Went riding for a full day in very tight trails. There were some open ares there too. Things I noticed on the Lakota was it vibrated a lot and it wasn't even in the same class as the 400. Really a big step down.

When riding with the Warrior, the 400 ATE HIS LUNCH in speed. Beat it severly bad in races. On the MX trails the warrior was king. In wooded trails it was more nimble. But I kid you not, I and the rider on the Lakota had to pick that think up at least 12 times over logs and too deep tire tracks. The Warrior overall couldn't hang with the 400 in the tight raw country stuff. When crosing swift streams the 400 just went thru like it never would pause. The Lakota bog almost every time and the Warrior with the limited ground clearence was very cautious when crossing the water. The 400 NEVER got stuck (logs, deep trails or streams), has a huge difference in speed and clearance, but wasn't built for MXing.

That is fine with me. MXing isn't my cup of tea, but Cross Country is my cup of tea. The Lakota never was in the hunt. The Lakota and Warrior vibrated BAD from the engine, maybe because they are 4 strokes. The Warrior could slither better if the terrian was tight but not rough. It also out MX'ed the 400. But overall riding all day long the 400 was King and the other riders admitted so. They even thought the 400 had the best brakes.

I almost bought a Raptor, but I am glad I didn't. The 400 Scrambler weights 480 dry and the Raptor weights approx. 400 (398) dry. They have nearly identical riding heights, both are big bores with reverse. And both are super fast. The Raptor would have cost me $6198 and the Scrambler cost me $4200. That is $2000 difference (a 50% savings!).

I bought a HPD Trail pipe and 39mm flat side carb plus the clutch springs from Rick Ritter after riding with the Lakota and Warrior. I can have the pipe, carb, bore, port and flow the head all from Ritter Cycle. Still a savings of approx. $1000 over the Raptor.

I almost bought the Raptor, had the deal sealed and almost wrote the check. But I bought a new Scrambler 400 and a 2001 near-new Trail Blazer for my 11 year son for the price of one Raptor.

Don't get me wrong, the Raptor is very nice . That is why I wanted a Raptor. But there is so much more to riding than MXing. Just to take off and ride for 6-8 hours without hardly resting on raw country is much more fun, especially with a 400.

At the last minute I started doubting myself for getting the 400 and not spending the extra $2000. But I couldn't see the $2000 difference and the auto-tranny is so fun. That auto-tranny always has the right gearing no matter the situation. I could not manually pick the gears better or more timely than what the CVT does.

The Scrambelr 400 is perfect for generally sport riding any type of terrain. It won't be best in the specialize classes like MXing, but it is best overall for zinging around all types of terrain.

I just cannot believe how smooth, well mannered it is for the brute power it packs.

Chunky

 

If I were to buy a new quad right now(which I'm not) I would either buy the 02'SC400X or the SP700. I would probably get the SC400X but man, that SP700 will really go. Ecspecially with some minor mods. I guess you can say the same for the SC400X. The Sc400X just suits my riding style to a "T".

 

elroy,

What carb are you running? I have the 39mm and HPD Trail pipe but yet to install it. I am at 1400 ft above sea level. I was wondering about what to jet at (165 main, slide needle position, etc...??).

Chunky

 

chunky, did you get a 4x4 or 2x4?, either way niiiiice machine right [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

I was just wondering if the Lakota you rode with was stock. My buddy has a '99 SC400 4x4. Granted my Lakota is not stock, he can outrun me yes, however in the woods it won't leave me. The Lakota really does well in the tight woods. I find it interesting that you stated the Lakota has a bad vibration to it. Mine doesn't at all, in fact I think my buddies Scrambler vibrates more than my Lakota. You may want to have your friend check out his machine. Also, suggest a pipe and jet kit to him. You will be surprised at the Lakota next time you run against him if all is well and he performs these mods.

 

I am glad to hear you are having such a great time with your Scrambler. I did alot of research before I bought mine and I am very satisfied with mine. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

When my lakota was stock I didn't think much of it, then I hooked up with stebob and the guys and did the mods, cost $300.
First thing I noticed was the suspention got a lot better, don't know why never did any thing to it.
With the basic mods, the lakota will smoke the warrior and the scrammy on the mx track, I know first hand.

But cross country, I'll get back to you.

The lakota wakes up tramendously with a pipe, and it's cheap to buy.
But I don't sell the scrammy short, what you did with it is what they built it for, and it is nice isn't it!!!

 

I bought a Scrambler 2x4. There is NO WAY the Lakota stays with the 400. They don't have the horsepower. The vibration I am talking about is the same both on the Lakota and Warrior. It is that 4 stroke vibration. My 400 Scrambler has no vibration, it feels almost like it is electirc (very smooth).

Granted it did well in the tight rough woods, better than the Warrior if there were logs and things like that, but it couldn't hang with the 400.

As for MXing the Lakota, it does no better than the 400. True it is lighter, but it's shocks and lack of power was it's undoing. The Scrambler comes with very nice Fox Shocks and they work good for factory shocks.

The Lakota has an automatic clutch with a standard shifting tranny and several times he would be trying to race me and he couldn't pick the right gear compared to my CVT. I just don't see the Lakota with a pipe and carb alone making up the kind of power it needs to to hang with the Lakota. I am not dis'ing the Lakota, it is a very nice quad. But it ain't got the power, smoothness or ride the 400 has. The Warrior has the suspension, but it lacks the power of that violent 2 stroke power the Scrambler 400 has. The Warrior can out MX it, but no out Cross Country it.

I will be adding my pipe and carb as soon as Rick Ritter sends me my pipe replacement. The one I got was a mis-fit to my year of Scrambler. It didn't line up to my frame right.

Chunky

 

Hey Chunky, if you like your 400 now, wait till you get that hpd pipe and clutch kit. It really is great.

 

I'm not saying the lakota would beat a scrambler, I've ridden the scrambler a few years back very nice ride.
I don't feel the vibration on the lakota or the warrior, but the scrammy is very smooth and I would believe a scrammy rider would feel vibration in any of our four strokes.

As far as basic mods to any atv, well thier surprising me more and more every day on how much more power just a pipe and jet kit does to these things, you will see when you get yours.
As far as mx riding goes, it's to much up to the rider. I see every were in these forums about what bikes are better than others, I'm at the track every week end with my son and hier no trash talking thier.
And if you think a low horse power machine doesn't stand a chance, I would hate to tell you what type of quads my 11 year old son on his XR-80 absolutely smokes on a mx track.
I bet the guy from hammond, la would like to tell you what a show it was for his banshee trying to chase down a few 80's on the track last sunday, well all probably 50 hp didn't help him!!!

But realy no bashing intended, just like to point out that I hier this all the time on here, but when it's race time don't hier any thier.