guy and the 250r just outhandles any new 450 ive ever rode also, also why do you think most aftermarket frames use 250r geometry? Because the bike is an absolute dream in handling

[mineralgrey01gt]

Originally posted by bjjmoore
so how does the 250r compare to the 450r??

both race machines
gobbs of power for both

two stroke vs. four stroke?

im not a good rider IMO and i raced a guy with a piped 450r on my 250r (stock jug and stock port) with a pipe filter kit and carb and was 1/2 a bike back 1/2 way through 4th. I was running out of gear quick, 18" tires on stock gearing just has sick holeshot on a 250r but top end is lacking, my topend was only 63mph

also if you know how to ride a 250r then it will dominate the 450r set up the same way IMO. I rode a 450r after getting off my 250r the last time i went riding and my 250r felt better in the handling aspect to me, but again this is just my opinion