Trx250ex vs. Raptor 350

[nickginminden]

what is the matchup like?

power wise how are they rated?

Top speed of both?

Suspension?

and how do they do in a race against each other?


i have a 2006 Honda Trx250ex and i was curious how much of a step up the raptor is.

 

[yamarider]

No comparison. I used to have a honda recon before i bought my warrior (same engine, frame, suspension as 250ex), and my brother still rides a 250ex. The 350 will burn it off the line, and as they gain speed, it starts pulling on the 250 even faster. The top speed of the 250 is around 45-50 mph because of the gearing (and lack of power to go faster if the gearing were any higher).

Number wise, I think the 250 has 13 hp at the rear wheels, and the 350 is around 20.

Top speed of the 350 has been reported at 62-68 depending on surface, conditions, rider weight, exaggeration of speed, etc (actually i've heard someone claim 88 stock which made me laugh because my 700 with mods and the speed limiter removed won't hit that).

But the suspension will also be better with the raptor, you've got longer travel and shocks that are better suitable for aggressive riding. And you'll have a rear brake that will work!!! YAY!! I can't remember one instance that i've rode a shaft driven honda that had a decent working rear brake.

I'm not in any way putting down the 250ex's though, they are great for what they are designed for, a fun, entry level, easy to maintain machine. The 250ex is actually one of my favorite machines to ride because you can beat the crap out of them all day and they just keep going without hesitation, and they're a blast to throw around in the woods. If you are good with your 250, don't be surprised if it takes a while for you to match your old lap times in the woods with the 350. To be quite honest, i think I can probably still get faster lap times out of my brother's mildly modded 250ex in the woods tracks, than I can get on my raptor 700 because I can push it to the absolute limits without having to worry about overpowering it or losing control (or wrecking my $8,000 quad). Maybe that makes me sound like a crappy rider, but that's just the way things work sometimes.

You should be happy with the trade though, when I got my warrior I was very happy with the performance compared to the 250. As is with anything else though, it's never fast enough for very long though.

 

[ridinfast03]

I heard that^^^ Bought a blaster then mildly modded it, bought a warrior then modded it, bought a yfz450 and am currently modding it. All within 3 years

 

[nickginminden]

so the 350 is that much better hu?

what about jumping compared to the 250? i know it has better suspension but what are the numbers

i get like 3 feet of air on my 250

 

[yamarider]

Depends on how you ride. The supsension on the 350 still isn't that impressive in my opinion, but it's noticably better than the 250. Very few stock shocks are good at soaking up big flat landing jumps.

 

[nickginminden]

is there ANY shocks out there for under $300 that work ok on jumps?

 

[yamarider]

Well the stock ones work "OK", they don't completely suck or anything.

Better than stock, under 300, your only chance there is a diamond j kit and yfz shocks (or some other kind of used oem shock) or maybe a used set of works if you can snag a set on ebay. The problem with works shocks though, primarily the cheaper ones, is that they have no more adjustability than the stock ones. So a shock that's not set up for your riding style could be worse than stock, and that'll be a crap shoot when you're getting them used.

 

[nickginminden]

how many feet in the air do you think stock shocks can handle a flat landing with a 150lb rider

 

[floridaredneck]

The bike can handle about and landing on flat ground its just how much YOU can take. I've bottomed out my raptor to where the rear tire hits the exhaust. Now the landing hurts, but their isn't a crazy rebound or loose of control just a rough ass landing. This is falling from about 7 or 8 foot in the air onto a flat landing.