Hey everyone, I'm back from the weekend ridin' fest and have a few observations about my new (to me) Joyner 2006 Sand Viper.

Last week after I got the buggy I decided to take apart whatever I could to see if/how much it had been modded. Still had stock everything, as near as I could tell, EXCEPT there was a CN250 sized belt on the CVT system. This seemed strange to me since the CFMoto belts are 40mm longer... It looked like it was sitting pretty good in the pulleys, but who knows?

We hauled the buggy out to central Oregon and I ran the Joyner stock for a couple hours (first chance I had to do so) just getting used to it. It was pretty nice as-is with some minor issues: The blinkers didn't work, and the blinker control module clicks like it's sending a frantic telegraph message when the key buggy was off. Only way to make it stop was to remove the main fuse. We eventually disconnected it entirely since the blinkers weren't working anyway. The rear brake light covers were cracked/rattling in place. Plastic tie wraps fixed this. The tires had pretty low tread on them. Hey, it WAS used...

Tried out the high/low gears on flat ground and climbing up VERY muddy/loose soil hills. Low gear either scooted me up pretty well, or just dug me into a hole. High gear tended to not get me too far up this nasty hill.

Time for speed testing. Low gear was about 28mph top. I was on the way back to base camp with about mile to go. I was trying to get a top high-gear speed reading (39.8mph) on my GPS when the engine suddenly stopped. I coasted to a stop and started it up again, thinking "Did I buy a broken buggy?!" It started right up but would not move in any gear. Broken belt.



Towed it back to the base camp with a quad and replaced the belt and modded the dirty diaper out of it. Pretty much everything except a new exhaust and CDI: 25" front tires, 27" rears (stock were 21" & 22"); UNI Intake, 125 main jet, Dr Pulley variator and clutch, Blue Polini spring, 15g sliders (for the bigger tires...) and a spare belt we had on hand...





Turns out the belt that was in it was the wrong one! Whoever had it before replaced THEIR broken belt with a CN250 sized belt. Problem was, I didn't have any spare CFMoto belts around. I put on a spare belt from a CN250 and went out to test the mods - but never got anywhere NEAR top speed out of fear of breaking the belt!

I was able to cruise at 35mph easy in high gear at about 1/3 throttle! It felt soooo nice. The buggy drove like a car it was so smooth. I wanted to just tear into the trail but didn't want to break the belt again!

Saturday we went out for our all day ride. I made it about 4 miles before the other belt broke. Towed it home again and grabbed the (heavily modded) Baja Reaction 150. Never drove the Joyner again all weekend. Will be back in ~1 month to fix the belt and try again, in hopefully warmer weather. The 30° outside temps, snow, and mudpuddles were pretty harsh.



On the other hand, that Reaction 150 drove like a champ all weekend and was a blast. It ended up saving the day late in the afternoon when our Roketa blew out a sidewall on a sharp rock edge (2nd time we'd driven on these tires - it was BRAND NEW!). I had to drive a number of miles out and back to get the rescue squad (read: tools to work on the buggy!).

All in all, I can't wait to REALLY test this baby out after I get the right belt installed (and a couple of spares in case it's a belt eater -- better NOT be... )

-Mike

I'm disappointed you couldn't get more time on those tall rear tires. I am still running the stock rears because I love the low end I currently have with my modifications. If I can get some more input from Joyner 250 owners running 25" or taller rear tires, I may make the jump.

If the 06 is geared like the 07, the taller tires will make the final drive ratio to high for the buggy to climb steep hills or perform well in tight terrain. I still run 22" on the back of mine like pg, and can crawl up hills. Loss of traction is about the only thing that stops me from going up a hill.

But with the new front sprockets available, going to a taller tire and retaining the final drive ratio may be possible. I think I may keep my 22", drop down a tooth on the front sprocket, and hopefully have a top speed of 30-35 in high, and stupid slow speed that can't be stopped in low

Sound like the buggys showed you who was boss this time. Those tires are huge, what size are they and just out of curiosity why are the rears on backwards?

Mine is a '08 so it has a larger axle sprocket, but I was also looking at the 12t sprocket from Darren at Buggy Junkies. This would allow me to run 25" rear tires while keeping my ratios. I know he sold a few, but I have not heard any feedback from those sales. I want to know how those sprockets are holding up to abuse...

After putting the mods on, I zoomed right up a pretty steep hill that was about 100 yards long (climb for ~100', flat for 50', climb next tier, etc). The hill was all mud, ruts and loose dirt - depending on where you were in the climb. Low gear zoomed me right up it even with the big tires.

The buggy takes right off in low gear, not quite spinning tires, but still with a solid engagement. High gear takes a bit of coaxing to get it going, but I'm going to fiddle with the arm and pillow springs on the clutch a bit.

I'm pretty sure the correct sized belt will give me a better impression of how the buggy's going to run long term. I'm hoping I don't start snapping them over and over or I might have to go to smaller tires. Plus, they're not cheap!

-Mike

Stock belt size is 24.2x868

Glade

come on bring the right equptment that reminds me i should get an extra belt wait JIM i need a belt

so you like told you you would rides like a caddy stings like a bee i am running the stock 22 size tire but i have upgraded to 11 inch wide and way better tread i am like rockrunner i can climb any thing in front of me if i have traction which with my new tires is alot you should be getting some nice top speed with those tires but i bet they stressed it cvt for sure

Thanks, Glade - I was sure that that was the correct size. I just bought it used and the previous owner had apparently put the wrong size belt on when they replaced it at some point. The spare that I had on hand at the time we were riding was a CN250 (828x22.5) and I figured it would break too, but then again I really wanted to ride it!

Geek:

I'm not sure that I will be snapping belts left and right with the big tires. I'm sure there is some additional stress on the CVT, but I was running a belt 4cm too short for it, and the belts were snapping when I had it at wide open throttle. I was just stretching a too short belt too far.

Ah well, I'll be at it again in a little less than a month from now. Hopefully less snow and mud and more pics and video!

-Mike

cant wait ill get some pics and vid for you from our parker ride in a couple weeks