07' Reaction 150 (Baja Motorsports) Bad Welds

Posts: 56

I've had this Reaction 150 for a year and It's getting to the point where every time I take it out it needs something fixed... especially all of the crappy welds and weak metal. What kind of metal do they use on these things? I can't sit here and name everything I've had to re-weld, but just to name a few.. the seat frame, the electrical box, exhaust.. so on and so on. Is this normal for a "Chinese Made" buggy? It's getting to the point where it's not time to ride the buggy, it's time to FIX the buggy..... again. I'm getting pretty good at welding, but I'm getting aggravated with how often I have to fix the dam thing. The good thing so far is none of the structural welds are failing. If that happens I'm getting rid of the stupid thing.

Posts: 3576

Unfortunately very common. In my experience the best thing you can do to preserve the buggy frame--and yours is put on better shocks. The stock shocks are too stiff and undamped and the jarring ride causes too much fatigue to the frame. The first to go is anything cantilevered away from the frame--fender mounts, chain tensioner, battery tray, trailer ball, etc.

Posts: 56

I changed the shocks out earlier this year

Posts: 242

Jeff,

Sorry to hear you are having so many problems. Each different buggy has different issues. My two words of advise are:

#1 Dont give up! You have already invested alot of time in your buggy. Every toy has its down falls and work to do.

#2 Try to do some pre-amptive work. Any additional weak points you can for see, fix it up ahead of time.

Hope you get them fixed and get to go enjoy again.
Cody

Posts: 56

Yeah, I'm not going to give up on it yet. If it starts becoming dangerous then I'll seriously consider scrapping it, but the frame seems like the only thing that's really welded well. ..... but anyway, yeah, i'm too far into it with time and money to just give up now. I'll see where i'm at with it in another year. I can't expect this thing to hold together forever.

Ok, so here's another question... or two, i should say. First, are all the buggys on this site and sold thru this site and all of the website on the internet chinese made? and secondly, are any of them better quality compared to, say, baja MS? I'm pretty handy with fixing things and I get really frustrated. I couldn't imagine someone with no mechanical skills having one. It would be in the shop ALL of the time.

Thanks for letting me rant. wheew!

Posts: 1915

Almost all the buggies are Chinese imports. The quality varies from SunL on the bottom to Joyner on top (my opinion). There are larger buggy frames made in the US with a variety of power plants, but most of these are 600cc and larger. The Japanese make SxS (UTVs), but all of these are close to or over five figures...

Posts: 303

I have to agree with Pete, as far as Joyner's quality. I don't know if it's the best , But there's a world of difference between my 250 Joyner, and my Dune 150. We had a Reaction 150, that we returned, which I felt didn't have the potential to be a better cart than the Dune. I know alot of members on this forum live back east and have width restrictions, which makes the 150cc a great option. With their help and advice I made made my dune a very nice cart. With that being said now that I've gotten used to the handling and sight lines of the Joyner, everytime I drive the dune I want to get rid of it. I'm not saying the Dune is a bad cart, I'm saying there's a reason Joyners, Carters, and HH250 are nearly 4k vs $1500-2000, 150cc carts.

Greg

Posts: 1915

Until I can find a quality used Joyner 250 for my wife, I continue to improve my Yerf 150. If I can figure out how to fit all them in available space I will keep all three since the Yerf is so good on steep tight trails. There is a used Joyner for sale in my area right now for more than what Glade could ship new to me:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/rvs/767275265.html

The selling party just doesn't understand depreciation values regardless of how much they spent...

Posts: 56

Cool, thanks for the input guys. I will probably just continue to patch my sinking ship as well, until I'm able to get something better.

A polaris quad would be sweet! Evil or Very Mad

Posts: 2650

My suspension cracked right on the weld of my brand new Reaction (5 months old at time of break), while riding on a flat trail.... Pic attached... This is the reply i got back from baja... by the way... i am still on the first tank of fuel in this buggy, AND, it has NEVER been on a steep hill or majorly off road path.. Mostly (improper) street driven and 1-2 trails rides...

This is the email from Baja:

"HEY,

Sorry that I did not get back to you earlier, I was out of the
office. I talked to Sandy who is a manager at Baja Motorsports and she deals with BJ wholesale stores. According to her she left you a message we will not cover the unit because you are out of warranty. We only do a 90 day warranty and we have to follow our policies. According to the techs and Sandy the unit looks like it was jumped with the pictures you sent. I tried to help you with you situation as soon as possible. The reason it takes awhile on situations like this is because we need to investigate the situation with managers. You are more and welcome to call in and talked to a manager. I'm sorry for the inconvenience. I also did forward this to my manager. If you have any concerns please call in at 1-888-863-2252"

I have VERIZON for both my cell and home phones, which they have listed at Baja... i have NO messages or missed calls from this company. My WIFE drove this buggy, and it was NEVER jumped... If it were, and I am POSITIVE Jef would agree, BOTH front wheels would be damaged or broken welds, not just the passenger side. i am appalled at the total lack of customer support, product quality, and just plain lack of service from BAJA... I am positive they will have NO customers by the year 2010 if they stick with the 90 day policy, as most of their products break immediately out of the box, of immediately after the warranty runs out, as my buggy has... 6 weeks to the day actually...

I am having my buggy repaired, and I am selling it immediately...

John