Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone knows what the world speed record is for buggying?

72.8 flying a yoyo kite

mph?

Yes MPH

... by Luk Stanek at SBBB 2003

Thanks for all the replies. Sorry to keep pestering but does any body know what king of buggy he used and what the wind strength was like? I'm trying to get an idea of what the ideal conditions are for high speeds.

There are many different conditions for high speed, but in this case, the wind was absolutely cranking and Luk ran a largely downwind line with a 5(?) meter JoJo in a Libre buggy. He settled into one of the bursts that were common over this week and followed it across the lake with a chase car in pursuit.

Sounds like an awesome run! Would have been unbelievable to see let alone experience! I've only managed just over 50 kph, about 30 mph, so I've got a wee way to go yet!

On the lake bed mid 40s are pretty easy. Many people break the 50mph mark without too much trouble. 60mph is the mark most of us dream of beating someday, while 70+ seems like a superman feat.

I thought I read that he used a 3.3 or 3.5 JojoRM in about 35 MPH winds. I may be wrong, though.

Sean

Not possitive about the kite size, but you are right about the wind... about 35+ with some MAJOR gusts. Most of us were actually sitting in our cars while he was out riding.

35 MPH! I reckon that's about 40 knots eh? I tend to flag it when the wind is over 20 knots! One brave dude! Perhaps I just need to have a quick drop of something strong before getting into the buggy!

liquid courage!!

Sean

I don't think I could ever even drink myself THAT crazy!?!

I've hit 52mph (GPS) once, and that absolutely scared the crap out me!! Feels like about 200 mph with your ass a few inches off the sand, steering with your feet!! I can't even imagine 73mph!! HUGE CAJONES!!!!

hey guys, a friend sent me a link to this thread and told me to check it out. must say reading this is like reliving that day.

yeah, it was gusty, dust devils everywhere and everyone was hyped becuase the speeds just kept creeping up into the high 60s. We were taking turns trying to hit the top speed and it looked like no one could touch Eli Andersons 68mph from earlier that day.

i decided to put on the 4th set of 4 ply tires for one last go. i chased every dust devil i could find for about half an hour. tires were getting thin so i decided to head back to camp. on my way i saw another massive dust devil comming. i went for it and just kept my head on the gps readout. watching the numbers climb. i don't think i truely appreciated the speed and feeling of things until i set the new mark and stopped focussing on the gps.

tell you the truth, driving back in the van from the drylake at 73mph with our heads out the windows felt way worse then sitting in the buggy 2 inches off the ground.

i was using a 3m jojo rm and a libre full race XS with about 5lbs on the front wheel and maybe 25-30lbs onthe rear axle (hard to tell the weight on the rear axle as i used a pvc tube filled with sand/dirt to what felt like a good weight for the conditions).

i'm hoping to make it down next year and see how things go with the new gear if the conditions cooperate.
cheers,
luk

Hey Luk,
Welcome the the forum and thanks for putting an official stamp on this post. Nice to get the scoop straight from the source. See you at NABX next year.

Hey well done Luk, and thanks for dropping in on the post.

That was obviously an amazing run. What did you use to attach the weights to the buggy?

Quote:

Originally posted by JB 35 MPH! I reckon that's about 40 knots eh? I tend to flag it when the wind is over 20 knots!

Sorry to be boring but 35mph is 30.4 knots. Nevertheless, a good wind for fast buggying.

That speed run is quite remarkable & must have been very scary for the pilot.

My top speed ever over our sandy desert floor was 66 kph (41 mph) and very far short of what must seem slow at the SBBB. I found this speed quite exhilirating & was just praying nothing broke on my buggy, which would have cause me to crash.

On my first trip in a buggy, going across the playa I knew I must have broken all land speed records. And if it weren’t for my dam GPS which only registered a mere 23.1 miles per hour; I would have put money on it. When I hear stories of doing 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70. I need a beer; well actually, I need a beer whenever I hear any story.

Seriously, Congrats on the 72.8.
Personally, heading for 30.

Yup, not many places to get up to speed around my place, one's ok if you don't mind blasting through water hazards.

Man I'm looking forwards to getting down to Seaside this summer.

Sorry guys - got a bit carried away with my mph to knots conversion! You are quite right Sand-Yeti it's around 30 knots!

Quote:

Originally posted by JB Thanks for all the replies. Sorry to keep pestering but does any body know what king of buggy he used and what the wind strength was like? I'm trying to get an idea of what the ideal conditions are for high speeds.

Ask anyone, the most important thing as far as the buggy goes is a wide axle for a more stable ride, and longer frame to keep the same steering ratio. I believed them, but was amazed at the actual difference in handling.

For my first trip to Ivanpah, NABX 2005, I only had a standard PL Comp with extended down tube. Now being 6'5" that put me sitting smack on the rear axle and made steering very twitchy. I managed to hit 40mph during one gust, but don't really remember it. I do remember 30+mph and it felt like the buggy was barley in control.

This year I'd managed to make some modifications to my buggy. I scratch built a heavy duty (1/8" wall stainless) 4'6" rear axle, extended the side rails by a little over a foot, and ran 6" rims in the back. The difference was amazing. I broke 50mph and felt more in control than at 30mph in my old buggy.


Now I'm back home and lucky if I can get 20mph before I run out of soccer field! I miss the desert.

-Chip

Quote:

Originally posted by Chip Quote: Originally posted by JB Now I'm back home and lucky if I can get 20mph before I run out of soccer field! I miss the desert. -Chip I feel your pain!!!! Same here... Is it too early to start dreaming of NABX07?

SOBB 06?

Oh, I'm already dreaming of both. Though SOBB is not going to happen for me this year.

My personel best wast clocked at 49.5mph, at the DBBB, wet sand drizzle day, talk about hydroplanning, i knew i was at topspeed when i sw the ground dropping away, airborn peter lynn comp, quadrifoil 85+ custom made, lol, one of the last made

JP Wrote - What did you use to attach the weights to the buggy?

What i used then and what i would use now are two totally different things. back then i used led weights velcroed to the front fork and a 6 inch wide pvc pipe capped on bothe ends filled with dirt to desired weight and secured with velcro to the junction of the rear axle and side rails.
The slickest system i have seen today is jon ellis system. he cuts round lead weights in half of various weights. then drills a hole thru it and then bolts them to the front fork down low by the tire. for the rear he makes a bracket that slides over the 20mm libre rear wheel bolts and then bolts the wieghts to the bracket right beside the rear wheel and close to the ground. very effective system - low centre of gravity, least amount of weight used, excellent traction in wheels, easy to switch up weights quickly between races. contact jon ellis for specs on his wieght system.



Pablo Wrote - Yup, not many places to get up to speed around my place, one's ok if you don't mind blasting through water hazards.

Check out 72nd street in boundry bay on the super low tides. it can be a little slick/muddy in spots. i have been there in the summer with the super low tides and played on boundary bay flats. you get easy 1-2 mile runs with no obstacles. best of all you can ride in all wind directions.

Sand-Yeti Wrote - My top speed ever over our sandy desert floor was 66 kph (41 mph) and very far short of what must seem slow at the SBBB. I found this speed quite exhilirating & was just praying nothing broke on my buggy, which would have cause me to crash.

I'd say that is impressive speed on sandy desert. the dry lakes are flat and smooth. allowing you to ride fast without really worrying about vibrations causing gear to break down.

the dry lakes are still my most favorite place to ride for speed and racing. they really test the pilots abilities on such a fast surface at high speeds on a circuit race with lots of other racers. my most favorite race would still have to be the challenge 2000 series on ivanpah dry lake. with over 25 european kite buggiers (mainly form holland, germany and denmark) participated. we had a 2.5 km triangle course. in the first race, verner myer from germany was hitting 60km/hr in the race. you can imagine the adrenaline rush of passing, sliding around the mark with several other racers only feet away.

what can i say, i like the speed and the high of a good technical race.

lstanek, Yeah I've been to 72nd quite often, it's only about 15min from home for me. While it's usually awesome, this spring for some reason the storms have shifted things slightly, now there's a fairly permanent wet spot cutting right across the area we usually use. It' happened before and now that the summer's here and the beach is starting to dry out more the sand is slowly settling back like it used to be.

Hey guys and girls,

Just wondering if anyone knows any fast women on buggies? How do the ladies compare to the blokes out there speed wise?

Cheers

Su

My top speed so far is 42 mph on the beach.

Susan

Quote:

Originally posted by lstanek hey guys, a friend sent me a link to this thread and told me to check it out. must say reading this is like reliving that day. yeah, it was gusty, dust devils everywhere and everyone was hyped becuase the speeds just kept creeping up into the high 60s. We were taking turns trying to hit the top speed and it looked like no one could touch Eli Andersons 68mph from earlier that day. i decided to put on the 4th set of 4 ply tires for one last go. i chased every dust devil i could find for about half an hour. tires were getting thin so i decided to head back to camp. on my way i saw another massive dust devil comming. i went for it and just kept my head on the gps readout. watching the numbers climb. i don't think i truely appreciated the speed and feeling of things until i set the new mark and stopped focussing on the gps. tell you the truth, driving back in the van from the drylake at 73mph with our heads out the windows felt way worse then sitting in the buggy 2 inches off the ground. i was using a 3m jojo rm and a libre full race XS with about 5lbs on the front wheel and maybe 25-30lbs onthe rear axle (hard to tell the weight on the rear axle as i used a pvc tube filled with sand/dirt to what felt like a good weight for the conditions). i'm hoping to make it down next year and see how things go with the new gear if the conditions cooperate. cheers, luk

Luk made it to the forum wow . Yes this day was a lot of fun for Eli Luk and I. We were the only guys that had the balls to go out that day. Those guys up top had the wind speed off for the day we had gusts to 60 mph . We were all flying 3 meter JoJo RM kites, because there is nothing that compares with JoJo and were all with in 4 mph of each other exchanging my gps's when one of would come in and tell the other to see if he could beat the speed on it. Quite fun, but definately not for everyone. These speeds were also hit with our custom libre buggies that are completely balanced and speeds were calculated by GPS. Bicycle speedo do not count they r not accurate. Glad to see you made it Luk now come on over to the NABX side and join the Challenge 08 discussion for our new SUper CUp North
America.

Big John
JoJo1