2006 GK25a 800cc Review

Posts: 99

Assembly:
After removing the top half of the steel crate with the assistance of someone, carefully removed all the contents and sit them aside. Next step you need to remove the clamps that hold the buggy frame to the bottom half of the steel crate and hoist the frame using a solid lift, come-a-long or a few buddies would be handy to remove the crate from under the frame. Sit the frame on some jack stands. Now remove the straps holding the control arms up and install the struts then tighten the upper and lower bolts using some thread lock. Now move to the front of the vehicle and insert the tie-rod ends into the spindles and tighten the castle nuts, bending the cotter pin into place after doing so. Make sure to go over and check all the bolts securing the control arms and brakes onto the vehicle before bolting on the rims and tires. You will need to seat the beads and pump the tires to 14 p.s.i. Another tip is use the correct size drill bit in each hole in the rim becuase they are the incorrect size from the factory to slide over the wheel studs on the hub assembly. Now that the suspension, rims and tires are on you can sit the vehicle down to support its own weight. Next install the steering wheel, seats, seat belts, fuel tank and roll cage. Once again after everything is assembled check over anything that was installed from the factory. Put pressure on the brakes and have someone watch all the brake fittings to make sure there are no leaks. I have found two on mine I would have never caught untill it would be to late without someone's assistance. Check engine oil level, tranny oil level and coolant levels. Standard brake in-time is 10 hours for this motor. IT IS REQUIRED TO FLUSH ALL FLUIDS AND REPLACE IT WITH NEW AFTER THE BRAKE IN PERIOD.

Test Drive:
After the brake in period has passed and inspecting the buggy I've decided it was time to find the "bugs" in the buggy so I called up three of my good buddies to all come down for a cookout and a day of test driving. We spent from 9a.m. to 6:00p.m. driving the buggy with all it could do. It was drivin' hard, wide open, thrown sideways into the turns on soft, medium and rough terrain. I have a 14acre field so we setup somewhat of a test track that consisted of hair pin turns, long straights and tight areas that require hard braking. The buggy handles great and the suspension makes for a smooth ride, although I adjusted the front suspension some becuase the spring preload was to heavy for the weight of the buggy up front. The brakes are just as impressive and can easily demand them to lock all four tires at will but still very forgiving when driving it hard up to a turn and slowing down. There's barely no body roll when going hard into turns and the buggy carries itself well with no hastle. The 800cc motor and tranny had plenty of pep to make things fun and dangerous if you don't be carefull, it does have enough gut to teach you a lesson if you don't respect it. After a long day of driving the wheels off the buggy the only thing we needed to do was re-tighten the lug nuts and the roll cage bolts......and some beer and brats of course. The buggy performed flawlessly and I couldn't be happier with it. Deffinately a well rounded machine for recreation or haulin *** and slammin threw the gears.

Posts: 1726

Did you have any problems with the Alternator bracket being too low? All of us here have had problems with the passengerside axle coming in contact with the alt bracket. I have and a few others have also strapped our rear shocks to prevent over extension of the cv joints. Some here have shattered them after jumping without the straps in place.
Do you still have the stock air breather in place?
Have you done any adjustments with regard to the timing and carb?

Great review and assembly instructions. I hope you make it to the NE Rally it would be nice to see another 800 there and possibly trade info.

here is a link to the Rally thread
http://www.buggynews.com/viewtopic.php?t=5292&postdays=0&postorder=asc&star t=0

Posts: 1261

Mudtrucker,
welcome to the obsession !!!
Do a search for 800cc buggies on this site, there are some issues that are very preventable but can be disasterous if your not aware of them...

There are also lots of easy performance upgrades, that will make a big difference. Two important pieces of advice I can give you...STRAP YOUR SHOCKS...I have been down for 15 weeks trying to come up with a solution for broken CV joints.

Also, keep an eye on all electrical connections, the wires will slip out of the back of the connectors and has caused overheating for several of us, one with almost disastrous results.

keep us posted
Chris

Posts: 99

Areblder: I havn't had the halfshaft come in contact with the alternator yet, but if it appears to be a problem I will modify it. I got rid of the stock intake the second day I had it, I'm running a K&N Intake (RA-0630) and a APC crank case breather. I also ditched the flimsy cheap coolant line to the resivior and made a gasket for the lid, installed a see-thru fuel filter and removed the luggage rack from the rear. Also my new Supertrapp muffler should be here Monday. I'm defintaly attending the N.E. Rally....my girl is just as excited as I am, hell she put in her vacation for those three days....and I need to make sure the keys to the buggy stay with me Wink

laymansm: I've read your posts about the electrical problems and the first thing I watched for was fan failure but so far this buggy has been flawless and I'll admit I havn't been easy on it.

BTW the two of you, nice posts about the 800cc buggies on here. It gave me a lot of insite on what to look out for.

Posts: 1726

Post some pics of the upgraded intake and anything else you have done to it I would like to see the buggy in detail!

Posts: 99

Here are some pics I took about 5 minutes ago. Two pics show how it looks without the luggage rack and the engine shot you can see the glass fuel filter, K&N Filter, and the APC breather.

Posts: 9836

Great pictures there. It looks really good.

Did it come with the lower gearing, or is it terribly high for hills and climbs?

Edit... whoops. I just saw your old post saying you weren't sure yet. If you aren't readily complaining about the high gearing then perhaps you have the better ratios? Most others weren't happy with the original transmission setup.

-S

Posts: 99

I'm happy with the gearing really. Still not sure if its old or new.

Posts: 4459

very nice buggy and review!

i see your a fellow PA resident, we may have to get togther sometime after the NE meet and go ride somewhere Wink

Posts: 1261

I like the way it looks without the rear rack...but my brothers all drive quads and we need a place to put the cooler. Laughing

Chris