Got the buggy together and I am very pleased with it except for one thing. The longer frame is too long. I need to push the seat all the way forward to reach the controls. I am around 5'4". Kind of on the short side. My husband gets in and pushes the seat back then the steering wheel is too far away. My 11 yr. old has problems reaching the controls. This frame is for a taller person. I plan on putting some washers on top of the rear bolts where the seat mounts to the frame. This will bring the back of the seat up straighter and should help alot.

The welds all look good. I put red lock tight on every nut i could. This took some time but after a few hours of riding everything is still tight.

My speedometer doesn't work. Can't seem to figure out what is wrong with it.

The battery cables were not long enough to fit under the plastic cover that was provided so I can't use it. I do not trust the battery staying in place with the rubber strap provided so I put two hose clamps together and tightened that around the battery and frame. Works good.

I did not receive a steering wheel center cap.

One rim had the holes misaligned a bit so I drilled them out a tad and it went on then.

The nut that screws on the bottom of the gas tank tank must be stripped because it does not tighten very good although it is not leaking any gas at this time.

It will not idle unless you give it a little gas. I will adjust the idle screw to see if this helps.

The front fenders hit the frame when you turn the wheel all the way. Not a big deal but it does scratch them up.

How tight is the chain supose to be? Mine is very tight. My husband thinks it is too tight and it could be affecting top end speed.

PERFORMANCE:
WOW! Very happy with the performance of this buggy. At least for now.
Gps said 39mph on a slight decline and 36 mph on a slight incline in a 200 yard run with a rolling start of 3mph. I did this because I was on gravel and if you started from a dead stop it spun a great deal. I did this run several times with the same results. At 39 mph on gravel it did feel pretty squirrlie.
I also climbed a hill in a grass pasture that was at aproximately 50+ degrees. No problem. In fact I did the second run at a little more than half throttle and it went right up. The distance covered was about 100 feet
climb.

Overall I am very satisfied with this buggy. My family is having a blast and it looks like it will stay together. I wish I would have purchased the smaller framed version though. Thanks doonrunr for getting me into the Sahara!

Good review. Idle screw will help idle out. Sounds like you did everything right. My wheels didn't fit so good either. I got the center cap for the steering wheel, but it was broken.
Thanks for sharing.

Hopefully you get some of those issues taken care of. That was more things out of kilter than we usually hear about on this line of buggys, though the speedos can be an issue. If your speedo is driven by a colar on the rear axel, try to align the pickup unit so reads the magnet rotation correctly.

Interesting take on the larger frame and it points out some things that people may not think of before buying. From my point of view on the outside looking in, I wish Kinroad focused a little more on width of the seating area and less on length of the buggy. It's like they focused entirely on the knee issue (and might have over done it) and didn't listen to all the other comments about side by side comfort at all. What they have created is a pretty good looking unit though.

Let us know what you come up with, in making it a more comfortable buggy for you guys.


-Steve

Don't know what happend but for some reason I was not logged in. Now I will try to post some pictures.

Feel free to use picutures that aren't reduced so much. We can barely see those.

Thanks for the post dirt dame, Good review!

+1 Karma

[quote="Anonymous" My 11 yr. old has problems reaching the controls. quote]

These karts are supposed to be operated by people 16 years old or older.
Most deaths and injuries on go karts/buggies, ATVs, dirt/mini bikes and scooters are children under 16 operating karts/buggies, ATVs, dirt/mini bikes and scooters that were intended for adults. Best to spend some more money and get a go kart intended for children, yhe trister makes a junior version of it's hammerhead that looked nice, but I am to old for it.

First, I must say to extremexmods, welcome to the board, we all missed your 1st post. Glad you joined!

To reply here, I let my 4 year old drive mine. I sit next to him with my finger on the kill switch, I have yet to have to use it. He is a really good driver.

Extremexmods, do you have children?

My 10 y.o. has his own Blade 150SX and he does fine in it. Once I changed the seat belts out, I felt very safe with him in it. He has tipped it over a couple of times and has not received a bump from it.

Helmet on, and arms in! I make sure to constantly remind him to keep his arms in when he rolls.

I also do not let him go on "cliff hanger" trails where if he makes a mistake he will roll down a mountain! A little common sense is always in order. I do feel my 7 y.o. is way too small to drive any more than in a large vacant field.
She will be riding with mom in their new Blade 250! I'm not quite sure how it works out my wife gets the first 250 and my son and I still have 150'S.
I think I will be making quite a few runs in Mama's buggy!
I need that 250 1 seater by spring Stu!

Thanks for the advice extremexmods. I too believe in safety for everyone especially our children.

My 11 yr old is a very good driver and I feel he is safer in a buggy with its low center of gravity, roll bars, and seat belts than on a atv. My buggy does have throttle adjustment so the throttle can only be pushed as far as I set it to go. This way I can turn my 250 into a kids machine power wise.

I also believe there are some adults out there that put themselves at greater risk with reckless driving or inexperience than a kid. The warnings are on there because somebody got sued in the past and are guide lines. I know adults that I would never let ride anything but a broken wheel barrow and I also know kids that are very responsible and listen and have respect for safety for themselves and others.

Thanks for the reminder, it helps to keep everybody in check for safety to keep the sport fun.

No person any age is ever safe on an ATV quad or 3 wheeler.

Hi, sorry to butt in but those of you who know me......

Even though Blade is not carrying the Sahara 250 I enjoyed your review, thank you.

As far as the age issue is concerned, it is a difficult thing for us at Blade, and I am sure it is the same for all of my fellow distributors. From a liability standpoint, we do not even like to hear about any purchase for a child under the age of 16, for that matter, if they have a drivers license even better. BUT...it is ultimatly for the parent to decide if the child is ready for a adult size buggy.

I will say, I personaly rest easier knowing that the buggies do afford a much better source of protection then a quad and I can't tell you how many 5 year olds I see driving dirt bikes out there.
So I guess "Off the record" If a parent is going to get a child involved in off road sports, which I highly endorse, the buggy is an excellant choice...

My 5 year old is getting a BLADE 50XT which is our new kid kart being introduced this Xmas. and I am sure he will very quickly graduate to a fully moded 150sx or DX.

The bottom line is for the individual parent to know their child and for them to be responsible enough to use the Buggy as a teaching tool so they can grow up enjoying what we have learned to love.

I see too many young drivers with no supervision doing stupid things on their Bikes, Quads and yes Buggy's. So Safety first, But it is all for the Kids isn't it!!!!!!

Sorry to ramble...

STU

Nice.

Well put Stu...

I just got a Kinroad 250cc and the speedomoter on my buggy doesn't work either. There are three wires a green, yellow and black wire that appear they are to be soldered to the computer board (lack of better wording)beside it. I believe there was damage to this area in shipping. Anyone know the placement of these wires, or can it hookup directly to the magnet collar?

Contact your dealer for a replacement....Unless the alignment is off on the pickup magnet and it won't read.

Glade

Phil, My speedo was not installed correctly and it melted on the first run, it never worked. That was in December. I have been told by Kinroad that the sending units are on their way (container ship ) and sould arrive soon. Seems they have a lot of problems with these speedo's. Make sure your magnet collar is centered on the shaft so you don't have the unit melt down. The 3 wires? Do you mean where they solder to the pick-up attached to the rear swing arm? If so, I can have a look at mine (I took it off) and get you the solder points.

Tom

The three wires are not attaced to the board at all. It seems like there was damage in shipping. The wires were pulled off of the board all together, I can't even tell if wires were even attached to the board. I assume they were, I am not sure if it will work if I solder back on, the board, it looks as if there is damage to the board itself.

I spoke with someone at Awesome Buggies and they do not have replacment parts for this.

If it is still under warranty drop runmaster here on Buggynews a PM. They are the North American reps for Kinroad. He is a great guy that cares about their product. He may be able to help you out.

Tom

I will announce the arrival of the speedo sensors when they arrive, here on BN.

Thanks Tom.

Davin