Today, I went to Super Kart's shop and met with Sean, and I also ran into "Turbo Texas." They were both pleasant people to speak with. I spent almost 1 1/2 hours there and went on (2) different test drives with the same SK-2 buggy. The following is my review of the buggy/sandrail/lawn mower on wheels etc.

General Information:

1. 110" long
2. 66" wide
3. Exceptional ground clearance (forgot to measure it)
4. According to Sean, weight is approx. 1100 pounds
5. Red in color with red/black seats with good lateral support & with comfortable harness style seatbelts
6. 35 horse power Briggs & Stratt. motor
7. Electric start
8. The rear swing arms looked heavily reinforced with metal plates welded to them
9. Good welds throughout the buggy frame
10. Cargo rack
11. Winch
12. Can of whup a!!

Negatives:

The buggy had (2) cup holders that are designed to hold a 12 oz. can of pop, and it had a cellular telephone holder. These novelties are options, but I think may be a waste of money. I think your drink and cellular phone would pop out rather quickly on just about any bouncy trail.

Some of the crossbars on top of the brush bars/ roll cage do not match up exactly perfect, but were firmly secured.

Price: $ 8500.00

These were minor things but I wanted to include the bad with the good. There wasn't much else I found negative about the buggy.

Positives:

My first ride was with Sean's partner. He took me for a ride for several blocks and stayed on the paved roadway. He let me drive it afterwards. The buggy had good pick up and Sean's partner went faster then I cared to go in it. The engine wasn't too loud and I did not hear any backfires. I did not hear the slightest rattle at anytime while riding the buggy. This may have to do with the rubber spacers that are between the diamond plate and the frame and the overall attention to details that are obvious when you look and ride the cart.

The motor revs and accelerator work in a way that would allow you to slowly creep over rocks as you accelerate. It does not have a jumpy, jerky take off when you accelerate.

Sean took me out next after showing me all the components of the buggy. His test drive was different. I was warned by "TurboTexas" to wear my seatbelt, so I belted in. Sean drove approx. 1/2 mile to an area that was full of hills and small trails. The first thing I noticed was how smooth and sturdy the buggy felt in the dirt. He bounced it around at a pretty fast pace and I don't think it ever came close to bottoming out.

He tried climbing a very steep hill and could not make it after 2 attempts with a rolling start. The brakes worked great as he tapped them and backed down the hill. We rode around the trails for awhile and it handled great. I did not hear our under carriage ever rub anything during the ride. He returned to the hill for the 3rd time. He went to the foot of the hill and said something about finding the right lines when your going up a hill. I didn't think he would make it because it was too long and steep. He floored the Briggs and we starting spinning about 3/4 of the way up, but the tires started gripping some rocks and up and over we went! I was impressed. It had very good torque and plenty of power.

I cannot emphasize enough how solid this machine felt. It is the type of buggy you would want your kids in if it did unfortunately roll over. The extra crossbars Sean added to the frame may ultimately end up preventing somone from getting seriously injured. Speaking of rolling over, Sean whipped this thing around pretty fast in the dirt, and I never got the feeling it was going to roll, or even get up on 2 wheels.

Conclusion:

I compared the quality and performance of this buggy to my Honda 250 quad runner I currently have, and I compared it to the following units I had in the past; Carter XM125 buggy (Carter's first generation Chinese import that lead to their XTV), Carter 11 horsepower Tecumseh kart (no suspension) and Honda ATC 90 and 110 models.

This seems like a quality machine that will last over the years with minimal repairs. We will be taking it out to the desert a lot and maybe Glamis, and I think it will hold up well. Sean spoke with me for a great deal of time and did not pressure me to buy anything - I appreciated that. I will be spending more money then I planned on, but this is the buggy/Sandrail I have chosen to purchase for my family.

I don't post much, but I have lurked around this website for months. If it wasn't for Buggynews.com, I never would have learned about Super Karts which is about 40 miles from my home - so thanks for the spirited discussions and good reviews about all the different karts.
I feel like it helped me make a good educated decision.

Thanks!

Nice review. sounds like a awesome Kart.

With tax, I'm assuming somewhere a little over $9000 out the door ?


I could buy 3 dazons or 4 talons or one Super Kart.

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What to do ?

I hope someone brings one of those to the buggy Bash so we can see them run side by side.

CONGRADULATIONS, cliff. i'm sure you and your family will be thrilled by your purchase. when you can, please, please post some video. i'm dying to see one of those things, run...........

Great review. Where are the pictures??????

Great info. Would absolutely love to see some pictures and video.

-Steve

Great review!! That's 2 so far to comment how stable this buggy feels in turns. That was my main concern looking at the pictures--big heavy engine mounted pretty high. My concerns are put to rest
Is that $8500 for the 35HP B&S? I thought that was for the base 18HP Robin engine?

now that's how you write a review.
Enjoyed the meet and greet, wish I could have stayed longer

When you get it....take some pictures and video that would be awesome...It sounds like a good purchase...I hope you're pleased with it! It's only 2 inches less in width than the trakker so definitely good for the open areas not so much tight ATV trails...but I think that was Sean's intention (dune riding)...Good Luck and thanks for the review!

Check you PM for prices.

Chris

you can only driive one...