Current project getting the Predator 420 " the family cruiser "

[420Racer]

Had this thing for a looooong time. Probably over ten years now. I bought it when they first started making the 250cc Chinese buggys and I got what I paid for. It's a sunl 250. The first day driving it the motor mounts started ripping off, fixed that, then had numerous electrical problems and finally the motor cracked right in half. I got a good two years out of it ........anyways it has its ups. Brakes always worked good suspension is ok for mild driving and I always liked the rack and pinion steering. Should be a simple swap I'm hoping to have it up and running in the next couple days. I've always wanted to put a 420 in it and the time has come. It will be a good buggy for my girl and to take younger kids out for rides so I'm looking forward to getting it going. I'll post a few more pics of the process and when it's done. Just starting on it tonight

 

[Budget GoKart]

Nice

 

[420Racer]

Thanks budget its been sitting around too long.

 

[BigWes]

That 420 eats up a lot of space real quick. Would you have more room with a relocated tank and different exhaust system and maybe intake setup? I'm guessing you are going to streamline it somewhat after you get it installed.

Good luck with it. I am sure the kids will love it! How old is your daughter?

Sometimes I miss having a kid around. I gots nobody to play with and it sucks cause I'm just a big kid

Nobody wants to go riding, or fishing, or shooting, but I ain't giving my toys away...nope.

 

[420Racer]

That 420 eats up a lot of space real quick. Would you have more room with a relocated tank and different exhaust system and maybe intake setup? I'm guessing you are going to streamline it somewhat after you get it installed.

Good luck with it. I am sure the kids will love it! How old is your daughter?

Sometimes I miss having a kid around. I gots nobody to play with and it sucks cause I'm just a big kid

Nobody wants to go riding, or fishing, or shooting, but I ain't giving my toys away...nope.

Haha Wes I am just a big kid too. I'm guessing most of us on here probably share that quality or are kids themselves. I have two boys almost 12 and 13. I'm working on a fleet of buggies for my friends, family and all their kids to enjoy. And yes the tank is going to get relocated but I may keep the stock exhaust and intake. I don't think they'll hit the rack even when the suspension is compressed. This is gonna be a pretty quick easy swap for me and I'll be onto the next. Check out my YouTube channel sometime! I have a hard time selling my toys too. I still have the bike my dad used to pick me up from school on when I was 5...... that was in 86.....

 

[420Racer]

Wes it just dawned on me why you asked how old my girl was. When I said my girl I meant my lady, she is 37 lol

 

[BigWes]

Oh, ok! I thought you meant a daughter! That's great your girl has fun with you too! Pretty lady! You are blessed sir! The entire family having fun together. My wife wants nothing to do with my hobbies. Occasionally she wants to go somewhere on the Harley but she sits on the back and is clueless to our surroundings so I am in a constant state of anxiety when she is riding with me. The last time we rode someone pulled out in front of me and I stopped hard and she had no idea what was going on.

But dude, good looking family! Good times! Happy for y'all!

 

[420Racer]

Thank you Wes I feel pretty lucky to have them all! I ride on the street too and it is dangerous but I can't stop I love it! I should have been working on this but my cousin stopped over and we decided to go play instead. So back to the garage I go I want this thing running by tomorrow!

 

[420Racer]

Didnt do much til yesterday but made some progress. I really wanted to be able to just pull start it and take it for a ride but I called it a night. If the gas tank wasn't in the way of the frame and I had longer bolts to bolt the motor down I may have stayed out a little longer. Got the harder part done so hopefully I'll be driving it today. I'm going to add some more tubing to stiffen up the rear end, move the starter box up to the front, install the battery and redo the wiring. I'm not gonna use the blinkers but I'm gonna hook up the brake light. We will be doing some night riding and camping with these things. While I have the tank off what do you guys think of the throttle setup? When I remove the governor on these I tap and thread a 3/8 bolt in place of the shaft that for the governor and keep the factory throttle linkage in place. I also add a spring so there is little to no chance of it not returning. It works well and always goes open and closed. I'm not sure how everyone does this but was thinking of making a separate post about this???......and Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there!

 

[Panhead5496]

Wes it just dawned on me why you asked how old my girl was. When I said my girl I meant my lady, she is 37 lol

DUDE that thing the wife is in is freaking sweet!! What engine does it have? Wow!

 

[420Racer]

Thanks panhead. That's a 1985 Honda Odyssey fl350 with a predator 420 motor. Definitely the prize piece right now. Ive never had so much fun In a buggy. I'm gonna be building some more stuff like this and I'll be posting in here. I've been putting some videos on YouTube too check it out! Shouldn't be too hard to find. It's the only one like it. There's some good clips of me ripping it and pics of the build from start to finishl. I think the one I'm building now is gonna be my lady's ride. I wanted to drive it tonight but I didn't make it. Story of my life lol. It will be done this week ,I can't wait to feel how the 420 feels in there! I would have finished it yesterday but it was Father's day and I took the day ride with the kids and my nephew. I did teach them all too weld tho and that was awesome!

 

[BigWes]

DUDE that thing the wife is in is freaking sweet!! What engine does it have? Wow!

Yea, I was thinking the same thing. That is a badass machine. Far beyond a go-kart. Lots of win in that pic for sure.

Wes

 

[420Racer]

Haha thanks Wes. It is no ordinary kart that's for sure. I would put in the category of a minibuggy I guess based on its size. One thing it has In common with a lot of different types of karts/buggys is the powerplant. So in a lot of ways I can relate to a lot of threads on this forum with things I've experienced along the way. I'm gonna be building some really cool street karts too but they will be a little different than most you see out there. I'm just getting started with all this again but I'm doing some stuff I've always wanted to do and excited to bring some ideas I've had for a long time to life. As soon as the " family cruiser " is done I'll be onto the next and can't wait to get started!

 

[420Racer]

So haven't had any time the past couple weeks to work on this but I hit it hard the last two nights! She's up and running once again and it feels great with the 420 on there. I kept it pretty simple just beefed up the rear end a little with some box tubing and made a mount for the motor mount plate. I geared the reverse a little lower than usual because it may be pulling two adults around and it works great! I'd say I put as much time wiring it up as I did with all the fabrication but I am picky with my wiring so it takes me some time. I left the control box on the motor but also hooked up all the factory controls up front also. I thought the exhaust was gonna hit the rack above but so far so good. I ended up using the original gas tank as it was pretty clean inside. So needless to say I was excited to drive this thing for the first time in over ten years! We threw the jbl speaker on it and went for a good 10 mile cruise last night and it was awesome! It was a great night for a ride here in CT. The family cruiser is good to go and im ready to start the next one!

 

[420Racer]

Heres a couple more

 

[BigWes]

Hey man! I was wondering what had happened to you! I was about to start sending you messages and stuff.

I already subscribed to your channel and everything.

All this time you been out riding around in the woods with some hot chick...shame on you...I'ma tell your wife dude!

Lol

Glad you finally got that thing up and running. The more running machines the better. Especially when you can sit next to your sweetie. Looks like it has plenty of storage on the back for essentials as well. I'd love to have something like that. It's just hard to find anywhere left down here to ride.

I'm going to start looking for a machine similar to your buggies. Maybe I could get my wife interested. Who knows.

Good job!

Wes

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Jealous.....
There's a reason why I don't have a two seater go kart:
No one to ride with!

 

[BigWes]

Jealous.....
There's a reason why I don't have a two seater go kart:
No one to ride with!

Hey JTSpunkwagon, you always have the Princess!!!

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.............
I'll pass.

Besides, I prefer the one seater configuration.
Like an F1 car!

 

[Hellion]

...I ride on the street too and it is dangerous but I can't stop I love it!

I like street riding too and that road-oriented kart with the slicks that one of your sons(?) is driving is just the ticket.

We have more freedom and lenient law enforcement in the USA so I think we can get by riding on the street with things that aren't exactly street legal. There's tons of other vehicles (tractors, etc) that use the road to get from one unpaved area to another so ATVs and buggies are not so out of the ordinary.
It certainly helps our case to obey the rules of the road anyway and to avoid riding in the wrong lane or some other buffoonery. Keep that in mind.