The front tires are a bit small. They arent the kind with built in bearings that are designed for hand trucks are they? Because those dont do well on karts.

No, I don't imagine wheelbarrow wheels would do well on a go kart.  those are go kart wheels and tires.

something you might consider, look into a dune buggy title, and make it street legal.................

That kart looks like it would be a handful to say the least!
I'd love to get it registered littleblackjeep but in Australia it is pretty much impossible. It doesn't have a diff, the chassis must be torsion tested, it must comply with emissions... it just becomes WAY too expensive and time consuming.

Yesterday my friend and I removed the engine from the bike. It was a LOT more difficult than I imagined it would be... but it's out!
The engine is a LOT larger, physically, than I imagined it would be. I'm also a little concerned about not having an engine mount on the head. However, seeing how solid the engine is (and how heavy!) goes some way toward easing my mind.





Added a couple of bars to the frame



Driving shot

Looking very good. Too bad Australia makes it too hard to register, that would be sweet...

OK, I have done a bit more since the last update. HAVE PICS!

Close up of the bars which I added to the front of the frame:



Put on the rear suspension mounts:



Cut the frame



Then welded it back together 20mm downwards. The HUGE Suzuki engine won't fit otherwise (Really though, this engine is physically massive. The gearbox is WAY wider than most new engines)











I also bought two shocks from a yamaha XT-550. Unfortunately the designer of the Edge buggies says that I will have to upgrade the springs in them to make them work properly. I'ill see how it goes.

Andrew

cooler by the minute ! thanks for keeping us updated with the build. ok, the engine placement, one thing to say - HEATSHIELD ! the engine will be throwing some serious heat

rock on !

Don't listen to Edge...they know how to make a suspension that looks slick but not one that necessarily works well.  You can make any shocks work with proper links, which is really the way to do it.  Going straight you'll be a bit disapointed.

This thing is gonna be awesome!

great write-up. can't wait to see finished product.

Got pics of tachometer (measures rpms) and gauge assembly (gauges go in it)?

Sorry Loki, I competely forgot about the tach and my Mum has the camera today. Will definitely take the pics this afternoon.

Quotethey know how to make a suspension that looks slick but not one that necessarily works well.  You can make any shocks work with proper links, which is really the way to do it.  Going straight you'll be a bit disapointed.

I agree with you about changing the links, or where the shock is mounted to make it work, but I don't really agree with you with regards to the Edge suspension designs. Remember that they are not designed for sand dunes, which is what most buggies in the US are built for, they are designed for high speed cornering. They do this very well, from the ones I have seen. An Edge Barracuda will run rings around any sand buggy in every situation except on the dunes.

Anyway, it is true that the suspension looks pretty awesome with the inboard shocks but I may have to make them outboard to get stiff enough suspension.

Keep the comments coming guys, they help with motivation to finish the project.

It's all gravy

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Well, I have a small update. I have done 2.5 of the 4 engine mounts. I need to get some bolts to do the front and rear mounts because they need to be removable so that I can get the engine in and out.









All mounts have these machined washers (made on the lathe) so that if it needs to be moved slightly I can machine a slightly thicker/thinner washer to move the engine.



Here is a picture of the frame as it is now



And Rocky likes to think he has helped a bit



Loki, I have PM'd you the pic's of the gauge cluster. They show all the damage.

Thought I'd put in a couple of pics of the carburetors... They just look so awesome, and I'll probably have some questions later about re-jetting 





Mmmmmmmm, duct tape.

What the hell is all of that on the carbs? Different emissions stuff for you guys across the pond?

No my cali 04 has that crap.
I was going to build a sand rail with either  GS engine re-geared or an SV engine for low end torque. The problem I cam across is no reverse if your on the r trail and pic a bad line or what ever How do you avoid that with a GS engine?

Where I drive will be mostly farms, so no trees. Also because of the short wheelbase the buggy should be able to do a 180 burnout in about twice it's own length. If there isn't enough room to do that, it's get out and push time
If you wanted reverse you would be restricted to quad bike engines, car engines (too heavy), some kind of reverse box ($$$$), or an electric reverse system (slow).

The carbs do seem to have a lot of unnecessary vacuum hoses.
On the 2nd pic of the carbs, what is the electrical connection coming out at the bottom? I know the other connection is throttle sensor position (why does this bike need a throttle position sensor?). I have labelled them all and the corresponding connections on the wiring so I can reassemble it, but I am still not sure what all the wires are for. I have a wiring diagram and that should help when I get around to looking at it and doing the wiring.

Damn, I never even thought of the reverse issue. We should probably develop this some more and see what kind of ideas other forum members can contribute. Only thing I could think of to utilize the GS engine for reverse involves overly complicated linkage and gears that could change to direction the sprocket spins in, and that's no good at all!

How about slapping a Goldwing engine on there! 

Are you crazy? A Goldwing engine? That's bigger than the engine in my car! The GS engine is already slightly too big for this buggy.

Finished modifying the steering rack. Instead of tacking a bush on one end, I decided to machine a press fit bushing on the lathe to press into the rack. I might have to bore it out a bit more, but at the moment it works perfectly.



Rear bearing plates arrived from Edge, so now the rear swingarm is 100% complete except paint



520 50 tooth sprocket from a motorcycle shop in Brookvale was $40 new. The guy went through all the 520 50 tooth sprockets to find me the cheapest, AND then he gave me a discount! I think it looks pretty good. The place was called APW motorcycles.



Picked up a seat on ebay. A friend and I bought the pair for $140, and I got the more faded one because I need the reclining lever on the left. It won't fit on the right because of the engine.



Mounted the oil cooler at the back of the buggy. If I was to do it again I would save some money by using rigid steel pipes, rather than the expensive oil cooler lines.
The original GS oil cooler was badly damaged in the accident, so this aftermarket universal transmission cooler should do the job, once I put a couple of fans on it.





Removed the rear brake assembly from the bike



Made the suspension pivot pins. The rear one is a bit longer than stock because I made the pivot wider.
Instead of threading the end of the pins I decided to use cotter/split pins through the end of the bars.



Seat rails without the holes drilled in them



One of the wing supports done. It was easier to cut the correct angles than I expected



Also, I fitted the front suspension mounts. I had to tack and grind off the top suspension mount like 10 times to get it in the right spot and square to everything. Magnets helped hold it in place but made the arc (during welding) go a little bit strange



I hope to have the buggy done by the 1st of feb. It will be close, but I think I can make it, especially if my friend comes over to help.

Andrew

Looking good. Can't wait to see it finished.

With a cooler that size you won't need fans.  how much higher above the engine will the new cooler be mounted?