Off Road Buggy in the snow.

[JIM600]

Not strictly a reader's car, but having sold my 205gti I am now plodding about in a boring 4x4 which isn't really worthy to grace the pages of PH, so figured I would post these pics taken today instead:

We've had a few of these over the years, ranging from 150hp snowmobile engined versions to ones with R6 engines, Mini engines, Redtop engines. But the current lap record is held by this one, the motorbike engined stuff is obviously much quicker in a straightline, but the motorbike gearboxes just cant keep up with a torque converter up/down hills and in mud/snow - always ended up trying to select the right gear or spinning the wheels on a small track. This runs a 700cc Honda engine, Hagon socks, omp seat/steering wheel/belts, brembo calipers etc etc:



























Couple of pics of it in the dry:









And some of the previous ones - no longer own these.

Edited by JIM600 on Wednesday 6th January 19:32

[krallicious]

That looks like so much fun. Where can you buy them from and are they expensive? Christmas list this year methinks.

[JIM600]

krallicious said:

That looks like so much fun. Where can you buy them from and are they expensive? Christmas list this year methinks.

Amis K who made them no longer build them in the UK (was told they moved out to Dubai, and build them for the dunes but maybe just hearsay). They are incredibly simple, and all off the shelft bits - ie you can walk into a Honda dealership and buy any engine part/wheels etc, the rest is all a simple space frame and track kart parts.

The next best alternative is Gemini Karts but they only go upto a 400cc instead of the 700cc engine.

The bottom 3 buggies pictured were quick, but nowhere near as easy/fun to drive and far more unreliable - car/bike gearboxes/intakes just aren't made for mud/dust etc. The Honda commercial engines and torque converters are much better.

Fifth Gear had a race in them while visiting Jay-Kays house a few years ago:

(from 50seconds onwards)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJZAg2KL_FY

[Wayne King]

Awesome!! I would assume 400cc would be enough for most people to have lots of fun

[JIM600]

Wayne King said:

Awesome!! I would assume 400cc would be enough for most people to have lots of fun

Yep, they gnerally range from about 250cc up to 400cc - which as you say, is more than enough for a tightish track/small field.

[C. Grimsley]

Rage motorsport (Bedford) make these aswell but they are much bigger and are priced a little more, some of them have r1 engines in and are very very fast (some supercharged), i went in one and nearly died with excitment it was that fast.

This company makes the karts you see at the big car shows with the stunt driver pulling wheelies and jumping over things etc.

Carl

Edited by C. Grimsley on Thursday 7th January 23:22

[JIM600]

C. Grimsley said:

Rage motorsport (Bedford) make these aswell but they are much bigger and are priced a little more, some of them have r1 engines in and are very very fast (some supercharged), i went in one and nearly died with excitment it was that fast.

This company makes the karts you see at the big car shows with the stunt driver pulling wheelies and jumping over things etc.

Carl

Edited by C. Grimsley on Thursday 7th January 23:22

Yeh, the rage buggies are in a different league really, we had an R180 in about 8 months ago, and a Polaris RZR - both equally awesome bits of kit, but just too quick for the size of track here - (and at 3 times the price, not really money I could justify).

The red and yellow buggies at the bottom of my initial post both kicked out about 130HP (Rotax snowmobile engine and a Kwak Ninja engine). Both were insanely quick (weighed about 230-250kg so approx 450hp/ton) but you could only use half throttle round our track. The 700cc one is much gruntier - and about as powerful as you need on a smallish track - it wouldnt touch a rage/polaris on a rally stage/tarmac track though!

[Robert060379]

I was thinking of making something like that out of my Subaru Justy when it ran out of MOT. Had a go in one that was road legal and based on the Fiat 126. Good laugh but the 4wd would be better.

[soad]

Awesome photos on the thread.

Looks like a lot of fun, i'm so jealous

[dibbers006]

HOLY st... you had 150bhp in one of those things!

Awesome!



Can I be your friend... invite me round pleasey

[JIM600]

dibbers006 said:

HOLY st... you had 150bhp in one of those things!

Awesome!



Can I be your friend... invite me round pleasey

From memory it was between 115 and 130hp - so not quite 150, but close enough to make very little difference! The snowmobile engines are the best setup - much better drive offroad than the bike gearboxes. The new Rage/Mcrae buggies seem to be going down the snowmobile route now too. We have a rotax snowmobile engine here to go in the back of a qpod sport - which is like a cross between a caterham and an off road buggy.

If your anywhere nr Worcester you can have a go!

[Greg_D]

JIM600 said:

dibbers006 said:

HOLY st... you had 150bhp in one of those things!

Awesome!



Can I be your friend... invite me round pleasey

From memory it was between 115 and 130hp - so not quite 150, but close enough to make very little difference! The snowmobile engines are the best setup - much better drive offroad than the bike gearboxes. The new Rage/Mcrae buggies seem to be going down the snowmobile route now too. We have a rotax snowmobile engine here to go in the back of a qpod sport - which is like a cross between a caterham and an off road buggy.

If your anywhere nr Worcester you can have a go!

I'm near Kidderminster, i'll swap you a go in my single seater if you like!

Greg

[JIM600]

Greg_D said:

JIM600 said:

dibbers006 said:

HOLY st... you had 150bhp in one of those things!

Awesome!



Can I be your friend... invite me round pleasey

We have a rotax snowmobile engine here to go in the back of a qpod sport - which is like a cross between a caterham and an off road buggy.

If your anywhere nr Worcester you can have a go!

I'm near Kidderminster, i'll swap you a go in my single seater if you like!

Greg

Sounds good to me! - Only just down the road from Kiddi. Ill drop you a message when its finished.