I have a 2001 Scrambler 500 2x4 and am pretty happy with it so far. However, I had one scare during a hill climb this past summer where 4 wheel drive would have been nice. I'm thinking about trading it up for a Scrambler 500 4x4 model... Any experience out there with the overall performance of the Scrambler 500 2x4's vs. the 4x4 models? Seem worth it?

Most my riding is on trails & semi to difficult hill climbs, but also through a lot of muddy areas. Once in a while I will ride it on a track (as some of the other quads I ride with are a Predator 500 & a couple of Z400's (all with lot's of mods...), but I like "track riding" with my particular Scrambler the least due mostly to it's heavy weight and lack of ability to pull the front end up as it is basically stock... Would some mods to increase power be money better spent rather than going with the 4x4 model?

 

Extra power will never make up for the extra traction of AWD. The current Scrambler 500 will readily pull the front end up stock. I don't think you can go wrong with buying a new one. With some performance mods a 4x4 Scrambler would be an incredible machine for any terrain.

 

R the guys you ride with riding the same "difficult" trails as you are? Seems to me that if a predator and a z400 can ride the same trails as you, maybe you really don't need 4wd, but maybe a change of machine to suite your style. A scrambler on a track is not where it should be. The 4x4 Scrammy is the better option if you do want to go fast, but also be able to go almost anywhere a utility 4x4 will. Still, I don't see a reason trading up to a more capable machine if a pure sports bike can go through the same trail...

 

The Scrambler 500ho 4x4 is the ultimate trail quad. Or you can wait for the new Outlaw.

 

The guy with the most modified z400 (far quad in the group pic in my profile), sticks to the track. However, the stock z400 in the front of the line, and stock Kawasaki 400 & Honda 400EX (my Scrambler is in the middle), as well as the "less modified" Predator 500 (not shown), can get up the hills, but they have all lost it at least once trying... (including a friend that rides with us occasionally that has a Raptor 660... he failed to make a hill and his 660 ended up doing cartwheels to the bottom costing him around $1700 in damage and it still apparently doesn't ride right anymore...). Besides, they all seem less worried about having to be able to walk on Monday morning than I am, so a lot of the time they seem to make it on pure guts, adrenaline, and just craziness, where I ride much more conservatively than the rest of the group...

My close call came when I had to stop at a about mid-hill (200-300 feet) because a boulder about the size of my helmet had came loose up above me and came crashing down directly toward me... I seen it coming and stopped and just laid my head down as close to the tank as I could and the boulder flew right over my head missing me by only a few inches... I then had no momentum to get going so either my tires would just spin or the front wanted to come up over anytime the tires started to grip as I was at much steeper than a 45 degree angle on loose gravel & boulders... If I would have had 4wd, I could have powered up. Instead, I got out of the situation by very slowly backing down inch by inch, but it was a terrible feeling... especially with about 545 lbs. of quad underneath me...

In the mud, I am about the only one in our group that did not get stuck this past summer yet I finally ended up carring a small tow strap in my tool kit to pull my buddies... It by far was/is the best machine in our group through the mud, even with only 2wd... I think I will go for the new 4x4 model. Thanks for the feed-back though.

 

Keep us posted and keep safe on those crazy trails.

 

Good luck with the purchase, these scramblers 4x4 are awsome machines to have fun on !!!