I have a rumble seat for the Apex and was thinking of a way to add extra weight to the front that would be as easy to change as it is to put another rider on the back.
I found it is easier to give rides to potential customers and those that want to see what it is all about, on the back of the bug instead of a tandem set up. A tandem set up requires a second buggy,(like I don't have a half dozen of those setting around), which requires abit of time to set up, and space to haul it. I like the rumble seat idea because the rider is closer for talking and gets more feeling out of the buggy, power and skill level, besides its less to carry around. They sit about 10 inches higher than I do and can see everything I am doing. Besides, being in that spot if they are filming, it is a great point of view.

I hope to try out a few ideas this weekend on how much weight the front needs to balance the bug.
I was thinking about making the front axle 8 inches longer on both sides of the fork and adding a nut/sleeve attachment to each side for weight lifting weights to be added on each side with a squeeze clamp holding the weights in place. The diameter of the wieghts have to be 4.5 inches from the center or less to fit, so I got 445lbs of metal weights from 1.5lbs up to 25lbs that will fit.

So my quick thinking and lack of desire to calculate it out, I figure adding 1/2 of the riders weight to the front axle to get in the ballpark. (200lb rider sitting over the rear axle with both rear tires carrying 100lbs each would need to add 100lb to the front, or about. With a rider at 100lbs the figures would be to add 50lbs to the front, or about, more than likely it will be a bit higher, maybe closer to 60%) The fine tuning will be done this weekend at Sunset Beach.
I hope to have some pics and get the testing done, but the weather will tell better than I can.

So now is the time to open the flood gates, ANY IDEAS OR THOUGHT?

Didn't one of the other PKF'ers do this to a early version of the IVANPAH? Looked great, heard good reviews!

Riders and buggy will be over 600 lbs! You'll never get stopped! But seriously, I'd add 50 lbs and work up till the buggy handles right. You might benefit from the rear extender plates that XXtreme makes. They were designed to shift weight to the front axle anyway. The extra room for your rider might be welcome too.

was going to start lite and work up, no need to add 1200lbs and head into the ocean:wow:
As for the parts for the Apex, you have got to be kidding. They want nothing to do with me, still waiting on a few other replies, if I offered to buy 100 bugs right now they wouldn't return my email. Which is OK, I have a welder, and I can weld SS, and I can even make parts that fit the Apex.
Besides the rear axle has been rebuilt and is far better than the original, along with some other upgrades, not my words, the previous owners words. No doubt the bug can carry the load now, might have been an issue before the repairs.

Hmmm... I'm no engineer but it seems to me that if you we're to add all that weight to your foot pegs, it would be hard to steer the bug...

I remember seeing the bug BB is talking about in the "for sale" section. It looked pretty cool, and like a fun ride for the passenger. I think it belonged to Kite killer?

Edit: found it,... Scroll down about halfway and you can see the pic of the buggy with the rumble seat: http://www.powerkiteforum.com/viewthread.php?tid=22294&p...

I say experiment before adding anything to the front of the bug,... Like add in your rumble seat, then test with sandbags or some other form of dead weight. That way you can see if you really even need to add weight to the front end.

Quote:

Originally posted by erratic winds Didn't one of the other PKF'ers do this to a early version of the IVANPAH? Looked great, heard good reviews!

it was up for sale a bit ago. The apex is set up very similar to that. I just dont like turning hard with a 200lb guy on the back end of the bug and taking out a bunch of other bugs that were not in the way till I tried to turn. That bug may have been set up different than mine, don't know how you can add 200lbs to the rear axle with out throwing the whole buggy out of wack. put some wheelie bars on the rear and make a kite dragster out of it. We could start a new sport and call it Kite Drags.:wee:

Quote:

Originally posted by soliver I say experiment before adding anything to the front of the bug,... Like add in your rumble seat, then test with sandbags or some other form of dead weight. That way you can see if you really even need to add weight to the front end.

I have already tried and if I continue I have to add weight to the front. It was decided by all the others that saw me take out the bugs, "you need to add some weight to the front before someone gets hurt", and I agree.

Quote:

Originally posted by bigkid We could start a new sport and call it Kite Drags.:wee:

HAHAHAHA

That would be awesome.

I know your joking but come to think of it, the wheelie bar idea seems like it might be a good,... But again, I'm no engineer...

The Apex extenders wouldn't work... Your rumble seat hooks onto the rear axle and is locked in by the weight bar... Passenger still overhangs the rear wheels.

200lb a few inches behind the rear axle makes the front light but you will never get properly balanced without a ton of weight in the front. Having said that. You can keep the front down enough to steer without adding 1/2 the weight. I'm sure 20 - 30 lbs will give you enough to give you some control :bisou:

So I got out a few times with the bug and the rumble seat. Think I have it figured out, or close to it.
With the set up I have, the passenger is setting behind the back axle. With that much weight behind the bug it took a bit more to get it close to being tuned.
A simple bar set up on the front axle and a few or a lot of the metal weights from a weight lifting set and it was much more enjoyable to give a ride.

I added 250lbs to the back seat and began the test. First time out I had 60lbs on the front and it was a bit strange with the added weight, but at speed it was more stable than I ever thought. Still got a bit of front sliding when I turned hard for the return trip. Added 60lbs more to the front and tried again. Had to bump up the kite by 4m"s. Wow what a rush, had to ride for quite a while to get past the excitement and settle down to assess the changes and what to change on the next run.

After a bit of chit chat with my wife and setting up the weight in the front, we went for a "close your eyes and hang on" ride. The ride was quite an eye opener as the total weight was close to, uh, er, I can only say that I added not quite 1/2 my wife's weight to the front. The buggy was tuned to perfection,(as close as the screaming and "let me off" would allow). I would now give anyone a ride and be perfectly fine with the safety issue.
I would have no problem with running at higher speeds of 50 and up. The main difference that is noticed right away is the front tire takes a bit more push to turn at slow speeds, once you get up to 10mph or more it gets much easier, and the faster you travel, it becomes more stable with wanting to travel in a strait line. Normally at high speeds the front is more touchy as the speed increases, not with the added weight.

The setup I have is an easy way to give a ride and do it safely. I would not want to try for a record, but I have no doubt it could be done with out any problem. I guaranty the handling of the bug and the increased stability of it would make it much more enjoyable and safer.
Dont ask for any pics or vids, I am really bad at remembering to get it on film.

Anyone interested in the setup of the front axle I came up with, u2u me and if enough interest I will post a few pics, when it stops raining.