weelies?

fubar · Post by **fubar** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 1:38 am

I like to do a burnout in my driveway whenever I park my buggy. If it gets traction it will pull the front end up. I mostly do it in the driveway because I have broken axels and cv joints that way before in my sand car. The street buggy has a stock 1600cc toyota motor and a long wheel base. And a bus tranny helps. I think the police would find some sort of a problem with it too.....So far they have not caught me doing it in town.

shaihulud · Post by **shaihulud** » Sun Oct 02, 2005 2:23 am

This reminds me of when I used to go in my buggy to my favourite local Chinese restaurant for take aways. There is a steep ramp up onto the parking area. When the traffic made it possible, I used to accellerate across the road and get air on all wheels at the top of the ramp. The local 'boys' thought it was very cool, especially when it was done by an grey haired old fart.

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 8:41 pm

Well, I did unintentional wheelie #3 last Saturday, and it was a good one! I went on a two day trip with my friend Mike in the Mojave Desert. The Manx was the only vehicle involved, so all the camping gear and provisions for both of us were loaded into and onto the buggy:

We drove up a wash I used to drive fairly frequently with my old Rail buggy. I knew there was a spot where there were a lot of rocks and some washouts, but we were always able to get through by picking the right lines. We had a lot of rain last winter, so I had a feeling the washouts would be worse this year. They were. A LOT worse. We stopped the buggy and got out to assess the situation. The bad section was less than 1/4 mile long, and I knew if we got through it we would be back to smooth sailing. If we didn't try the bad section we would have a VERY lengthy detour. Mike and I walked the entire bad section and agreed that we could do it. I asked Mike to spot for me just to be safe. With only one car there are no second chances! I took the first dip with no problem. The key is to keep your momentum up, not too much, not too little. This method worked well on the next couple of obstacles. Mike then directed me to put my right tires up over this boulder, and then that one. So far, so good. The last obstacle wasn't too bad, just go down the dip, power up out of it, then make a hard right hand turn. I eased the front end of the buggy into the dip, then gave the necessary power to pop the front end up out of the dip. Up came the front end, and I mean it went WAY up! I stayed on the gas, knowing that I would be stuck if I fell back down into the dip. I couldn't see where I was going, so I was hoping that I would land on something I could get out of, since there was no way I could make that right turn with both front wheels off the ground. The front end came down nice and easy with my back wheels just clear of the ditch. Mike directed me around a bush and I made the right turn. When I got out of the car, Mike's eyes were still as big as saucers. He said my front wheels were at least 4 feet off the ground. He said he couldn't believe how well buggies could handle off-camber situations. I said I couldn't believe I did that with all our camping gear onboard. Maybe that's why the front end came up like it did - all the water, extra gas, ice chest, and camping gear add quite a bit of weight, especially at the back of the car. I'd do it again, but I need a third person to take pictures or video next time! By the way, I didn't break anything (that I know of). The front wheel in the above photo is close to the fender because the front tire is up on a berm. My front suspension is set up soft, and it articulates very well!

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Mon Oct 03, 2005 8:46 pm

great story.. did you get any photos of the wash? or camp site.. I live near by and would love to go trailing.

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 3:30 am

[QUOTE="Lee"]

[/QUOTE] Is this a factory manx hardtop? It looks very simular to mine. Great story!

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 5:36 pm

seabeeBuggy, I don't have any pictures of the wash, but here's the campsite:

It's in the area north of Barstow, CA. MDmanx, Yes, the hard top is the one offered by the Manx Club. We had to change the way it mounts to the body to accomodate the roof rack.

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 10:06 pm

is there a map? is it a real camp site (sa in a state park or?? ) or did you just drive and camp..? looks like a great place to go.

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Tue Oct 04, 2005 11:02 pm

seebeeBuggy, I don't stay in real camp sites. I like to camp where the neighbors are few and far between. Here's a view from the hill to the north of camp:

It's not a state park or anything like that. It's BLM "Limited Use" (must stay on existing roads) land. We were in the area north of Barstow, off Copper City Road. Camp was about 30 miles north of Barstow. Here's a map of where Copper City Road (Graded Dirt) joins Irwin Road (Paved): http://topozone.com/map.asp?z=11&n=3871 ... ayer=DRG25 We did over 100 miles off road over the course of the weekend, and only got to see a small portion of what's out there. Have fun!

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 12:12 am

Now THATS CAMPING!!!!! :rock:

newmanx59 · Post by **newmanx59** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 12:53 am

[QUOTE="Lee"]seebeeBuggy, I don't stay in real camp sites. I like to camp where the neighbors are few and far between. Here's a view from the hill to the north of camp:

It's not a state park or anything like that. It's BLM "Limited Use" (must stay on existing roads) land. We were in the area north of Barstow, off Copper City Road. Camp was about 30 miles north of Barstow. Here's a map of where Copper City Road (Graded Dirt) joins Irwin Road (Paved): http://topozone.com/map.asp?z=11&n=3871 ... ayer=DRG25 We did over 100 miles off road over the course of the weekend, and only got to see a small portion of what's out there. Have fun![/QUOTE] Lee, I can't get enough of your off road adventure pic's. All I can do is hope I can get my Manx out there to enjoy some of the scenery, someday.

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 9:33 pm

You can probably see the halo from Vegas at night. What kind of exit plan do you have should you break down in such a remote area with only 1 vehicle? Or do you just have extra large gonads?

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 10:38 pm

mark2manxter, I always email my Dad and usually someone else at home with a flight plan that includes GPS coordinates and maps of my intended routes of travel. I then stick to the route with a minimum amount of deviation. If I think we will be exploring a number of places within a specific area, I indicate that in the plan and include the coordinates for the center of the intended area. I also leave the coordinates of where we will leave the pavement at the beginning and where we will get back on it at the end (not always the same place). I tell them the time I plan to call when we get back to the pavement. If they haven't heard from me after a few hours, it's time to call the authorities (and/or a friend at home who knows the area). In the event of a breakdown, the CB will be turned on monitoring channel 9. The buggy should have everything we need to be comfortable while waiting for help to arrive. Our activities will be minimal in order to conserve strength and water in case the search takes several days. We also carry too much food and water. I'm still eating the food we brought last weekend, and we had a total of 5 gallons of water in 3 separate containers left over when we got home. I carry lots of onboard spares, but I realize you can't have a spare for everything (unless you're Gene...). I also understand we could be in trouble if someone got injured. These are calculated risks, and they are ones I am willing to take in order to truly get away from the chaos of daily life. And the loud stereos and screaming brats that are found in campgrounds.

Gene-C · Post by **Gene-C** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 10:56 pm

Glad to hear your answer. I would love to do something like that but I usually get a little spooked when reality sets in.

Lee · Post by **Lee** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 6:13 am

Late follow up! Since I don't run an oil filter, I change the engine oil after every major off road trip. I changed the oil today, and I noticed some gnarly scrape marks on the bottom of the engine cage from last weekend's unexpected wheelie. There's another reason for a good cage other than protecting your buggy from SUVs - a good cage will help to keep you from flipping over backwards!

manxdavid · Post by **manxdavid** » Thu Oct 13, 2005 9:09 am

Back to the wheelie thread there's a video on this site... http://losbandidos.co.uk/