I am looking to pick up a Pipe and Clutch upgrade for my TrailBlazer. To my knowledge I have 3 routes to persue. Hotseat, RCR, and HPD. Heres what I know:

Hotseat: A friend of mine here at work has a Scrambler 400 that he just installed their kit on. He is having some problems with it, he says the pipe doesn't fit very good on the bike.

RCR: Have heard from other forum people here that although his pipes do what they are supposed too and do it well, they are very poorly made as far as fit and appearance goes. I mean it doesn't have to look pretty but I don't want it leaking and looking like crap.

HPD: This one I don't know much about. Their products look and sound great on paper, but again I haven't heard anything from the people here who use em.

So basically, I would just like as many opinions as I can get on these 3 suppliers, or others I may not know about. Especially from TrailBlazer owners. I plan to buy one or the other within 3 weeks or so.

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

dont forget about AAEN
when i had my scrambler 400, i got an AAEN pipe
and loved it-
then i got the rcr clutch kit, airbox mod, and air
filter mod...

 

PA Paul

I just got a HPD pipe & Clutch kit on my 96 400 Scrambler. The fit of the pipe is poor, and I had to make some mods with a file and a hammer to make it fit. It still rests on the gear selector, but I guess I will have to live with it.

It goes well, and looks well made. I have also just fitted a foot pegs and tonight a lower stearing post bush, along with new custom tie rods and rod ends, and a new top bush. These parts from HPD look well made as well, but I had to modify the foot pegs to get them on again. I had to hacksaw about 5mm off the right hand side peg to make it fit inbetween the chain guard and the outside of the floor board. I hope the streaing post bush fits well tonight!.

Good luck with the pipe, and don't forget to get the matching clutch kit for it, otherwise you are wasting your money.

TheJoka
400Scram

 

The fit and finish of my new HPD gear is excellent. The gains are incredible.

I had RcR, the gains were amazing, but fit and finish lacked a little. Rick is one of the most knowledgable people in the business, and will spend as much time with you on the phone that you need. He doesn't try to make you feel stupid, like some manufacturers do.

I've heard nothing but bad things about HotSeat.

Stick with RcR or HPD.

 

I have a 2000 Trailblazer and have just put a HPD Pipe, silencer, clutch kit on about five days ago. The power is greatly improved on bottom end as I can now pull wheelies just sitting down and a bent wheelie bar has come from this. I know nothing about the other pipes you have mentioned. My friend has a 2000 Boss and we use to run pretty even but now I can beat him by a long way.

 

I have a Stage One kit(pipe K&N, clutch sping, jet) on order from RCR, so at this time I can not say anything about fit, finish or performance. What I can say is Rick is very knowledable. He will spend as much time answering questions as you need. I feel you can not beat RCR's customer service. That could make up for some ugly welding!

325

 

HPD...all the way!

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I spoke with Rick at Ritter Cycle. He assured me he is working hard to correct the poor fit of his pipe and thinks the problem is solved. He is a super nice guy, and honestly provides more bang for the buck than the competition. He is even making a custom Spark arrestor because he said that since I plan to use it all the time it would be better if I had a Spark arrestor that doesn't go past the grab bar. Sooooooooo, I decided to go with Rick's products. He said I should have the kit on Monday. Thanks again.