Razor Dune Buggy

Got two (well, 3; I'll explain) of these for our kids for Christmas and finally thawed out enough here in the upper Mid-west that they can use them. They are having a blast with them. Our boys are 3 1/2 and 5 1/2 and have no problem safely operating these buggies (with helmets). The grass is still brown here and we have flat terrain, so they can zip all around the yard no problem. Materials: The frame appears to be 3/8" painted steel tube that is bead welded at all the junctions. The steering wheel appears to be about 1/2" tubular steel and the column appears to be about 3/4". The frame for the motor and gear box is steel as well. There is a single spring shock in the center behind the seat for a smoother ride. It appears to be adjustable with a star-shaped finger nut, but I haven't attempted this. The platform and foot rest are a thick plastic that seems appropriate and durable with a diamond-tread texture. The seat is a durable plastic. The cover on the motor and gear box is durable plastic. The tires are rubber and have an inner tube. The rims are two plastic parts sandwiched together by 4 lock-nuts and probably the weakest of all the construction materials. The rims have a metal liner with standard sealed bearings on each side that can easily be removed and replaced. The rear wheels are attached to a solid steel axle. The front wheels are on independent spindle arms connected by a galvanized steel adjustable tie rod. The throttle lever and brake lever are plastic. The disk brake caliper is metal and mounted in the rear under the motor cover. The motor is connected to the gear via a metal chain commonly seen on bicycles. Overall, this thing is made from superior materials and is a heavy 83 pounds. Function: It has excellent speed even in the grass. Our boys are easily able to operate the throttle and steering safely. It has sufficient turning radius. The brake is almost obsolete, honestly. When the throttle is released it stops within about 8 feet from full speed. I rarely see the boys using it. For little hands, its a little difficult to reach. Both buggies came fully charged. They run a solid hour or more on a full charge which ends up being plenty for one day at this point. As described, they can charge overnight and be ready to go for the next day. Safety and Comfort: There is a 1 1/4" adjustable nylon web lap belt. Not sure it's necessary. The chances that this thing would tip enough to dump out the driver are almost nil. The main purpose of the lap belt is to prevent the driver from hitting their face on the steering wheel in an abrupt stop. When necessary, the rear disc brake does an excellent job of stopping. The seat is hard plastic. For kids, this does not seem to be an issue. For older kids and small adults this may be relevant, but with only an hour of drive time probably not. The steering wheel is not adjustable so it can be little difficult to reach depending on the driver. The throttle is operated by the right thumb. It can be rotated toward the driver to make it easier to compress. When the buggy arrived it was rotated away from the driver and was very awkward until I realized that it could be easily rotated. I would recommend rotating it toward the driver so that when the throttle is completely compressed it ends up being parallel to the steering wheel. You'll know what I mean when you look at it. If you don't do this the drivers thumb could get wedge between the steering wheel or throttle. This happened with my son and it was stuck so he crashed into a tree. Fortunately, no harm was done. Shipping: We ordered ours 4 weeks in advance and they arrived prior to Christmas. One shipped in the original box. It was exceptionally well packaged and arrived without flaw. The second was clearly repackaged in a generic box. Unfortunately, both of the rims on the rear wheels were broken. I talked to Amazon and they sent me an entire buggy free of charge and told us to keep the one with the broken rims! I ordered new rims for the other one, so now we have 3 of these monsters. FANTASTIC SERVICE FROM AMAZON!! Maintenance: The chain will probably need a little lube twice a summer just like a bicycle. The batteries should last a couple years or more if properly cared for by following the charging recommendations and storing inside in the winter months. I expect the tires will last several years depending on the terrain. Most of the nuts have are of the nylon lock-not variety and shouldn't need frequent tightening. Improvements I'd like to see: --Adjustable seat --Adjustable steering wheel/bicycle steering wheel (I think this would make the throttle and brake lever easier to manipulate, hence safer) --Faster motor!! (Yes, 10mph is plenty fast for the little kids, but it would be a nice to go even faster of course) --Reverse! (Most of the time this is not an issue. Even my 3 1/2 year old can get out and pull the buggy back on course, but it would save some hassle if there was a reverse) --Lights! (Because it would be awesome) --Alloy rims (Yes, I know these are very doable after-market modifications. I've already started planning.) Summary: We are super pleased with these "toys". My wife is small enough even she can ride one. They are superior quality for the price point. We have several other battery powered cars, trucks, ATVs and tractors that are now obsolete. Fortunately, they were all gifted to us. I would never waste money on any of those other plastic-bodied, plastic-wheeled toys after comparing them to this Razor Buggy and this thing is cheaper than some of the more expensive plastic alternatives.

I bought this for my 5 year old, and it is perfect for this age group. 5-8 would be ideal. They recommend only for 13 and up, but while it would be fun for them, it may be a little slow. I think they recommend for older ages to avoid law suits... It's ideal for the smaller kids, especially if they have out grown the 5 mph rides and are looking for something with a little more kick (probably around 8-9 mph on flat street), quick, but not like you can't catch up to it or anything like that a smooth job is about the speed. It has a throttle, so if the child wants to go slower until he builds up his confidence it can do that as well, which will be about 15 minutes later. It is very sturdy and strong, runs great on grass, roads, hills... I have no issues with battery life, my son get's tired long before it runs out of battery, but then he's on it again the next day. Be careful with parked cars as this is truly the most dangerous aspect. It is very low to the ground. Lastly, there is a brake, but it's pretty hard for smaller children to pull, but don't worry once they let of the throttle it comes to a complete stop pretty quick, within one adult car length. It's loads of fun, I wish I could ride it.

I bought the Razor Dune Buggy for my 8 year old son for Christmas. I looked at other dune buggies but was not at all interested in gas powered ones (way to smelly and dangerous). I was looking for something that did NOT look like a toy (no Fisher Price plastic ride-on electric motorcycle type stuff). But I also did not want something that was too powerful. This Razor buggy is perfect. It goes fast enough to give him a thrill but not so fast to make me worry. It charges up overnight and he can ride it for 45 minutes which is plenty of time. From the picture of the buggy it looks short, like your child's knees will be bent when riding it. Turns out, it fits him just fine (he's average height for an 8 year old), he is perfectly comfortable on it and his knees are not bent too much and they are not in the way of the steering wheel. We've owned it for 2 months and love it. IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW: if the weather is going to be below 32 degrees outside at night you can't leave it outside (or even in the garage). Below-freezing temperature drains the battery life. So we store it in the utility room in the winter at night. It weighs about 70 pounds (not light!) so moving it into our utility room at night is a little cumbersome. It's worth it though b/c he loves it. You can't put a price on his delighted laugh everytime he rides it!

This was my first purchase on Amazon.com. I have to say that I am very happy with their service. Item was shipped out very fast and they had the lowest price and best shipping rates that I could find. I was equally impressed with the quality of the dune buggy. The wheels have bearings instead of bushings which reduce friction and last longer. The welds are very nice, Unlike many ride on toys that have poor welds that break even when not under stress. I have purchased other brands that have plastic wheels and they just spin when going up the smallest incline. The air filled rubber tires get plenty of traction, Although they are not like the ones in the picture. The tires have a slightly smooth traction area with knobbies on the side edges. I was also pleased that it came assembled, Just attach the flag pole, Charge and go. It took the full eighteen hours for it to charge, Just as the attached charging instructions stated. The charge lasts about thirty-five to fourty minutes running in thick grass and small hills. It is not as fast as some of the other ride on toys but it doesn't slow down as much when under a load like the others. My daughter is six and has no troubles reaching the controls and just loves to ride it. The motor,chain and batteries are covered so your child wont get their hands/fingers caught in the sprockets. I also like the fact that it has an adjustable seat belt. The things I didn't like about it is that it has a hard plastic seat (Could use some cushioning). Also the shock is pretty much useless as it doesnt absorb anything due to the ultra firm spring, I pressed down on the back of the buggy to see if it had any spring action and I probably would have bent the back frame bar before the shock compressed. I wish it had the ability to go faster, Like a switch that would let you select Hi/Low speed so as your child became more confident you could switch it to go faster. All in all I would recommend this product over any of those plastic wheeled pieces of junk!.

It exceeded all expectations. I was worried that it wouldn't be as quick as some have claimed or that maybe the workmanship would be mediocre -- I just haven't had good experience with these sort of products. However, this little beauty is simply amazing. I got this for my daughter's birthday and she was absolutely in love with it. She and her friends rode it around our property and just didn't want to stop. It's a quick little thing and it seems to handle dirty very well (we have a horse property, so there's a lot of dirt). The workmanship seems to be pretty good, the power is definitely nice, and the charge lasted about an hour of non-stop zooming around (full speed about 60% of the time). One of the important things for me was to find an electric buggy, since I hate dealing with fuel motors. There are some electric dune buggies that I saw on eBay for twice the price, and they seemed beefier, but Razor is an established brand, so I was hoping they wouldn't let me down -- and they haven't. We've only used this for one day, so I don't know how it'll perform down the road, but I'm very comfortable with electronics and electricity in general, so I'm not worried, in case I need to do some repairs in the future. The only thing I wish it had is a headlight, but I'll just attach an LED bicycle headlight and that'll fix it. Anyways, I highly recommend this buggy. EDIT: I wrote my original review in October, not being sure how it'll perform down the line. I'm happy to report that it's still going strong and we have two now. They're very quick and are always a hit with our kids and their friends. They're surprisingly quick and it's possible to drift slightly on lose dirt if cornering hard. The design is incredibly simple and I think I'll be able to upgrade the battery and ECS once my kids start growing out of the top speed. Anyways, highly recommend this thing.

I charged over night, placed a bow on the seat, merry Christmas. It feels like the Battery lasts over 45 minutes, I have 2 kids driving it up and down the the street, it has 3 lights (I think) power/full/low, I have not seen the low battery light come on, so this thing goes for a while. It runs on grass, dirt, they even drive it up the drive way from the street, my drive way lip is maybe an inch high, they slow down right before it hits and it climbs up, my 4 year old is like 35lbs and 8yr old is like 55lbs, they both ride it together and I don't notice any difference in speed. The only thing that sucks is that it does NOT HAVE REVERSE. Turning radius is pretty good. It's a little scary when the 4yr old first rode it, I was afraid he wouldn't let go of the throttle, but he was a pro. Be careful if you're getting it for 4 and under because they could get hurt, it goes pretty fast for a 4yr old. I don't think he even uses the brake handle, it's a little big for him, but once you let go of the throttle it stops in about 3 seconds. I'm lucky I have an 8yr old to ride with the 4yr old as the coach, when I saw he had a good handle on it I let him ride it alone. The first day one neighbor stopped to ask where I bought it from and asked for the link. Buy it, it's worth it, I saw a kid driving the same size plastic Fisher Price atv going 2mph, it was sad to watch as my kids drove right past him lol jk... This cart is about the same price of those cheap power wheels but waaay more fun.

Gave this to my 6 year old grandson for Christmas and he LOVES it. Rides this every time he comes to our house. We looked at gas powered go carts and decided they were too fast for a 6 year old. This go cart is low to ground and has a real feeling of speed. And is almost twice as fast as the earlier 'truck' and 'tractor' battery powered rides, which he still enjoys. The battery life is good. He generally rides for 30-60 minutes and then moves on to some other toy. I plug it up then, just to keep it charged up. Never had a problem with the battery running out of juice. My wife has driven this a couple of times and it is fun for her too! I was thoroughly impressed with the construction on this thing. HEAVY steel frame. Very good rubber tires, which are pro and con. They grip so well you cannot 'slide' around curves. With his old rides with plastic wheels, he could skid around curves. I would choose these good tires over plastic for this go cart, but just something to note. Three very small cons: 1. There is no reverse. So if you run up to a wall or tree, you have to get out of the cart and pull it back. A bit of a hassle. Reverse would be REALLY nice. 2. The speed control is a hand throttle, worked by your thumb. This gets tiring very quickly. Really need a 'gas pedal' for this thing. 3. The seat belt will not go small enough to tightly fit a 6 year old. Not sure why it cannot be adjusted tighter.

Great ride on for our four year old. It is fast even on grass and hills, easy for him to control, and it seems perfectly safe in our yard. Unfortunately, when it arrived only three wheels touched the ground. With tires properly inflated the fourth was an inch or so above the ground. I contacted Razor to see if there was anything I could do to fix it, as returning an 80lb item is a hassle. The representative was utterly clueless. He didn’t even understand what the issue was. He (at customer service/technical support) told me over the phone to email customer service. The person I reached there, who I explained the problem to was just as clueless. He told me to adjust a part that doesn’t even exist on this model, AFTER I included pictures of the vehicle and the issue. How the company that makes it has tech support people who don’t know the first thing about the vehicle is beyond me. I had to explain to him that there is no “adjusting screw” on the front axle. It doesn’t even have a front axle per se, only spindles. The only screws are on the tie rod and control arm, and none of them raise or lower the wheels. The only adjustable part is to adjust the alignment (left or right). Ultimately, I was told replacing the spindles should solve the problem. I ordered a pair from amazon and spent a lot of effort replacing them for nothing. It didn’t do anything to correct the problem. It seems to have been defective from the factory; there was no damage that I could see from shipping. Amazon’s customer service by contrast was amazing to deal with. I would not hesitate to buy a large item like this from Amazon. TL:DR Great item as long as you don’t have an issue that requires Razor support. If you do, you’ll wish you hadn’t.