Our favorite buggy
pictures over the years show how rugged they are in all weather, all
terrain. We hope you will find this page informative, helpful and
entertaining! One of our favorite places to ride is Black Mountain in
Evarts, Kentucky.
See trail map.
Join the Harlan County
Ridge Runners Club and we'll see you at the events!
Our favorite buggy
pictures over the years show how rugged they are in all weather, all
terrain.
We met Dan many years ago and he and his
sons all love the great outdoors. Dan found that he really enjoyed riding
his Hammerhead buggys, finding all kinds of unique places "off the beaten path".
He rally does great in the mud challenges!
Once Dan retired from his day job with P&G, look out!
He loaded up all 4 buggys on one
trailer
,
he quickly conned, I mean INVITED his buddys
scout out the hills, cave, tails & mountains of Kentucky and we dubbed him
"Scout Dan Hammerhead".
When the Super Sport 250 was introduced
Dan decided to head out and see what it could do in the great Rocky Mountains in
Colorado, all the way to Pikes Peak.
Not only did it perform well, but he also added a trailer to haul his son's dirt
bike up to the top.
Since Dan has had some very interesting
modifications,
He does his own maintenance, and finds lots of good Tips for buggy owners, he
shares tips with everyone. Like, don't forget to keep your air filter clean
(this is not Dan's, of course!)
and just HAVE FUN!
If you would like to go on a tour (free) with Scout Dan, or have any questions for him, shoot us an email and we'll let him know!
WELCOME TO THE REAL DEAL - SCOUT DAN'S TIPS
TIPS "STEEP MOUNTAIN RIDING"
STEEP, CURVY, GRAVEL IN MOUNTAINS: Larger more aggressive knobby tires help maintain better traction on both 150cc and 250cc buggys.
Subject: Better Traction for the 150 cc Side by Side. According to Scout: "I ride on steep trails, gravel roads and found that the stock 150 cc tires sometimes slip. I was always helping my kids and friends get unstuck because the tires slipped and they were still developing their drive skills on these types of trails. I also wanted to get better traction on wet or muddy trails with ATV type tires that would fit the Hammerhead buggy 150cc rear rims. Trail Wolf have a more aggressive knobby tire pattern that have worked well for me. I use AT22x10-10, which allows additional rear end ground clearance. The AT22x10-10 is the largest tire available to fit the Hammerhead standard rear rim. Note: I did bend the mud flaps out to prevent rubbing against the larger tire. The additional traction you gain is well worth it.
The Trail Wolf tires
also work much better in the winter when we go riding in the snow. Since
these are a larger tire, I did compromise a minimal amount of torque at the rear
wheels, noticeable when climbing even a small hill. To make up for this,
particularly on my single seat 2003 Hammerhead 150 buggy, I additionally made
drive chain sprocket changes.
(See High Torque Output from 150 cc
Buggies
Subject: Cross Bar Binding If you find the cross bars are interfering in your aggressive climbing, I have removed them on the 150 Models to avoid getting hung up in some thicker areas. Note: applies also on the new GT250; however Super Sport 250 does not have the cross bar.
Issue:
The drive frame on all 150 cc buggies has a support
bar that goes between the two rear shaft bearing plates. This cross bar loops
down and under the rear axel sprocket and also supports the mud covers and helps support part of the rear brake mount. After several months of
riding, this cross bar will get bent from hitting rocks and other hard
trail items. On all four of my 150 cc buggies I have found that if this
cross bar gets bent too much it will start to put a side load on the
rear bearing, rear brake assembly and rub on the drive sprocket. I have had to
replace one set of rear bearings already because of this issue.
Solution:
In order to eliminate this Cross Bar Binding issue I have cut off all my 150 cc
cross bars. This also allows me to install a larger drive shaft sprocket for
steep hill climbing.
Picture below shows cross bar removed and
what it looks like after you have cut the cross bar off.
Subject: Seating on Long Distance Rides For extra comfort when riding more than 7 hours at a trip, consider placing a cushion under your knees. It helps on those very long steep grades!
Subject: High Torque Output from 150 cc Buggies
Issue:
Climbing really steep trail hills with two people in my
2004 old Standard 150cc Side by Side buggies was sometimes limited and scary.
With two small kids this might be OK but with 2 large adults it takes some
experience. Just like learning to ride ATV Quads properly, it is important to
practice first on how to safely back down a hill before attempting this at the
top of the mountains.
The 150 cc engine has the horsepower
for climbing hills but the CVT and belt drive system are
designed, sized and marketed on these buggies for middle of the road type
driving. If you like to drive on flat roads and small hills they are great fun.
However, if you go out a lot on steeper hills the drive belts may start to slip
under these types of loads. Weights or spring changes to the standard CVT
and other engine drive parts will increase the rear wheel torque a small amount
but not to the amount I wanted for really steep hills. My objective for making
the following changes was to be able to climb the same steep hills that most ATV's
can climb.
Solution:
To maximize the rear wheel torque on a standard 150 cc
side by side for hill climbing to a point that the CVT and belt drive do not
slip, the rear axel sprocket needed to be increased from 39 to a 54 tooth.
This change will increase the
torque at the rear wheels by about 40%. These changes will reduce to top speed
of the buggy from about 36 mph to 28 mph. However, I haven't found too many dirt
trails that you can safely
drive at 36 mph. So, the reduce speed and increased hill climbing capability has
been well worth the changes for the more extreme type of riding trails I travel.
Here are
the steps for making this change.
1. Cut off the rear cross bar so that a larger sprocket
will fit.
2. Buy new or shorted
the existing rear drive frame swing arms. The current swing arms limit the
diameter of the new sprocket. Reduce the swing arms length from the current
5.125" to 3" by cutting out a piece in the middle and then welding them back together.
Warning:
If you don't make this swing arm change and install the large sprocket, the sprocket will cut a hole
in the engine block when you hit large bumps. Here is a picture of the changes.
3. Remove the rear sprocket and take it
to a company that sells and can machine a new mounting
bolt pattern for a metric sprocket. The one I go to locally is Cincinnati
Transmission (name may have changed) 6311 Wiehe Rd. Cincinnati Ohio 45237, Ph no.
1-513-731-6031. The sprocket part number I have used on all three of my
buggies is 52A54 which means it's a 52 pitch (Metric), 54 tooth sprocket.
When you order the sprocket have them also machine it for mounting on your axel.
Give them your old sprocket as a template.
4. When your new sprocket is installed, add a new section of drive chain to the old chain because of the larger sprocket diameter. Be sure you are using the same original metric chain size and type.
Picture of the finished
changes with the larger sprocket and cross bar cut off.
TIPS "NIGHT RIDING"
LIGHT BARS: Clinton Glancy, an avid hunter, added a top light bar for his trip to Oklahoma. He brought back 2 boars and a deer! He hooked the lights to a separate 12V battery that can be kept inside a box on the cargo rack.
Another application for the extra battery is used for LED accent lighting, with a toggle switch. The extra 12V battery is inside the diamond plate box stored on the rear rack.
Trail Wolf AT22x10-10
in
stock
Last Update: January 12, 2010
