ANy opinions or ideas on building a mini UTV?

[86trizinger]

I have a problem with my youngest being too small to handle most atv's.. I have an ATC 70 for him but he still can't keep it stable with weighing less then 30 lbs.. He's 5 so he is very small.

So I have been thinking about this for a while. Here is my idea for him.

I am planning on building him a mini 2 person UTV.. something small but able to be jumped as well as a small bed on the back. I am talking pretty small. About 2ft longer then a full size atv.

This is what I am thinking:

-Using front suspension from a 300ex as well as the front section of the frame.
Frame will be made from 1" square tubing .. 1/8" thick for the main points, thin wall for the rest of the floor board supports.

-2 child jr dragster seats

-rear swing arm from a ATV.. should hold the weight since it really will not be jumped too high. But may just be a custom engine cradle with the suspension attached. Don't have the money for independant rear suspension like I want.

-Plan on using 18x9.5x8 rear tires on 10" wheels.

-engine I am thinking a Lifan engine 125cc. Not sure if it can pull around the weight of it or not.

-small ATV winch mounted on the front- to pull his brother when it runs his atv off the trail.

-full set of offroad lights

Have some questions:

SHould I just go with a larger engine to start?
Not sure what size tubing to use for the roll bar

Any opinions would be great. This weekend looks rainy so I think me and my boys will start it this weekend. By hacking apart the 300ex donor frame. Should be fun to see a 5 and 8 yr old use a sawzall.

[harryredtrike]

they sell little atv's save yourself alot of time.time is money ya know

[oldskool83]

get wheel spacers and widen the atc70....your gonna blow way more cash on a project he may not like in the end.

ebay sells +5 wheel spacers 2.5" per side for like $35 shipped to your door. i'd try that 1st.

trust me custom build projects always tripple your costs and time.

[86trizinger]

He is having problems with the controls of it.. He cannon reach a much throttle, nor a hand brake.

I have a set of wheel spacers already ,, maybe a twist throttle and some sort of foot brake. I have the SL70 I can probably rip some parts of it to see if I can make it work. Its gonna rain this weekend so may be a good time to do it.

[Dammit!]

Polaris makes a mini RZR now.

[oldskool83]

wait til spring by that time he should be largw nuff to rearch everything.

[RudeDog666]

if you already have the wheel spacers all you need is a set of extended handle bars? Kinda like ape hangers except laid down, that can be made fairly cheap.

[Vealmonkey]

Put him on a power wheels electric quad till he gets bigger and fix up one of the trikes for him until then.

[85Tecate]

-Plan on using 18x9.5x8 rear tires on 10" wheels.

You can sure try! But i dont think you're getting an 8'' wheel on a 10'' rim!

[Yamada]

Put him on a power wheels electric quad till he gets bigger and fix up one of the trikes for him until then.

x2........

[old-yellow]

Put him on a power wheels electric quad till he gets bigger and fix up one of the trikes for him until then.

I'am with veal, plus you will save money that you can use to build him a nice Trizinger or ATC70 when he gets bigger.

[dcreel]

If I had $6500 my kids would have one of these.



www.trophykart.com

[86trizinger]

Sorry I meant a 10" wide wheel

[86trizinger]

I think I decided just to fix the ATC70 up and figure out some smaller components here and there so he can fit it better. He really wants to ride soon.

[oldskool83]

thats a way better and cost effective idea