TK's Kids Yerfdog updates
 

Just a general thread on what's going on with the kids Buggy. So can keep on one thread.

Here's a video of the kids playing on the Yerf. When took this, was still working on getting the Spun gas tank mounted. And one thing that is nice, It's a good way to walk the dogs. :). Was taken in HD, but might half to change your setting to HD on Youtube to see it. Messed up on the default.

Do have the kids bring friends out. And when the other kids ask their parents about driving on the buggy, some have doubt. But once they see the buggy, they are fine with it. Much safer than any 4 wheeler. Then the parents half to take a ride themselves.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bma1...ature=youtu.be

Do have a question. Son has a habit of running the buggy, and not turning the lights off. Get's old jumping it. The exhaust is on the right side. So by rights I should be able to put in a kick start for it. Anyone know how difficult that would be? Is there gears I would need to change? Or will it fit as is? Another winter project I might play with, if don’t half to do anything crazy with it.

How did you wire the lights? Stock config. would only run them when engine was running to prevent battery draining.

There is a sprocket for the kick start under the CVT cover. Not sure what is all needed to add it? May just need a scooter CVT cover, kicker and accompanying gear/spring

come on dad can we go another round, priceless !

Yea man let's go for another turn

Unless components were removed the original Yerf Howlett engines had everything under the cvt cover, just the kick lever was removed and replaced with the nurrowed sleeve for the exhaust mount.

It's a mostly stock setup. Have 11 pole stator. Lights are setup on a togle switch. Turn them on with out engine running. Also have the Trail Tech hooked up on same switch. The warning lights on the trail tech, dont work, unless have it turn on. So during the day, if dont take a look at it, lights get left on. Son is getting better with it. Still would be a nice backup to have.
Sycarm, if I recall correctly, I dont think there is the Gear spindle shaft. At least that I can recall. So would I half to buy gear spindle and kick lever? Take off the back case and install the Gear Spindle Shaft.? Next time I get in the case, will take a better look.
Ya, kids really like driving it. Son has got yelled at a few times, for abuse of the buggy. One was the slamming of the brakes and locking up tires right before he came up to a turn. (Wheel hop) not good on the buggy. Get beat round enough the way it is.
2nd, when parking it, he put the front wheels up against the back of shed. And there was 6 inch holes in the dirt, where the back tires was at. Not hard to figure out what he was doing. :).
But can say, buggy has been used alot this year. Worth the money and time put into it. I'll half to get a video of the kids gathering fire wood with it. Have a small tow rope, with a loop on one end. Connect one end to the back of buggy, and slip the looped end around a log. Kids dragging back 10 feet logs.

Buggy Depot sold a kick start kit for the Yerf. You need the lever, kick start shaft with spring and gear, and the intermediate shaft with gear. The crank gear is already in place behind the the variator. If your exhaust exits to the right, it is either a scooter header or one from a Kasea. I was able to make mine work with left hung exhaust by removing the hanger stud from the case and using a U-shaped bracket off the kick start shaft to support the muffler.

Thanks. Thought pretty much what needed to be done. Just wanted to verify if the gears inside was setup for a kick start. Didn't half to add, or move stuff around.

This little off subject. But here is a video of what the kids are doing out at the place when not tearing up the buggy. Very nice catfish first thing in the morning.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG2tRhNIWc8

Decided to do some much needed repairs on the Yerf. Got the back Brace welded. Got the Chain guard back on, and welded. Then I was looking at the Alinement. OMG, it was off. Then after looking at it closer, saw the spindle was bend. I took a 2lbs sledge, and try to knock it back down. Holy cow that thing is tuff. It's upgraded BD spindles. the metal is 1/4 thick where it bent at. I just don't see how it could have bent like that.
Think I might half to completely take it off. Put it in a vice, and heat it up. But for at moment, it's back good enough so alinement isn't so crazy out of wack. Anyone have same issues? Any suggestions on re-inforcing it? I'm guessing once the metal is bent, it's going to be a weak spot.
Thanks.

dam how did u bend that, I had the bd stuff for a while on my yerf, control arms,spindles, ball joints, and road it hard and was never able to do that.

I would have thought the tie rod would have bent first.

front tire tree or obstacle catch or nose-in landing with the tire turned all the way out. the tie rod won't bend as it's in a pull mode at impact. either the rack bolts will shear, the tie rod balls joints will snap or the steering arm will bend up and inward.

That would more likely be it X-bird. Think someone rolled the sucker, and FORGOT to tell me. :). Still, as said, when took that sledge to it, OMG, it was tuff. someone had a hell of a ride in it.
On a good note: Contacted BD, and filled them in. They came back right away. Life Time warranty. His comment was, don't matter if you drove it off a cliff, we'll still replace it. So let them know which spindle it was.
Most of the stuff I did get for the buggy, did come from Buggy Depot. Main reason was because the customer service and help they provide. And this is just another example what it means to have that. They not the cheapest. But they do back up their stuff. And they help when ever they can. Just wanted to give some credit where credit is due, for those guys.
Biggest problem with the trails we got is one curve. Almost bet that's where it would have happened. Would be in a full turn. And it would have rolled on passenger side. UP HILL> lol. So ya, might had a little pressure one it.

check and make sure the a-arms aren't twisted. i've killed my share of steering arms and for what you've got, that was just a teeny little hit .... not ...

OK. Will do. Thx bird.

Been working long hrs. YD won't start. Don't turn over. The start button feels like its sticking. I pulled the starter. I can turn it freely with my hand. Then took pliers and hit the pos. And neg. On Solenoid. It sparked. But did not turn over. That means it out right? Don't recall.

With the starter pulled run 12V to the terminal and ground the housing. If good it will spin, if so it will either be in the ignition switch or solenoid.

Not sure what you mean, took pliers and hit the pos. and neg. on solenoid? You have a heavy wire from the battery to the solenoid and another heavy wire from solenoid to starter. Jump across those 2 wires at the solenoid and if starter spins the problem will be with either the ignition switch or the solenoid. If starter does not spin than run a heavy jumper wire from the battery directly to starter terminal. If starter spins then check for an open or corrosion in the heavy wires, if not , the starter is bad.

OK. That's what I was doing. Jumping the 2 wires. I didn't explain it very well.
I always have an extra starter and Solenoid handy. So be easy fix either way.
I was looking at it last night. I still have all the wiring, solenoid , regulator pretty much at same location where it was stock. Made up my own electric cover for it. But was wondering since it's located above the engine, on the engine frame, is the electric components absorbing to much shock while off road? Should I mount it up again the back frame behind the seats, so that the Shocks, are taking some or half the shock out of the electrical system? Just something I thought of while looking at it yesterday. I go through a lot of Solenoid's.

They just need to be mounted in their rubber mounts. I or my Son have had any such problems with our 2004 buggies. You have to be careful as to where you get the solenoids especially the cheap ones or any parts for that matter.

Those components really can't take a whole lot of pounding. That's why I mounted the box inside the frame. Still gets shook up a good bit but not near as rough as on the swing arm. I used the original mounting rack off the swing arm . it had the cutouts and rubber mounts for the electrical stuff. Cut it off the swing arm and after a little trimming and reshaping mounted it inside a water tight box. It's tight inside that box but the original yerf electric rack is in there.

Makes sure your engine to frame ground is good.

I broke my ground wire connector on Mem Day week end. Wouldn't crank over.

I have to disagree with you on this one. I work on these buggies as a living and have seen no proof to this. Solenoids and CDI's are one of the least components I have to change out and most if not all 150 buggies have them mounted on the swing arm. As Xlint 89 stated a bad ground is your biggest enemy.

This is another example why I made my own wiring harness and my own electric box. Everything is new and everything has its own power source. The stock wiring boxes are just sloppy and way to tight making it a rats nest.

I agree, I love how they twist all the grounds together then solder them. The solder never gets to the inner wires and when after time they shake loose the problems start. The 2 best stock wiring jobs are on my Joyner and Challenger. They even have water tight plugs on them.

yup that because they don't pre tin the wires. I Put all my connectors on with shrink wrap. I upgraded my wire size from stock also. My main power and main ground wires are 8 gauge. It seems to be a common issue when we buy these buggies that are older, especially if they sit outside and aren't garage/shed kept, connectors corrode and come loose.

Well, turned out to be just a low battery. The charger just wasn't charging. :).
But good info though. Guess I'm guilty of putting to many grounds into one. Something else to work on this winter.
I actually did re-wire the entire system. Even ran the wire harness from front to back in the tubing itself. Took a little work. Heat shrink covers it all. Is nicer, not need to worry about any loss wires, or zip ties.

The problem was they twisted all the grounds together then soldered them. The twisted wires were too thick for the solder to penetrate leaving the inner wires non soldered. They loosen up after time which created resistance, heat and eventually burned wires and bad grounds. I prefer a ground strip. A bit more space and a few cents more. You can do it their way but the solder connection has to be solid throughout.

Will keep an eye on that Sycarms. Every time I think I might work on it a little bit. Forget half the stuff that needs to be done. Just going to make a check off list on my phone.
I had already brought up that the back brace on the spider box cracked. I temp welded it, for when my brother came down. Like I guess, it's cracked again. I had brought this up before on here. And was told it would be best to reinforce it. Whats the best way to do that? Was just going to take some 1/4 strips of metal. And weld it a cross the area where it's cracked.
Now that think about it, is that going to be enough? Should I reinforce it all the way a cross? fab another x-member for the support? Both? What would ppl suggest? Might try to do that this week. Need to get it done, so can get it painted, before weather really starts to turn cold.
Brace on the lower right end, is my fabed bracket that holds the reverse box in place. What had to do, since room limited on right side exhaust.
Also fabed a ball hitch brackets on the left center. Now if need to, can remove that, and put back on. Really, not sure if will work how have it anyway. So no biggy. But would prefer to leave the bracket for the reverse box. Took a while to figure out a way to make it hold solid.
So, should I reinforce all the way across that x-member? Or will it be OK to just brace it a few inches on either side of the crack? Is it likely to crack in other locations?

Not sure why you done your reverse support like that. The reverse box should be supported by the engine for the reverse box will move with the engine. As I see it, with the rev box supported ti the frame every time the engine moves it will put the stress on the frame. You should have got 2 brackets with the reverse setup. The large bracket will almost be y shaped. The wide end of the bracket will be cut with a inward radius and 2 holes drilled into it. This end bolts to the reverse box. The other end will have a single hole in which the second bracket bolts to. The other end of the small bracket will bolt to the threaded boss right below the dip stick. This allows the reverse box move with the engine. The other thing I would do that all other buggies with the 150 GY6 have but the yerf dog did not is a rubber insulator on that rear adjustment. Where the top nut is on the rear adjuster just under it, is a metal cup similar to a freeze plug which has a rubber insulator inside the cup with a thick washer over the rubber than the nut. It does not look like you have that. I know my Yerf does not have that. The Yerf was bad about cracking that rear bar and I think that adding that rev. brkt. as you did does not help matters. If I have lost you than just give me a call and I can explain in words much better than with 2 fingers. I will try to take a picture of the bracket and how it mounts. The other thing the yerf was known for was cracking the rear housing of the engine. Brands such as the Kinroad, HH, Carter and many Roketa's had a 2 piece brace that clamped around the rear of the engine housing which distributes the forces 360 degrees instead of all the force at the rear of that case. I would redo your reverse support the correct way then get a good clean weld on that crack making sure you have total penetration than grind the weld smooth and you will never know it was cracked, then install that insulator on the rear adjuster.

The yerf rear frame arch will begin to bow downward from the pull of the tensioner tab. I put heavy angle iron across the top and backside. Also added a box tube to the lower square tubing running above the axle, but that's a bit of a tricky one to clear everything. ckau and a couple others have braced it a little differently, but basically it achieves the same thing.

OK, so means the entire thing needs reinforced. I will see what I can do to take care of that.
SYcarms. Thx for the input. I understand what you are talking about mounting the reverse bracket to the engine. However, If you take a good look at the pic, where the reverse cable come out, it's below the exhaust. Where the cable comes into the box, it's offset. Where my exhaust is, the metal brace that goes into the reverse box, cant go in, because the exhaust is in the way. I bought the exhaust, before I got the reverse in. So had to figure out something. If I turned the reverse box, down 180 degree's, it moved the input, for the cable to fall below the exhaust. However, had to make a bracket for the box, on the back side, to make it work. I looked into, seeing if there was another cable that turned faster coming out of the gear box. But have found nothing yet. If look at pic, and see where the cable comes out, compared to where the inside of exhaust is. Then turn the box upward, where it should sit, the metal connector the goes into the box, don't have enough room. Up for different suggestion, if anyone has any. I thought since the back of the engine, is mounted to the rear spider frame, it should be ok doing it this way. But engine still could move different than the frame, since it's mounted on a pivot.
But again, not sure how can mount it to the engine, without, getting a new exhaust going to left side. :(. And up for suggestions.
I see what your saying about the rubber ins. Never really thought about it. But will see what I can find.
Also, it was once of the things I was going to upgrade this winter, was the rear mounting bracket for the rear of engine. However, not sure where to look for a better one. BD, has one, but looks way to pricey. But maybe they to run around $100.o0 ??? If so, then I'll get one.
I do have a extra spider box cage. I just might Fab on it, then just switch it out. But if can get the engine out of the way enough, will just keep using this one.
Thx guys. More tinkering to do. :).

here's a couple of versions of the yerf rear motor mount bracing. The red one is a piece of angle steel folded in and notched around the stock hanger. The second is a fabbed unit, thicker, wider and wraps the tubes.

Thx CKAU. That helps. Gives me better idea what direction to head with it. Very clean BTW.

Got some work done on the YD this weekend. Found out it's not going to be a simple build a bracket, and mount the new seat. The bolt pattern is to close, and butts heads with the old bolt pattern. So best way we decided to go about this is cut one of the old seat mounting brackets, and move it over a few inches. Then put some new holes in for the seat. OMG, what a mess. Those mounting brackets are not an easy thing to remove. We have been cutting with a dremel, and small cutting wheel. With a 2 lbs sludge, still cant break the welds. So just going to get aggressive with it, and just cut the thing out, and weld, in/ fill in, what get's cut from the frame. We been at it for 2 days. Now it's time just to get it out!!!!
In the mean time, did get gas tank tighten down. Drilled some new holes in straps, so would be more snug.
Also worked on the rear x-frame where the engine mounts to. Cut off the ball hitch mount, and cleaned every thing up. Was about to figure out, what to use to re-enforce it, then my friend suggested this. Found a good, piece of 3/8 steel plate, that fits perfect between the 2 side frame members. We marked and drilled a hole in it, so the bolt from the engine mount can go through. Now we thinking of getting or finding some rubber stops, and screw them on either side. So that the 3/8 plate will be pressed against the triangle tabs on either side. And will take the bunt of the load when on the road.
Is this flawed thinking in some way? Should this work? Or be better to bend and weld it to either side?
Thoughts please, before I go any further.
Thanks.

finally got the seat bracket off. OMG, talk a about an over kill. Finally had to just cut on the upper side of where the bracket is welded to. Then come back and remove bracket pieces that was welded to the frame. Just not enough room to get a cutting wheel in there. Even a dremel had a problem getting in a few spots.
Now need to clean up where the wheel cut into the frame, Fab up some replacement pieces that I cut off, and weld it into the correct location for the new seat.
Didn't think would be such a pain. Might have just went back to stock seat, if known been this much work. But new seat, if far better. Not sure worth the work thou.

What seat are u putting in ?

The mounting holes for the new one is almost to close to the stock. Tried making a bracket for it, and re-drill the holes. But the new holes and old ones was close enough that they got in the way of each other. So guessed best thing to do was to move the stock mounting brackets, and re-drill on them.
bought a JEGS Performance Products 70250 Pro High Back II Race Seat

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...ilpage_o01_s00

is much nicer seat. but again, not sure worth the effort. Will find out, how well it goes once I start welding and mounting everything back in.
also, the new seat is wider. if tried to put in same location, the bottom of seat would hit the driver sides frame.
So half to move it over close to the center.

The yerf dog stock seats are a horrible buggy seat. They are hard plastic and every time I rode in the yerf, my back, neck, and butt would hurt. I prefer something with cushion, I've always wanted to try a kirkey seat. Kirkey seat is light weight and they sell tons of different styles and sizes with a cushion cover choice also.

Don't sell those seats short. With the correct equipment, they are quite advantageous. For casual riding, yes they can be harsh. but with a 5 point belt system they serve as a "cup" that's holds you in position. Without the belts you bounce, slide and get slammed around using a lot of energy just to stay in the seat.
Place a coin on a board, then tap the board, the coin bounces. That coin is your butt! Tap that board enough the coin will bounce off. Hold that coin down with a rubber band it moves with the board. Your butt hurts cause your slamming down in the seat . Your back hurts cause the slamming gets transferred to your spine and your straining back muscles to hold you in place. Your neck hurts because the weight of the helmet tosses your head around. Your beating yourself up trying to counteract the motions of the buggy. With a 5 point system you can relax and let the suspension do all the work. Using a neck collar to support your helmet takes the strain off the neck.
Contact cement some close cell foam pads in the key pressure points, butt bone , base of spine, hip bones, etc. and a seat cover like the Jegs version, you can customize a excellent form fitting seat that's comfortable to ride all day.

pretty well explained ckau, but even with a good seat belt we all know how bad the stock suspension is on the yerf, matched with those seats just makes a very poor ride in stock form. When I jump into my hammerhead the ride quality is night and day. I even had the bdx shocks all the way around on the yerf. Even with that the stock suspension and stock seat in the hammerhead was just a way more enjoyable ride. Ive owned 2 spider boxes now, and with the amount of $ needed to put into them just for ride quality , trail riding, just adds up way to fast for me compared to the other buggies out there just my 2 cents.

Well, I'm sure it could be worse. But Ckau is correct. With the 5 points in there, there is a great improvement. When the mount brackets on the seat broke, and basically had to do everything I could to keep myself in the seat. Needless to say, beat the hell out of me. And why wanted to get it fixed ASAP. Not only was it unsafe. But my god, you was sore just after a few mins of driving. The 5 points are mounted to frame, so even if you did take a spill, the belts would keep you inside the buggy. But had to do a lot of work, to keep your self in position, so you could drive it.
Would have loved to put a better set of seats in it. But $ flow just not there to do something like that. And this summer, if O.T. does come in good, than will look into "Work Shock".
Few years back, wife bought some driving pads for her explorer when she makes the trip to Texas to visit her family. They are now being used in the seats of the buggy. Must say there is a great improvement. Put one on the seat, and one behind your lower back, and the ride is far more improved.
The location of where the top straps come over your shoulder with the 5 points is a great improvement with the new seat.

Well. Finished up cleaning up back of box. Took hitch off for now. Took 3/8 plate. Cut and drilled holes. Got some 1 inch rubber stops. Put them between the plate and corners of box. Going to cut a small piece of the other rubber stop I have and put under the main hanger bolt and frame. I'm hoping this will reduce the amount of shock puts on the back x-member. And protects it from cracking any more.
Is my thinking correct on this?

That looks like it will work. The rubber isolator's will reduce the shock to the frame.

Sup all. I've been out for while, but come back in to check in on stuff. Been tough 6 months. But stuff looking up. Hopefully here in month, will get back into some O.T. and can start moding a few things that I have been wanting to. Still got the Honda FL 350 that I need to work on. But same time, still want to look into a Higher out put gy6 build, and or some work shocks for the yerf. I've got some stuff to do since the last mod on the Yerf. Need to add a few links now to the chain. I fabed and welded brackets for the new seat I bought, but not installed yet. Did get a new reverse cable for it, and need to install it. Not sure what else, where I left off at before winter. But one thing for sure, I wont leave so much open stuff, when taking a break. Cant remember where I left off at with some many different items. Had my carb apart, so I could re adjust the throttle cable, so got that back together. However, cant get it to start. It will turn over, but cant get it to fire. So looks like I'm going to half to go back to basics, and get sucker going again. Like to get it running for a little bit, warmed up, before I go in and change the oil, and clean everything out, for the new season. Didn't have anything for snow this year, so was disappointed in that. :(
Got question, when money comes in, what are thoughts about going with the upgrade to Works shocks.... Or go with High output GY6? Thinking they going to run around the same price, but cant do both at same time.

The works shocks like all shocks are vehicle specific. You would need to supply some measurements and weights since they are a custom built shock. You can e-mail me and I can send you the info needed and how to. The works are expensive but with the improved ride and handling well worth it. A build engine will give you a bunch more power. The only part of your question I can't answer is which to do first. Unfortunately that is left up to you.

Yep. What are you looking for first?

Cadillac cruising (shocks)

or


I just peed a little drifting out of that turn. (power)

LOL, nice way to put it Xlint. In all basics, to help protect any more investments, I should inprove the ride. Better ride, will help protect the engine as well form shock. Thou the pee thing sounds more fun. :)
I'll take you up on the offer Syc, when the time comes. I've seen you give some good advise on building a High output Gy6. You got an idea what kind of price range I would be looking at? Been quoted around $900.00. That a new moded engine. Is there much price difference if I build it myself?
Thanks

Cost will depend on how far you want to go with the build. Doing it your self saves you labor. Give me a call some time and we can discuss what you want and what your budget will be. The one thing is I do not use the cheap parts weather I build it or you build it. I'm not avoiding you on price. I don't know what you found for 900.00 as to what is in the motor, if it is stroked and if so how much, bore size, head ect. There are some out there who build a complete performance engine with the cheapest parts they can find or they buy the complete kit from China. You don't know what you are getting. So give me a call and we can discuss your options and prices and well get you the best bang for your buck.

OK, thanks. Will do. And yes, I wouldn't go the cheap rout. They are not hard to work on. However, think I would feel better for someone to do, over me. If going to put that kind of money in it, I'd feel better knowing it's done right. I've done tore into the bottom half of the engine before.

Give me a call 662-301-1563

I've been having issues with gas coming out of the over flow in the bottom half of the bowl of carb. I thought maybe just needed to adjust the float. Tried to adjust yesterday. I don't know, maybe I went the wrong way. It still was running out like crazy. But not until I started the engine. And once started, started coming out right away. It's the bottom one shown in the pics that gas coming out. If I'm right, it comes up from the bottom inside the bowl, and goes upwards. Looks like the fitting might have moved. Maybe out wards. If look real close, can see where maybe the fitting was pulled out slightly. So would bring the fitting lower down inside the bowl??? is this possible??
But not sure if the fitting is seated completely in the bottom of the carb. bowl. Could it be leaking around the fitting????
I don't know. Carb been sitting on bench for last 5 months, since winter started. Don't think a changed anything before I left it setting on bench. And don't think I changed the float lvl either.
There a way to test these things, to see where the problem is???
It's coming out pretty good, once it starts. But can leave engine running, and shut off the gas value on bottom of gas tank, and the gas stops running right away. But still plenty of gas in gas line, and carb, for engine to keep running for while.
Any Ideas????
Thanks

What size and brand carb do you have? Sorry if you already stated in an earlier post. Several things will cause your problem. There should be a screw opposite the nipple at bottom of the bowl. That screw when loosened will drain the fuel bowl through that nipple or the fuel gets so high it tops the overflow stand pipe in the bowl. Make sure the screw is tight and dirt is not present in the screws seat, this will cause a leak. Some drain screws use an O-ring, make sure it is good. Next make sure the needle/seat, seats and does not leak. Last the reason I ask make and size of carb is I recently replaced a stock Mikuni 26mm carb. on a Kawsaki 250 with a Mikuni VM-26. It kept flooding on me after changing jets, jet needle, needle jet, and adjusting the float. It turned out the needle seat was too big for my application. Once I down sized the needle and seat I had to go up on the main and pilot jet.

ditto tom, that's a drain nipple. dirty seat or bad o-ring on the needle that seals it, or the needle tip has eroded.

vm-26 that is what I have.
Alright, I'll just go all way, and check everything. Carb only few years old. But was seated on a bench all winter, so might just need gone through.
Thanks

I haven't changed anything in it. All stock, including the jets. Why I just didn't get it, worked fine months ago, then all of a sudden, have gas pouring out of it.

Check the needle/seat. If not seating when float rises, fuel will keep flowing into bowl even after full.

I haven't touched mine since october. turned the fuel on the other day, gave it a test crank to check the battery and ....fuel pouring out the bowl drain .... LOL thanks TK! I've got a nice FCR sitting on the bench awaiting install to replace the stock LTZ so no big deal. just thought it was funny, same problem.

your welcome. :)
It must not be seated correctly. I still cant get the gas to stop pouring out. So what do I need to order? is there a rubber seal, that the needle sits in that needs replaced? or is just a new needle I need? Just not sure what to order.
I do have a VM-26 carb. thing is less then 2 years old. This normal for these carbs?
Thanks

And how do I check the needle seat?
I adjusted the float, to where I no for sure it was not going to over flow the bowl. It slowed down greatly, but still coming out. So only thing I can guess is it not seated correctly.

Anyone got a updated manual for a VM-26? the one I got, is a older style, and does not match what my carb looks like. today, I might take some pics, and maybe will help. But where manual says there should be some sort of seals, in the needle, I don't think I have any there. Maybe I didn't put them back, when I put it back together?

OK, one more question. Like I said, it's been since last year since I tore the carb apart.
The manual I have. shows the needle end, the sharp point, poking upward out of the seat. Basicly the very needle part is what is laying on the float arm. Now what I see, when I did a search for a new needle seat, (which I get now) the needle part is setting down, inside the srew. and the rounded end extends out, and lays on the float adjustment. So which one is it? I might have the damn thing upside down. Like said, was last year, so very possible, and don't remember which way it went.
Thanks

is this the way the needle should sit inside the seat?
If so, I think I got the damn thing upside down.

Yes.

If you go to Mikuni's web site they should have a manual for that carb you can download.

Hmmm... You gotta lotta splainin too doo Lucy . :)

yep, upside down if the plunger is not sitting on the float tab. when you adjust the float, have have to make sure that you're not fully depressing the plunger, can be a little tricky. there are no seals per-se on the needle or seat, there are various coatings on the needle tip in some cases. If you've gone with a carb from a pulse pump fed fuel setup to gravity feed, the needle can be overpowered by the sitting fuel pressure. In that case you need a different rated one. Or be religious about turning off the fuel as soon as you shut down. I had that issue with the vm-26/512 oem suzuki carb on my 250. It was an oem carb made by mikuni and there was no existing needle seat combo available to overcome gravity feed so i had to convert to a fuel pump and fuel pressure regulator.

Well, I flipped the needle pin. And that fixed it. Cant believe I didn't catch that earlier. I thought it looked odd when the first time I opened it up. But the manual I had, was deceiving if you went by the diagram.
I screwed with the float so much, that now, I will need to start over to adjust it. One thing I never did last year was flip the shock mounts in the rear, so the engine isn't at such an angle. Going to flip the mounts this time, so engine is setting lvl this time, before I do any final adjustments on the float.
I do like how it sets with the back end of the buggy body up higher. However, what I drive on, and how it's driven, don't see any reason for the buggy to be up that high. The clearance at the front of wheels, and back of wheels stay the same no matter what. So no gaining anything for the middle of the buggy being higher then the rest. Unless I guess doing some kind of water running, maybe. Plus it just puts a high center of gravity on it. Lower buggy to where lvl all the way across, should lower center of gravity, and make it safer for it to drive. reduce the change of roll over.

It's called a learning curve, you should have learned 2 things from this. 1) the proper way to install a needle in it's seat, 2) Most Importantly, you now understand how a needle and seat functions so the next time you do a different carb even if the instructions are wrong, you will be able to determine the proper way from the knowledge you just gained. One thing I am big on is reading up on to learn as much as I can before I tackle a project, oh and one more thing Manuals ( mechanics best friend). After 40 plus years of doing this the learning curve is still there and even some refresher coarse's. Refresher courses are those times when you get to that point of throwing something as you scream out "what the &%#! did I just do I can't believe what I just done.:banghead::laugh2:

Ain't that the truth , You summed that up perfectly . I did 35 years in the auto repair , body repair , welding Biz. And been there , done that on many occasions and many levels . Was always nicer when there was no witnesses around ! :laugh

It's always a leaning curve for sure. :)
However, trying to go from a Yerf dog, to working on a FL 350 ody.
Now that's a learning curve.

If you go online to places like tradebits.com you can purchase to download the Honda FL350 service manual for between $9.00 and $12.00. I have probably 30 manuals I have downloaded, printed off and bound. A mechanics best friend.

I look into that for sure.
We got some rain this last weekend. And raced to get some new mods done. Or more, fix stuff from last year. One pic is before we went playing. 2nd is after. Actually little cleaner then before. Rain really hard, to point we had to stop. But was fun, for first time out this year.
If you look. Center of buggy sits lower, or more lvl from front to back. I flipped the rear shock mounts, to Lower the center of gravity. And engine sits more lvl as well. I put in new driver seat, that broke last year. Put in new reverse cable, so have reverse again. I made a bracket for the air intake, so more stable then zip ties. Put links in chain, so can use the reinforcement bracket I made for rear engine mount. Did fix my carb issue. Yep needle seat upside down. Made a new cover for my electric box, that I lost last year. Put back on the modified chain guard I made. Put new grease in reverse box. Changed oil. (Much easier now) since engine more lvl. New gas. Cleaned filter.
Re adjusted the rear fenders, since lowered the body. Wanted to get front fenders back on. But looking into making brackets coming off frame, rather then coming off spindles. I'd rather the fender brackets come off spindles. Look so much better, plus they turn with the wheels. But they keep cracking due to the amount of jarring they get, without being able to utilize the shocks. being welded to the spindle, really throws them around.
I'll look more into it. Ideas anyone?
Needs some fresh paint in few places. And I'll decide on upgrading the shocks, or engine first, here in a month.
Anyway, it about that time of the year. :party:

good job tkeagle, you def need some front mud flaps lol

Well, I was wondering, and guess it lasted for a year. When I chose to use an exhaust to the right, I would had to make a mounting bracket on the spider box cage. Now since the Engine is mounted to the spider box, in the front with a large bolt that comes across. And then mounted on the back, to the rear engine mount. I figured there might be a little twisting going on. However, not as much as I found out it does. This weekend, kids and I took it out to play. Just added new fender brackets, to the front. Also added some mud flaps. Did some touch up painting on it. And replaced my old rubber intake between the intake and carb. Told kids to give it some good runs. Wanted to know if the fender mounts was going to hold up. Right at the end, my son brought it back from it's last run. And right away could tell something sounded different. Sure enough. The stainless steel exhaust, right in front of the muffler, broke in HALF. I don't mean cracked. It broke IN HALF.
Everything still runs OK. Sounds much deeper, without a muffler. :)
Question on that. Is it OK to run it without a muffler? Or do these little engines need back pressure?
Anyway, this proves, these engines Move and twist ALOT, even mounted in the spider box.
Wondering if adding the extra support on the rear engine mount, with the rubber bushings didn't increase this effect?
I've got some pics of it all, just need to get it uploaded.
So need to figure out now, how to mount the exhaust to the engine on the right side. I guess. But for time being might just run a straight pipe for now, until I can fab up something different. Engine be ok running a straight pipe for a while?

The header and exhaust have to be mounted to the engine/transmission case. The engine is designed to move inside the swing arm on its rubber bushings. It will twist clockwise and down in back slightly when under torque.

Well, finally got the fenders and mudflaps on. Seems like they work well.
The extra bracket for the fenders, with 2 contact points on each, which fenders now have 3 contact points for each fender. They hold up good, long as no one rolls it. :laugh2:

I'm hoping lowering the body, will help avoid that. It does seem more stable. Here video of my son taking out giving it a test ride. He actually slides around the turn a little. And outer tires don't lift up. Which is an improvement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTMUs6CO8N0

You sure can hear the exhaust. Do like the sound of it, but almost to loud in the buggy. I gave it a short test ride myself, but the new driver seat I put in, really has a weird curve to it in the back. I hit a big bump, and seems like the seat is driven into my lower back. Wife even little black and blue in the lower back. So really, really need to find some padding for it. Other then that, runs great. All I got left to do, is a stroker engine, and "Work" shocks. :)

Lookin good

Nice work

Well got the Fire Ex. in a more stable location I think. Better then in the rear next to engine, I would think.
Got my son to let me play with it for a little bit. He grabbed the phone, and got a quick video of me. At least give me a look to see how the suspension holds up with a 220lbs person on it. By the way it drove and seeing what can be seen, seems like it's OK.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3t1U...ature=youtu.be

Next time, I'll get a video of same location, but let my son in drivers seat. He's getting more balls with it, that for sure. Just don't want him getting to cocky with it. That path between the 2 tree's is pretty tight. And there is a few other locations that is same way, down the path.
Like this location better to ride. It's got some good little jumping hills to go over, if you put your foot into it. It's only outside of town a mile. And I like paths that has trees. But might regret that thought one of these days. :)

Nice video.I too like trails with trees. My 150 now scares the hell out of me now that someone brought up as what I thought would happen if one of my struts broke at 45+ mph. My 5 pt. belts probably won't help much if the cage takes on a tree at those speeds.Time for a serious mod.

Nice yerfdog. That 150 looks like it has some power too.

That's a tight fit, TK. Watch the rear tires if they stick out any. The Oddy is really bad (at least I am) without the side bars in place.

Was actually first thing I noticed when I bought the FL 350. How the rear is so much wider then the front. Could see how that could be a issue with the 350. The fronts on the YD, is much wider then rear. Even if I up graded the rear axle that has a extra 2 inches on each side, the front would still be wider. But tell truth, not sure if the oddy would fit through there. At end of video you can hear me slowing down. Guessing coming up to a big drop off, with another pair of tree's to squeeze in. And there is a tight turn right behind it.
I have checked all the trails. the YD can ride all the trails, and fit through everything. However, if it gets wet. That's a different story. Guessing maybe 3 or 4 Acers. My dad runs a 3D archery shoots at this location. It's made for foot traffic. But keep trails wide enough so that 4 wheeler, and smaller UTV's to move the targets around. just recently realized how fun it is for mini buggies. :cheers:

Scyarms, wow, that would worry me also if could go through trails at 45 mph. And could see how that might be a concern, that the 5 points may not be enough.
I've got 10 gram sliders in my CVT. I like getting to that 27 mph fast as possible. And it gets to 25mph really quick. top speed is 35mph. But takes a good straight away to get it up there. Really my setup is about perfect for what's out there. Could always use MORE POWER!!! But for kids, really don't know if would trust them with much more. So not sure what I'll do, when I get to some major mods into the engine. Which right now, I'm thinking of upgrading the shocks first, before going into the engine. Maybe I'll be really happy with the shocks, don't think I need anymore power, and can focus on the Oddey. :bs2:

My engine is not stock. But nothing major. 155cc kit. A12 Cam. Port and polished the intake and exhaust. vm 26mm minki carb. and UNI intake. And right now running pretty much a straight header, for exhaust. And guess I have the larger sprocket on the axle to pretty much keep it lower geared. So nothing special. Not compared to some others on this site.

Since playing around in tree's now, I really need to think about beefing up the bulkhead up front. Just incase a tree is hit. From what I've ppl do, is just take some 3/8 plates and weld them across the bulkhead, from end to end. And put in some longer, and high grade bolts. So guess can be next project.

Question. Has anyone done this?? Beef up there bulkhead? Just curious What size of bolts would I need? Length, and grade to use?

Another question. Has anyone, or do I need to mess with it. The piece welded from the body to the bulkhead. Does that need to be beefed up any as well? If so, got any pics to show me what you did to it?

Scyarms:: what kind of mod are you think of????

Thanks guys. It's a fun little area.

I'm going to build a complete roll cage properly cross braced, welded instead of bolted.

I'd like to see how that comes out.

There could be a chapter written on beefing up that spiderbox bulkhead :biglaugh: I've got a bunch of pics showing carnage and failures and what was done for a cure but unfortunately these pics are in my old hard drive and have not been retrieved yet. Here's a few I do have on hand. The first is a hoot! Thought you guys would get a chuckle out of this one. Picture is courtesy of a fellow rider" Teamhog". Puts a new meaning to " Hitting the trail". There are several instances of this happing, including to myself!
The second pics shows where to address frame failure.
Some triangular plates on top to relieve stress fracturing and stopping the upper box bolts from pulling through the frame.
Frame tubing on each corner keeps the upper and lower frame rails from racking and adds strength, support and squares the front end.
The third pic show a length of angle steel welded under the bottom mount bracket for a secure mount to the frame rail. This is another area where stress cracking shows up.
The forth pic is a spider box bulkhead that has been "bullet proofed" as much as feasible. The whole unit is re-welded with continuous welds rather than the factory stitch welds. Thicker steel plates were used as replacement in some areas like the R&P mount, The upper section that bolt to the frame and the A-arm tabs are both double plated. The larger plate surfaces were cut out in a attempt to lighten the unit but with the extra bracing added I doubt there is much of a weight loss gain. The upper frame rail through bolts are in thick wall bungs welded through the frame for a solid fit eliminating the bolts pulling through simply holes drilled in the frame tube.
All the hardware was upgraded to grade 8 and also up in bolt size, 3/8 to 1/2 etc. along with shurlock nuts.
It's kinda tough to explain all this in a post so if you got any questions, Hollar

And a great job at that.

That is awesome. Will take in what you did. It seems I might have time to do some front frame work. Might be asking some question on that.

Son twisted the axle yesterday afternoon. Axle completely snapped right behind the driver's side hub. (of course, was not surprised) Has been on my to-do list. I know the YD are known for this. And damn thing is, that day, I spent 2 hrs, fabbing up some front mud flap protectors. Put on the Drivers seat cover I got off amazon. Tell truth, what little padding that's in it, sure did make a difference. Add little more padding on the butt, and it's a much better ride.

This taken care of, I was pretty much done with the YD, until I could save up some money to do other upgrades.

He was going straight. He just got done going around a turn, then gave it gas. Then it broke.

I heard him yell at me. So I started walking his way. Didn't hear the engine running. Started calling for him. He walked around the corner, and said he was fine. (so I took it as something happened) He comes running up to me. I asked what happened. He said the Back tire fell off. I just checked the hubs, and pins in the bolts that day, so I knew, the nut didn't come off. So my thought was, SH*&T. :banghead:

So as we was bring the trailer around, he was telling me what happened. Then he paused and just out of the blue made this statement. "Dad, WTF? the back tire passed me, and kept going half way up the hill. I didn't know what was going on, until the tire fly passed me."

My son, knows better to say bad words. But since I had a few beers in me. All I could do was laugh. I guess if I saw that to, I would be saying the same thing. Plus, I was glad he didn’t roll it, or get hurt. So was all good. Would have loved to get that on video.

The most important thing is your son is ok. This is one of the reasons why that yerf dog isn't made anymore and very unsafe. But as u mentioned u knew about it.

All that extra weight from the seat padding was what did it.....

I also knew about the axles being weak that was the last thing I had to upgrade on my yerf but decided to sell it.

LOL... yep it was the extra padding. :).
Seems like the axle is last thing to be replaced. Guess because there is really no way to check and see what condtion it's in. (if it's not broke, don't fix it) right? Been dragging my feet on it. Mainly because I wanted to go with a upgraded one. But that would make me buy new tires and rims. I just bought brand new set a year ago. So was hoping to at least run tire tread out, before had to replace.
I ordered a new one. But not the upgrade. Just don't got the money to replace the rims and tires along with it. But did upgrade the hubs for it. If get it on time, should be ready to go this holiday weekend.
Mean time, I'll work on the front end, and see what I can get improved on it.

Did some more up keep on buggy. Realized didn't change the gear oil. I pulled the plug and drained it. There was some water in it. But did use the good 90w gear oil, so think all good.
However, I not sure what happened, put the plug back in, and cant get it to tighten all the way. Damn thing is stripped. Stripped on the case side. Not the bolt. It gets tight to a point, but not near tight as like.
What's best way to fix this? I put some gasket maker on washer side of plug hopping to help seal it. Just worried the plug going to work itself out. Is using Lock tight a good idea or not? How easy is it to re-tap the hole? Being aluminum not sure how easy, or good idea to try and re-tap it.
Anyone have same problem? I have my brother coming down this holiday weekend. If anything, like to do a quick fix for about 3 or 4 days, then do something different.
I do have 2 extra engines. Guess I can swap out the case for that. But not sure if have any gaskets for it.

Loc Tite makes a thread repair that works well as a temporary fix, just follow the directions. You can remove and install plug until having to redo it again if the threads are not completely pulled out.

Well. got the new axle, and hubs. Wife drove the crap out of it, taking the kids around. She might bitch about putting money into it, and me working on it. But in the end, she spent about 2 hrs straight on it, give other kids a ride. Then she complained the next day how her back hurt. I just had to laugh. I told her to use that extra cussion. But since kids already sat on it, and was wet. She didn't want to use it. Bet she will listen next time. :)

However, was short lived. Next day, wife took daughter out for a quick run, and my daughter told mom to slow down. She heard something. After a few feet, wife said she could hear something different also. Daughter told mom, to take it back to me, and go very slow. So they limped back to me. My daughter said it sounded metal on metal.
I knew right away, what it was. And when I looked, sure enough, the tranni drain plug came out. :cussing:
Told them, buggy was done for the day. Well for a while anyway. My wife, was impressed how my 9 year old daughter noticed right away that something was wrong. And knew what to do right away. Tell the truth, I was impressed with her also. Kids do listen now and again.

So that said, not sure what to do. Should I try to re-tap the hole, and use a different plug or bolt?
Or should I go into one of my other engines and rob a case off them?
Think I'd rather re-tap it, just to save time. I think?? or could that just be
another temp fix, and should I just replace that end of the case?

I guessing, after the plug dropped. They might have went a few hundred yards with it. It was babied, when it was drove back. When I loaded it on the trailer. I couldn't hear any gear grinding. Thoughts on, if should be OK?

Or should I just tear it open, take a look at everything, and just replace the case?

Think after this, other then the frame, there isn't a piece on this YD that isn't upgraded, newly replaced, or mod'ed in some way.

Was kind of down about it. Seems like doing a lot of repairs out of the gate this year on the YD. Had some outdoor lights I bought a while back for the YD, just for fun. Plus when sun goes down, will make it easier to keep an eye on the kids. So while kids was content out swimming, I got some old speaker wire, and black tape, and see what I could do with those lights. Took Blue, and red strips above the legs, on lower end of the front tubing. Then put some blue strips on lower front frame, and red on lower back. Will need to clean the wiring up, and get some heat shrink. Will need to zip tie them to the lower part of frame. But does look pretty cool at night.

Those lights look sweet! Good luck on getting her fixed back up. Really love the thread.

Sorry TK, but i think you have to open it up and see what, if any, damage was done.

Right now it's just a CVT cover gasket and a quart of gear lube. If it seizes up, and/or breaks. it's not going to be that cheap.

thx Park
you always to straight forward Xlint. :). But prob. right. Just not in mood to pull the engine, and break it down.

Thou, if there is even slight dmg, not sure what I would need to look for. guessing wear
on the gears. But anything else that I would need to look for?
thx