ok guys i am new to this forum and it seems everybody is very nice about helping people out so i decided to sign-up.

just a little background information...i like the trails,drag racing, sand hills, and definately mud. But i have a few problems and questions i was wondering if you guys could help me out.

my first problem was that my 4wheel drive would engage and when i wanted to but when i disengaged it and went in reverse sometimes(w/out 4x4 on) it would pull very hard to the right so then i got an A-arm for it because the shaft i guess inside was bent and after that it wouldnt pull anymore so that problem was fixed....but i went to Busco Beach yesterday and in the beginning my AWD was working fine but then we i started getting in the sand and i would then engage it and it would want to work its like i had a loss of power so i was curious to as if i had to much mud in the front diff system or if it was kind of overheating so im not sure.

Also i want a little bit of more performace because im tired of getting burnt lol but i only have about $200.00 what type of minor mods would yall suggest by the way i have a fmf slip on.
also im wondering what would give me better throttle response because it tends to take a while for it to accelerate especially when i floor it...almost like the chain needs to be tightened or the clutch is worn...thank yall very much an i hope you guys could help.

 

you said you had a slip on exhaust my don't u get a pipe for it. Have you checked your belt, that could be the accleration issue. you can get a clutch kit for fairly cheap. and for the 4x4 change ur diff oil and ur hub oil.

 

Give Rick Ritter at RcR a call...he'll set you up with what you need and won't sell you what you don't need.

618-644-3211

 

thanks guys a lot because it prob is my oil i havent changed it in forever also what type of diff oil and hub oil should i buy...how much is a decent clutch kit?

 

if you still have your owners manual it should tell you in there or you can down load one from polaris.

 

you should run polaris hub oil well in the hubs, for diff oil i'm cheap i went out and bought some gear oil and it seems to work fine . the price of a clutch kits depends you can get a whole performance clutch for big $$$ or a kit for maybe possible under $100 US.

 

Hi eddy1,

On the 4x hub question:

1) you need clean polaris hub oil for them to work right.
2) If you find any dirt, water or metal bits in the hub oil you drain out, then you need to repair the hub and replace the seals, as any dirt or sand in the hubs is a big problem.
3) the armature plate for the electric locking system in the hub can warp or wear funny and that will cause all sorts of locking/not locking/sticking problems.


On the performance question, I'll give you my opinions based on my experience with my modified 2000 Scrambler 400 4x4. I did dyno testing and tuning to find the best combination of parts for my bike. The cylinder on mine is still stock and <u>not</u> been ported.


1) Make sure the clutches and belt are in very good shape before doing any other mods. This is critical

2) Check your compression, worn out rings will make it a dog.

3) The best first mod is to bump up the compression by having your head (the engine's head) machined. You can have this done locally or by one of the aftermarket tuners. The best bet is have a Polaris Performance shop (AAEN, RTR, etc) remachine the head (should only cost $60 or so). If you have a stock head and piston, a cheaper way that gains you some torque ( but not as much as having the head re-machined) is you can have someone with a lathe take 0.010" off and still run regular gas. You should replace the head gasket.

4) If you are using the stock Airbox, you can do a simple airbox mods to help with the stock carb, the easy one is opening up the primary air intake horn with a plastic tube so more air gets in. This works better than just removing the air horn.

5) Moving up in cost is putting on an after market pipe, I tried the Hot Seat pipe and the AAEN Top end pipe (I have the Host Seat up in the garage rafters somewhere). Take a look at the dyno charts on the AAEN site 400 performance
You MUST get the right clutch kit when you add the pipe to get the best performance! (I started with the HPD kit and custom tuned the clutch setup) AAEN, HotSeat and others also have good kits.
You will need a silencer as the stock polaris muffler will choke the pipe, I used an FMF Turbo core (IIRC)

6) The next step is even more money. New Carb/Reeds/Air filter. I am using a TMX38 (from AAEN) with Boysen RAD valve (reed block and reeds) plus a direct mount K&N air filter (no air box). If you are doing mud then removing the airbox is not a good idea. I could not get as much power improvement with the stock airbox and the bigger carb. I modified the heck out of the airbox and got within a few HP, but ultimately went for the no airbox solution (the modded air box is hanging around the garage too somewhere). I also tried some other combinations on the dyno: a Keihin 38 carb (from HPD), V-Force reeds, Reed Spacers. When it was all said and done, the combo I'm running now worked and tuned the best. Don't forget, the clutch may need to be re-tuned.

For me, the end result was 10 more HP at the rear wheels (essentially an AAEN Stage 1 setup).
Before the mods my Scrambler 400 4x4 was neck and neck with my buddy on a 2000 Scrambler 500 4x4 (even if we switched riders).
After the mods, my 400 just walks away from the 500. It will pull the front wheels up when I want it to and really accelerates hard. The 400 is a really fun and reliable machine and the only thing that ever broke was the original factory rear drive chain!!!

7) 8) . . . . . . You can spend big bucks to get more power after #6 like porting, billet head with head studs, Big Bore kit, race motor etc.

I was going to do the AAEN 440 Big Bore kit, but stopped putting more money into the bike as my wife and I have faster machines now (800 Outlanders), so I expect to sell the 400 later this year when summer arrives to finance my mini dune buggy project..


Good luck eddy1

See you on the Sand...

Note: edited by Kludge to change the recomendation on cutting the head.

 

awesome man thanks a lot!

 

What dyno were you using Kludge? These machines usually don't show that dramatic of results at the rear wheels with what you did due to the cvt. the HP us usually measured at the crank. I haven't heard of anyone going that much off of the head and still use premium pump gas? I have a race mod machine and run a 12:1 dome which is very close to a .020 shaved stock head.

 

Hi duneaholic,

Hi duneaholic,

What I remember doing on the head (it was over 5 years ago) was doing a squish check (the Polaris have a fat lazy squish band), doing a CC check before and after. Now that I think about it, I believe I re-cut the squish area on my head. The CC measurement is the only real way to know what you have.
For the low cost (about $60) of having the work done by an experienced tuner (AAEN, RTR, ...) it is better for most folks to pay to have it done.

I'll go back and edit my post, as it may not be safe for an inexperienced tuner to take more than 0.010 to 0.015 off the head without the CC measurement, as a compression pressure check will not tell the whole story.

As for the dyno, it was a Dynojet Inertia Dyno. I had setup a pair of dyno-tires that were smoother than normal dirt tires.. For the bulk of the tuning work the clutch was miss-tuned so that it would load the motor starting at a lower RPM range than normal to reduce the CVT interference.
I don't know where my print outs are any more - sorry.