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That suspension fork is interesting. I guess since they are a boat mfr. they made all the hardware corrosion resistant. I'd like to see what the rest of it looks like too.

It looks like carbon fiber very pricey and light as hell. I am all for light but this might verge on too light.

More info and photos added......thoughts?

Quote:

Originally posted by popeyethewelder More info and photos added......thoughts?

oh...yes..... I want win one on next WBB raffle .....

That buggy looks like out of this world .... I am sure they need awesome team rider like my self ..... lol .... who do I contact ??

Wow, that looks like a million bucks. Hopefully it costs less.

The suspension makes it look like a smooth ride. A solid seat, not so sure. I wonder if you can adjust the seat at all for fit and tuning.

That looks like a fairly high seat position. It might actually be worse than it looks if the seat has thickness. If that seat is structural, I'd be interested in how sturdy the attachments points are. This might be the wave of the future of buggying but I want to see all the details and discover if the expensive materials actually offer advantages over current techniques. Also wondering about what the suspension does under high load and high traction like I ride in.

Now get rid if the tires and slap some skis or snowboards on that and I'm game....

Looks like serious dinero though.... They must think Kiters are rich....

That front suspension looks an aweful lot like on I saw on a PTW bug....

McConaghy Boats (China)??

Quote:

Originally posted by popeyethewelder More info and photos added......thoughts?

The inverted suspension tubes make it looks like it would be prone to grit and dings on the smaller tube.




The lower curve of the downtube.... for some reason I find it worrisome. On almost every other buggy that area sweeps back. On this buggy, it sweeps forward very much like the lower cowl on a motorcyle. On a motorcycle, it makes sense as it generally directs cooler air to the oil cooler and/or radiator. On a buggy it seems like a catch point for beach debris or an unintended brake in soft sand conditions, where a swept back downtube would glance off.

Not sure about the one piece moncoque (?) seat. It might do away with the need for a belly pan on smaller impacts, but larger impacts might result in the need for an expensive replacement. Also not sure how well it would shed heat in warm weather condition as opposed to being a sweat box. Not to mention the caveats for initially touching dark bodywork that's been baking in the sun for a bit. Hopefully riders have asbestos and Nomex body parts.

Kudos and huzzahs, but in some ways it reminds me of Nemo Arms Titanium AR .308 Rifle... an exercise in design and fabrication capabilities, rather than something bound by day to day practicality and fiscal constraints. Not a bad thing, as long as you take it for what it is.

ATB,
Sam

Quote:

Originally posted by g00fba11 That front suspension looks an aweful lot like on I saw on a PTW bug....

Yes it does look a lot like the leading link suspension on the PTWs inspired by Wayne Careek. The geometry is a bit different and elastomers are replaced by what looks like a pair of shocks and adjustments at the top of the shock.

I vaguely remember reading that elastomers were used for the low maintenance on long haul/distance runs. Not sure how much travel the shock adds. Would have been interesting if they had found a way to do it similar to the mono-shock layouts on current motorcycles.

ATB,
Sam

Personally my first thought about this buggy, bearing in mind it is only a visual of the photos.

I would like to know where they think this buggy will sit in the market, certainly not the racing market, and that is where most of the money is spent....so if not the racing scene...who?....with the words "production buggy" I would assume we are talking hundreds not tens of buggies, so the pricing HAS to be right from the beginning.

My critique

I love the look of the front end, although the pegs look like they are on the leading link and so will move up and down, but the info says otherwise.

The swan neck is a work of art, I worry the bottom of the swan neck is too close to the ground, maybe the angle of the photo.

The monocoque, well it certainly looks state of the art, but is it practical....I hope it will not be a one shape fits all or even a small Medium or large, I have spent years getting the perfect fit for my body within my buggies, a small medium and large just doesn't cut it especially if the price is at the upper limits.

The rear axle is split in two and separated by two shocks, this is quite an old format, in fact I had a similar set up on the 06 Fandango buggy, although this looks far more sleek, but the action of this type of rear suspension is the same, the buggy will tilt or lean kite side and absorb energy from the kite, this is a bad thing we have learned over the years, if you do go down this route you need an anti roll bar to stop the tilting like in a car, suspension on the rear end unless you use the desert like Sand Yeti is really not needed. The stiffer the buggy the more energy is transferred to the wheels. A composite rear axle would have been much better and lighter.

I am not sure of the weight yet, but I would imagine any weight lost from using composite materials will be lost by adding 4 shocks and all the hardware needed to house these.

When I firs saw the front end I was excited, I guessed the body would be a monocoque type design, but I did not expect the rear end to be as it is....I was to be honest disappointed with the rear end, and I doubt the racing fraternity will have any interest in this buggy.

So again I ask who will this buggy be aimed at?....the cruising running up and down the beach type of pilot, I guess that would be most of us then....I don’t know myself, I look at this new production buggy and think yes it does look modern and ground breaking, but is it any better in performance than the buggy I already have....and purely just from looking at the photos I have to say NO.

I hope the The Hobbs McConaghy Buggy team go onto make a huge impact in the kite buggy scene, and I hope they sell 1000s of buggies, THIS IS GREAT FOR THE BUGGY COMMUNITY THAT A MAN AND A COMPANY HAVE THE MONEY AND BALLS TO PUSH THE BAR HIGHER THA IT HAS BEEN BEFORE, I believe they are onto something in some areas....and kind of forgot about a buggy of the future in other areas and concentrated of buggies of the past.....I believe this buggy is a prototype, so hopefully after extensive testing in the next few weeks, they will have the options of tweaking a few areas.

The very best of luck to Dave Hobbs & McConaghy

Certainly a high tech looking unit, and if as is reported it will be at speed week ( sandy point Australia ) there will be a queue to have a look and who knows maybe a ride.

Including me. :singing:

I like it very much, it's absolutely a product from a bleeding-edge-advanced racing company. I am with PTW, fun times ahead as people throw new ideas or new executions of ideas not deemed feasible into the ring.

I agree with pops on the rear axle being split is not a good idea, but I have to point out that it appears the rear axle drops down just before the wheels making the roll center pretty high at the split, is it high enough to minimize the pull from the kite? I Still like the solid composite axle idea better.

Oh wow :o

Im seeing a CF "keel" maybe the seat pod can slide for the adjustment :puzzled:

I can't imagine that the fellas would have missed the tilt /lean issue. I hope that the rear axle configuration is a design feature that will compensate for it.
A beautiful light weight beach cruiser I can understand but for rocketing the lake beds they will need hard points to mount weights.

They have those quick release wheels. Maybe it would be easy to pop them off, slide on some free weights, and reattach the wheels. Get yourself some kite buggy accessories.

Philip

yeah about the only thing practical here is the use of quick release fittings.
I normally welcome change and new ideas but I think that a phone call or e-mail to Popeye would have saved the designer an awful lot of time and money.

Why use exotic composites to save weight when a lot of riders would want to add weight? That's what Philip was getting at, I think. This does not look like a freestyle rig, after all.

FWIW Popeye, I think the foot pegs are cantilevered forward off of the fork downtubes and are not on the suspension links.

But I will say that it is kind of cool looking and it sounds like the designer had fun with the project.

At the end of the day, if the geometry is right, it will likely be a good ride and that is a good thing.

A major factor for me and many entering the market is portabilaty and storage ?

I am finding my simple 1 bolt , throw it in the back seat , tiny Frankin'buggy has still got a place in the shed and out on the beach.

I was thinking what Poppeye is right away. Who will actually want this? Beach / dune riders ? Shocks on a race buggy ? Not folks just entering and without a method of transport + storage.


I think this is fantastic and hope they make a ton of buggies ! They look the bomb but I can't see one fitting in my shed or car ? I see this as a drawback to selling to the masses?

It will be interesting to see how this works out with the "Let me try it" guys with the soul desire to break it.
I have been working with a Carbon Fiber Company for the decks of the Flexboardz. What a nightmare. A simple flat design is not strong, you need to add angles and dimensions to the design, that is where the carbon fiber shines. If the down tube was just a round or rectangle shape it would not be as strong as the shape of this new bug. A simple round tube is not as strong as a baseball bat shape, unless you add more material and now the cost goes up and so does the weight.
I see the seat is with out side rails back to the rear axle, wonder what they used to give the mounting point of the axles its strength?
Time will tell how it pans out.

I would like to know if it floats? Does it come with any oars? Maybe a trolling motor for the windless days? A place for a cold drink and a holder for my fishing pole? A spot between the rider and the rear axle would be good for holding your catch of the day or as a cooler.

Bobby, this opens the door for a new name for the buggy, beach boat, amphi bug, the possibilities are endless.

All kidding aside, I think the idea of using CF is a good thing but a boat company?
I hope this Engineer didn't over think the idea, would hate to see a new mouse trap that doesn't catch mice. Might end up like the Ford Edsel.

Quote:

Originally posted by bigkid All kidding aside, I think the idea of using CF is a good thing but a boat company?

A boat company makes a lot of sense and mirrors millions of years of evolution.

Natural progression from amphibian to land based....






ATB,
Sam

OK Sam, but just to make it clear, NONE of my ancestors have long hairy arms, and I do not like bananas.

Quote:

Originally posted by acampbell ... Why use exotic composites to save weight when a lot of riders would want to add weight? That's what Philip was getting at, I think. This does not look like a freestyle rig, after all. ...

Who me? I was just enjoying the comic possibilities of turning the rear axle into a bar bell.

Philip

Many more details of the Buggy have now been added plus a photo of the designer Dave Hobbs using the buggy

Latest details HERE

Quote:

Originally posted by snowspider I can't imagine that the fellas would have missed the tilt /lean issue. I hope that the rear axle configuration is a design feature that will compensate for it. A beautiful light weight beach cruiser I can understand but for rocketing the lake beds they will need hard points to mount weights.

I dont think tilting was taken into consideration, and its not too light either at 58kgs

There seems to be some design features to combat the roll or tilting from the load of the kite, but why when you can just use a solid axel, simple, and I don’t think it is too difficult to store a 60 in. axel in your car is it? The quick disassembly is nice but I will still break out a wrench for a solid axel. Is it a race buggy? If not where do you put cargo? Extra kites and so on. A big A+ for style though, the thing looks awesome! Most definitely racecar inspired, may be a little too much racecar, they can’t be any more different as far as where the power comes from and how the chassis reacts to that power. They have to be annoyed with our critique, but hopefully they will take it in a positive way. I respect all the work that has gone into it.