R29 Slingshot Kids Buggy

[Crisco]

Thought is was about time I got to designing and building a buggy for the kids before they leave home.
Here are some basic specs - keen for some feedback from those that are interested in buggies for the kids:
Rorty R29 Slingshot Specifications



1.25" (31.8mm) chassis tubing, integrated roll cage (using existing Rorty bender dies)
Double A-arm front suspension with coil over shocks (middle of the road quality as not a long travel racing buggy)
Solid rear axle, sprocket drive - gear as you like
175cc air cooled, electric start engine, CVT with reverse (will be designed to take any engine)
Wilwood single rear disc and caliper
22x11-8 rear tyres, Alloy rims
21x7-10 front tyres, Alloy rims
Rack and pinion steering
Seats - 1 or 2, high back with 3 point harnesses
Build cost target $2-3000 AUD
Plans and kits

Interested in whether 1 or 2 seats are popular. It should be fairly straight forward to design both so I might do that.
It'll be focused on fun and safety rather than outright performance. Front suspension to help keep the wheels on the ground when on uneven surfaces. Size will be comparable to Pilot / Odyssey FL250. Simple and cheap build using readily available parts (trailer hubs etc.)
Cheers

[poordad]

Sounds great and I look forward to what you come up with, my first thought would be a bigger engine ( 390-420 ) could be geared down or limited with the CVT or throttle but upgraded easily as they grow and gain experience which happens very fast:rolleyes:

As far as stability goes I would reconsider the solid axle and go with IRS, it helps a lot when they don't give the rear end enough room to clear a stump or rock and get rocked over or snagged at speed.:eek:

[Crisco]

Thanks for the feedback. There are 5 other buggies in the current Rorty range with bigger engines and IRS so not looking at designing a small one of those :D. The R6 or R21 will be good progression buggies once the kids can reach the pedals! This one is for the little kids in the back paddock.
IRS adds a lot of cost; this one needs to be a cheap build. Even the front suspension was an add on that I was going to leave off but thought the extra cost was worth it as it makes the range of use of the buggy a little better. Cheers

[Crisco]

It's planned to be a solid rear axle rather than live rear axle. Rear suspension is provided by the big tyres. A good reason not to fit a big engine :eek:

[Xbird]

Go with 2 seats, a lot of adults want singles, but i get 6 people asking if i have a 2-seater for every call i get while trying to sell my single. Lots of calls for a ride for 6 to 10 year olds. I wont' sell it to them, too much buggy for that age as a single. Also, if you go ahead with this, build plenty of adjustment into the seating and put in quality harnesses.

[Crisco]

Good advice thanks. 2 seaters seem to be popular. I have many of the parts already including the high back poly seat (you could use the Rorty Race seat (http://www.rorty.net/rorty-aluminium-race-seat) but I was trying to make this low tech). Also have 3 point ATV harnesses with 2" straps, pads and quick release latch. I was planning adjustable drivers seat for height and reach - probably without slides (bolts / pins instead) as they don't last long - anyone know of good ones for this application?