I bought a 1998 Scrambler 400 this week. My son has a 2002 400ex. We are going riding soon and it is inevitable that we will race. Who is going to win?

 

on top end the polaris will likely pull away............but if the trail is bumpy, twisty, and so on the 400EX will leave it behind (if the riders are equal) the top speed for a EX is like 65mph (stock) and the scrambler is around 68 or so i think.

 

Ah, Funny you ask. I just lined up my EX with my friends 500 Scrambler last weekend.

I also used to own a Polaris 400. I almost think my 400 Sport had a bit more snap off of the line than the 500, but I suppose that could be a clutch issue and not a power issue. Other than that they felt very similar.

Anyway, now to the race. It was on a dirt road with decent hook up...I spun a little bit, but I would think he did too. He pulled me right off of the line and up until I was shifting into like 3rd gear. Once I hit 3rd I pulled back by him very quickly and then the speeds seemed to almost even out after I got about 4 quad lenghts ahead of him. I think I probably had like 2-3mph on him top end, but it was pretty close.

I would guess that our race was about 300 yards and at the end of that I had him by about 5 lenghts.

My EX has some slight mods, but I don't think anything that really affects the performance. The Scrambler was also stock.

You have a nice basis for some mods. That 400 2-stroke engine can gain a lot from them. Get yourself hooked up with an HPD or RcR pipe and clutch kit and you'll get him by a lot more off of the line...Your top end doesn't change much though.

By the way, for any Polaris guys interested, I have a video of the Polaris 500 racing against a 200x ATC on my website. Check it out.

-Josh

 

A pipe,clutch ki tand high flow air filter and you should smoke a 400EX that is modded the same.If not dont worry you will make up for it when you have to pull him out of the mud or when he high centers on a twig.

 

I raced a 400ex with some mods on it and mine at the time was stock and I hung with him. He maybe beat me by a bike length. Thats all. I think now that I just put on my pipe and silencer that I should take him.

 

i was at the dunes a couple weeks abo and i raced a polaris scrambler 400(stock with paddles). I have the mods listed below and i blew him away up comp hill. I beat him by about 7 or 8 quad lenths atleast!! so i wouldnt say that with a pipe its going to make that much difference..

 

I dont know about dunes but in the woods and on trails it is hard to beat any 2 stroke.Besides my old 400 sportsman eats up all sport bikes on the trails hate to see what a Scrambler 2 stroke would do.And it is amazing what a pipe and filter will do to any 2 stroke.But to make the polaris really eat you got to have the right clutch set up stock clutching sucks. Next time you want to blow a polaris away try it in some deep mud and he may come back anb pull you through it.

 

Maybe that was the first time he was racing or he wasn't racing at all. All I know is that a 400ex is overated! Also it seems that a polaris hooks up better than the manual clutched bikes. The polaris won't spin off the start as much in loose dirt.

 

<< Maybe that was the first time he was racing or he wasn't racing at all. All I know is that a 400ex is overated! Also it seems that a polaris hooks up better than the manual clutched bikes. The polaris won't spin off the start as much in loose dirt. >>



Not sure, but if you were refering to my post we were deffinatly racing...that was the point of going down the road...lining them up...and taking off at the same time [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] .

Anyway, I wouldn't call a 400ex overated, but I would agree that &quot;some&quot; people that own them think that they are really fast bikes...honestly though, in a straight line they aren't impressive. Heck, my Banshee smokes the EX so bad it's not even funny. You could put a 1st time rider on the Banshee and it would still beat my EX.

However, when it comes down to the two bikes I would have to say that I like the Honda better. For what I do it's a lot more fun.

Sure, if I were drag racing all day everyday I wouldn't even own it. It can't make up for the power of the Banshee.

-Josh

 

In a drag the polaris will probably take it on the top, but for anything other than a straight line there is no comparison between the two. The honda has better suspension, handles much better, and jumps way better. The polaris is just too heavy, and I am speaking from experience.