If you're a regular RideApart reader, you're probably already familiar with this Hayabusa-swapped mini trophy buggy. The last five weeks have felt like a tease because we've seen this build almost come to life but never heard it fire up. Today, that all changes.
But before Vasily from Vasily Builds could rip this thing, he still had some work to do. So we get to see him put the finishing touches on the buggy and run through some of the trick parts and features for us, a few of which are surprisingly sweet. There are plenty of Hayabusa-swap builds, which essentially involve putting a Hayabusa engine into a silly chassis, but this isn't one of them.
The Chinese buggy only cost Vasily $500. But its new parts far exceed that, starting with its Tusk Terrabite tires that wrap around Rock Trix wheels. Look inside the wheels, and you'll find Brembo calipers straight off a GSX-R 600—keeping the Suzuki theme going. He has even installed electric power steering, which should help put those trick shocks to better use.
Ultimately, this is still a YouTube Hayabusa-Swap DIY series, so there are a few quirks. Well, one particularly big quirk—the accelerator is the left pedal, and the clutch is mounted to the shifter. This could spell disaster for a few drivers, and it manages to catch Vasily out at first. Luckily, he was all right, because this buggy rips—It literally spits flames out of the exhaust.
Unfortunately, this project didn't stay road-worthy for long. The chain failed, partly because Vasily was too lazy to adjust it, and partly because it's a pretty weak chain that's being asked to deal with a lot of power and flex.
Once this thing is back up and running, what would you like to see Vasily do? Maybe hit some dunes? Let us know in the comments.
