So I got my awesome steal of a deal on xxxBUGGYPILOTXXX Sysmic S2 Buggy (Dune Midi XL). Got it here and assembled and my wife tries to sit in it and we discover she has too much hip, like she's some kind of girl or something, to fit. In addition it's too much work to assemble and disassemble... So I have my first two projects for this kite buggy:

Spacer Plates
I figured out that the front side rail/swan next adapter plates are roughly 3" x 5" and as we needed to add about 4" to the width for my wife's hips, enter 1/2" thick steel strap. Next came the rear axle/side rail attachment, which was a cool wavy 2" x 3" pattern I'd never copy, but my rectangles will fit the bill, again from steel strap. Now it should fit myself at stock (barely), my wife, and everyone in between. Still need to paint and drill holes (any opinions on paint color for ALL of this including below project? I'm thinking purple or blue):


Receiver Rack
I have to pop off all three wheels, take the rear axle off, and then can just finagle it into my car, my fault for driving an A4. My wife's solution? Well it fits better in my car, so I'll just steal yours whenever I want and leave you with my Pontiac Vibe (which still needs the rear axle off and one rear wheel off to fit into). My solution: Use the 1.25" receiver hitch on my Audi and make a rack for the buggy. Now the buggy weighs in around 100lbs, luckily I have a Class II receiver and have towed plenty of heavy loads with my car to not be worried about using it for in town quickie trips to buggy. Welded up the frame more or less:


Those curious, most the pipe is 1/25" in 11 gauge (my steel yard didn't carrier the one size heavier I wanted), alone with some 1.5" Pipe I had laying around for the slide over parts (the buggy axle holder), and then a long piece of 1" I had sitting around to make the tall neck part that slides in, both sizes of which are in 14 gauge, as it's what I had scrap. The strap pieces for holding the axle were scrap and I don't know the dimensions on, I'd guess 3/16".

Still needs holes drilled into it, some grinding and paint... I've also not decided how the tall part will attach to the buggy, more metal work to do, but that can wait for another day... Decided to try dry fitting, so for now:


Just ignore the neighbor kids who stopped and are providing scale...

Cost:
Total cost so far, including all steel (which I have enough left to make a second set of everything, as the steel yard sells 10' lengths and was cheaper than other sources... and including all needed hardware in stainless, paint (factored in, not bought), and such: $78.13

Not too bad for a receiver rack and the spacer plates. I just need to finish figuring out the anti-rattle duplication of Van's awesome hitch aka way better than mine and if I only have a 2" receiver) and I'll be all set. What should my next project be? Updated photos when I finish the project later this week.

Picture Gallery (Full Size here)

I always wanted one of those racks. Nice Job .. and nice garage!

Quote: Originally posted by RedSky

I always wanted one of those racks. Nice Job .. and nice garage!

Thanks, if only someone made one commercially... My local field is a 15 minute drive (about 10 miles), and so I wanted an easy way to load and go when I get time around work, or the tiny short sessions at sunset.

As for the tiny corner of the garage you saw... Hi, My name is John, and I'm a bicycle addict (when not kiting). I think I'm up to five bikes, two unicycles and a BC Wheel. Luckily they all get ridden, I think I hit 18,000 miles last year between the various bikes. Got to do something when there's no wind. Made a crazy rack to store the bike closer, while easy to get to/down, than anything conventional or commercial.

Question: Nowhere local I've found stocks/will order the bolts in metric I'll need for the plates. Trying to avoid fabricating my own... Anyone have suggestions for someplace online to order from? I also need to order some spare wheel bolts, which don't exist in town anyway. I'm looking for 10mm x 175mm and 10mm x 75-100mm bolts for the plates (yes I know 3/8" is close enough to work). The wheel bolts are 20mm, but I can't find any in town long enough. Where's the best source? I'd rather have extras than miss out on a day when I bend one.

Make axle bolts from threaded rod. Cut to length and thread into the axle. Tighten a jam nut to lock in place. Hold wheel on with a nylock nut. This lets you really tighten the axle bolt in and then only as tight as necessary to hold the wheel on.

Looks good Volok! I need to mod mine to fold down too. I have a Suburban, and its a pain in the @$$ not being able to fold it down. I need to extend the receiver tube. Rotate the neck cradle, and add a hinge pin through the main receiver tube.