When I called Rick last week about a pipe for my scrambler 500 all he did was try to sell me the HPD pipe kit with an HPD trail clutch kit. I thought he had his own stuff???? I ended up choosing the silver ceramic Aaen performance slip-on with spark arrestor and a Team roller secondary with no clutch kit as of yet. I'm doing everything step by step so I can see the improvements each thing makes.

 

I do make my own stuff , however I am a dealer for Hotseat , Aaen , and HpD . When it comes to the 500 scrambler pipes , the HpD is the best one available . Most all dyno runs I have seen with a simple slip on on a 500 scrambler has the bike gaining one horse off of the bottom , and some even losing a horse on the top . With the minimal gains a 500 scrambler is going to make anyway I don't feel comfortable peddling $275 pipes that amount to about a horse power in gain - *I just won't do it* .

The HpD 500 pipe sells for about $450 , it is a lot of money - however it does gain about 4 horses (still not a big deal in my book) .

Modifying a 500 Scrambler takes a lot of money for the minimal results that you get . The engine has a few major errors in the head that can't really be corrected . I know there are folks out there selling things for the 500 engine like porting and cams and what not - but - for what it costs and the power you get I don't want to be the one taking the money .

What I recommend on a 500 Scrambler is as follows : HpD pipe -> $450
HpD Clutch kit -> $170
HpD Airbox and carb kit -> $115
K&N airfilter -> $45
TOTAL ->$780

Adding a roller setup is fine the Team Roller is $288

After dropping $780 you will gain at best about 6 horsepower . Adding compression , porting cams yields very little more . (Thats why I don't offer cams and porting for 500's) The HpD parts do work - however the 500 Scrambler has it's own problems that can't be worked out to get higher levels of performance reliably .

Sorry -- didn't mean to turn this into a 500 thread . :-)

Just explaining why I try to sell the HpD 500 stuff . :-)

Rick Ritter

 

now theres a "honest/no bull sh@t" guy. i wished everyone was like that in bussiness.

 

Thanks for explaining that Rick. What you told me on the phone was the main reason why I chose the cheaper pipe and just bought an 06 Predator 500 yesterday. I wanted something that was fast and that I could modify and actually see decent gains for the money spent. I guess the g/f will take over the scrambler I just bought last month now. If someone will tell me how to post pics I can post the pics of my predator and scrambler on here.

 

Not a bad call - Enjoy your new preditor .

It runs pretty good right out of the box I hear .

read read and read somemore before you start modifying it . :-)

Rick

 

I've been out to Rick's shop and he'll do right by you. He ported the cylinders for my son's Banshee and shaved the head. Great job.

 

This question is for Rick, if you happen to keep reading the thread.

I'm being transferred to Michigan(Sault Ste Marie, to be precise). A guy I know was stationed in Charlevoix, and he said a lot of the riding there is old rail road grades, two track and some tight woods trails. I'm thinking of maybe buying a used Trailblazer 250 when I get there. What would you recommend to give performance for this type of riding? Some of the other quads I have been considering are the Ozark, Eiger, Rancher 420 or maybe a used Rancher 350. I had a chance to ride a Kodiak 450 on some really steep California trails and hill climbs and logging roads then jump off of it and hop onto a Raptor 660 and do the same thing. Screaming up and down the road flat out was ok but I really liked the hills and tight trails.

 

IF YOU WANT AND ASK FOR SPECIFIC ADVICE, RICK WILL GIVE IT TO YOU. Sorry about raising my voice, I just think it's that important a thing to stress. If you do ask, Rick will want to know the conditions you ride in, such as trails, sand, mud, hills, and altitude. He'll ask if you want top end, low end, fast take off, etc..

You'll need to tell him if you have larger tires, sprockets, and special stuff you are doing with it. Know what you have and want fiirst, and he'll do his best to get you what you want, at a price you can afford.

If you're not a mechanic, or something less than, let him know that too. I'm not a mechanic, but I told him a shop would do the install so he sold me parts accordingly. I knew then what I was getting into.

 

No problem Lukester. The thing is that I don't live there yet and don't own a Trailblazer so I don't want to call his shop and waste his time. This is all just research right now.

 

I can tell you that the 250 Trailblazer with a few mods will do anything you want it to and not break the bank.All you will need is Ricks Stage1 kit on a stock Trailblazer and go until it is ready for a topend then get his porting and milled head.Then you will think you have new bike.