I'm testing out the silicone tonight - seemed to work pretty well. If it works this seat will last me a lifetime. I clipped the seat into the frame yesterday when I was taking the above pictures to see how well it fit the space and to see how I fit in the seat. Everything was good as far as dimensions but the seatbelt straps were cutting into my legs and but, needs the pads to be really comfy. Will fit even better when the side rail pads and covers go on tomorrow.

happy to see you working on the buggy. I was afraid you were giving up the kites for the bike.

I have until the winds come back - working on the buggy is just a cathartic thing, best to be prepared when the b$#!h rolls back into town after cheating on me for the past year.

Quote:

Originally posted by flexiblade How much were your seats from buggybags Popeye?

well for the standard Race seat (click this link then click on Dominator on the left hand side)

Buggybags Race Seat


Specifications


Stainless Steel Attachment points (10 off)

Wide Heavy Duty Webbing

Stainless Steel Grommets (Drainage Hole)

Made from Heavy Weight Fabrics

Metric 12 Heavy Duty Thread for all stressed areas

Unique Integral support that spreads the load over the whole seat

4mm HDT Back Support

Two Back Support Straps (upper and lower)

12mm Extra Thick High Density Water repelent Foam

Outer Skin of Seat: Wipe Clean PVC

Inner seat Cordura

Introductory Price £78.50



Credit to you though FB for having the skills to make your own, if you are using plastic buckles make sure they are very heavy duty ones.

Thanks for the info Popeye - I'll see about the quality of the buckles when I jump up and down on my seat. Should have a name for this stress test - Tigered? (as in the Winny the Pooh character). I'll hopefully have some picks up at the end of the day - feeling good this weekend.

It is a good rainy day to be inside working on a buggy. Looking great.

So the silicone was a bust - nothing stuck. I put everything together even with the foam pads and I really didn't find it very comfy, until I put the original "Lay-Z-boy" foam seat into the new seat. Was amazingly more comfortable. So, I'm going to core out a bit of the foam from the original seat and use it right on top of the seat that I made - I will add the second layer of cordura that I already have cut out on top of the webbing. It may not look like the classic "race buggy" in the end but I'm in this for a smooth comfortable ride. I did get a little bit done today though - it helps outline what I was doing with the split frame and axle.





That is a primer brown, but I kinda like it, we'll see if it makes it into the final version. I didn't get photos but I have all the side rail foam cut and taped on - just need to make side rail covers.

Here she is with wheels on - Screwy, I got a hold of a guy that works at the golf course across the street, he's going to be hooking me up with some rims, thanks for the advice.

Nice. If you keep it primer you will need some pinstripes. Check out this BSA Chopper a buddy of mine built.

The overall design and look of your buggy is the best yet FB, nice looking buggy there....what size diameter is the rear axle?

AD, you gotta love the old school rat look of primer. That is why I did my buggy in flat black with a scull on the forks! #313 on Popeye's list.

I got my diameters wrong when I first posted the frame rails as 1 1/14", in actuality they are 1 3/4" - when I picked up the pipe I ordered 1 1/4" but they gave me 1 3/4" in the yard. The axle is a 1 1/4" diameter, hence the size difference when looking at the photos above. The sleeve for the axle is 2 1/2' long, pretty much from clamp to clamp. The combined wall thickness for both the axle and sleeve is 1/4".

Very nice. What's the advantage of the split axle design?

Allows me to fit that tank into the trunk of my Honda Accord. Wheels and all.

Quote:

Originally posted by flexiblade trunk of my Honda Accord. Wheels and all.

Hah. Sweet!

Looking SUPER SWEET!!! is it going to make it to NABX 2010? Hehehe...
Yeah, them golf courses are pretty wasteful when it comes to them rims and tires...
I'm digging the colors also!!!

Quote:

Originally posted by flexiblade I got my diameters wrong when I first posted the frame rails as 1 1/14", in actuality they are 1 3/4" - when I picked up the pipe I ordered 1 1/4" but they gave me 1 3/4" in the yard. The axle is a 1 1/4" diameter, hence the size difference when looking at the photos above. The sleeve for the axle is 2 1/2' long, pretty much from clamp to clamp. The combined wall thickness for both the axle and sleeve is 1/4".

There are so many variants with tube v pipe when it comes to sizes and NB etc, especially when I normally work in metric.

I didn't know they made a 1 3/4"

Pipe Sizes are as follows

1" = 33.4mm OD
1 1/4" = 42.3mm OD
1 1/2" = 48.3mm OD
2" = 60.3mm OD
2 1/2" = 73mm OD


I have looked on the American standard pipe dimensions too and could not find 1 3/4"

Its very difficult to tell off the photo's, but your rails look about 1 1/2" and the rear axle looks about 1" or in metric 48.3mm side rails and 33.4mm rear axle....


Get the vernier out FB and double check the sizes

It is 1 1/4" pipe folks! smaller Pipe is measured ID not OD , so 1 1/4" + wall thickness of 1/4" x 2 = 1 3/4" :bigok: WG

OH thank the gods we got that figured out. I was realy getting worried we might have an uprising.
Now lets figure out how to get the federal budget strieghtened out!!

I think I'm really confused - it was 1 3/4" with a tape measure measuring the outside of the pipe. All in all it's a big pipe.

Well I got the clamp redone today - I have forgone the flip latch (may make an appearance in the future, but not today) in lue of a 2 bolt clamp.





OOOOOh! And it's all silvery and shiny!

Seriously though it's a beast, clamps real nice and tight with easy access compared to the four bolt setup which was a pain and time consuming. So on the Mark IV there were a total of 9 bolts needing tightening - the Mark V has only 5. 1 on the axle 2 on the frame split and 2 on the down tube clamp. The real trick from here is making the front end come apart in a timely manner that won't make me go crazy.

Clamp looks much better FB, you could have also hinged the swan making it a one bolt

Hinged Swan Neck


Bet you cant wait to get out there in it ehh

Thanks Popeye, Now with that info he needs to start all over!
Hey FB it is looking great. I hope you have as much fun running it as you seem to be having making it.

Quote:

Originally posted by rocfighter Thanks Popeye, Now with that info he needs to start all over! Hey FB it is looking great. I hope you have as much fun running it as you seem to be having making it.

I am not wanting to come across as an A$$hole here.....(if it came across that way), I am merely giving options, I built that buggy in 05, when it was at the stage FB is now I posted some photos and asked for critique, Sand Yeti suggested at the time I should brace the rear axle plate, I then went onto do that, someone else suggested I made a swan neck for it, because the front end looked high, again I done that....now is the time for changes or modifications, before spraying/powdercoating etc.

I was more than grateful of the advice I was given, and I think posts giving critique and advice far outweigh post saying lovely, brilliant, great, fantastic, wow...buggy. Out of 100 posts if only one of those post is giving constructive criticism, thats the post I take notice of.

SY at the time had far more buggy building experience than I did, and yes although I didn't want to start pulling the buggy about again, I did, and I was glad I did....experience is everything.

I did mention to FB about the clamps may not be up to the job...digested, tested and agreed...I am not trying to be pedantic, just trying to help, give ideas, and encouragement.

Even now, after 30 odd buggies, if I am trying out something new, I will ask for critique and the advice of other buggy builders and very experienced buggy pilots before I finish the buggy and post it on the net, no one is too big they cannot accept advice.

You never stop learning in this game

Well said Popeye - it goes with my mantra "there is always a better way". I think rocfighter was trying to be facetious but came off as crass - now you two hug and make good.

Analyzing and critiquing are key to improving, otherwise we would all be flying single line kites and that would be good enough. There is either a personal spark found from within or the inspired spark from others, either way it is the path to creating better things.

As far as the hinged swan neck - how do the front forks fold into the frame? Do the forks have to come off in order to fold? I will probably stick to what I have for now - the current clamp works really well and the swan neck comes out beautifully when I want it to - tricky to get it to do both sometimes.

Quote:

Originally posted by flexiblade how do the front forks fold into the frame? Do the forks have to come off in order to fold? .

The forks fold under the buggy, there is a pic Here on the right hand side

Yea, I believe the comment of starting over was more sarcastic than serious....in a way, somewhat flattering to your ingenious designs Popeye - meaning that it was such a great idea that now things must be changed. LOL

Although I don't really enjoy the criticism on our Ivanpah buggies, I always try to listen to see what others have to say and also what to possibly consider when the next run of buggies comes up. There are some great ideas and others that well...don't really sit well with our overall plans - but they are all welcome.

FB, you have an awesome buggy and I am looking forward to seeing it at NABX. Keep up the great work and keep up the new ideas. New ideas help push the limits of this awesome sport.

Popeye, your inspirations do more than you realize for this sport and all of us. Believe me when I say that when you speak, many people listen - including myself.

Lol...it was more likely me getting the wrong end of the stick, sometimes written text its difficult to detect sarcasm or wit...or even tongue in cheek, it really didn't bother me, I was just concerned I was coming across as some silly old nit picker.....which wasn't what was intended, no harm done.

So whats next FB...powder coating or spraying


wish I was going to NABX, my thoughts will be with you guys thats for sure..

We're all going to miss ya for sure Popeye. You just gotta get over here at least once!

I'll call a local place tomorrow to get an idea of price for powder coating - I don't want to spend over $80 in fear of getting something that I become too protective of and may stress me out if I knick or scratch it. Anyone know of price ranges and different applications? Looking to get it as thin as possible to avoid bolt holes and contact areas becoming smaller and also to get it in matte black.

NO WAY Popeye I was just kidding. Sorry if you thought I was serious.

Quote:

Originally posted by flexiblade I'll call a local place tomorrow to get an idea of price for powder coating - I don't want to spend over $80 in fear of getting something that I become too protective of and may stress me out if I knick or scratch it. Anyone know of price ranges and different applications? Looking to get it as thin as possible to avoid bolt holes and contact areas becoming smaller and also to get it in matte black.

I once had an interest in powder coating my stainless flexi but just couldn't bring myself to do it. It looked like the whole buggy could be done for 50-60 bucks. Prep was crucial and heavy prep work to remove rust/oil/grease could run up the price. Matt black was what I was thinking, along with red, or white or even orange. See why I didn't get around to doing it?