First buggy - Edge Sidewinder

[Beelzeboss]

Hi,
Just finished high school and have a 4 month holiday in which to do nothing (besides work a bit ) so I decided to build a buggy. I went for the Sidewinder because the supplier is here in Australia, it looks easier and less costly to build than a Piranha, as well as taking less time, it's not likely I'm going to race it so I don't need the power of a Busa or ZX-14, and I liked the look of it.

Here are some progress pics:

Frame




Front swingarms (second set )




Rear swingarm (all bracing changed from 20x20x1.6 to 30x30x2.5 for extra strength)





The buggy is extended 180mm for me, 6'4", and that has created a couple of issues but most have been worked out. I have also finished the pedals and pedal boxes, and almost finished modifying the rack and pinion.

Questions, comments and criticism welcome.

Andrew

[tone]

hi

there are clubs you can race at if you get the urge
more pics

cheers

[K-fab]

The work looks nice.

Second set -
been there, done that!

[Gene]

Nice work and a great first project. Keep posting so first-timers see that they can succeed!

[Beelzeboss]

Thanks very much for the comments. I have made a bit more progress and have pics.

Frame (have since fully welded it and added a couple more bars to the front, but these pics are fairly recent)





I also now have a powerplant. 2007 Suzuki GS-500F twin cylinder with only 9,500 km's (5,900 miles).



Front forks were quite damaged



Some shots of the engine out of the frame with carbs, exhaust, oil cooler (broken in crash), and electrics removed





The engine is SO chunky. I was attracted to it by the price, the bulletproof reliability and a reasonable amount of power. I will be running car tyres and rims to save money so excessive power is not required, as traction will already be a problem. That's fine by me because what I enjoy most is powersliding and drifting!

Andrew

[NWOff-Roader]

Your project looks good, a very clean build for sure. Keep it up!

[yummi]

Hi Beelze, welcome to the site.

I am always amazed at the number of young guys here who do such a good job. Looking forward to watching the progress of your build.

[Beelzeboss]

OK, I have done a bit more since the last update. HAVE PICS!

Close up of the bars which I added to the front of the frame:



Put on the rear suspension mounts:



Cut the frame ("God I hope this works...")



Then welded it back together 20mm downwards. Othersie the HUGE Suzuki engine won't fit!











I also bought two shocks from a yamaha XT-550. Unfortunately the designer of the Edge buggies says that I will have to upgrade the springs in them to make them work properly. I will see how it goes.

Andrew

[TutTech]

Looks like your doing really well.
The buggy is coming together nicely and I like how you are problem solving and working out
ideas ahead of time to make the buggy work out. Like lowering the engine and beefing up the
back end.
Really good and like others have said I wish I could have built something so well just out of high school. Looks like your fits are going together very well. Nice. It's looking great.

I would like to make a suggestion that may or may not help you but it's input and free
so if you use it great if not no worries. On your welds something I do is make more of a circle
going around in a puddle until my joint is welded in. Go around and make a dime shape circle
and then drop down about half way through the dime sized circle you just made and make another
circle. Do this until you finish welding your entire joint.
It make for a very strong weld and mostly a very clean weld.
Something to give a try on. Maybe grab a couple pieces of old tubes and try it.
Also it looks like you can go a little slower on your welds? Hard to say I am not there and the tube
could be to thin and you could burn through it I am just guessing and trying to give input.


Anyways awesome job and I hope you don't mind me trying to give you input as I wish people would have helped me out instead of telling me my stuff sucked at your age and that I can't do it.

Keep us posted and don't give up your doing great!
Keep the pics coming.

[klr700sidewinderbuggy]

Heres my edge sidewinder ! im new to the forums here and thought id share