noob from kansas city, Kansas

[SPEC]

WELCOME R
I built small woods buggies, and kept the costs down always...Cuz buggies in the woods are always going to get smashed sooner or later...
The rules I lived by were...Keep it as light as you can without sacrificing safety
Build with as many off the shelf parts as you can...Most places have an auto parts store that will have your parts on hand
Listen to those that know more than you...Pretty hard sometimes
last but not least ONLY tack everything together untill you have a roller... I mean right up till you think your ready to hop in and take a spin.....Then disasseble the whole works and weld it up...tHIS WILL SAVE YOU HUNDEREDS IN GRINDING DISCS AND RAW STEEL
Enough rambling from the Gimp...Welcome to the site

[sandracer1]

ZX-7R. Got the wrecked (running) bike for 200 bucks. the motor is true and level with the frame but I also ponder alignment. Didn't consider that when mounting the engine. .

Will ride some gravel roads but mostly trails and fields. My family owns 160 acres next to Mark Twain National Forest in southern Missouri. would like to take a buggy there but trails are pretty narrow.

Hey Pierce, This is a good group of guys. I did not build my buggy. I went and bought a manufactured one from Redline but these guys all let me sound off and chime in with my questions and they all still go out of their way to help me. Even Master, after I pissed him off  . I am in St. Louis MO and ride at St. Joe park AKA Flatriver. It is just north of Farmington. If you are ever around here let me know and we can meet up down there. It is about 2800 acres of sand flats and trails. $5 ride all day. Keep posting you build.

[fabr]

Hey,sr1,tell me more about Flatriver. Is it trails or open areas? Is it big enough for a full size sandcar?

[sandracer1]

It is or was 2800 acres. Damn tree huggers and bicyclist have moved into some of our area. It is about 1000acres of flats and the rest are trails. The flats are O.K. for sandcars but it definately no LS or Glamis. No hills to speak of. I would imagine you would get bored pretty fast in a full size rail. But it is someplace to run your car. There are quite a few buggys that show up and RZRs. The trails are the sh!t though. They groom them very well the last few years and are all sorts of skill level trails. I can run my Revolt on the main trails and I am 63" wide. They say no buggys or jeeps in the trails but I am considered a UTV like the RZRZs and they are allowed in the trails. I do not know how long of a trip to LS is for you versus Flat river but if it is a comparable trip stick to LS. If you have a quad AND a rail then bring them both and you will have a blast. If you want to check it out for something different let me know and I can show you around the trails cause you can definately get lost back there. The flats will take you about 30 mins to see all of them on your own. I like it cause we drag race and there are some good FAST roads I can really move out on. I have about a 1-1/2 - 2 mile loop I like to run. It gets pretty crowded so always fun to watch other people get stupid and wreck their stuff. You can count on a ambulance or helicopter on every weekend. It is funny, always seems to be one guy on his own and does something stupid to dump his ride, or the ride dumps him. And for a diclaimer, this is not sand. It is mine tailings from the old lead mine. EPA watches it VERY closely and try to shut it down every year. I have been riding there for 30 tears and can still think and speak. No signs of lead poisoning yet. The camp grounds are awsome and swimming lakes, fishing horse trails, bike trails. It is a great park.

[fabr]

Sounds like the old minin g areas around Picher and Miami Oklahoma. Literally at least a hundred square miles there. Unfortunately there are massive cave ins always happening and the EPA has closed the area.

[sandracer1]

Like I said they try EVERY year to close us down but we all stick together and fight them as a group that was astablished years ago when they started this crap. It gets harder every year. This last year they had them pull the tailings off of the swimming beach which is good. There are a lot of kids playing in it with wet hands and hand to mouth for the little ones. So I am glad they did that. The higher level areas they are trying to get a plan to cover it with real sand or remove it and the park will replace it with tailings with an acceptable level of lead. No cave ins here. I am lucky to have a place like this so close to home or I would of never started riding when I was a kid. You should come out next year or sooner to check it out. Bring Spec, he probably wants to my ass at this moment. I am impressed you did not take the bait on the Harbor Freight thread. Thought you would be all over it. You must be mellowing with age.

[fabr]

YOU should come to here and we'll sneak in at Picher and do some REAL riding! People still go there but no way is any camping done and you have avoid Johnny Law.

[rpierce]

I have heard of st joe park but never been there. 2800 acres is HUGE. I have a honda foreman I will have to take there this fall.

Thanks for all the responses to the thread. I built the frame per the plans, and then read about people adding length. I am 6' 200 lbs so I would probably need to expand the cockpit and engine area?

[sandracer1]

Pierce let me know when you are going to make it and I will show you around the place.

[sandracer1]

YOU should come to here and we'll sneak in at Picher and do some REAL riding! People still go there but no way is any camping done and you have avoid Johnny Law.

Do you have a fool proof escape route? I am not getting my stuff impounded in Kansas or OK. I will have to bring the quad so I do not blow a belt on the Revolt trying to get away.

[chrishallett83]

I have heard of st joe park but never been there. 2800 acres is HUGE. I have a honda foreman I will have to take there this fall.

Thanks for all the responses to the thread. I built the frame per the plans, and then read about people adding length. I am 6' 200 lbs so I would probably need to expand the cockpit and engine area?

I'm 6'1" and the same weight and I fit in a Taipan just fine. Which is smaller than a Piranha.