ok i currently own an sp500 2000 model, i am familar with the reputation of the animal an i love it, my son has a yamaha blaster and we hunt a lot and also need the 4wd alot, he wanted to get a yamaha wolvorine because he still sport rides with friends but hunts alot he wants a yamaha and they are hard to find i suggested maybe a scrambler 4x4 used for about the same money my question is what will they keep up with in speed and how well do they do in the mud most of his friends ride warriors or 300exand 400es's. any insight you'll can give me i would appreciated godd or bad

thanks butch

 

o yea one other thing my son is 14 5ft 5 150 lbs will he fit the scrambler ok and how easy is it to steer, my sp 500 is hard to steer
thanks again

 

Couple of big differences between the Wolverine and Scrambler: 1-The Wolverine is a 350cc engine while the Scrambler is a 500cc. 2-The Wolverine is full-time 4wd while the Scrambler is like your Sportsman--demand AWD.

As for whether the Scrambler will keep up the other quads, that won't be a problem. It is heavier than the Wolverine but the extra power more than accommodates the extra weight.

I haven't ridden a Sportsman, but I assume the additional weight contributes to its steering attributes. I feel the Scrambler steers easily, but it weighs less than the Sportsman.

My brother is looking for a new Wolverine (he can't overcome his prejudice against Polaris) but my wife and I have been riding 99 Scrambler 500s for 2 years with no major complaints.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

My advice is to stay away from the Scramblers (at least for your son).
You say he`s 14 (so he likes riding fast, jumping, doing wheelies...all the good fun), and his buddies have 300 and 400EXs. Right?
It looks like exactly "my" situation. I have a banshee and ride sport. My first riding buddy had a scrambler (it is tricked out so it`s faster than my shee), and this spring, he got a Raptor, and said "I saw the light". Because the Raptor is fast, but most important, very light. Add a very good suspension. And you have a Scrambler in the garage during all summer (OK, it had other problems, but he still said he wouldn`t want to ride it other than drag races). And the scrambler stories goes on. We found another guy, also on a scrambler (a 500 4by). He`s 15, and rides his polaris like we do our banshee/Raptor, that is jumping, wheelies, big moguls. Besides the fact that he struggles more than we do (especially in fast bumpy sections) and he does scare me once in a while because the scram starts bumping all over the place, he rides as fast as we do...although we still have quite some margin. This agressive riding ended with a broken transmission case, likely due to jumping and a slightly overtended chain. Another buddy, on a scrambler 400, crashed because of a "ditch" (caused by water erosion, like a little foot deep...maybe a little less). The front wheel banged in there, he bent the rim, and broke his AArm axle. A couple seconds before I went over this same "ditch", doing the same thing on my shee, the shee got bumped in the air (almost crashed), but no damage whatsoever. Again, the scram falls gently on its side (rolling), and the handlebars are looking downwards. I had my shee tumble for 40 feet a least twice, and the only things I broke is the grab bar (I did slightly bend a spindle and the upper U part of the frame).
All this, not to say that my banshee is the best or better, but if your son is going to ride sporty with friends that have real sport machines, not only will he struggle to keep up, but he won`t have as much fun...and will sure enough break the scrambler.
I say Polaris is a LIAR when they call the scramblers "sport". They should be "sport-utility", more adequate for people who want to have a more thrilling utility quad than youngsters for who higher isn`t enough and faster is too too slow.

Oh yeah...out of 3 scrambler owners, one added a Raptor, and 2 are for sale for a 400EX.


Depending on what your hunting terrain is (not too swampy), a 300EX could do the job perfect. It has reverse...and is 200lbs lighter than a scram (great to ride...and great to pull out of a mudhole), not to mention the global size. When a scrambler is stuck...it is stuck bad. I get stuck a couple times each ride with my shee, and it usually doesn`t take us very long to get going again. The scrambler is difficult to steer, especially if you compare it to sport quads. And it is way too wide in my opinion (because of the transmission), I don`t feel my legs are suporting me that much when angled like they are on a scram (feet are too far apart)...but this is maybe a matter of getting used to it. To get back to it, I really think a 300EX with some 20 or 22" light mud tires would work maybe just as fine as your sporstman.


Have fun

 

I am 15, 5 11", 165lbs, no complaints about the steering. It is easy ( unless ure a woss hehe ). The 4wd is sweet in the mud. Zorro's bike is easier to get out obviously because it's lighter, and probly because it doesnt go as far/deep into the mud as a 4x4. On a 4x4, you, in most situations, will get farther or deeper into the mudhole than the 2wd's. And if you do get stuck... NO PROB!!! I just carry a hand winch with me on my rack and a tow srap. If I or my buddy get stuck, were out in 5 minutes...not even. I do agree that he probly should get a Wolverine or 300ex if he wants to do any jumping. Ask him what kind of riding he will do. If he says he wants to hit some jumps, then I'd say cancel out the Scrambler.

 

cooney,

In my honest opinion I would choose the Scrambler over the Wolverine in most every circumstance. (I'm speaking of the Scrambler 400 since I have never had any experience on the 500)

Sure, if your son is only going to ride with the guys on the sport quads the Scrambler may not be best suited, but neither would a Wolverine. As you said, he'll be using it for a couple of things..."Sport Utility". I feel that the Scrambler is the best Sport/Utility quad on the market right now.

I have the 2x4 version of the Scrambler 400 and I honestly love the quad. I ride with a guy on a Banshee, Warrior, and 300ex. The Scrambler is much faster than both the Warrior and the 300ex (in a straight line), and it doesn't lose by too much to the Banshee. As for in the woods on the slow trails with a lot of obstacles, I think that the Scrambler is by far the best quad out of the group. However, on the tight & fast trails the Scrambler is the hardest to handle because of it's size and weight, but I was never left behind because the power difference made up for most of the handling difference.

The reason that I ride my Banshee more that I ride the Sport (aka Scrambler) is because I like to jump and the Polaris just didn't like that. However, I never broke anything on it when I tried.

So basically what I'm saying is...If you son is looking for a cross between a Sport and Utility quad that can keep up with his buddies on their quads too, I recommend the Scrambler highly. If he is looking for something stricly for sport purposes (good handling and high jumping) then as Zorro said...the Scrambler is not a good choice (but neither is any other 4x4 on the market). Don't get me wrong, it will handling the 4-5' jumps okay, but anything higher than that is really hard on it.

Back to the original question...Wolverine or Scrambler? I pick Scrambler every time. It's faster by far, it's an automatic (which is nice), you can take it out of 4x4, the list goes on and on....

Good luck with your decision.

-Josh

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img] IF YOU WANT TO RIDE BUY A HONDA OR YAMAHA.. IF YOU WANT TO WORK ON IT BUY A POLARIS

 

The scramblers are good quads I have a 98 an have had very little problems with it an is alot of fun to ride can go alot of places with the added 4X4. I think the wolvrine is a good quad to but would be lacking in the power Department to the Polaris.I think the best thing to do is go a test ride them both an see witch one he like's the most That is if the dealer can allow someone his age to test ride

 

ok,,first I would like to say to wrencher, buy a honda or yamaha if you want to send the usa money to a foreign country...And why is your name "wrencher" Is it because YOU ARE ALWAYS WORKING ON HONDAS AND YAMAHA'S? ok,, now that i got that off my chest, I have a 2001 500 scrambler 2x4, I have had it in some deep mud and it did just fine. It climbs hills with ease and travels everywhere all my rideing buddies go { 300 express 2x4 , 400 explorer 4x4, trailblazer 2x4, sportsman500 4x4, yamaha warrior, yamaha blaster, honda foreman }. my scrambler has been very good so far, and it will outrun all of the quads I listed .

 

I have a 2000 400 Scrambler. My 14 year old son is the smae height but 10lbs lighter. He rides our 400 and has even TT raced it. It has plenty of power and is VERY versitle. But ours is a 2x4 and we dont use it for anything other than sport riding. I think you would be happy with a Scrambler. Dont let these other people scare you off with broken Polaris stories. Ours has been 100% reliable and would not trade it for anything, even the almighty over rated 400ex. Some of the stories about broke Polaris' are by people who dont or have never owned one, so take that for what its worth and good luck.
PD