Chicken Drumstick Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 Not Land Rover related. But thought some on here might have some knowledge on such things. In the UK are there some fun (cheap) buggies to be had? Was thinking along the lines of something akin to the Honda Odyssey fl350 The Honda has been out of production for a long long time. And I've not seen any for sale. Can you buy anything comparable today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escape Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 Not judging, but where would you use something like that? They look like they'd only be fun going fast and tearing up the tracks... Many years ago I had a go on a RWD quad, good fun on a closed track so OK if you hire one, but I wouldn't want to have to trailer it around each weekend just to have a go. Filip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Drumstick Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 30 minutes ago, Escape said: Not judging, but where would you use something like that? They look like they'd only be fun going fast and tearing up the tracks... Many years ago I had a go on a RWD quad, good fun on a closed track so OK if you hire one, but I wouldn't want to have to trailer it around each weekend just to have a go. Filip It's a fair question. Family has over 300 acres (farm). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escape Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 In that case I can certainly see the appeal! And the lighter weight will cause less damage to the land compared to a Landie. I'm guessing the buggies are cheaper than a John Deere Gator or the likes. We're starting to see more of those around parks etc. I'm afraid I don't have much else to add to this thread, but will follow it just to see what you end up with. 🙂 Filip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 If it's for tearing around your own land for fun yes it's a good prospect - may or may not actually be cheaper to buy/own than the nearest MOT-failed 4WD from eBay though, and definitely less comfortable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Drumstick Posted January 29, 2021 Author Share Posted January 29, 2021 3 minutes ago, FridgeFreezer said: If it's for tearing around your own land for fun yes it's a good prospect - may or may not actually be cheaper to buy/own than the nearest MOT-failed 4WD from eBay though, and definitely less comfortable. Yeah I'm not sure where prices are with things like this. It was more the size vs a full car. Even in a smaller space, a smaller vehicle will feel like you have more room. I guess a quad would be the most obvious alternative, but I think a caged buggy would be a lot more safe for the occupant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 They're generally not that fast - but you're so low to the ground, bumped around and exposed that you feel it (I used to run karting at youth camps years ago - we clocked one against a car once and were surprised to find it was only capable of 20mph, though some do double that). You just need a grassy field to run them - fit grass tyres and don't run in the ground is wet and as long as you move the course regularly to spread wear they do little damage (we used to run on school sports fields - we'd have been very unpopular if we'd left them unfit to play cricket on after a short recovery...). You do need reasonable flat ground - don't try it in a heavily trampled pasture unless you want to test the roll over protection... Also not too hilly - the more powerful ones will cope better, but traction will still be an issue going uphill, and you can reach dangerous speed coming down. The ones we ran were Zip karts, but it doesn't look like they do grass karts any more. A quick search found Gemini Karts (never heard of them - which means nothing one way or the other) - who have models suitable for kids and adults, and also offer plans, kits and part built kits of one of their models, which could be worth a look if you're prepared to put a bit of work in to cut cost:Â https://www.geminikarts.co.uk/product-category/navigator/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 PS - if you're just hooning round a field, you'll have way more fun in the kart than an old car. I've done both Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 (edited) I used to have one of these. Mini based and cheap. They have been through several manufacturers, briefly onyx (tomcat) then ABS (freestyle) and then fun buggies (remained freestyle). I'm not sure if they are still made but they do come up on eBay etc quite often. They are an absolute hoot to drive, mine was an ABS and surprisingly good off-road. https://www.muddybuggies.com/th-freestyle/ Mike Edited January 29, 2021 by miketomcat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallfry Posted January 29, 2021 Share Posted January 29, 2021 4 hours ago, geoffbeaumont said: PS - if you're just hooning round a field, you'll have way more fun in the kart than an old car. I've done both When I was a teenager, we used to find it a LOT more fun if it was someone elses car 😔 My friends had a couple of those, or very similar Honda buggies on their farm , but they were called a Honda Pilot ? Good fun but dangerous, even when strapped in. Used to do timed runs round the fields, usually during parties. I broke my arm once and done my knees a couple of times when they rolled. However, none of the guys could get anywhere near the times of one of the girls. She used to do horse trials and steeplechase and is pretty fearless, but she ended up facially disfigured and had a broken shoulder after an accident in one, so be warned. They DO roll over very easily. They also did a lot more than 20mph too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted January 30, 2021 Share Posted January 30, 2021 I bought this from V8 Freak, partly for a laugh but also because the pickup type bed will make it a useful vehicle for going out with the chainsaw/fencing/spot spraying for docks etc etc. It will also cope with the steeper portions of our land fairly well considering the roll cage etc. Its on a RRC chassis and bulkhead and I bought a 3.9V8 from Mo to go in it. Bit of fun for not too much money at the end of the day. Just need COVID to be over so Neil can visit again and help me finish the wiring! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 As others have said, those buggies DO roll easily and you still want a crash hat to avoid braining yourself on the cage. Also people have a tendency to put their arms out as they roll over, a lot of the rental ones have wrist straps on the wheel/handlebars to stop punters from doing this and breaking arms. They usually have no rear diff so will churn the ground when turning. I'm sure you can get ones that go very fast but honestly you probably don't want to crash one at much more than 15mph. Friend of a friend had various quads on the farm and eventually upgraded to a £150 SJ410, an weekend tarting it up & welding the worst of the rust up it was a solid cheap little mountain goat of a thing and it kept the rain off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 If you want to drop a bit of money on something, there are road legal buggies out there, with a diff and decent suspension, but you are quite north of £5k even second hand. And of course quite nickable.   1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Drumstick Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 Thanks. Quite like the look of this one: https://www.blitzworld.co.uk/Adult-Buggies/DX10-renegade-300cc-automatic-buggy They do offer a road legal version, which at this physical size I think would be quite appealing, as a lot more use could be made of it. But their road legal one is over £3000 more. I've emailed the company, but they honestly didn't seem all that friendly or interested in selling. All I'd like to know is what the extra £3k really gets you, as the non road legal one is £6k with a claim it can be made road legal, but no info on what needs to be done.  In reality, they are probably a tad too pricey. Was hoping for something more cheap and cheerful.  The also offer this one, which is nearer what I had in mind price wise. https://www.blitzworld.co.uk/Adult-Buggies/Ripster-200cc-Adult-kids-Buggy One of their pages also says about it potentially being road legal. But they again seemed uninterested in wanting to provide info. Maybe they are just going through a tough time at present. Will maybe phone up and try and have a better chat once we are into better weather.  This one looks to have potential, although the sellers were very clear it isn't capable of being made road legal. But it would probably do most of what I was thinking of. Although none are really quite like the Honda Odyssey. https://www.stormbuggies.com/products/hammerhead-tm-gts150-buggy-with-usa-specs-blue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124549370303 To make anything road legal you only need to conform to the IVA manual and test. My freestyle I linked earlier was SVA'ed and road legal. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken Drumstick Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 4 hours ago, miketomcat said: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/124549370303 To make anything road legal you only need to conform to the IVA manual and test. My freestyle I linked earlier was SVA'ed and road legal. Mike Thanks. Doing a bit of reading I think many are done under 'MSVA' rather than IVA. It also seems some are also done via a Partial Type Approval, which needs to be at the manufacture or importer level. Needs more research methinks. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 If the manufacturers/importers say they can be road legal but can't be bothered to do it themselves that suggests it's not super easy... TBH once you're spending thousands on one of these things I wonder why not just buy a decent Jimny or something? I can see it as a fun toy for a few hundred notes but 6k buys a very tidy motor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miketomcat Posted February 2, 2021 Share Posted February 2, 2021 3 hours ago, Chicken Drumstick said: Thanks. Doing a bit of reading I think many are done under 'MSVA' rather than IVA. It also seems some are also done via a Partial Type Approval, which needs to be at the manufacture or importer level. Needs more research methinks. Either my point is anything you want can be made road legal as long as you meet the criteria. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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