Don't if many of you guys that buggy know about this guy in the uk. He goes by the name on Popeye the welder and over the last few years he has been building buggies in his garage and this is his lastest creation. http://popeyethewelder.piczo.com/?g=44997121&cr=7 Just shows you what you can do with the right tools and skills, though i hate to think how much it cost to build, i don't think he would have got much change from $3000.

I for one think its an awesome buggy and his best to date looks, wise that is and look forward to seeing how fast he can get it, i think his PB is around 52mph ( about 83kmph) Anyway also chockout the rest of his site to as its got heaps buggying info on it.

There was actually a little Kiwi influence happening about halfway through the build with the Leading link front.

have a look at OUR BUGGY NEIGHBOURS on the left hand side of PTW's site home page

Yeah, I thought that suspension bigfoot of yours' had a fair bit of influence on PTW's design.

Feeling a little distracted today. Three bigfoot wheels without a buggy sitting in the workshop. A lot of drawing to be done if I'm to get through some of the stainless and a full bottle of argon sitting next to it. :twisted: Jimmy22 also sent me home with some of those elastomers to see what I can come up with. Question is whether I wait a month till I get my plasma cutter...

Yes , im really pleased to have helped Popeye with the leading link , im sure if he gets the geometry right then he will be as pleased as we are . The front end is now generation 4 and just keeps getting better and better. Added a Fox front adjustable damper last week with the help of Gannet . Hopefully it fits both front ends, big foot leading link and little foot. so far just tried on littlefoot. Popeye is a great guy and is a pleasure to work with, obviously he draws ideas and knlowedge from all over so I gave him the basic parameters and he has made it in his own style as i had hoped. Its fun to see what folks will do with something depending on thier own available skills and materials.

Yeah Thanks Jimmy22 for your inspiration on the leading link, I have still got to seriously test it, as there has been a lull on any decent wind, I am heading on a 6hr buggy trip to Pembrey in south Wales in two weeks and hope to give it some real hammer...I will keep you informed.


Oh and Hi guys in NZ, this is my first post

Likewise... finally have the incentive to build the Moose-truck! Even Jimmy22 is building a new buggy from scratch.

Finished turning a set of 25mm stub axles for my buggy last weekend and starting what's turning into a fairly complex build. Protask style gooseneck alone will take a whole day! :O)

hi popeye, im looking fwd to your real test of that front end. you will have to look at the dampner down one side its even better now , really worthwhile, the adjustable dampening makes it really work well

hey popeye...awsome to have you here...your an inspiration to us all.

http://vimeo.com/1813742

That thing rolls like a limo!

Whatyasay Jimmy22... you want one of them camera stands on your bug while we're at it? 48mm pipeclamp with a 3-axis bracket to hold something to document the Mooseday-challenge with. 8)

perrin has one and he can do lofted shots of us from above !!

i have such a clamp but i was considering a spare wheel and tool kit holder for the 500km run i am slowly planning..

500km run?
where?
up and back up and back up and back the moose or somewhere else?.

of course of course i'm keen on such long distance madness.

not sure my hips/legs/toes could handle it but i'm always supprised at what the body can withstand.

hehe i was knackered at 75km.... thats only 6.666 times that distance.

at 30kph 16.7 hours
40kph 12.75
50kph 10.....

woa.

yip , im aiming for 12 hours of day light, 20knot winds so we can average 45kmph, some quick runs to 60 odd but mostly cruzing in highish winds.
i think those s/s bearings will come in handy and a spanner for the non LH threads on your wheels it would be good to aim for 500 km but anything over 300km in a day is getting into legend territory esp if its an individual event backed up by fellow racers.

Big nut on the cross-brace then you have a spare axle bolt too. Stick'em on the back like they did with the old cars! Small chilly bin in the space underneath it. Unless you need that for the battery for them headlamps.

Plummet: We need to make you a longboard cruiser with plushie big wheels and a seat on an outrigger. Just build you a crab-buggy if you insist on being sideways! :twisted:

what about the tide? you can't fang at 45kp/h even on monster wheels at high tIde.

yeah i though about making a monster high speed board like the quadrillution. but i'd hardly ever use it so... not worthwhile.

i have considered bigger wheels for my current board. mini quad bikes to a wheel that wight work.

Nah. you can't convince me to buggy. i have to be different. and set myself silly goals like beating the buggiers. then gloat when i manage to beat someone. hahaha,.... when i am beaten i can just go oh well buggiers go faster anyway. hehehe.

you wouldn't need 20 knots to average 45kph would you? i hit damn here 50kph in around 13 knots....

whats the best beach for this challenge? 90 mile? my memory is thats wide and hard as hell. harder than muriwai.

i was thinking murs but im an aucklander after all... 20 knots because then if the wind drops you till have 15 knots lots can happen over 12 hours.. 12 hours to allow for a high tide, rest sandwitch, pee, sandwitch, drink and off again till dark.. , murs because the moose hardly wets out and we could still do some kms while the tide were high .

moose meet in 2 and a bit weeks time , woo hoo

fair enough.

why stop at night? i'll just switch my lights on and carry on..... made myself some Super bright LED lights for mountain biking. they will do nicley.

gives you the equivalent to 40 watts helogen massive run time all off a 200gm battery you can stick in your pocket.

yes moose coming soom .... ooh.

Also stick some glowsticks on the kite to help as you can get disoriented very quickly - especially the smaller kites.

Biggest problem with night time kiting is the lack of contrast. Not so bad on the beach but I bet the dunes would be same as in the surf trying to feel your way through the chop. While you can see surf it's difficult to guage the angle of the waveface. Not as disorienting as snowboarding in a white-out though.

Hi guys, well as you may know there is a Dominator in Austrailia now JDHot has it, and there are a couple of copies in Europe, I have almost finished Mk4 and thought I would give you guys a sneak preview before I put the cosmetics on.


Dominator 4

Nice work again. Hats off, that is some serious bend-work considering what you have to work with. Love those yoke profiles too.

I've finally finished a new front-end too:
buggy-builder.blogspot.com/
Got some hydraulics on the way so I can sort out a bend former too. Will cost me a few hours on the mill fashioning up some formers though.

Thats sweet, and I like the way you have made the elastomer housing and axle plate. I tried moving the bend on the fork lower similar to yours on the Cheetah, but found the front end very unstable, and ended up almost redoing the whole lower part from the yokes down.

Cheers, that just chopped down 6mm thick 50mm angle. Plenty strong enough and easiest to work with to reduce fabrication time. First time hand bending tube around an MDF former to make the little anti sway bar too. I have since retrofitted that to the Moosetruck. Yours' has also evolved a bit I see.

Will see how this one goes. The same design as the moosetruck, scaled down for a barrow. Moosetruck tracked so nicely that I hope this does too. It was designed around maintaining the steering geometry first and foremost. Next is to make a new seatframe to go with it and trial a springboard axle for side by side comparison with a classic tube axle. Especially now that home renovations are nearing completion.

Few sets of the newly cast elastomers gone out to a few locals this week. Still working on improving the process. Can do four of them a night and they're just getting better.

You must send me some to try out...I struggle finding the right density, too soft or too hard

Absolutly brilliant, your best bug to date.