Final Stinger report.

Posts: 3

First off Newer Stingers the seat is adjustable Via holes in the frame. Not an automotive stlye w a slide and lever. Most riders can comfortably sit in the seat in the middle of the adjustment. We have had teenagers from 4'6" to adult over 6'2" in ours w no problem.

Second the dif is open not a posi unit. If you'r ever i a situation where you loose traction to 1 tire. All you have to do is tap that break peddle and send the power to the other tire. the cutter brakes are great once you get used to them. I have personal went from 45MPH to going the other direction in about 10'. The grass is just now finally growing back from last fall.

Posts: 1726

Do you ever find that there are times that front brakes would be a benefit? I am sure the bugfgy stops well but I can tell you from experience a buggy that only has back brakes can be likened to throughing an anchor out the back and waiting for it to drag to a stop when you need to stop immediately especially when your going 50 on dirt. Then there is the issue of having to stop on an incline that is steep. brakes on all four corners can be a wonderful thing. If the buggy has a differential and can turn in tight places while driving slow then why does the buggy have the cutter brakes? I am sure it is not riding wheelies and needs to have steering during those instances! Wouldn't front brakes be good for safety reasons alone?

Posts: 3560

Jeff can you settle the question of the curb weight? Is the Stinger website correct at 490 pounds or is the info Stinger gave Bedo correct at 685? Not a small discrepancy...

Posts: 6278

Why do we have so many discrepancies about weight on these things? Rolling Eyes

195lbs is a big difference!!! Who knows the real weight of one of these things.

Bedo, if your doing a "full review" of a buggy, shouldn't it be weighed by YOU???

Posts: 3

Dont quote me on this. But I'm pretty sure the original prototype were in the 495 range. Thicker walled tubes and redesigned Reverser and other improvements is were the extra weight came from. 695 is about right.

As far as brakes go. The cutter brakes are great fun at higher speeds, when you want to do a 180 degree turn in about 10 feet. As with anything you first drive. It takes some getting used to. But after about 5-10 minutes of driving I felt very comfortable with them. With anything new and different; Till you drive one you cant understand it fully till you experence it yourself. I have yet to ever feel that i needed front brakes. Next you guys will probably want ABS, air conditioning, power windows. and a leather seat. Maybe I can offer them as aftermarket parts down the road. Just Kidding.

Remeber this is an off road vehicle and it does a wonderful job at what it was built for.

Posts: 2765

Someone please correct me if I am wrong but.......most high end sand rails do not have front brakes either.

Posts: 1726

Some do and some don't I don't think the issue was do sand rails have front brakes they are in the sand in a large open arena. Most of us buggy owners are in close quarters. I would bet that if you ask all the buggy owners that have front brakes if they would take their front brakes off becasue they don't need them would laugh.

Posts: 9836

I tell ya. I ran one of these around the bluff for a while and I had some great fun. I took it up and down some steep stuff with loose gravel and didn't have a problem. It's always great to have brakes on 4 wheels. I'd like to see the option of eithe going with the cutter brakes or brakes on 4 wheels with perhaps a faster steering ratio for those without the cutter brakes.

I had a hell of a time on the stinger. It is an awesome machine and handled the bluff well.

Steve

Pictures: 0 · Guest Pictures: 0

front brakes will be an option, per Stinger. along with the 'street legal' kit.

Posts: 583 · Platinum Member Joined: 13 Aug 2005 Posts: 583 Pictures: 0

Hi Ben,

First off I would like to say I thoroughly enjoyed your review, I read it from start to finish without feeling the need to skim past anything.

An observation I've noted is that there seems to be limited headroom in the single seat stinger. Does anyone know if a tall fat bastard (say 6'3" and 330lbs Razz

) would fit comfortably in the Stinger?

I think on your site you say the width is 63". I assume this is across the front tread, how wide is it across the rear tread? I am hoping that larger offset wheels can go around the hub carrier to narrow it down to 59" to fit an 8x5" trailer.

The idea of the cutter brakes was strange to me at first, but I can see the merrit of brake force applied LSD and trailbraking. However I think if front brakes were applied, they would need bias adjustment via a lever of some sort perhaps, to maintane the rear LSD braking.

I appreciate the photos you put up aswell. The frame looks very sturdy, and I really like the 'everything you need and nothing you don't' approach that the designers have taken. Sometimes we get caught up with accessories and forget that half the thrill is being exposed to the elements in a machine such as this. But having said that, you can NEVER have too many gauges! Twisted Evil

And here is the clincher, will real Stingers be finding their way to Australia?

Cheers,
Gav.