I am looking at two different bikes for my wife. A stock 2000 Scrambler 500 2wd and a lightly modded (pipe, v force reeds, clutch kit) 2000 400 2wd.

This is for my wife and she is a strong beginner (if there is such a category). She rode our sons new trailblazer 250 and proclaimed it gutless (my son thinks its great though).

Doing mainly trail rides, an occasional run to the dunes. Will occasionally pull a small yard cart around the yard and chain up to plow snow 1-2 times a year (generally only 2-4" deep of powdery snow)

Give me lots of input. Going to look at bikes on Monday.

Thanks alot!

 

Well the 500 is a great bike. There would be somewhat less maintenance on it than the 400 but I'm partial to the 400 cause of the hop up potential. The 400 can be made to run with all the big boy sport bikes out there. My wife rides a 400 and just loves it. It can climb any dune you throw at it. They are really bullet proof in my opinion as long as you do the maintenance on them. No bike is gonna last if you don't take care of it but I'm sure you already know that. The 500 will have way more torque and bottom end power and would probably be the best at doing the chores around the house. The 400 with the mods that you have listed will smoke the 500 if it's stock. If you do go with the 400 be sure to do a compression test (should be around 120-130 psi) and check the counterbalancer oil to see that it doesn't have any milky looking oil. If so then it has a leaking seal that lets water get in from the cooling circuit and contaminate the oil. It's not that big of a repair but if gone unnoticed can be a very expensive repair. That's all I can think of right now. I'm sure your wife would love either one.

 

I'm a diehard 2-stroke fan, and for me it would be the 400 no question. But given your post, I think the wife would be better off with the 500. Contrary to duneaholic, I think the 2-stroke has less maintenance. All I've ever done to my three (not including chassis stuff that's the same for both) is change the plug. No oil changes with filters and pump priming, no valve adjustments.

 

In the long haul you will have to rebuild the top end more. No question about it. You just have to keep a watchful eye on the counterbalancer oil. Other than that it's pretty much the same things to watch for on the 500.

 

That's gotta be a pretty long haul. I sold my '93 250 two years ago and it still ran like new. Motor was never touched. My 1970 Lawn Boy still cuts grass and it's never been touched. All the sleds I've owned over the years, motors were never touched. Couple years ago, a buddy bought a boat with a '73 135hp Johnson on it. That thing still ran very strong. If you're not racing, 2-strokes will run a long time, usually longer than you'll want to keep whatever it's in.

 

Uhh. Ok. I've had to rebuild mine twice. Oh well whatever.

 

Yeah, but look at your mods. I'm not saying 2-strokes last forever, but it gives people the wrong impression to just state the a 2-stroke will need top end jobs. Most people leave their stuff stock and a stock 2-stroke should last longer than you want to keep the vehicle. I rode all my sleds hard, but they were stock motors and not one of them failed.

 

You've got a point to a point. If you put a pipe on it like he's stating that there is now, then the pipe will let the bike rev a bit higher maybe causing the skirt to break and cause all kinds of problems if he doesn't go in there now and do some preventive work by installing a wiseco. If he doesnt' and the piston does break then you will have to re-bore then maybe some bottom end work as well. There's always a little bit more of a chance of somehting happening to a 2 stroke then. It also depends on how it's ridden. My wife doesn't ride near as hard as me and it's been the most reliable bike of the bunch. So yeah it may just be that they do last longer depending on who rides them and what mods are done to them. But it already has the chance of something going wrong with there being a pipe on it. Heck he's probably running scared from a 2 stroke now.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img] I' m just stating what MIGHT happen not what will.

You have some valid points and so do I. I'm going from the standpoint of running them hard but also taking care of them as well. There will be work to be done for sure no matter what bike you ride 2 or 4 stroke. Peace![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

How much does it cost for a mechanic to do this "top end" anyway. I can do fluids, clutching, external stuff but getting inside the motor is beyond my skill level.

 

It was gonna cost me 250 to have my mechanic do the top end and that didn't include parts. I could do it in my sleep. It's really easy to do. You can get a manual and do it yourself too probably.