What are the percs and drawbacks to a longer rear axle on a bug... How long is too long?

I have an 8' pole that, i think, should be cut down, just wondering what would be "ideal"
I was thinking 5-6' would be plenty

Trying to plan a little welding work this weekend

My Flexi wide axle is about 51". I think the widest that the heavy cruisers and racers use is about 62". I've only tipped my Flexi over twice and that was in unusual conditions/angles, never while just powered up and cruising. Riding down the beach and a gust hits just slides the tires. Axle length must be balanced with buggy length too or it could have unusual handling. The flexi wide axle also extends the rear wheels back about a foot to keep things balanced. The buggy makers can offer more technical insight since they've no doubt experimented with this stuff.

BB makes a good point about the flexi adding "length" to the overall buggy as well as the axle. From my experience a good combination of overall length and axle length = much more stability on all kinds of terrains (I personally love a good slide out in dirt and gravel going about 25mph - DAKITEZ and Sthrasher38 can attest to this). The rear axle should be placed at least 12 to 18 inches to the rear of the seat to avoid "whip around", if your axle is right under your seat it's like having a weight in a sock when you go into a slide. I run a 5' 6" axle which definitely helps with stability. The shorter axle I used to have ages ago (4') would dump me easily on grass. I don't know how often you get out to the beaches in Nebraska but in case you do ever get to a seaside destination be careful on sand - tidal conditions can alter sand consistentcey to become sticky, shows up as large nuggets being thrown up into the air. A slide into this kind of sand will result in quick piling on sidewalls of tires followed by a sudden and horrible stop and tumble.

off the top of my head the total length (front to back) will be in the 70" neighborhood.... and just picturing it in my head... im probably 18" off of the back axle when im sitting there...

as far as riding terrain... almost always grass... maybe some bone dry hard pack dirt/gravle if the wind is right

I have no technical knowledge of "proper" buggy design, but I try to put "me" in the center of the triangle. Unless it is for high speed ,then I would make the front end longer.As for axle length, 4 1/2' to 5' should do fine.
WG
ilike weldn

What kind of material is the pipe you mentioned earlier, and it's wall thickness? I'm sure you've been to Popeye's site - great designs for axles.

I have tended to make all my axle widths over the last few years no less than 63", plus I use asymmetric hubs...which in reality makes the wheel centres wider still

i have some heavy walled 1" ID pipe... i dont know if its actually pipe... but yeah... 1" ID, and like 1 3/4 OD... its some heavy duty stuff... but its just black steel... Just starting welding, its the cheapest route for me to just nab whatever free metal i can get a hold of... I have a stack of notes on this build, so hopefully if i can get over my H1N1 (i think, lol) and i can get some work done on this... being sick sucks!

Thanks for the input, 5' sounds like a plan then!

So just to clarify, the pipe has a wall thickness of 3/4"? You were right in saying that, " i dont know if its actually pipe ", sounds more like a rod with a hole in it. I would imagine pretty heavy - about 10 - 14lbs? That should work fine - the black sounds like plain mild steel, which means you'll either have to paint it every so often or powder coat it. As far as attaching it to the buggy I've found making clamps come off of the frame that wrap around the axle does simplify the build and avoids doing any heavy welding on the axle which can warp it. Got that from Popeye.

1 " schedule 120 pipe is what that sounds like to me

the way you tell the diff. between pipe and mechanical tubing, is tubing is measured O.D., pipe is measured I.D. If you measure an I.D. and it is some wierd size (i.e. 7/8"), then it is tubing. Since they don't make 7/8" pipe. I any event make sure it is seamless for strength reasons.

I run A 64" rear axle

i was planning on making brackets, welding those to the frame, then just putting a couple of holes in the 'pipe' and bolting it all together... not welding the axle at all...

thanks weldn... good info on the tubing/pipe!