Let there be no doubt, I am partial to a good ol' ASW Helix. The one overshadowing downside to these machines that turns so many people away from them is their appearance when compared to all of the other mini buggies. The other buggies just look cooler. We have had enough machines to be able to see the "forest through the trees" though. These kinda look like a larger regular go kart but rest assured, these are a full mini buggy.
There are so many pros to this machine vs cons that this sole machine has been our keeper. To start with, they are cheaper than all of the other mini buggies. This is because of some of the things that you don't get which we'll talk about in just a minute. A huge plus for us on our flat track is the long wheel base. This wheelbase is safer (less prone to roll) and drifts easier! Performance wise, this little machine has spanked most of the others that we have tested because with its smaller wheels, its got more pep! Another major plus about an ASW machine is the low cost and high availability of parts. The company is an absolute pleasure to deal with and I don't hand that out easily. You have to earn that comment from me and they have. You can go direct through ASW or GoKartsRUs (link on home page) stocks the majority of the parts and they, too, are awesome to deal with.
Despite the pros, it does have a few cons. Right off the bat, these do not come from the factory with mud flaps. This will become very evident to the driver the first time you run it in a wet environment. However, I have a thread in the tech section showing how to add the mudflaps from a Carbide. Next, there is no speedometer. The long wheelbase does have a negative effect if you are in tight trails. When we took it trailriding, there were a few spots where we had to make a 3 point turn because the long wheelbase doesn't have the short turning radius you get on most of the short wheelbase buggies. Another con is you have a bench seat instead of the buckets found in most other mini buggies. This has never been an issue for us but as mentioned above, it supports the negative visual aspect of the machine.
Probably the biggest con of all to these is a manufacturing defect in their carb supplier mandates a rejet in stock form. Granted, most people get by just fine with the stock jetting, I have seen plenty with a really white spark plug tip and at least one that had a failed engine because of this.
Pros: Great performance and great price. Excellent company to deal with. Great drifting machine.
Cons: Not as nimble in trails as most others. No mudflaps. Needs rejet when new. Doesn't carry as good an appearance to most people.
BuggyMasters Overall Rating: 8 out of 10.
We really like this machine.