i am in the market for a new bike..... i might be able to get a 2000 400 4x4, the dealer has the new 2001 500 4x4 on the lot... whats the pro's and cons of the two machines.... are they both equally reliable? which one is faster? i havent seen a 400 4x4 yet but the guy at the dealer here in kali was rippin a 4-wheel burnout on the 500....(also the yellow color is nice...not a fan of red anymore..)is there different color body kits available for the 00 400? i noticed new for 01 ont he 500 is all new stainless braided brakelines and beefier steering components/ driveline.. also how does it compare to the 400ex? all the people i ride with have 400ex's and i almost rip on them with my trailboss(inexperienced riders mostly.i have been riding for 15 years). are the 400's more tempermental than the 500's? also, if you ride the two stroke how is it at low speeds? does anyone have a polaris speedo and how/where does it mount? pics? can you still change the bars and have the speedo on it? and last of all i like the quick response that two strokes have, does the 500 compare or what mods will i have to do to it?

 

The 2 bikes in stock form are very similar in handling and performance. The 400 is a little lighter and a little quicker out of the hole but topends are about the same. The 400 will happily crawl along at slow speed but it`s not it`s specialty. Both are quite reliable aside from the obvious 2 stroke vs 4 stroke maint. The 400 responds better to engine mods and there are more of them being a 2 stroke. Both can run with 400EX`s in a straight line and the 400 Scram can be made to beat it. There aren`t a lot of engine mods out there for the 500 aside from pipes and a bigger carb plus 4 strokes are harder to coax hp out of. It all boils down to 4 stroke or 2 stroke, whats your choice of stroke?HTH

PS If your thinking of the 400 grab it they aren`t making them anymore.

98 Scrambler 500
00 Trailblazer 250
See my pic`s at http://www.picturetrail.com/riskracing

 

Take a look at my pics...you may spot the speedo somewhere. I just installed Renthal 400ex bars and just had to snip off a couple inches of the plastic speedo housing.

The 2000 400 4x4 will not have the upgrades on the brakes or steering column. Maybe the dealer would change the lower steering bushing upon purchase for you...otherwise he will see you a month later...under warrenty!

The 400 can really rip with a few mods. The 500 has more low end grunt for crawling but less of the "rush" a two-stroke will provide. The 400 will still crawl very nicely. When I first bought it I installed a cluch kit that gave it as much low end as my utility quad and much more midrange too. These machines are so tunable.

Good luck!