BUGGY
CONSTRUCTION Created by Tristen
PLANS
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Buggy Construction Plans
Contents
1. Contents
2. Plan overview
3. Material list
4. Frame
5. Frame
6. Roll cage/back suspension
7. Steering
8. Steering
9. Suspension
10. Steering
11. Throttle
12. Pedals/brakes
13. Wheel to axle/ rear shaft
14. Back section
1
Plan overview
This off-road buggy was designed to fit onto a small trailer and to be
as less expensive as possible.
When building your buggy, feel free to adjust the plans to suit the
materials you have at hand.
I suggest you read through the plans first to get a good
understanding before youstart the build.
You will need:
• A welder
• An angle grinder
• A drop saw
• A drill
• And other basic hand tools
If you have any queriesyou can contact me by email at
[email protected].
I’m interested in seeing your completed project, so pleasesend me a
photo of your build.
To reduce cost:
Re-use old steel
Buy a second hand pit-bike(engine doesn’t
have to work)and salvage the front brakes
and the front suspension forks.
Try a resource recovery centre, clearing sales
and garage sales for parts.
2
Materials list
Metal Qty Where to get it (mostly Australian)
25mm x 6.5 metres square 2 Surdex Steel Pty Ltd:
tube http://www.surdexsteel.com.au/sub_index.cfm?companyid=61
20mm x 2 metres square tube 1 Surdex Steel Pty Ltd:
http://www.surdexsteel.com.au/sub_index.cfm?companyid=61
25mm x 4 mm x 1 metres of 1 Surdex Steel Pty Ltd:
flat steel http://www.surdexsteel.com.au/sub_index.cfm?companyid=61
25mm x 25mm x 2 metres of 1 Surdex Steel Pty Ltd:
angle iron http://www.surdexsteel.com.au/sub_index.cfm?companyid=61
390mm x 340mm x 3 mm 1 Surdex Steel Pty Ltd:
aluminium plate (foot pan) http://www.surdexsteel.com.au/sub_index.cfm?companyid=61
Purchased assemblies Qty Where to get it (mostly Australian)
Engine6hp-9hp 1 http://engines.honda.com/models/#
http://www.briggsandstratton.com/
Centrifugal clutch 1 Local go-karting shop
(Comet Industries CSC 400
series)
Ball joint 10mm male (for 4 CBC Bearings:
suspension/steering spindle) http://www.conbear.com/files/content.php?sec=products&sec2=bearin
gs&lang=en
Ball joint 10mm female (for 8 CBC Bearings:
steering arm) http://www.conbear.com/files/content.php?sec=products&sec2=bearin
gs&lang=en
Sprocket 72 teeth 1 Local go-karting shop
Sprocket carrier 1 Local go-karting shop
Brake disk 1 Local go-karting shop
Brake carrier 1 Local go-karting shop
Solid axle 1inch diameter 1 Steel supplies
Chain (size 35) 1 Local go-karting shop
Front wheels 4.80/4.00-8 2 Bunning’s
Back wheels 4.80/4.00-8 2
Bearings (for rear axle) Master Castors Pty Ltd
CBC Bearings:
http://www.conbear.com/files/content.php?sec=products&sec2=bearin
gs&lang=en
Bearing (steering shaft) 19mm 1 Master Castors Pty Ltd
CBC Bearings:
http://www.conbear.com/files/content.php?sec=products&sec2=bearin
gs&lang=en
Steering wheel 1 Local go-karting shop
Bike brake cable 1 Target/ Kmart/ bike shop
1500mm x 3mm stainless steel Masters:
cable http://www.masters.com.au/product/902459592/ezy-fit-stainless-steel-
wire-3mm-x-30m
Front shock 2 Local motorbike/ATV shop
Motorbike 125cc front shocks 2 Local motorbike/ATV shop (for rear suspension)
Motorbike brake lever and 1 Local motorbike/ATV shop
calliper
3
Frame top view
All material shown is
25mmx25mm square tube
unless specified
Hinge: use 10mm bolts
4
Front of buggy-perspective view
Note: the frame is built out of 25mmsquare
tube. Bracket A
The picture below is the foot pan made out
of3mm aluminium plate and is secured using
pop rivets.
Floor pan top view
5
Seat frame and roll cage
Note: I built my roll cage
out of a swing seat, which
was perfect as it was the
correct size and was
already fitted with mesh. I
do a lot of driving in the
bush and the mesh
protects me from
branches.
I built my own seat from
timber, foam padding and
seat vinyl, but you can buy
a go-kart seat, re-use an
old plastic seat or build
your own.
The angle of the seat is
105 degrees
Rear suspension
Use motor bike front forks for the
rear suspension system. Note
however, the forks do not come Bracket A
with top hinge joints. Cut the end
of an old shock absorber and weld
it onto the top end of the motor-
bike front forks. (Note: remove the
rubber grommet from the fitting
before welding).
To adjust the height of the
suspension/buggy, slide the
bracket up / down the frame and
then weld it in place.
Tip: Tack weld first, then sit in your
buggy to see how low it drops and
adjust accordingly. If you have
problems there are always
adjustable springs available.
6
Steering arm
3D view
Top view
Side view
Note:
The three holes on the arms are to adjust the steering to what feels best for you.
Steering arm is set to 104 degrees to achieve the Ackerman effect. The Ackerman effect is
when the inside tyre turns on a shorter radius than the outside tyre. This reduces tyre
scrub when cornering.
7
Steering shaft
Note:
Before welding the steering shaft support bracket, adjust the length and height of
the steering column to achieve a comfortable steering height and position.
pos
Make sure that the steering shaft pipe wall is thicker than2.5mm
For the bearing in the upper fixture of the steering column, you could use slightly
larger steel pipe (as shown above), or alternatively a brass bush or a ball bearing.
8
Front suspension
Lower suspension arm Bracket A
20mm square tube
Suspension side view assembly
Suspension from quad bike
The upper suspension arm is the same as the
lower except does not require bracket A or the Steering arm
flat plate.
9
Steering rods and ball joints
Note:For all bolts on the steering use self-locking nuts or lock nuts.
Side view
Looking forward from seat
10
Pedals
Note:
An alternative to the
design pedal shown
where 3/8” pipe has
been bent into a C
shape and welded to
a pipe base; is to
bend a metal rod
into an L shape and
weld that to the pipe
base.
Brake
Brake attached to pedal
Note: the cable is fed
through the pipe and
attached to the brake
lever.
The3mm cable is
clamped by a ferrule.
11
Throttle
Top Figure: Shown is how the throttle cable is attached to throttle pedal and frame. The cable can be
fed through the frame square tube for neatness(drill a hole in the end).
Bottom Figure: This figureshows how the cable is attached to the engine throttle. Note the fitting of
the spring to the engine throttle lever.
12
Rear shaft
Axles consist of a 1”shaft with keyways. Note: keyways can be cut by your local go-kart store.
Rear Axle
The fixing of the wheel to the rear axle can be
achieved several ways:
Option one: Weld the wheel onto the axle
Option two: Weld hubs (shown in figure on
the right) to the axle
Option three: use quad bike wheels, hubs and
axle
Self-aligning bearings for rear axle Brake/sprocket carrier
Sprocket
Centrifugal clutch
13
Back section
Aligning sprockets:
It is very important to make sure that the sprockets are perfectlyaligned,otherwise the chain will come off.
Mounting the brake calliper:
Mount chain before building brake bracket. As every motorbike brake system is different, I have not provided
drawings. You will need to build a bracket to suit your brake. See photo on page 12 to see how I fitted my
brake calliper.
Chain guard: for personal safety please fit a chain guard.
14
