Ive looked and looked for about a year now for the perfect quad for me, i ride mostly through the woods so theres hills creeks mud holes everything, but come sunday my buddies and i go to the local Track here in Illinois So i need a 4 wheel drive quad that is a good trail quad and a quad that can keep up with Warriors and blasters and 300exs and sportsmans you know. Im a beefy guy to so i need suspension travel do you think i made a good choice by choosing the 2001 Scrambler 500 4x4?? For $5,750???

 

I have a 2001 Scrambler 500 4x4. I do enjoy it, as it does everything good,nothing great. I have 720 miles on it, and have had some problems. But I expected that, and the extra maintenance.

I have had a throttle problem(adjustment), clutch spring and belt, chain(good lube and quiet now), flag mount, and the gear shift handle cover break. I have a Uni filter, full skids, a rear rack(i take off for dunes), and a speedometer.

My buddy has a raptor, and the scrambler is no comparison. It will probably keep up with a warrior, 300ex, and blasters, but nothing more. Many people change the clutch spring to adjust their stall speed, and you will see different pipes. The 500 is pretty much tuned good out of the factory, so mods don't do much for it. The scrambler is supposed to top out around 60, I have never gotten past 55. I am 5'6" and weigh around 180lbs, and need help moving the 570+ machine around. I don't notice any tippiness, but it does ride high.

Scramblers have a problem with chain and tranny breaking. On this board many people claim the concentric drive is not perfect, but i have compressed my rear suspension and the chain does not change the tension. A possiblility for the broken trans is that when you are jumping, the engine speeds up and the tranny upshifts. When you land, something has to give. When (or if, they are HEAVY) a scrambler, let off the throttle in the air.

On heavy bumps, it really shines. You should realize that all polaris's require more maintenance(tranny oil, front diff, engine, front hub oil, 13 grease fittings), and a paper air filter(replace it with a UNI), it will require some time and mechanical ability(to set valves, remove plastic and fuel tank).

I paid something like 6385 for the machine, a speedo, rear rack, and service manual.

Good luck,

Rainman

 

i have had my scrambler 400 at 60mph with the speedo burried and i weigh 400lbs, i have also towed multiple people out from various riding spots with my machine.... the scramblers are very good bikes.... ii is pretty peppy out of the box but there always is room for improvements. people on banshee's and 400ex's walk away from me on the track but thats all in the mods...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

No offense Rainman but somethings wrong if you can't go over 55. As far as staying with the Warriors, 300ex's and Blasters - No problem - If they're stock. Actually you should clean up on a 400ex (in a drag) if it is stock, a few friends of mine have 400 ex's and get really pissed when I leave them at the line. Oh yeah they do pass me around 50 mph, I think a "Sneaky Pete" NOS shot would help there though, MORE POWER!! The only recent common problem we have seen is the gearcase but for some reason it has been more prone to the 400's. We have probably had twice as many 400's than 500's in the shop for that reason. As far as tuning you can bring some serious life from those motors. However it becomes very pricy once you get past the pipe and clutching. It is no secret that the Polaris quad motors are engineered horribly for power. The common person won't see it, but hand the motor to an engine builder and have him look at the insides. He will think Polaris is way out in left field. For instance there bore and stroke in the 500 simply sucks for torque. Don't get me wrong Polaris flows through my veins and they run awesome in stock form, but looking at these motors through an engine builders perspective - You can bring awesome amounts of power from these motors. Anyway to answer your question, I think the Scrambler 500 will do you good.

 

I found my exhaust valves were loose, the intake were tight, and my throttle cable had some play in it. I could also have a defective speedometer.


If I could do it over again, I would probably look into the 650 prarie.

Rainman

 

Well guys thanx for all that information, im picking it up tommorow so i'll let you know within the next day or so(whenever i get off of it) what i think, Uhh im not really worried about the bigg bigg air jumps ripping my tranny out, because i really dont hit them hard maybe 3 or 4 feet of air, and im not looking for a top fuel dragster atv so top speed is not really important, but i do want to keep up, and the creek crossings are what kill me with my current quad so the 4wheel drive will help, thanks again, is there anybody else out there that if given another chance with there Scrambler, would pick another quad???

 

Hey Osage,

Your not far away..Looks like around starved rock??? Where do you ride??

Rainman

 

I am going to be the black sheep here. If you are looking for an all-around great trail quad, get the Scrambler 500. Great for mud, speed, moderate bumps and harsh trails. If you are planning a lot of time at the track...don't get it. My buddy just cracked his tranny case today... and I also own a Scrambler400. It is not even in the same league as the other "high-performance" sports quads in the handling department. Now I don't want to get flamed for this but another good quad to keep in mind is the Bombardier DS650. Add some slightly larger/more agressive tires for the trails and it will go great. My Raptor makes it through mud very well for a 2x4 so the DS must be good also. The main thing is for the track... you will be able to easily jump and follow the other sports quads. I say the DS because of your size.

Just another opinion! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]