Hey Hey ...... 1st post I
I am on the hunt ... for a buggy ..... the perfect buggy Speed / Tricks and Jumps ....... yes yes ... I know there is no such a single buggy ....but I can dream

I have axcess to some flash metal fabrication shops through my work .... so I am conflicted as to buy local/ import or build my beast (I live in Australia)

So .... for me .... the best idea I have is to ask all of you


What type of buggy do you own ?
Did you buy it new or 2nd and how much $ ?
How regular do you use it and how is it holding up ?
Any waranty problems that crappolad you to tears ?
What do you like about your buggy ?
What do you dislike about your buggy ?
What is your dream buggy machine ?
How much would you pay for the dream buggy?


Thanks in advance .....
Happy Days

Well first off welcome to the forum

As far as buggying goes the most impressive buggies i've seen right now is made by the weldngod. check him out he frequents the site very often. He makes his own and you being in austrailia it would be cost prohibitive but for ideas and work of craftsmanship you gotta see his stuff.

Most buggies are made by a few companies. #1 on the list is peter lynn. I believe he's in the neighborhood maybe new zealand with dealers everywhere.

New are spendy. Used expect to pay 50-60% of new.
Most hold up very well depending on how you treat your equipment. I'm not a big fan of the construction I think the production models lack the sturdiest components when you compare what a custom buggy made by an individual can build.

The few things i've seen that could be improved are:
Seating the webbing on some of the seats have been known to break.
pivot point needs to be stronger some have broken parts where the steering pivots in the front.
Wheels are like farm grade and expensive to replace wish there where some more styles and tread designs.

A dream buggy some have been toting around are more back support and some sort of suspension system. Possibly a pivoting seat design would be cool.

Weldngod has made his own with more back support and a cargo area for carrying beers. hehe
Aluminum is lighter than the square tube frame that most production models have and are usually stronger and more heavy duty.

I guess its like anything if its going to be your #1 focus in kiting then don't hold back find a welder make some designs and build one i'm guessing in the neighborhood of 1500-2500$

If you just want to jump in and go and not worry about it by the production models. 600-900$ or cheaper.

there are racing ones long distance ones etc. again some are custom with bigger wheels for bumpier terrain + other features.

I hope I shed a little light on the subject. There is way more to discuss but you'll have to decide for yourself what it is your looking for in a buggy.

G'Day Craz Z

Ta for your thoughts mate. I haver had a snoop at some of the posts by weldngod ... .... there are so many options hence me throwing the stone out in the "great pond of cyber thoughts" ... lol ..

In a nutshell .... I am looking for a good quality buggy, generally for longer beach runs (when the gods are with me) but also suited for the park when time does not permit the longer drive to the beach. I doubt I will be exploring freestyle tricks too much ... more of a lawn mower type fellah I reckon I dont mind spending my money provided I am getting something that is not going to bend or snap. I have read many different reviews on different rigs and feel I am getting a good idea of what's good n' not good. When you say $1500 to $2000 are you talking US dollars. I have axcess to a full fabrication shop which specializes in stainless products so making one is just as likely as buying one. Just cant decide on what is truly special ...................

I like the Flexifoils and the Libres ... both of which are available down under.I have had a ride in both, the flexifoil was set up with midi wheels and a wider rear axle (about 160mm) It felt really comfy for me and really solid to the ground. Easy to slide and turn + enough room for my son to sit on the custom rear axle seat. The libre was a race with big foot tyres ... nice and comfy but the bearings were a little worn which made it wandery, taking away from the experiance. As well the splashguard did not suit the bigger tyres so the fun wore off as soon as the sandblasting started. I have looked also at the Peter Lynn, but to me .... a bit on the light/cheap side. I do like the way PL has an endless list of spare parts but they just seem a little weak.

I have never seen an aluminium Buggy other that weldngod's .,... any links to anyone else using alloy ? or do you know yourself how the metal handles the stresses. Is it mainly tube, SHS or RHS used ? what sort of wall thicknesses ? The norm here for Axles in SS or Steel is 20mm axles ... whats your 2C ?

What I do like are the rigs made by popeyethewelder
Have you seen them ... I like the simplicity of the Cougar. Its .... its .... it just IS !!!!! What do you think of his work ? Do you know if he sells them or if anyone else is making buggys to his standard ? IMHO he seems to be the standard that no one else has reached.


Happy Days

Hey dude, what's up? Nice to see people like my "suicide machines" as my co-workers call 'em. The best part of making your own buggy is you can make it how you want or need it. My first "green grasshopper" was made out of a scrap aluminum tub on a Saturday afternoon,then some harbour freight wheels. It did great ,and I did upgrade to bigger wheels w/ precision bearings. HellYeah!!! See if you can't befriend a welder, most of us are rather outgoing kind of people.If you get to know the right dude ,get him addicted to wind. And he will build you a buggy so he can ride too!( Or so he can watch you kill yourself) I told you we are assholes, oops I mean outgoing. Oh yeah welcome to the forum BRO!

Hey Weldngod ........ Burp ... thanks for the beer

I have a buddy who is a fitter and turner ... and a kiter We have just been brainstorming on the phone for an hour. I am on this HUGE learning curve about metal and all her purks and quirks .... most interesting and overwhelming all @ the same time !! While I think of it ... NICE pic of the 2 cans welded together. I told my pal and he sends his respect. We have decided to build ... exactly what is still on the cards. Most likey a race style ... but I dont have a huge amount of refrence points, I do like the Libre V max race and protask, XXX race and Viper evo ... they are low and wide .... and fast. Down here its mostly Peter Lynn for the general joe ... then Flexifoil stuff, then Libre. Not much of anything else ....have you got much in the way of race buggys available in the US ? I just cant find anything I can buy here which I reckon will be bombproof .... (apart from the Libre) so thats why we are going to make one.
What sort of race buggys are the lads using in the USA ?

Happy Days

Sounds like your off and running bro.. I never even considered buying a production buggy,because any thing "production"means "beat the competition"usually at the expense of product. It's always " faster faster ,cheaper cheaper" they gotta make it cheaper than the other guy.I know what I want ,and will do whatever it takes to achieve this. Now that you have a fitter ,get a welder on board your team. And all you need is some material. What kind ? What are you going to do w/buggy? What kind of demands will be put on it? Weight of rider ? lots to consider when making one. I TIG weld beer cans together because I CAN.. You really have to have the "feel" for the heat transfer, a touch to much and instant hole. there is a secret but I'll never tell. Practice Practice Practice . Let me know if you need any advice about metals,welding things like that. You can go to the flexifoil forum and check for a guy named Sand Yeti he is this old guy who lives in BAHRAIN he goes out in the sand dunes, big ass dunes complete with camels. He is some kind of engineer or something, really knows his stuff about buggies.He is buds with PTW, who makes the sweetest suicide machines on earth . They are right nice people, real helpful. Oh yeah anytime!

Hey Weldengod ... my buddy reckons hes going to join some cans together for ya ... (Just to make you smile) ... lol .... must be a welder thing eh !
As well ... he has some drag car tyres (mickey thompson) that are worn way too thin to use on the 1/4 mile anymore .. he has made a hub adaptor that will allow him to attach to the 20mm buggy axle ... lol. These wheels must be 20 inches wide and 3/4 up to my hips !!! He reckons the are just for fun ... fun alright ! I reckon he must have a little willy and is compensating for it .. ar ar ar

At the moment its still bits everywhere .. and more ideas thrown around than parts actually made .. but we are getting there

I have a loan of a flexifoil with a 160mm wide back axle. Its SOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo stable

The forcast for tomorrow is 20 - 25k steady all day with a chance of rain.
Low tide is in the middle of the day and the wind is perfect onshore (I hope I didn't just jinx myself)
I am gunna have a fatty

Happy Days

Damn, I 've done started something. So with here it is .A pepsi can welded to a piece of 1/16" 5086 aluminum. Fillet weld thick ,to thin. Don't leave your drink sitting around here!

ALL YE BOW TO THE WELDNGOD! MASTER MANIPULATOR OF MOLTEN METAL.C'MON WHERE'S all those welder wannabees at? lets see some cans!

Dude ......... not impressed

Ya should have used a BEER can

..... by the way, seeing this is a buggy thread ... lol ..... I had a GREAT run on the weekend. Rode for about 70km ... ummm ... 40 miles and my max speed was 60.7 kmh .... ummmm ... about 35mph. I know its not THAT impressive .... but I impressed me

Happy Days