Hello from Rockwall,Tx

[mcghie13]

I am buying my son a 150cc Hammerhead ss for Christmas.I just found it today,it has 86 miles on it and looks new.I am paying $1500 for it.Good deal?
They have come a long way since my first go kart,a 5hp briggs and stratton?? from Western Auto. How fast can I expect this to go? How can I increase speed?

Thanks...I think I am more excited than he would be

[joshstep1]

Hello from Tn, I'm Josh. That HH150 that you were talking about for $1500 with only 86 miles seems like a good deal, considering there like $2600 or something new. One thing I would be very concerned about is, why is he selling it? And at so low of a price. Do you if know there is anything broken on it? That could be why he is selling it. If he lives nearby, I would drop by some time and test drive it to make sure everything works, and don't be afraid to ask him questions about it. Speed wise, you can expect to go around 40 MPH, I think thats a pretty good average. If someone says it can hit 55, and it is still stock, they are b.s.ing. For increasing speed, there are a few ways to get that, but remember, with most mods for more speed, you will lose low end torque, AKA, hill climbing power. Some stuff you can do is, change out the roller weights in the variator to heavier ones, change the CDI, add an air performance package, available from BuggypartsNW.com, and you can change the main sprocket, but that last one is a pain in the butt to change out. I hope all of this info helps.

[mcghie13]

Thanks for the reply Josh. The seller is a wealthy older woman here in town.She bought it for her grandson last year and he has sinced moved to TN beleive it or not so she has no need for it now.I did get a small test drive and it just seemed not to have the gidde up I expected,real sluggish?

[BuggyMaster]

you'll probably be fine with it. Price is fair. Hammerhead is actually one of the better brands. What year is it? Does it have the MP3 speakers built in? they look like little torpedos.

[mcghie13]

I have yet to read the paperwork,just left a deposit today.I was told she bought it last year so I guess 2007 or 08? it does have two speakers and a plug in on the side dash for an mp3 player.

[BuggyMaster]

Ah you'll be fine. We had one of those and it was a pretty good machine. Top speed right about 40 mph and the speaker system is actually pretty decent.

[mcghie13]

Thanks for the info. you have helped me to decide to move forward with the purchase,I will be around with more questions and pics.

Thanks again

[BuggyMaster]

No prob. Have fun. The thing about these China buggies is finding out which companies use worthy China manufacturers. The bad ones use junk metal and those are the ones that you hear/see falling apart. The good ones use a lot better quality materials. Hammerhead has been pretty good about using quality manufacturers. The second battle is making sure that you can get parts in the event that you have an issue. Again, Hammerhead has a pretty good parts network so that's not usually a problem.

Then there's the third problem.....the battle for seat time

[bige]

my wife has a hammerhead gt, like the others have said, if you increase speed you will loose bottom end power. base the mods on the type of terrain you will be riding

[mcghie13]

The area we live in we should be mainly trail riding with a little mud for the most part. Suggestions?

[joshstep1]

For that you will want more torque. I would replace the roller weights with lighter slider weights, change out the main clutch spring to a 1500 RPM or even a 2000 RPM, up the CDI to a no rev limit CDI, and and if you have really got some money to spend on it, a racing/performance exhaust, and a big bore kit.

[mcghie13]

Thanks again Josh for the great info!! I think I can get away with about $500 to start with,where do I begin?

[mcghie13]

and if my wife logs in and reads this...I was just kidding.

[joshstep1]

I would definately start with changing the 13 gram roller weights that come with it to 10 or even 9 gram slider weights (the lighter the weight, the more torque you will have). Second, I would change the main clutch spring from the 1000RPM that comes with it to a 1500 or 2000 RPM spring. Next is the CDI unit. Give it a no rev limit CDI, Im pretty sure this will increase low end torque and top end speed. I think were at about $200. Put all of this on there and if it still does not have the torque you want it to have, then you will have to go onto something a little more expensive. If I had to pick between the big bore kit or the performance exhaust, I would pick the performance exhaust because it would not only make your kart more powerful, but it would also make it sound awesome! And from what Ive read, the big bore kit is made from cheap metals, so it only lasts about 180 hours or so.

[mcghie13]

would premium fuel help with the sputter?

[BuggyMaster]

Do you have a sputter problem?

I don't think the HammherHeads have a limited CDI box.

If you truly have about $500 to blow on it for mods, I personally would talk to Tom at SYC Powerwports (check left pane of the home page). He can take care of the big bore kit that I would be going with.

Now..bang for the buck mods, what you have to decide between (top end vs more power down low) is how you intend to ride mostly. For example, in our case, we do mostly flat tracking where top end runs are very common. For us personally, we kept the clutch in stock form because when we tested the mods in the Track Attack, we discovered that it actually slowed us down a little. However, if most of your riding will be on trails, then those mods are for you. They will give you a harder launch and more power (my increasing your RPM's at slower speeds) where you need it. If your trails keep you far away from getting anywhere near your top end, I'd go with a 12 gram slider (maybe even lighter) and the 1500 rpm spring. It really depends on how agressive you want to make it. You can also change out the clutch arm springs which will make your launch even harder but beware that just going to the yellow arm springs requires you to have to rev a little high for many people's taste to get going but if you want hard launches, that's the way to go. All of these mods are relatively cheap too which is a huge bonus. In addition, pick up a uni filter. It has proven good, consistent, gains across the board in our testing. You'll need to rejet for that but I've got a vid somewhere in the tech section showing how to change out your jets.

The comes the exhaust. HammerHeads have a pretty darn good exhaust on them from the factory but you could always go with a slip on muffler which sound pretty good regardless and will give you a little more power to boot. This too should be figured in when considering your jetting.

I think BigE has a HammerHead and some good experience with what mods are most effective with these machines.

So you have a couple of routes you can go with. All depends on how much money you want to spend (of course) which is directlly relative to how fast you want to go. (i.e. gotta pay to play).

In any case, you are sure to have plenty of fun. Just ask away in any relative forum and you'll get plenty of good advice.

[bige]

I wold start with the cvt mods, they are cheap and easy to install. a complete variator kit is $89.00, it comes with a racing racing variator, 9 or 10 gram rollers, main spring and clutch arm springs. a hammerhead exhaust comes with a uni and jet for 300.00

[joshstep1]

whats a slip on muffler?

[bige]

its a fmf muffler that slids on the stock header pipe

[BuggyMaster]

In the video below, one of our old Helix machines has got an FMF slip on on it. If you use a set of headphones or have a good set of speakers you can get an idea of how they sound. I always liked it on there.

[joshstep1]

it does sound different, but not that big of a difference to me

[BuggyMaster]

It's a little louder and a little deeper without being too obnoxious.

[joshstep1]

huh, i kinda want something that will make it sound very deep

[mcghie13]

so much information,amazing!! This is going to be fun.I told my son if I buy him something like this for Christmas it will become a huge part of everything we do.I can already see I will be buying something for me and the wife down the road to ride along with my boys.

[joshstep1]

Not a problem.

[mcghie13]

WHat kind of headlight do I need for the 150ss hammerhead and whats the best oil to use?

[roysheepdog]

hi from cleveland tx.my paw n law lives in rockwall some times when we go i bring my buggy and that black mud is nasty.it would be cool to ride with some one when we go.

[BuggyMaster]

Check with any of the supporting vendors for the headlight. Best oil is likely a variable answer depending who you ask. Just roled with a decent 10w-40 and you should be fine.

[bige]

does your hammerhead have the high and low beam head lights? and as said above most any good brand of oil is ok, use 10w40

[mcghie13]

yes it does have high and low beam. is it wise to use a synthetic?

[bige]

after it is broken in you can change to a good synthetic like mobile1 or royal purple.

I have 1 of the head lights in stock. its 25.00