Well the 1973 atc70 ko / kite buggy is morphing into shape.. But since i know squat about buggies I was wantiing a little input.. any recommended width? I realize wider is probably better but any sort of a "formula"? From the photos I've seen it looks like 3 times wider than my body might be good.. What about length? Foot pegs higher or lower? do I want much trail in the front fork geometry? I do think this will be cut apart possibly and revamped but i want a good start if possible. I was just starting to mock it up on the floor and snapped a couple of pictures... any tips would be greatly appriciated! :singing::wee:

Ok didn't have time for super accurate measurements but my rear axle is 63.5" wide, front axle is about 54" from the rear, foot pegs are approx. 5" above the front axle (that may change.) I also have 30 degrees of rake on the forks - don't have a measurement for trail yet. Hope this helps.

This looks like it is going to be an awesome build! GOOD LUCK

MAJOR SETBACK!!!!! My Peter Lynn 5.6 Twister from Dakitez just got here! You know what that means... I think I feel a breeze!

I've always wanted Invizable side rails...sweet:wow:

Well it now rolls.. true to the Ghetto style this build is all about fun. After selling the 70 rear axle parts on flea bay I bought another kite from Dakitez.. (but the Twister II will have it's own thread). I went to a place called Surplus City here in town and got my main frame. This place is a "tweekers" paradise! You can get Military surplus shelving, drones, camo gear, to Half Tracks or Tanks! But for my build they donated a Wheel barrow frame and some steel. We just need to go back and find us a seat of some sort and weld the pegs on the forks. I will post some pictures of it tomorrow. One thing I should not have done was cut the grips off the handles of the frame, so I need to go back and get some replacements. These will come in handy and save the cost of those Peter Lynn "Walk -of-shame-lines" for us newbies out here .. we will just pick it up by the handles and wheel it back home, Or maybe jack somebodies tires or battery then wheel it back home!

here are some pictures. First the frame, then the "Thing". I went out there again today and got another frame. I plan on possibly using this one for side rails. I figure i can flip it over and then weld the tubes in a Y fashion. Investment so far, $5 per frame, The local Honda shop donated the 70 frame.. sold $100 worth axle out of it..... for a total of +$90 in the buggy so far. :wee:

any progress..??

No, not yet.. it's been hot this summer and for me this seems to be a Fall and Spring Hobby... it's just sitting there waiting for me to get ambitious.. I've been tossing ideas in my head though... pretty soon...

bump for pictures later today... :bigok:

cool atc hybrid

we had atc 90 i think when we where around 8yrs old

super cool DIY magic love it

sad to break a vintage atc, but it's gonna be fun,

get an arc,

Again, trying to remain in the Ghetto/cheapo style here's what we have.. I made the neck out of some pretty thick tube stock just incase we need to cut it off and start over... or change up the design i can cut it loose with sacrificing the integrity of it. So as it stood i was $90 to the good after selling the rear axle..... I went by the surplus place today and picked up an matching Orange seat for $5.. cut the legs off.. stuck the legs in the holes at the rear axle brought them up and welded them together, took the small pieces i cut off and used them as stand offs for the front of the seat.. So now I'm $85 to the good. Up here we don't have sandy beaches or flat open clearings.. so ground clearance might be good and if we ever take it to the sand dunes it may help there also. I think we're gonna need side rails since we've never rode a buggy before we may get yanked out.. :shocked2: I have another Wheel barrow frame for donor side rails if we need them...when it's all said and done and if it proves to be road worthy it will be powder coated Orange and Silver to match my 160cc 73 ATC70 I think I'm money ahead! :wee:

It would be better if you could find slicks for it. Or maybe some barrows.
Those knobbys are going to create alot of rolling resistance. Which is going to kill upwind perfomance.

Don't forget to wear your PPE (personal protective equipment).
Good luck, have fun

WG








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Ya I figure these aren't the optimum tires.. I can see it now... Kite off to the right knobby catching the kite lines!!!:eekdrull: as for killing the vintage atc it was all good.. A farmer bought this bike new in 73 and welded the frame to a pallet removed the tires and used it to power a field pump! So the poor little bike was doomed from the start.. after cutting free the only good parts were the neck, and axle assembly. But on the 3 wheeler forums we don't them that.. Just make it out to be a real clean vintage bike!

You have to put some sort of side rail on to hold you in the seat. I had a buggy with the same seat and it does not work. The kite will pull you sideways right out of that seat because its slick and you have nothing to hold you in.

Maybe a seat belt would work, but you don't want to be strapped in at this point in your buggy career

Looking good though .... keep up the good work

Dino, I ain't gonna be the test dummy.. My son in law will be! LOL! I'm thinkin' get the seat covered in + velcro and I will wear - Velcro LOL!

I liked where you were going in the first set of photos with the two independent rear wheel forks. Dakitez is right about side pull. The libre he has is great for that. Also I am sure Flexiblade will comment about the distance from the seat to the rear axle. It is better for stability with a long wheelbase. The axle length looks good.

After some time out with your new ride if you find that breaking traction with the rear wheels sends you into a 180 or 360 then you might think about setting the axle about 2 feet further back to help balance the stability of weight distribution. In my signature is a link to my homebuild - notice the distance to the back axle from the seat - I can go into a slide doing 30 mph without having to worry about flipping - just got to watch out for sticky sand.

Flexi,
why doesn't mine look that cool? ... I had the axle back to... then cut it lose and moved it to it's present location..:dunno:

Once you give her a proper shake down you will be able to feel how the ass kicks around real easy - used to happen to me at the beach all the time - would go into a turn, start sliding and before you know it my back is to the kite - if you can control this makes for some wicked easy 360's.

Here's an example (not that great of video quality) of an earlier incarnation of my buggy and how it handled with the axle closer to the seat.
http://www.youtube.com/user/waxphone#p/u/12/PhrMvdSerzM