Well, I think this will be it as far as making any more buggies for me is concerned, I have run out of ideas, and believe the future of buggies will be made from composite materials. I will still make the odd buggy to clear up my stock in my garage....maybe around 10 or so, and do any mods for people, but I think this will be MY last buggy, I made it with two front ends, one for barrows or midis (I have some Ally rims on order) and a full blown bigfoot front end. I have listened to what others have said in the past and tried to incorporate everything within this buggy, I also have standard forks should I want a harder ride, but it will take a lot to get me away from the comfort of the leading link.

I must thank buggybags once again for pulling out all the stops here, this is another unique seat and the straps are totally different from anything he has done before, he even incorporated the Cooper logo and added two orange stripes, also Dark Sky Kites aka DSK for supplying the buggy boards that finishes the buggy off.

I have not had chance to run the buggy yet, but it wont be long now, I want to take 50mm off the bottom of the bend on the bigfoot swan neck, and that will or should be it done. Anyway here it is.










Loads more photos here Dominator 4

Comment and critique welcome on the shout box at the bottom of the page

dude you just made me sad!

No more PTW buggies this is indeed a sad day

And a tear falls in Canada too......if it wasn't for you I'd have never suffered through nor felt the pride and exhilaration of polishing those wheels (I was so proud I even showed the wife who was like...."um......okay......so what am I looking at exactly?")

Your name is permanently welded into the history books. Look under "Kite Buggy Pioneers".

Now to gets me one of them last 10.........how can I do this, how can I do this ; )

This isn't like a death. It's like the end of a journey. After that many buggies, Popeye can safely say he has it like he wants it. I still aspire to build one myself someday and Popeye is certainly the inspiration of what can become reality.

wait a minute ....your not done making buggys...you just say that....but then the building itch will get you whether you want to or not...besides there needs to be a pedal powered one for no wind days..

Macboy...the Superbug 2 is for sale...lol

I will still build buggies until my stock drys up, I have loads of laser cut plates to use up, I am just saying this will more than likely be MY last buggy, I loved the first Dominator because it was so different and wanted to just up the anti a little, leg braces in the side rails, high polished spinners on each wheel, come on lol, where do I go from here ehh...I want to make a smaller free style buggy before I'm done, I am just running out of ideas, as I have said before, there are only soo many things that can be done with three wheels and a bit of bent tube.

Just want to say thank you to BeamerBob too, that guy is such a good guy, and has helped me out a few times with the CAD work....I am not done just yet..., just winding down.

...and Art, you are probably right...one day I will get a vision of a buggy in my head....and I'll be off. If there is one thing I hate, its making the same buggy twice, there have now been 4 Dominators, and the smaller Cheetah, quite a few Cougars dotted around the world...I remember a few years back, I would be at work getting on with my job and an idea would pop into my head about a buggy design....I would be like a cat with the cream, and spend every spare second in the garage until my vision was made.....I dont get any visions now..

Beautiful work as always Popeye; I really like the front contoured rails.

Last one *for now*, I'm sure...

PTW
when I first started buggying and looking at buggies I thought your name/buggies were OEM/factory like Libre, Peter Lynn or Flexifoil.
I don't mean that in a bad way. I mean I would never have guessed that the buggies you made were done so by a fella in his garage. There are a lot of fellas making stuff in their garages that look exactly like a fella made that in his garage. Your work is too good looking to look homemade.
i recall the guys reproducing one (or two?) of your models but I kinda wonder(ed) why one of the major players does not look you up so to speak.
the D4(amongst many of your models) looks way too great to not be reproduced.
Paul

Quote:

Originally posted by popeyethewelder Just want to say thank you to BeamerBob too, that guy is such a good guy, and has helped me out a few times with the CAD work....I am not done just yet..., just winding down.

Popeye, I'm proud to have been able to help you progress even if just a little bit. Glad to help for sure.

Beautiful work once again Popeye - every time the bar gets set, you go and raise it up higher. I can't imagine how long it took to polish that frame being all one piece. The bends in the front rails for your thighs is awesome - again incredible amounts of work to get them right and matched. You are a true master and inspiration.

Well the end of another era approches. You have been an insperation to me and many others.
I have to say with this one you have topped yourself once again. I especialy like the big foot look. Great job again.
Dave

How about ... hub center steering :D

:wow::wow::wow::wow::wow:

PTW...

All I can say is WOW! I dont know a lot about buggies (yet) but I can spot quality when I see it. Amazing work there! Makes me want to buy a welder and learn!

How many bends did it take to make that monster? Amazing detail and craftsmanship. Maybe we'll see some work from you in composites? The material you use is only second to your design work - a matte black carbon fiber buggy would be the ultimate buggy porn.

Bamboo? They are making bicycles out of it!.............aj

Quote:

Originally posted by action jackson Bamboo? They are making bicycles out of it!.............aj

Ill second that. it complement my bamboo handles nicely

Your new bug looks awesome in orange, interesting seat frame bends. Do you have a photo buildup of this one as well ?

For those that don't see this coming PTW buggies will be collectors items. if he is offering any for sale snap em up.

Popeye (for lack of hunting down your name) it does seem sad to me that you would stop coming up with new buggies, but if any one knows that all has been tried it would be you. I have sat back and soaked in hours of time looking over your designs and photo build ups. and some day hope to find the time build my own buggy (well not quite my own as im sure i would try to emulate one of your projects). I know you have probably givin this much thought, but i hope tomorrow or down the road an epic idea pops in and ya cant resist going back on your "ive done all there is "
Thanks for inspiring others.

Quote:

Originally posted by highazakite Do you have a photo buildup of this one as well ?

Sure its HERE

Popeye, another awesome buggy! Thank you for the inspiration to build a buggy of my own, it will never compare to what you have done, but the inspirations was there. Your name will always be remembered as one of the best in buggy building. I hope you decide to continue, but if not I am sure it has been quite a journey.

Your canvas is unique, your talent is outstanding, and your helpfulness is appreciated.



Rich

Quote:

Originally posted by flexiblade How many bends did it take to make that monster?

The leg bend took some doing to get right, but there were seven bends on each side FB...thats just the top rail lol


Thanks for all the comments guys, now find something wrong with it....there is always something I am not quite happy with, surely you can find something too...

The one niggley thing that is bothering me is, I may have put slightly too much bend in the fork legs on the big front end, the trail is set right at about 110mm, but, you know how I always run on about "if it looks right, chances are it is right", well from the side view...to me it just doesn't look right, I think it needs 50mm taking off the bottom of the swan neck bend, to bring the forks back a touch more....but that will increase the trail....by maybe too much, so I am hesitant to do it....yet

I have photoshopped what I am on about



Yellow lines are how it is now, and the red is the proposed set up....hmmmm not sure, with the extra trail, I believe it will make turning at slower speeds a bit awkward...

Your opinions and thoughts please

While I was on photoshop I had a play with the pic below

Simply a beautiful buggy. The question is....how do you transport this monster?

ok so how much does it weight...if you did the same exact buggy in aluminum would it weight the same as a flexifoil...I see that you have a lot of extra metal...do you think it would round out to the same weight if it was done in aluminum.....I ask because of the fact that I have an exceedingly heavy buggy that I built......but aluminum weight does add up after a while when you pile it on.......?

See what your saying about the rake and trail. If you bring the head tube to that lower angle you run the risk of a possible slight flopping side to side, making the steering more a tug of war. By the look of the setup the bend in the forks tends to make a strange optical effect that the straighter forks just don't have. The real question is how does it handle with your current configuration? If the handling is good why bother changing it solely for aesthetic reasons? I really shouldn't have to ask that last question.

Quote:

Originally posted by art_lessing ok so how much does it weight...I ask because of the fact that I have an exceedingly heavy buggy that I built...... on.......?

Just over the 60kg mark...how heavy is your buggy, I never worry about weight, apart from if I have to drag it over dunes to get the the drag strip on the beach.

I also have no interest in making an ally race type buggy, maybe WG is the man to ask there.

I transport it in a couple of ways, either onto the top of my trailer or on my buggy rack at the back of my car.

Buggy Rack

My old trailer Double Decker

This has my older rack plus my box trailer, which is very handy for keeping all your gear in Box trailer

Quote:

Originally posted by flexiblade See what your saying about the rake and trail. I really shouldn't have to ask that last question.

I know that FB lol, sometimes you just need to hear it from someone else...Hmmm, I will try it as it is first

oh I don't know for sure but I think that mine weighs in around the 80-100 lbs area...i just noticed recently that when I flew my friends peter lynn buggy it was effortless even over rough terrain...so when I rode mine today it seemed like much of the resistance was simply from the weight of the bug itself...and then I was also noticing how the wind drags me on my behind with just a harness on and I wondered how it would be with a bug that weighs close to nothing...then I thought maybe I should try a ATB..........but standings seems so sketchy.........

Art, You should give screwy's aluminium bug a go next time you see him down at Lodi.

Quote:

Originally posted by art_lessing oh I don't know for sure but I think that mine weighs in around the 80-100 lbs area...i just noticed recently that when I flew my friends peter lynn buggy it was effortless even over rough terrain...so when I rode mine today it seemed like much of the resistance was simply from the weight of the bug itself...and then I was also noticing how the wind drags me on my behind with just a harness on and I wondered how it would be with a bug that weighs close to nothing...then I thought maybe I should try a ATB..........but standings seems so sketchy.........

It seems that the heavy buggy would only be a burden when you are accelerating. If you feel drag after you've reached speed, then you could look at your tires or bearings to see if they are holding you back. Air pressure, contact area, etc.

I see a market for free-style buggies, Popeye :D