dumb ?

[veddersbetter]

Heres a dumb question.....I hear and see alot about 250 Rs and how good they are. can someone enlighten me as to how good? Are they comparable to a Banshee? Or far and above? I know every racer rides one and I know everything is available for these in abundance.....but just how good are they? Good trail quad or just straight up track? Thanks for any info......theres not a whole lot of these around my area if ya havent figured that out:blah

[Guy400]

Vedder, alot of what you hear about the 250R is fact. Then again, alot of what you hear is myth. The 250R has an aura about it that causes some to think they're the best thing since sliced bread. I look at it like this, someone mentions a late-60's Corvette and everyone says, "Oohhhh!" There's an aura about the late-60's muscle cars, nevermind that a new ZO6 will practically wipe the track with it in stock for stock form.

But back to the R, the frame is probably hand's down the best. The geometry is near perfect and suspension is great. The motor is great and aftremarket is plentiful but few R owners will tell you (or admit) that in stock form the R had the lowest output of all the late-80's 250 2-strokes. But, more than likely you won't find a 15 year old R that's on it's stock motor and is still as strong as the day it rolled off the showroom floor so it really doesn't matter. When it comes to modding all bets are off. Given enough money anyone can mod any engine to make it what they want . These pissing contests between "my 270 R will kick your 370 Shee's ***" seem ridiculous to me. All either person has to do is go out and spend more money to be faster. The fastest quad is more a facet of who has the deeper pockets than which manufacturer has the better engine design. I would say the R is a much better bike than the Shee in terms of frame and handling. Any 2-stroke can be built in certain directions to emphasize bottom/mid power for tighter trails or for upper mid/top for dragging or duning.

I would love to own an R as a 2nd quad but my biggest gripe with them, they cost too much. Because of this 250R aura people think they can ask $4500 for a quad that should realistically be worth about $2000. You ask them why it's so high and they say "It's a 250R, it's a legend." Yeah, well so is a flying dragon and I ain't gonna give $4000 to ride one. The cheapest one I found in my area was either $3000 or $3200. When I went and looked at it the rear bearings were shot and the guy admitted that. I noticed that at some of the welds the paint was cracked like the frame had been subject to a lot of flexing. I was gunshy about what the paint was hiding and that if I took this quad home and sanded the frame I'd find more cracking than I wanted. The guy started it and it was smoking excessively. Nothing to worry about, the guy told me. He runs it rich to protect the motor (mind you, my uncle ran Suzuki's recommended 20:1 and it smoked nothing like this one) so the guy must run a 5:1 diesel fuel-to-oil ratio in this bike. Anyway, I passed this one up. If the R is worth the $4000 to you, buy it, you won't be disappointed. A 15 year old quad is just not worth that much to me when I know a motor rebuild, frame strengthening, suspension upgrades, new plastic, etc. is in my future. If I rode MX for points and money I'd get the R. But, for recreational riding with my family and friends, there are much cheaper alternatives.

[Juggalo]

great post!

[ExVillin400]

it is the perfect quad, it has the power the nice sound and the best chassie, it can't be beat

[veddersbetter]

thanks for the replies....explains it perfectly:) I think Ill stick with a 400 EX after I sell my Warrior

i agree, rs r awsome and all, but i would rather own a 440ex, that is two years old and needs rebuilds not much, than a 15-13 year old 250r, that compared to some quads is slightly underpowerd.with an r, wen u get it it will need shocks, and some frame modds, usally. just my 0.02$