Yama Buggy Bad Design!

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Road_Runner

Road_Runner

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Location
Midlands UK
I am a newbie and have just received my Yama Buggy, after doing a lot of research before deciding to buy. It's been years since I last dabbled in RC and now I am retired (yes I'm an o.a.p.) but your never too old to enjoy life whilst you can.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I didn't want to spend mega bucks, on a car like £1,000 plus, when you can get something decent for just over a quarter of the price of a top spec model. It was a toss up between this Yama Buggy and the King Baja, which I think must be the two cheapest 1/5 scale petrol cars available. The King Baja had more plastic parts than the Yama and I didn't like the supports where the shocks attach, compared to the Yama, which had thick alloy supports instead of plastic. So I opted for the Yama (in green) and it does look much nicer than the Baja, but that's my opinion.
However the Yama does have a very bad design flaw in the drive mechanism, where the rear wheels attach to the axle. I discoverd this after watching a video on youtube, which you can watch below. But being an engineer, I didn't let this put me off, choosing the Yama, because it can easily be put right. But if you don't know about this bad design fault on this model, just be aware before you buy. Maybe this problem has already be discussed on this forum in another thread, and maybe some owners of this car have had similar problems and have already addressed the issue, I don't know. My car only arrived today and I intend to modify this problem before I take it out for its first run (when the weather gets better lol). If you go to this guys channel, there are other videos you can see, how he tried to fix the problem, by watching the rest of his videos on this matter, but he didn't seem have the tools for the job and ended up with two completely destroyed parts. It seems that this car has been out for quite a few years now, but the manufacturers are still making this car with the same bad design fault and maybe this is why this model has had some bad press by the more experienced rc car enthusiasts.

Edited : This car in the video is the Yama Truggy, but has the same chassis as the Yama Buggy, with a different body.
 
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morning road runner and welcome to the forum... and im a year into running a 1/5th scale myself ive a couple of 1/5ths both clones. but both have had the bad press issues sorted well mainly the xrc-2. ie; servos / steel gears and the rear plastic uper arms made into steel as the plastic ones fail .. ive a xrc-2 buggy pretty simaliar to the yama... and a fg marder clone but its more fg than a clone with the parts and upgrades ive added...let us know how you get on with your mods ... and once you start to run it you will love it . there so addictive and theraputic i find.. down side to these are the space required to run them ie; parks car parks .. you might want to make some type of brace. connecting the cog from the clutchbell to the drive cog as they spread apart under load and cause the gears to strip there teeth... blacksmiths products sell steel cogs at a reasanable price worth a look though .. any how road runner good luck and your never to old to use these 1/5ths big boy toys...:)
 
Hi again Marley, we meet again this time on a different thread. :)
Thank you for the tip on the brace for clutch bell and drive cog. It seems all the gears on this model are steel, according to the specs, where as the older model had nylon drive cogs. I think there have been a few modifications on the Yama, in the last couple of years, like the alloy shock supports and all steel gears etc. The older models came with a hub cap cover for the wheel nuts, but these are not included now and I think it has different wheels than the older models. Iv'e bought a set of all terrain tyres to replace the stock tyres, but they don't come with the foam inserts. I think the foam inserts on the stock tyres might not fir these new tyres, as they seem deeper. Can you suggest where I can get foam inserts from?

Regarding where to run, needs to be thought about, away from residential areas (don't want to upset the neighbours). I suppose public parks could be an issue too, depending on how the local authorities view these noisy machines. It's not so bad with electric models, as they don't create that much noise. I have never seen anyone running these models, where I live, but I'm sure I will find somewhere where I can run it, without anyone complaining. Yes 1/5ths are certainly big boys toys. :)
 
hi ive never had to buy the foam inserts. so should imagine any decent rc shop or ebay...i only run the buggy in parks wen theres no dogs about cus from experience they like to bark and chase them lol.. you be suprised on how many people even old folk stop to ask questions about them. to my experince had no probs.. sundays agood day or local factorys. here in sheffield there 10 a penny.. they have nice flat surfaces to run them cus im not a basher. i like mine all clean n that wich is hard to do ...and i think we will bump in to each other quite a lot on here ...if i can help just ask :)
 
I think we should have our own thread Marley.:)
Yes Iv'e seen a few videos where dogs have been chasing these cars. Never though about running on factory car parks on a Sunday, good thinking there. I think most of the younger people seem to bash them around a lot, but it's not my scene really. I have just this minute sent for a replacement body for my model and believe it or not it's called the Road Runner. They had a couple in stock at Nitrotek, a bit pricey at £40 but it looks nice and something to swap around with my green Yama body.
 
Road_Runner said:
I am a newbie and have just received my Yama Buggy, after doing a lot of research before deciding to buy. It's been years since I last dabbled in RC and now I am retired (yes I'm an o.a.p.) but your never too old to enjoy life whilst you can.
Anyway, to cut a long story short, I didn't want to spend mega bucks, on a car like £1,000 plus, when you can get something decent for just over a quarter of the price of a top spec model. It was a toss up between this Yama Buggy and the King Baja, which I think must be the two cheapest 1/5 scale petrol cars available. The King Baja had more plastic parts than the Yama and I didn't like the supports where the shocks attach, compared to the Yama, which had thick alloy supports instead of plastic. So I opted for the Yama (in green) and it does look much nicer than the Baja, but that's my opinion.
However the Yama does have a very bad design flaw in the drive mechanism, where the rear wheels attach to the axle. I discoverd this after watching a video on youtube, which you can watch below. But being an engineer, I didn't let this put me off, choosing the Yama, because it can easily be put right. But if you don't know about this bad design fault on this model, just be aware before you buy. Maybe this problem has already be discussed on this forum in another thread, and maybe some owners of this car have had similar problems and have already addressed the issue, I don't know. My car only arrived today and I intend to modify this problem before I take it out for its first run (when the weather gets better lol). If you go to this guys channel, there are other videos you can see, how he tried to fix the problem, by watching the rest of his videos on this matter, but he didn't seem have the tools for the job and ended up with two completely destroyed parts. It seems that this car has been out for quite a few years now, but the manufacturers are still making this car with the same bad design fault and maybe this is why this model has had some bad press by the more experienced rc car enthusiasts.

Edited : This car in the video is the Yama Truggy, but has the same chassis as the Yama Buggy, with a different body.
Click to expand...

I'd be grinding a couple of flats rather than trying to drill the shaft.
Just my 1/9d
 
That is a poor design.

If you have a spare grub screw, find the biggest drill you can fit inside the flats of the internal hex and drill through the grub screw.
One at a time pull your grub screw out, put in your through drilled screw. Then drill into the shaft, slightly.
Install the good screw and repeat for the remaining three.
You'll have a perfectly placed dimple for your set screw to bite into the shaft.

Same as grinding flats but easier to make all four perfect. Also keeps the drive square from shifting outboard.
 
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