my china Dune Buggy, 110cc build/modify

[my67xr]

here is a china Dune Buggy we bought for our 9yo son a couple of years ago.
110cc, 1 speed auto,
bought it used, saved about $600 off retail price at the time.
here's the pics of when we first got it.

it needed a little work, things had broken off, or been lost etc.
it had no rear brake pads in it, the only thing that slowed it down was the rear calipers' piston against the rear disc......

i fitted an old pit bike twin piston caliper to the rear, fixed up a couple of the swiitches and gave the buggy a quick respray.
then an oil change, spark plug and a couple of bits and pieces..

 

[aussie_140]

have you ever thought about putting a bigger engine in in? would be cool if you ask me

 

[DHZ_XR8cing]

Do they fit adults in them?? Have you had many problems with it??

 

[aussie_140]

nah i havent done it mate, but their would be someone that would of

 

[my67xr]

yeah adults fit in ok.
on a plate above the motor it suggest 14 years and up.
i will be changing the motor in it soon, im putting a 3 speed semi auto with reverse in.
at the moment it will do 70kmph on the flat
fast enough for our son, (now 11).

i have had to repair some cracks in the frame, not designed too well.
and rebuild and re-engineer the front suspension.
more pics to come

 

[DHZ_XR8cing]

I have thought about getting 1 for the kids but I know i'll be tempted to test it out. Lots. lol
They look pretty cool. Thanks for putting pics up dude.

 

[my67xr]

here it is with the custom corflute covers on it

 

[my67xr]

the dodgy china balljoint setup (if you can call it that) in the front end soon wore out, see pic above
im a fabricator/panel beater/painter by trade and work on a lot of race cars
i ended up remaking the front suspension using some used heim/rose joints off a porsche rally car

these are the modified upper and lower arms, they are now adjustable camber too

 

[DHZ_XR8cing]

You did a great job there mate.
Are the porshe parts something you had laying around or did you order them?

 

[my67xr]

nah i know a few people that had the parts laying around, got them cheap, lol

 

[DHZ_XR8cing]

thats the go. I keep my eye on these on ebay and will get 1 when i find a cheap heap on there.

 

[my67xr]

i wanted to make the rear end of the buggy adjustable too, so i pulled it down and started modifying it a bit more.
i made up some adjustable height mounts for the rear swingarm.
while i was at it i modifed the main frame too,
i extended it 6" (150mm), and made it 8" (200mm) wider, and remounted the roll bars back about 6" (150mm) to give more helmet clearance
it needed new mounts for the indicators and i fitted some Kawasaki rear vision mirrors too

half way through the mods

and back together again

also fitted a pair of rear shocks off a honda postie?

i had to modify the tank mounts too

while i was doing it i relocated the airfilter, using some pipe, doesn't suck in as much dust now.
also added a rear spoiler
and my son wanted some flames on it too......

i thought i'd add a flag, to help us see him better in amongst the bushes/plantlife

the tyres on these are not up to 3 corner jacks, they are 145/6 and only 2 ply's.
i was over pumping up the tyres twice a day so bought some new wheels/tyres to try out.
they are 16/8/7's, taller, wider, and a stronger 4 ply construction, with a deeper/ more aggressive tread

new rear tyres

and a quick video of him doing a couple of warmup laps of the tool shed,

 

[tim_]

firstly dude your tool shed is massive.... and looks like he is having a ball mate.. reps for the mad rebuild..

 

[my67xr]

thanks for the comments,
i dunno if im fixing it for him or myself sometimes!
i cant help it....

i forgot to mention in the above post,
when i fitted the bigger/taller rear wheels i needed to fit a smaller front sprocket onto the motor,
i removed the 14 tooth and fitted a 12 tooth to compensate.

the buggy is currently being modified again....

i have now upgraded the rear brakes and fitted a bigger pit bike 190mm disc and a single piston caliper, which has an adjustable mount, so if i need to tighten the chain and move the motor or move the axle back, i can undo 2x bolts and move it to suit.
the disc pads have a bigger area of contact across the bigger disc

i also remounted the brake master at the front and have made a better pedal setup, much stronger now.
and also has a better pivot point, it gives the pedal much more leverage to make braking easier.
the pedal pad also pivots at the top to move and keep the same angle as your foot ,as you brake.

i am in the process of making/fitting some mudguards to try and stop the rocks/3 corner jacks etc flicking up and into the interior.
backs are pretty much done/sussed
i have picked up a set of brand new rear shockers too, and added another smaller one to each side of the rear (mountain bike RST's) to help make it firmer

and the frame above the motor is getting reworked as well.
i relocated the rear indicators to the upper part, and am adding an eye level brake light between them

i redid the roof spotlight mounts and removed the lower front lights, relocating them up to the roof too.
i took the old school incandescant 10watt globes out and have fitted some modern 9watt leds,
these put out as much light as a 80 watt headlight globe in a car, and are a cool white, not yellowish.
the inner lights i have taken the 10watters out and fitted 20 watt halogen globes.
this buggy now lights up my whole backyard at night time, the foxes and bunny will be blinded up at the farm, lol
oh yeah, the flames have now moved onto the front section of the roof too, lol
and there will be a smoked lexan sunvisor fitted there too.

the steering rack has been remounted , it's a R/H drive now.
and im remaking the dash panel, including a speedo
bonnet will then be fabricated to suit the above mods

the front suspension is also being reworked, again, i will be fitting some brand new shockers there too.

 

[aussie_140]

holy sh1t you have done some work to this! looks awesome mate, you've got some skills thats for sure!

 

[aussie_140]

oh and keep the post coming in, i love the build

 

[DHZ_XR8cing]

Looks awsome dude. I recon it would fly with a 160 in it or one of them electric start 150's

 

[aussie_140]

NEW YX150CC E-START ENGINE, SUPPORT LIGHTING & BATTERY CHARGING | eBay
would hammer!

 

[timeeh]

Awesome build mate, makes me wish i had a kid

 

[my67xr]

the bigger motors would be good, i couldnt justify the cost of them though.

i still have plenty of fun on it, 45 degrees + around the corners in the sand/dirt, it drifts pretty well

timeeh, i wish my dad HAD built me one when i was a kid, would have been a lot more fun than just riding around on the Deltek

i was thinking of making a buggy for myself from scratch, and using a Yamaha IT/YZ490 6 speed motor in it .
i reckon i'd need good hospital cover though!!!

some more pics

lights (close up)

rear brake

modified exhaust, and new swingarm cross members to suit,

new battery mount and bigger battery

frond end from above,
part way though the mods, you can see the new steering rack mounts
and the revised front tube/frame work

cheers, craig