It all started when I had a 97 Sportsman 500 I put 26 Vamps and other goodies on it and it was very bad but I need more speed so I put a larger carb and much bigger air intake on it now it was very fast. It would good anywhere but I wanted a better suspension, something alittle more sporty that would go all of these places but wouldn't be a bear to steer over rough terrain. So I traded my well modified 97 Sportsman for a 99 Scrambler 500, it already had the speed and suspension it just need bigger tires and BAD. When you first look at the scrambler you see this big bad atv sitting on tiny tires, that had to be changed. I asked around about the larger tires and everybody said they wouldn't do it cause they seen or they know somebody that tried it with a scrambler 400 (2-stroke)and they had to change sprocket sizes and the belt would always burn, it just was not worth it. The 2-stroke does not have the killer torque and power to turn tires this size, too bad 400 owners!

I could not resist, I needed new tires and I wanted to go the places my sportsman went and more so you guessed it, I bought 25x9x12(F) 25x12x10(R) Bearclaws and I have not looked back since. The tires made a big difference, I have more ground clearance on the scrambler than I had on the sportsman, It handles the tires very good. I put a FMF MegaMax II on it with 21 discs and now I can spin these 25s as easily as I spun the 22s. I almost never need to put it in AWD unlike when it had stock tires, it is that awesome. The looks are incredible and after a very rocky ride in the mountains it is very well tested. I went over some extreme rock areas and did not need awd or a low gear and my belt never slipped or did my tires spin. It actually goes faster through the rough wood trails than a stock scrambler. My riding buddy rides a 99 stock scrambler 500 and the differences are amazing. I'll smoke him on the trails and when we get to certain areas in the creek and mud he can't follow! It screams!!! The only downside to it is I can't jump 6ft in the air only 3ft just because I don't want to try it as high with the bigger tires and to make the tires look better under the atv I had to move my floorboards forward and out one inch plus it feels better under my feet. I took some very good pics of it this past weekend in the Va mountains and I'll get them back on Thursday. I can scan the pics in but where should I put them for everyone to see? I will try in the pic/videos but it might take awhile for them to show up. If you have extra money get them it makes a big difference! Next I need to get a good clutch kit, new & better tie rod ends, and a steering damper and oh yeah a front rack with a winch on it. I know y'all probably think I am trying to make my sporty scrambler into a utility atv but it will easily go places that your stock scrambler will struggle through and on the open trail it will go as fast or faster than one with just a pipe. I can't believe more people have not done this! Look at the tires you can put on a sportsman 500 and it does not even have the H.O.500 engine. BTW- I can still fishtale the crap out of it and slide into and out of every corner wildly. The tires have been on for around two months now and I ride everyday and I have taken it to the mountains twice. I ride some pretty demanding trails and I have had no problems at all with the tire size, they are well tested!! Anybody know how to make a picture appear in this post?? Just letting scrambler 500 owners know the have another choice besides the stock tire setup that will work!

L8R,

Steve

 

What brand and size carburetor did you put on your sportsman? Where did you purchase it and how much did it cost? I am thinking about modifying my SP500 and I was wondering if you could explain the airbox mods and the other mods you performed and tell me how big of a difference it made. How many mph did you gain on top end. Thanks.

 

Sure I'll tell you the hop -up I did. I got the 39mm carb and high flow air intake tube with the larger K&N filter on the end. I got it from Four Stroke Tech in PA. and it cost around 325.00. They dealer installed it and had to cut a bigger hole in the airbox where the old pipe (the one that the air filter clamps to)came through so that the big one would fit. Massive increase!! I had 26" Vampires all around plus a big oxlite bumper with winch and a few other things so it had some extra weight. Well I got it on the longest road I could find and in no time the speedometer was buried at 60 mph and it kept pulling real strong past that. It felt like I had 15% more trottle to go and it was moving! I ran out of room before I ever reached top speed so who knows how fast it would go. I felt the power increase at all speeds! If I would have kept it I would get a pipe and clutch kit and then you would really have to watch out. I definatly think that sportsman would smoke my scrambler 500 easily, but on the trails the scrambler would say bye-bye because of suspension and overall size. If you can find the number for Four Stroke Tech in PA. then kit I got was the one that dirtwheels tested on the 97 FST Sportsman 500, I am sorry I don't have the number, but I can tell you one thing it did wake the Sportsman up BIG TIME!

 

I've got to see this thing. When you get your pics in send them to Jack Schultz's site, with it sspecs, he has a page for modified Polaris'.

www.godigital-design.com/schultzmotorsports/

look for the "Wheels of Fame" link.

------------------
Jerry Goodman '99 400L, '98 TBlazer

 

Steve, I already saw 1 pic but I would love to see more! If you e-mail them to me, or mail them to me & I can scan them, I will put all you want up on the web.

Why do you keep tempting me with these post?

Also, I found the reason for my slipping belt was my buttons were wore out. It was just slipping a little, and then got to where I couldn't ride. I got new ones ($5 total mail order). It's a normal wear item, espeically with aggressive clutch kit. Just an FYI!

[This message has been edited by quad_man (edited 12-01-1999).]

 

Why would you sacrifice all that performance and handling just to have big tires? Seems strange to me. And, by the way, don't talk about torque, unless you know what you are talking about.

<A HREF="http://www.godigital-design.com/96Polaris.html">Schultz Motorsports</A>

 

Adam, What do the buttons look like and where are they, how did you know they were wore out? I have heard people talked about them but I know nothing of them, could you please explain. I will get the pics tonight and scan them in tomorrow some time.

Jack, Like I said, I have better performance with the bigger tires! I just have not jumped it 6ft in the air only three and it was very smooth. I could put my bigfoot scrambler up against any other piped only scrambler 500 and I would get away from it on most terrain and some places the stock one would have to put it in awd just to follow and then when I put my scrambler in AWD the stock would not follow! SO why in the world would I want to have stock tires! It seems very strange not to have them, unless you don't know about the advantage or you are running strickly motorcross and sand then I would hope you would have a different atv. Remember this is a High Output 500 and it has more than enough power to spin the tires to the moon and back. I have taken it through rougher and more technical trails than most atvs see. The handling is better with the larger tires and I would have to be out of my mind to go back to the stock tire size. These have been very well tested on some extreme trails. Oh yeah I guess my idea of torque is like your idea of performance and handling on a bigfoot scrambler, I thought I knew what torque was but maybe not as good as you! You won't see a 400 scrambler handle tires like these with out some serious mods! I know someone first hand that has tried it with a 400 scrambler and now it is just sitting behind his shed like a piece of junk, and he's the mechanic at polaris. In the rough terrian that I ride in, it is way better to have the extra ground clearance with the awesome performance and handling so you can make it down trail without getting hung up on a rock or stuck in the mud. I hope this cleared it up alot better. I am surprised that polaris doesn't send them out stock like this.

 

The buttons are little plastic pieces that the ramps of the helix slide on. I can e-mail you a picture if you want, the pic = 1000 words would work here. They are in the secondary clutch.

I knew mine were worn because of the belt slip I was getting. It was minor at first, and over the months it has bad. I first noticed when I thought I was spinning the tires going up a hill in 2wd, so I put it in 4wd and noticed the front wheels didn't grab, and the rear tires weren't spinning. I thought the belt was messed up. I took it apart, the buttons were beyond worn, they were destroyed.

The 25" are a mixed bag. For you, they obviously are perfect. For me, they would be perfect %50 of the time. Half the time I ride I want taller tires, the other half I want shorter tires (for high speed handling). Jack is more into high-perf riding I guess. I heard someone else say the same things you did when they put 25" bearclaws on a '98 500, they loved them.

 

I guess I just have alot of experience riding because my high speed handling has gotten better too. See the tires didn't just get taller they went wider just as much, so the handling at every speed is better and I have more ground clearance. I think the larger tires actully made it more stable, cause of the wider stance. I am on the gas wide open all of the time when riding by myself and it handles very good. Believe me when I put this big boy up against stock size scramblers, they all back down! It's fun to look at their faces when they see it. I am scanning the pictures after lunch so maybe everybody will get a good look at it! I love it and I will never go back and actually my next set of tires will have 26s up front and the same 25s on the back, I think it needs an inch bigger up front!

C-YA,

Steve

 

The wider stance would definatly help. I was shocked how much my handling improved when I put Holeshots up front along with an off-set rim. Really good...

I guess it really depends on terrain. Like I said, sometimes I am riding full throttle into sharp corners and I am hanging down low almost completely off the bike on the inside, and still want somthing lower. That's where a 250R would be nice. Of course when I ride dirt bikes in the same space, I go even faster with less effort. But I can't take them in the mud....

When I think about it, %50 of my riding is just trail riding. %25 deep mud & water (4x4 stuff), and the othet %25 full throttle aggressive riding. I guess that's why I like the Scrambler, it can do it all, and in style! :-)