Really surprised the blazer didn’t gap the scrambler if I’m being honest. That was satisfying watching the ball joint replacement. Great job getting this thing ready for battle man!
So happy to see a Polaris getting done. I grew up on a 96 250 2-stroke Polaris still got it over 10k miles on it. Then went to the 97 400 2-stroke scrambler. Miss that machine so much, many good times and memories. Love your videos and so do my kids the 3rd generation on sport quads!!!!
I literally grew up on a Trail Blazer and Lakota, and I raced a Blaster in my teens, then had a 300EX as a “buddy quad” for my friends to ride with me. I can tell you right now that you’re going to have an easy time climbing with the trailblazer because there is no worry about gear selection. I used to climb just about anything my cousin did on his 250R, a few things I did need a bit of a run to get up. The only bad part about climbing hills with the trail blazer is the single brake lever. If you don’t make it up and have to back down then the rear brakes will grab and lift the front wheels which is a little scary. All in all though, it’s definitely a contender. The trail blazer’s advantage will be getting the jump on other quads on starts because you don’t have to feather the clutch and you don’t need to waste time shifting. I wrote a full break down on Sabo’s comments on the blaster if you’re interested in how I break down each machine in comparison with each other. Each machine has their own advantages and disadvantages, so it really will be interesting.
@@PeteHager I can tell you one thing though, jumping the trail blazer is way more comfortable in stock trim. The scrambler is wider, has the best suspension stock, the floor boards don’t kill your feet, and the seat is really nice. I got some pictures of my in “full send” mode on the trail blazer. It just sucks that it’s like 420ish lbs because I was able to go bigger on the blaster, the blaster just wasn’t as comfortable.
holy smoke!!!!! this bring me back!!! This was my first ATV my pops bought me for my 8th bday. mine was white an yellow I think a 2001 if i remeber right. wish i would of never sold that thing. Also starter is kinda known to go out on these i went thru 2 and after the last one broke i just pull started it until i sold it
Glad I could provide a throwback for ya 😁 I just noticed the other day that this unit has a new starter on it and it must’ve been replaced with the new battery so we should be good 🤘
I recently got a 2001 Trailblazer 250 from an abandoned storage unit. It's the first ATV I've owned and one of very few I've been on. I've replaced most of the suspension bushings, steering bushings, tie rods, rebuilt and tuned the carb, and probably a few things I'm forgetting. There are a few cosmetic improvements I'm planning on, and eventually some performance upgrades (while there are still a couple shops around who specialize in 3rd gen Polaris). For anyone who cares, I think this is one of the best ATVs I could have gotten for a first. It's fast enough to have fun, heavy enough to be extemely stable, simple enough to cut your teeth on ATV repair/restoration, and I can trust my kids to be able to handle it. Being 2 stroke and having the stock CVT can be frustrating or "unfulfilling" down low, but it makes up for it once the power kicks in. The power band is fairly wide as well, so the anemic bottom end is easy to forgive once you get it moving. I hear a lot of people trash Polaris ATVs, whining about how slow this quad is, but my kids and I have had so much fun on the TB 250 it should be a crime.
Glad you left ya wheely in it keeps my sick n twisted side happy to see you get dirty Pete can't wait for top quad it's a series I didn't know I needed
Love the old Trailblazers! If you put a little paint mark on each bolt/nut with a paint pen it can help you remember what bolts/nuts that you've already torqued to spec and also allows you to take a quick glance and see if anything has loosened up after a ride or just periodically during maintenance. Peace, love the Scrambler S 1000!
Your videos are Great and you are expanding your content well with your skills with mechanical issues , can't wait to see you guys challenge these quads it's going to be great 😃👍
Great video Pete, I owned that exact same Trailblazer swapped to a 500 I found the 250 under powered compared to my Yamaha blaster same as the 500 if you plan on doing a swap i’d use the 400L.
I have the 4 stroke 325 trail boss and it will not pull the wheels off the ground lol. And it tops at 48. This thing is awesome. You will be surprised wit how good it pulls up hills. That automatic just stays in the sweet spot. Look forward to the challenge.
Growing up, most of my riding group was made up of 250cc class machines. I had a recon, and there was a Timberwolf, a Beartracker, 3 TrailBlazers, and an Explorer 250. 20 years later, we all have different machines and still try to ride together. But the days we rode those were definitely the best.
Pete! Your videos are always so fun to watch! My first quad was a 92' trail blazer😂 i was 16 and swiched it to 350 warrior after less than a year. That video sure raised up good memorys ❤
Pete, please double check that you have the struts seated all the way in the bottom of the lower cast housing. The way you assembled them I'm not sure that you could seat them all the way to the bottom. The best way to do this is to remove the top bolt that retains the spring, remove spring, loosen the two pinch bolts on the lower cast housing, and tap down with a mallet/sledge on the strut body.
I think I understand your comment, the struts had a dust line on them when I disassembled the front and then when I put it back together I made sure to tap them into the housing back up to that line since I assumed it was at the correct height. I didn’t include that footage because it wasn’t filmed the best. I had seen a couple videos with them getting tapped back down with a hammer and that’s what I ended up doing. Hopefully I’m good 😅🤞
You need to find the old Hot Seat performance pipe and silencer. They also used to offer a new clutch button set it will get rid of the lag of the CVT trans and tighten it up.
I almost grabbed an Aaen pipe but was told they work best with motor work. Our plan for the series is to keep the machines pretty stock overall so they’re good examples from the factory. The only performance mods we’re doing is exhausts for better exhaust notes 😊
Def needs upgrades (1) Spring in the clutch (2) fresh top end (3) new belt (4) needs a pipe.. only fair to it vs the others.. basically she needs some lovin!!
Hey do you know where I can get a vortex or a programmer for my 2023 700r raptor that’s program for a full yoshimaura exhaust and fci air intake with box
You can get vortex’s or power commanders from my builder at Illinois Powersports. If you want preset tunes your best bet is reaching out to Cuervo racing. I’m pretty sure he mainly runs power commanders though. The vortex’s are less common to tune since very few builders have the software. A lot of raptor owners run power commanders since they run just fine. If you want a vortex with a custom dyno tune than Illinois Powersports is one of the only places in the Midwest I know of 👍
@@jamesmower1852 that would’ve been super fun! I’ve been told Rick Ritter is the guy to hit up for projects like that. Unfortunately the Cool Ranch has moved onto a new home 👍
On the front steering being stiff, the bottom bushing should be a bearing from the factory. The top bushing needs to be replaced and/or greased. I have quite a few parts links in my walkaround video, including an energy suspension bushing I modified and added grease zerk. ua-cam.com/video/oRr_bbT_NZM/v-deo.html
Really surprised the blazer didn’t gap the scrambler if I’m being honest. That was satisfying watching the ball joint replacement. Great job getting this thing ready for battle man!
Watching the video I realised that the blazer sounds more like a vacuum. 🤣But I bet it won't be in last place in "Top Quad" that's for sure.
So happy to see a Polaris getting done. I grew up on a 96 250 2-stroke Polaris still got it over 10k miles on it. Then went to the 97 400 2-stroke scrambler. Miss that machine so much, many good times and memories. Love your videos and so do my kids the 3rd generation on sport quads!!!!
Traded my scrambler x 400 for my now fully built 05 trx450r. I miss that quad every single day I wish I never sold it.
I literally grew up on a Trail Blazer and Lakota, and I raced a Blaster in my teens, then had a 300EX as a “buddy quad” for my friends to ride with me. I can tell you right now that you’re going to have an easy time climbing with the trailblazer because there is no worry about gear selection. I used to climb just about anything my cousin did on his 250R, a few things I did need a bit of a run to get up. The only bad part about climbing hills with the trail blazer is the single brake lever. If you don’t make it up and have to back down then the rear brakes will grab and lift the front wheels which is a little scary. All in all though, it’s definitely a contender. The trail blazer’s advantage will be getting the jump on other quads on starts because you don’t have to feather the clutch and you don’t need to waste time shifting. I wrote a full break down on Sabo’s comments on the blaster if you’re interested in how I break down each machine in comparison with each other. Each machine has their own advantages and disadvantages, so it really will be interesting.
Awesome reviews man! Thanks for all the insight! I’m super excited to see which machine is the winner. I have no expectations as of now 😅😁
@@PeteHager I can tell you one thing though, jumping the trail blazer is way more comfortable in stock trim. The scrambler is wider, has the best suspension stock, the floor boards don’t kill your feet, and the seat is really nice. I got some pictures of my in “full send” mode on the trail blazer. It just sucks that it’s like 420ish lbs because I was able to go bigger on the blaster, the blaster just wasn’t as comfortable.
Trailblazer is a really fun quad. Not gonna win any races but they will go through hell and back. Very reliable for me when I had it.
I had that same machine for one of my kids. So so gutless in the oregon dunes. Really appreciate your level of detail.
Add a pipe and clutch kit to the ol trailblazer and you’ll be very surprised how much it wakes up. 10/10 do recommend
You made that trail blazer look nice dude! 🤘 awesome everybody taking time to go over there machines and make nice for the series!
holy smoke!!!!! this bring me back!!! This was my first ATV my pops bought me for my 8th bday. mine was white an yellow I think a 2001 if i remeber right. wish i would of never sold that thing. Also starter is kinda known to go out on these i went thru 2 and after the last one broke i just pull started it until i sold it
Glad I could provide a throwback for ya 😁 I just noticed the other day that this unit has a new starter on it and it must’ve been replaced with the new battery so we should be good 🤘
Really enjoy watching you wrenching and learning how to fix things on the quads, great video pete!
I recently got a 2001 Trailblazer 250 from an abandoned storage unit. It's the first ATV I've owned and one of very few I've been on. I've replaced most of the suspension bushings, steering bushings, tie rods, rebuilt and tuned the carb, and probably a few things I'm forgetting. There are a few cosmetic improvements I'm planning on, and eventually some performance upgrades (while there are still a couple shops around who specialize in 3rd gen Polaris).
For anyone who cares, I think this is one of the best ATVs I could have gotten for a first. It's fast enough to have fun, heavy enough to be extemely stable, simple enough to cut your teeth on ATV repair/restoration, and I can trust my kids to be able to handle it.
Being 2 stroke and having the stock CVT can be frustrating or "unfulfilling" down low, but it makes up for it once the power kicks in. The power band is fairly wide as well, so the anemic bottom end is easy to forgive once you get it moving.
I hear a lot of people trash Polaris ATVs, whining about how slow this quad is, but my kids and I have had so much fun on the TB 250 it should be a crime.
Glad you left ya wheely in it keeps my sick n twisted side happy to see you get dirty Pete can't wait for top quad it's a series I didn't know I needed
☝🥇Great video as always Pete!
Love the old Trailblazers! If you put a little paint mark on each bolt/nut with a paint pen it can help you remember what bolts/nuts that you've already torqued to spec and also allows you to take a quick glance and see if anything has loosened up after a ride or just periodically during maintenance. Peace, love the Scrambler S 1000!
That was an impressive wheelie! Looking forward to the next Top Quad series.
Almost a little “too” impressive 😂
Hell yeah Pete, can’t wait to see what that things got!
sweet! that DG front bumper really hides the empty space in the chassis, love the new wood sign!
Your videos are Great and you are expanding your content well with your skills with mechanical issues , can't wait to see you guys challenge these quads it's going to be great 😃👍
Sick new addition!
Hell yeah! Pete give it some bro, keep on rocking bro
Thanks Pete, I’ve got a 525 Outlaw that I love, a YFZ I’m taking on trade, and now I want a 2 stroke Polaris.
PETE that thing is bad to the bone. I just sent my suspension out to rocket Ron! Keep up the great videos.
I had a trailblazer 400, i loved it
1999 trailblazer 250 got grease fitting on the a-arms ! thats weird that more recent one dont have them !
I use to have an old trailblazer 250. You have no idea the nostalgia this video brought me!
Great video Pete, I owned that exact same Trailblazer swapped to a 500 I found the 250 under powered compared to my Yamaha blaster same as the 500 if you plan on doing a swap i’d use the 400L.
I have the 4 stroke 325 trail boss and it will not pull the wheels off the ground lol. And it tops at 48. This thing is awesome. You will be surprised wit how good it pulls up hills. That automatic just stays in the sweet spot. Look forward to the challenge.
Growing up, most of my riding group was made up of 250cc class machines. I had a recon, and there was a Timberwolf, a Beartracker, 3 TrailBlazers, and an Explorer 250. 20 years later, we all have different machines and still try to ride together. But the days we rode those were definitely the best.
Awesome video
Pete! Your videos are always so fun to watch!
My first quad was a 92' trail blazer😂 i was 16 and swiched it to 350 warrior after less than a year.
That video sure raised up good memorys ❤
These things are a blast! My first quad was a 98 scrambler 400 2 stroke and it was so fun!
That trail blazer looking good man 🔥🔥🔥
I can’t wait to try that 300 😬
300 ex and the Lakota are going to be a close one
Pete, please double check that you have the struts seated all the way in the bottom of the lower cast housing. The way you assembled them I'm not sure that you could seat them all the way to the bottom. The best way to do this is to remove the top bolt that retains the spring, remove spring, loosen the two pinch bolts on the lower cast housing, and tap down with a mallet/sledge on the strut body.
I think I understand your comment, the struts had a dust line on them when I disassembled the front and then when I put it back together I made sure to tap them into the housing back up to that line since I assumed it was at the correct height. I didn’t include that footage because it wasn’t filmed the best. I had seen a couple videos with them getting tapped back down with a hammer and that’s what I ended up doing. Hopefully I’m good 😅🤞
@@PeteHager cool, you should be good! Didn't want any of you top quad riders injured taking it off sweet jumps! :)
Great update and refresh video on this one!
Enjoyed the front end refresh! I think it had another gear left in her though running the scrambler 🤪
25:26 was a beautiful view what a place to ride!
Nice coverage of the maintenance tasks Pete. 👏.
Them old Polaris quads are kinda goofy looking but cool at the same time. Roll on Top Quad!
Great vid Pete, love the garage and riding content all in 1. #savesportquads
You need to find the old Hot Seat performance pipe and silencer. They also used to offer a new clutch button set it will get rid of the lag of the CVT trans and tighten it up.
I’m with ya got another half a foot of snow up here close to pine river was hoping to get out this week end
You got some nuts pullin up on that table like that
That’s the skill that’s gonna kill the competition lol
I had a 2001 Trail Boss 325 growing up... Very similar to the Trailblazer.
Used to have one a trail blazer but now I have 400ex
ive never been more interested for a scrambler makeover at 6:30 AM on a Monday lol
Man id love to get me a scrambled and customize it myself that bark thru the woods is awesome
You should get a polaris 400L! The mack daddy of polaris 2 strokes. Ritter cycle has them making absolutely crazy power numbers.
I’m really interested in seeing how the Trailblazer does. I own a couple of Sport 400’s so I’m interested in what kind of handling mods you do.
The scrambler is a beast
That sweeet. Now 700rRaptorlife needs to get some kenda tires so it’s good and even on the traction between all the quads
I just picked up a 1986 Suzuki lt230 quadrunner for $550 runs and drives good
Need a Sport 400 they were probably the fastest quad ive rode by Polaris after doing pipe reeds ,jetting and clutch work the Sport 400 was a beast
So what are the top quad results so far or didn't we compare them all yet?
You need to get the two stroke 400 cc trailblazer. Those things are as fast as your YFZ 450. Can find them for $1500 or so online.
You need to make a trip down to Florida with all that snow you are getting up there.
I always like these atvs but wondered if it was easy to change sprockets, shave a little top end off for acceleration?
Got that blazer looking pretty good Pete 👌 interested to see how it performs against the others in the Top Quad series.
You can use an air hammer and an old socket to drive in a new one quick and easy.
For some decent power gains, look up aaen performance, they get nearly 40 hp out of these
I almost grabbed an Aaen pipe but was told they work best with motor work. Our plan for the series is to keep the machines pretty stock overall so they’re good examples from the factory. The only performance mods we’re doing is exhausts for better exhaust notes 😊
@@PeteHager a pipe on a 2 stroke should give a good 5 hp increase. Which is huge on a 20 hp machine. Clutch kit / service will help a lot too.
Reach out to Rick Ritter at Ritter cycle definitely the guy to talk to about Polaris 2 strokes
Man. Just watched your video. Never knew you were in mn. Let's meet up. Buffalo.
Pete you should get a pipe now that sabo had one on his blaster
I used to have a 1999 sport this style but yellow and red and it was a 2wd 400 2 stroke
What front bumper did you use?
It’s a DG bumper. I read recently that they still have some old stock if you order from DG directly
we want to see you restoring a scrambler 500 4x4 like the old days
Good content, keep it up
Pete, are you going to go to little Sahara in Oklahoma again in the future?
Hey pete what town do you live in?
Def needs upgrades
(1) Spring in the clutch
(2) fresh top end
(3) new belt
(4) needs a pipe.. only fair to it vs the others.. basically she needs some lovin!!
Paid 700 for a 1996 Polaris trail boss pretty damn mint going to order a exhaust from Rick Ritter with clutch kit
I think the Honda 300 ex is gonna walk all over the competition
Hey do you know where I can get a vortex or a programmer for my 2023 700r raptor that’s program for a full yoshimaura exhaust and fci air intake with box
You can get vortex’s or power commanders from my builder at Illinois Powersports. If you want preset tunes your best bet is reaching out to Cuervo racing. I’m pretty sure he mainly runs power commanders though. The vortex’s are less common to tune since very few builders have the software. A lot of raptor owners run power commanders since they run just fine. If you want a vortex with a custom dyno tune than Illinois Powersports is one of the only places in the Midwest I know of 👍
PETE: "I'm just going to look at the ball joint" then proceeds to rebuild the hole front end
I jumped a Trail boss before and snapped the chain. Lol
Yo Pete!
We all kno you winnin bro
Sabo 💀
Man I have 2 trailblazer great starter quad and super reliable but heavy it wear you out riding it
I would love to see you do some engine work to this thing to try to pull some real power out of it
@@jamesmower1852 that would’ve been super fun! I’ve been told Rick Ritter is the guy to hit up for projects like that. Unfortunately the Cool Ranch has moved onto a new home 👍
Are u going to get a pipe for that bike? Also love the video 🤘🤘🤘
These so cool but I would want a better exhaust
So whos got the 300ex I need a video on it.
how tall are you?
@@VogelsangDevin I’m around 5’10” 👍
Next time just freeze the ball joints and use a socket and tap not smash then in they slide in so easy!!
i got the same exact machine bro
Last time I did a top speed test on my 250ex I got 53mph according too my mom's can am speedometer
On the front steering being stiff, the bottom bushing should be a bearing from the factory. The top bushing needs to be replaced and/or greased. I have quite a few parts links in my walkaround video, including an energy suspension bushing I modified and added grease zerk. ua-cam.com/video/oRr_bbT_NZM/v-deo.html
19:30 he became a turbo
If a bean counter was a atv, this is what it would look like.
Crazy Winter in Minnesota is an understatement. This shit is wack.
Lol it’s basically a snowmobile with tires
Polaris is a good brand but gawdam is those quads ugly
Bro that thing sounds horrible upgrade that muffler and let it open up
great job man
Great job Pete! Happy to see you working on your stuff brother 👊