What to look for when buying a used quad?

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warlord

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Well my little brother and I are heading out tomorrow morning to look at a 99 300ex. It has an fmf full system, two teeth bigger on the front sprocket,razrs all around and the motor has been bored a bit he thinks. I guess he never asked the previous owner. Anyways he claims it will go over 60 and will beat his friends 400ex. We'll get into that later. Does anyone have any advice to give me on what to watch for in a used quad? He says it needs a new rear shock and possibly a tie rod end. Anything specific to the 300 to look for? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
 
Well my little brother and I are heading out tomorrow morning to look at a 99 300ex. It has an fmf full system, two teeth bigger on the front sprocket,razrs all around and the motor has been bored a bit he thinks. I guess he never asked the previous owner. Anyways he claims it will go over 60 and will beat his friends 400ex. We'll get into that later. Does anyone have any advice to give me on what to watch for in a used quad? He says it needs a new rear shock and possibly a tie rod end. Anything specific to the 300 to look for? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
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i think most 300 ex's already go 60, i say just ride it, go through all of the gears, try the reverse out, look over the frame, try all the brakes, just basically check everything you can think of.
 
I heard that they top out at 52 stock. Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely try out that screwy reverse system.
 
look at the areas around where the a arms mount, shocks mount...and look for cracked or missing powdercoat, that means somethings bent.
 
lift the back end up, hold by the tires, shake them back and forth and see if the swinger moves... if it does, and you see alot of play by the swinger bolt your going to need new bearings. you can also revalve that back shock for 150 bucks or get one off of ebay so thats not a big deal.

leaks!!! check for em.

turn the gas off and flip her up... check for abuse, scared powdercoat, etc.

with all of these things in good shape it should be a good buy, and yes they are pretty quick for a 300.
 
I heard that they top out at 52 stock. Thanks for the advice. I'll definitely try out that screwy reverse system.
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stock is supposed to top out at 54 according to this:

http://4wheeldrive.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ&sdn=4wheeldrive&zu=http://www.atvriders.net/atvtopspeeds.htm

(you will have to copy and paste the whole link to get the page) i have a 300ex as well, so with the front sprocket it should do 60 (the calculator on bluetraxx says 62). check everything that everyone else has said, but also check the oil. see if its good and clean, or if its black sludge! find out how many hours (estimate) it has on it, if its ever been wrecked, etc. check frame, suspension front and rear, tires, wheels, and everything else. as for beating a 400ex, from what the page i posted says, a stock 400ex will do 64, so if the 300ex really does 60-62, it wont beat it. maybe off the line or up to speed (depending on the rider), but i dont see it blowing the 400ex out of the water. might be possible with some good motor work though. how much the guy asking for it? if you scrutinize things you might be able to get him to come down some (like if the oil looks crappy or the tires dont have much tread on them, stuff like that). yeah, i know i sound cheap, but when you are buying something this expensive, just like buying a car, you want to get the best deal you possibly can. good luck!
 
check all the bearings throw it up on a milk crate or something...check the axle bearings, front wheel bearings, steering stem bushings, play in the steering system...check all the splined parts on the axle for play. stuff like that
 
thanks guys, we bought it. It was 1300 + my brothers old 160. It needs some work but it is certainly faster than my warrior. Mostly needs some bushings and small stuff like that. It has 400ex shocks so i think i'll get the 400ex a arms as well if possible.
 
thanks guys, we bought it. It was 1300 + my brothers old 160. It needs some work but it is certainly faster than my warrior. Mostly needs some bushings and small stuff like that. It has 400ex shocks so i think i'll get the 400ex a arms as well if possible.
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You must have one slow warrior if you are getting beat by piped 300ex's.
 
[quote:j6vn3ly1]thanks guys, we bought it. It was 1300 + my brothers old 160. It needs some work but it is certainly faster than my warrior. Mostly needs some bushings and small stuff like that. It has 400ex shocks so i think i'll get the 400ex a arms as well if possible.
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You must have one slow warrior if you are getting beat by piped 300ex's.[/quote:j6vn3ly1]

no kidding. you sure you werent racing him in reverse while he was running through the gears?!?!? j/k. hope you like it
 
No, its not only piped, its bored as well. And I haven't actually raced them but when i pin it on the ex I have to hold on alot tighter!
 
the 300ex is quite a bit lighter and i think it has some decent throttle response, but i dont think it should beat the warrior, unless your warrior is completely stock and jetting is off. even with more hp, you cant overcome your gearing. the 300 might get up to speed quicker, but all in all, the warrior SHOULD be faster (definitely if they are both stock). so did you ever find out what size bore and what kind of piston is in it?
 
No, its not only piped, its bored as well. And I haven't actually raced them but when i pin it on the ex I have to hold on alot tighter!
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Boring make no immediate diffrence on your total power, unless of course it has a high comp piston in it. The thing is 282 cc's stock, the maximum it could be on an overbore is 300cc's even. That alone is maybe a 1-3 horsepower gain at the most. Now if its high comp theres more power there. Ive rode piped 300ex and i wasnt impressed, the only thing neat about them is the midrange, after midrange they fall on their face, where my warrior even in stock form kept pulling all the way through. Id imagine thats why it feels faster, only because it has more midrange. They are good quads, and can put out decent numbers if built right though. In a drag, a stock warrior should have no problems walking by one after 3rd gear. Notice i said walking, they are pretty even really.
 
Yeah, I have to look into what sort of motor work is done but I imagine they wen't with higher compression(who wouldn't). I think another reason it feels faster is because it is ridiculously loud, it has a shortened powercore 4 and you can look right through the thing. I think we'll have to get a new pipe for it.
 
how much is the powercore 4 shortened? i dont really see a need to shorten them on a 300ex. ive got one on mine and it sounds great! (might even sound a little better than the warrior! lol) its got a good deep 4 stroke sound to it (like if you ever watch supercross and listen to the 4 stroke exhausts on there, its kinda like that). if i can ever get my girlfriend out to the land or deepwater when she is free, ill get videos of both to compare the sound. but like ds said, they are only 282cc stock, and there's no replacement for displacement!
 
Yeah it has a really deep sound too it. I think its not shortened much, apparently it used to hit the ground a tad when he went too far back.

I'll try and get some pics next weekend. I want to do some before and after pics. It could certainly use some new plastic. All and all it just needs some tinkering. Also, it has 22" razrs so it probably gets a few more mph. My brother just had ankle surgery so it will be at least 6 weeks before we see a warrior/300ex showdown. I can't wait! ;D
 
right on. ill look at my 300ex and check the exhaust, b/c i dont think it should hit if you go back too far and 12 it. i could be wrong though since those things have tiny grab bars! btw, who cares about the warrior/300ex showdown for now, LETS SEE SOME PICS!!!
 
Well I live in the city during the week to go to university but I go home on weekends. I should have some by sunday.
 
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