Hello everyone, i am new to this forum but from what i have read you people are great. last year i owned a 1997 scrambler 500 4x4. i was happy with the quad but it was a little ruff and had been beaten up pretty bad so i got rid of it when i was offered a fair price. i am now ready to buy another quad and feel as though the scrambler is still the way to go. I have found 2 scramblers for right at 4000 dollars. both are 2000 models and are 4x4's. my huge dilema is whether to get the 2 stroke or 4 stroke. i know the 2 stroke is faster but i have never owned one. i will be honest and tell you that i am not very good at working on things...is that a big issue? please provide any information you feel would help me... good or bad input(i would rather you hurt my feelings than waste $4000). i plan to buy on friday of this week.

Thank you, Chris

 

My suggestion is to go with the 400 because they are a very good machine and are also easier to hop up than the 500's.
But if you want more opinion's I would suggest doing a topic search and you will see that this topic comes up every other week or so.
Of the guy's I ride there are 3 400 4x4 Scrambler's, a 500 4x4 scrambler, an Xpress 300, and a Trailblazer 250. All the 400's are slightly to marjorly hopped up. Everything else is basicly stock. We ride trail and muddin plus a little fun racing with in our group.

 

I felt a little more secure going 4 stroke for the life of the engine, but now i want to rip it down and put in a big bore kit. I love the low end power of my 500 but i think if i were to start all over the money i have in my machine, i could be going alot faster with a 400. It's not that i'm at all unhappy with the 500 it's just the 400's potential is so much more. " More bang for the buck!!!"

 

I agree!! I would go with the 400. I have a 2000 400 2x4 and I love it!! Reliability has never been an issure. As a matter of fact, I have not had to do anything to it yet. The 400 is so much cheaper to hop-up also. The oil injection makes it even less dificult to operate. If it were up to me, I'd go with the 400. Hope I've helped you out.

 

I think the 400 is a great engine but if you just want to gas and go the 500 might be the one for you. The 400 will require top end rebuilds, probably rejetting the carb occassionally, and regularly cleaning the air filter.
The 400 will run stronger if you make a few mods but it does require more maintenance.
The air filter cleaning doesn't require too much mechanical know how but rejetting might be a problem for you if you're not mechanically inclined. It's not really difficult so you could probably learn to do that if you wanted to.
If you can afford to have a dealer do your work for you as far as the inevitable top end work then the 400 might work for you otherwise go with the 500.

 

You can also look at it this way. The money you save on the 400 over the 500 will buy you a top end job. I did a top end job on my 400 Xplorer (same engine) and it cost right at $200, but I did the labor myself. I would think a good shop should be able to do the work in 4 to 5 hours, maybe adding another $100-$150. For what it is worth, my Xplorer went over 5000 miles before I did anything to it. It was still running OK, but I did the work to save bigger problems. If you go too far without replacing the piston, the stock Polaris piston will get loose in the cylinder, and it rattling in the bore will sooner or later cause a piece of the piston skirt to crack off, and fall into the engine, sometimes just making the engine quit, sometimes doing major damage to the bottom end.
If that worries you, have a mechanic install a Wiseco piston in your machine as soon as warranty runs out (or get extended warranty). No re-jetting is necessary, and it really isn't hard to do, if you would want to try it yourself. I have yet to hear of a properly-installed wiseco piston fail in a machine that has been jetted properly. Usually, they go until the rings wear out. By then, you will notice power loss, and will have it looked into.

 

thank you all for the helpful information. i am leaning hard toward the 400. do you think that 3900 is a good price for a good condition 2000 400 4x4??? i read somewhere that someone got a new 2000 model from a dealer for 3800! i dont know how he pulled that off as that sounds like the price i have ever heard of.

chris

 

[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

I've got a 2002 Scrambler 400x. I've only had it a couple of months, but I love it. It's all stock, so far. It's got plenty of pep for me and the four wheel drive has sure come in handy. I bought my son a Trail Boss that has a 4 stroke, it has decent power too, but not the pep. I would recommend the two stroke. Good luck.

 

In stock form, the 500 has more low end grunt, better for the tighter trails when your gonna be running at lower speeds. The 400 is better for more open trails and dunes, when higher speeds are required. The midrange on the 400 is very good. In a straight line, they are pretty much the same. If you plan on doing a lot of mods, obviously the 2-stroke would be better. The 2-stoke is gonna be easier to work on for you. Both are great, good luck on your choice.