Homemade off-road scooter. How to assemble a snowmobile from a scooter with your own hands. Suspension: pendulum fork

The idea of ​​making a snowmobile from a scooter in itself is not new. She can often be seen in various motorcycle magazines. If you purchase a crawler engine, a traditional motorcycle can easily be converted into a snowmobile. Well, if you can convert a motorcycle into a snowmobile, why not try to do the same with a scooter?

As caterpillar engine A part from the Buranovskaya caterpillar would be quite suitable. If the old caterpillar cannot be found, then it is quite possible to purchase a new one. However, the cost of the device will increase significantly. You can also contact special companies that supply tracks and skis for snowmobiles.

In a well-calibrated and well-thought-out design, everything can be provided in such a way that in the warm season the scooter remains a scooter, and in winter it turns into a snowmobile. Moreover, the process of converting a scooter into a snowmobile and back should not take much time and effort. Simply remove the tracks and ski and replace the wheels.

You can use ready-made parts and components from a scooter, or you can make them yourself using a welding machine and a lathe.

Let's talk about the power of the future snowmobile. The gear ratio in the scooter transmission allows for movement on asphalt at a speed of 40-60 km/h. Obviously, when driving in snow, the load on the engine will increase. It is quite possible that the provided power of the scooter will not be enough. And driving on ice and snow at high speed is quite dangerous. Therefore, you will have to change the gear ratio by replacing the drive wheel with a smaller wheel. A go-kart wheel is quite suitable for this purpose.

To make some changes to the design, we’ll cut out the unnecessary rim from a moped, a drum for the drive shaft. You will need to drill holes in it, with which you can attach a smaller disk.

There is a simple solution to the problem of track wheels slipping off. You can make hooks from ordinary plastic pipes. They will enter the snowmobile tracks. Since it is quite difficult to choose a tire whose circumference will suit the number of caterpillar steps, you can do the following. A strip of metal is used to make a kind of bandage. It is necessary to mark equal distances on it that will correspond to the caterpillar pitch. After this, hooks made of plastic pipes are attached to the bandage. Bolts are suitable for fixing the hooks. The resulting bandage can be attached to the wheels using the same bolts.

As driven sprocket you can use the following type of construction. Using M8 bolts, the Buran sprocket is attached to the wheels of garden equipment equipped with bearings. An M10 pin was used as an axle.
The frame of the future snowmobile is made of angles and pipes. The frame dimensions can be arbitrary, everything will depend on the size of your scooter, as well as the length and width of the track.

I had to purchase a plastic ski for the scooter. It would take too much effort and time to make it. If you wish, of course, you can make this structural element with your own hands. The ski is attached to the moped fork using a stand. Right and left-hand side The plugs operate independently for safety reasons. This design of the snowmobile makes it possible to turn in any direction. The ski will not rise, but will always remain on the surface of the snow.

The plastic body of the scooter can become fragile in severe frost. In addition, the design of the scooter is equipped with pockets into which snow can accumulate. This leads to an increase in the weight of the structure and a decrease in the power of the device during movement. To prevent power reduction in winter, a special casing can be made. It will be located above the caterpillar. It is imperative to ensure there is a spacious area where you can put your feet.

To travel long distances, the scooter can be additionally equipped with a windshield. It is not at all difficult to make a casing for installation on a caterpillar; you just need to make a template from fiberglass. You need to cut the sidewall out of polycarbonate or plexiglass. Then it must be turned over and placed on a large sheet, which will act as the wall of the template. After this, plastic corners are fixed along the perimeter of the side wall using hot-melt adhesive. Next we use a strip of flexible plastic.

Its dimensions must correspond to the dimensions of the casing. Let's proceed directly to assembling the matrix. To do this, we secure the bottom, sidewall and panel with glue. The joints can be sealed using plasticine. Now you need to cut the fiberglass and, coat it with epoxy, apply it to the template. A day later, the template can be disassembled, excess pieces of fiberglass can be cut off and painted. The casing is ready. The main work is completed, all that remains is to put all the elements together.

Dear visitors to the site “”, today we will look at one of the options for assembling a snowmobile from a scooter with your own hands. Mainly that no fundamental changes have been made to the design and the scooter can be easily converted from a snowmobile into an all-terrain vehicle) an excellent and moderately economical means of transportation, both in the city and in rural areas. This type transport is especially popular among teenagers, because it is an intermediate link between a bicycle and a real motorcycle) With the onset of cold weather, motorcycles are placed in the garage and remain there until spring, but not in our case, because a scooter is made into an excellent snowmobile for fishing trips)

To make a full-fledged scooter you will need a rubber track, in this case it is borrowed from the Buran snowmobile and cut in half. You can also make a rubber track from a tire from passenger car, you will, of course, have to work hard to punch square holes for the pitch of the star, make metal heels, but it’s free) The author adapted a wheel from a go-kart as a leading star, the fact is that such a wheel is slightly smaller than that of the scooter itself, which reduces the speed and increases traction characteristics cars. A metal band with teeth secured with furniture bolts with a flat head is screwed onto the wheel. The driven star is made from the original Buranovskaya with the addition of wheels from a trolley on the sides, the support rollers are wheels from a children's scooter. The frame and track mount are welded from corrugated pipe and angle iron.

The ski is borrowed from children's snow scooter, a metal guide is installed in the lower part so that the snowmobile feels stable on the road. The ski also has a floating position, that is, when tilted, it remains flat on the snow.

A kart wheel is used as a leading star. The wheel is fitted with a metal band with teeth made from PVC pipes secured with furniture bolts. The driven star is from a Buran snowmobile, with wheels from a trolley added to the sides. Wheels from a children's scooter were used as support rollers.
Assembling the caterpillar and installing it on the scooter. The track protection is made of fiberglass.
Ski fastening and facing. Ski from children's snowmobile.Testing a snowmobile on loose snow.

In regions with heavy snowfall in winter, using two-wheeled vehicles is not advisable. But you don’t always need a car. In such cases, a snowmobile comes to the rescue, but this type of transport is expensive. If you wish, you can make a snowmobile with your own hands, and there are many ways to do this.

How to make a snowmobile

You can make a snowmobile from different vehicles that are in the garage.

From a motorcycle

You can make a snowmobile from a motorcycle using different models. The most popular are IZH and Ural. The advantages of such a rework are that no special changes need to be made. If the product is in good condition, you can even keep the original frame.

The conversion technology is as follows:

  1. Make a rectangular frame from metal pipes or appropriate corners. Its optimal dimensions are 150*43.5 cm.
  2. In addition to the IZh motorcycle, it is necessary to make a steering beam. It is made from metal corners. Optimal sizes— 50*50*5 mm. Additionally, the beam is sheathed with metal plates.
  3. After this, it can be installed horizontally on the drilling machine. Treat the connection area. Do the same with the frame. In these places you need to make special grooves for reliable fixation. Additionally, attach a corner to the front frame.
  4. Now you can attach the seat for motorcyclists.
  5. You need to make holes in the side members.
  6. A channel must be placed between the front and middle parts of the frame to strengthen the structure.
  7. Regardless of whether the snowmobile is made from a Ural or another model of motorcycle, it is necessary to select a track sprocket and rubber band in advance. The optimal dimensions are 220*30 cm with a thickness of no more than 1 cm.
  8. Before installation, it is recommended to cover the track with nylon, which will allow the material not to delaminate during operation.
  9. Now you can move on to the transmission. It consists of two parts. First - front axle, is the leader. It is made of a tubular shaft, a track sprocket and a roller. Second - rear axle. It is made from a caterpillar drum and a tubular shaft.
  10. You need to complete the snowmobile manufacturing process by welding sheet metal skis.


When converting a motorcycle into a snowmobile, it is important not to change the steering system. In the final product, this part must perform its original functions.

The principles of modification are the same, they do not depend on the vehicle model. But the snowmobile from the Ural motorcycle will be heavier.

From Zhiguli

The design of the car is characterized by simplicity, ease of operation and high maneuverability. To make it you need to follow the instructions:

  1. Frame assembly. It's better to make it from pipes. The frame consists of front and central beams (steel pipes with a diameter of 5 cm), two lower diagonal elements (bent pipes with a diameter of 3 cm) and a rear strut. Welding is used to fix the elements.
  2. Installation of steering columns. To do this, you need to place two bushings on the front beam.
  3. Fixing the axle shaft. It is located on the rear frame; first you need to weld the body under it. It is made from a metal pipe with a diameter of 6 cm. Secure the axle shafts using bushings and electric rivets.
  4. Installing a car engine. First you need to make the front and rear fastening units on the central beam of the frame. First they need to be placed on the engine itself, and only then welded to the frame.
  5. IN homemade snowmobile you can install large diameter wheels or skis made of sheet metal. In the first case, the rear and front wheels need to be connected in pairs with a metal pipe. At the same time, make grooves in the hub for the bearings, which are subsequently secured with spring rings. Additionally, install a spacer between the bearings.
  6. Install a sprocket on each wheel depending on the intended maximum speed. This snowmobile can be used at any time of the year. For a snowy winter, a design in which the front wheels are replaced with skis is suitable.
  7. Installation of the steering system. It is taken whole from a car, for example, from a Zaporozhets, or a motorcycle. The choice depends on personal preference. In the first case, gas, clutch and brake pedals are additionally installed. The gearbox is controlled using a lever and a rigid rod.
  8. Installation of a snowmobile cabin, the role of which is played by the car body.

Is it possible to make a simple winter moped that could become not only entertainment, but also an assistant for those who live in villages and towns? “Such a moped could also be used for snow removal,” writes Slava Polkovoy from the Pskov region, “after all, after a snowfall, you spend hours clearing debris near your house.”

Indeed, why not? After all, a good help is two horsepower, enclosed in the cylinder of a moped engine. If you make a tractor with such a motor, it will help you not only remove snow from the paths with a simple plow, but also take it on a sleigh to a designated place.

So, a winter moped. You will need the following purchased components and assemblies: engine type V-50 (or Sh-58 - Sh-62) with the necessary equipment: carburetor, air filter, ignition coil; front fork from “Verkhovyna”, “Riga” or “Karpaty”; rear pendulum fork from any moped; a shock absorber from a Minsk or Voskhod motorcycle, as well as a plastic canister with a capacity of about two liters and a fuel tap with a sump. In addition - a steering wheel with a control handle throttle valve carburetor and clutch and brake control levers. Well. of course, a pair of wheels - for example, from a mini mokika made in Riga or a motor scooter. For the frame, select steel (preferably seamless) pipes of various diameters. Clearly, stock up on a welding machine.

Look at the picture. As you can see, a “winter” moped is not too different from a regular one, except that instead of a wheel, a ski is installed in front (which, however, can easily be replaced with a wheel when summer comes). And further. The rear wheel, equipped with snow chains, is mounted in a pendulum fork, not with two side ones, as on serial mopeds, but with a central shock absorber from a motorcycle.

If you are not going to completely copy our moped, I can recommend a completely universal method for designing and manufacturing two-wheeled machines.

To begin, cut out from thick cardboard the silhouettes of all available purchased components and assemblies - the engine with clearly marked mounting units, the front fork, the fuel tank, exhaust pipe and muffler, rear swing fork, shock absorber, rear wheel. Now lay out the silhouettes on a large sheet of paper or plywood and find for them the only possible position that your design instinct, design taste and common sense will tell you. Do not forget that the driver is also included as a (“component element” in the “person - vehicle" That is, it makes sense to cut out an articulated silhouette model from thick cardboard in accordance with your anthropometric dimensions - it will help to avoid mistakes when configuring the machine.

So, the silhouettes took their place on the plaza sheet. Secure them to it (say, with a couple of small nails) and outline them with a colored pencil. Now you can draw a frame that will unite all the units into a whole. It will be based on two pipes - a spinal (longitudinal) and a vertical one. The first is where the steering column, upper engine mounting assembly and seat box are mounted. On the second is the rear engine mounting assembly and the axis of the pendulum fork. To create a frame with an optimal configuration that combines all these elements means making it as simple as possible, with minimum sizes and accordingly mass. But at the same time as durable and rigid as possible.

Having determined the configuration and location of the frame elements using the selection method, draw it on a plaza drawing (take a pencil of a different color). Next, you should draw the mounting components for installing the engine, brackets for fixing the shock absorber, the position of the saddle cushion - and the life-size plasma drawing of the moped is basically ready.

Let's move on to the second stage - making the moped frame, and then assembling the car. First, the pipes - spinal and vertical - are adjusted directly according to the drawing. Then they are tacked together with several welding “spots”. Also adjust the reinforcing gussets, engine mounting units, steering column, pendulum fork mounting unit. Having carefully checked the conformity of the frame to the plaza drawing, as well as its symmetry relative to the longitudinal plane, weld all joints sequentially with step-by-step control of the frame's fidelity to the drawing. This will then avoid distortions of the entire structure.

The seams of the welded frame are cleaned with a file, the pipes are sanded, after which the metal is primed and painted in two or three layers with air-drying alkyd auto-enamel.

The front steerable ski of a winter moped is made of wood. Of course, the best one will come from a piece of mountain debris, but you can glue it together from several layers of plywood, and then edge the sole with a thin steel sheet.
The snow chain is assembled from links of a steel chain of suitable size. You can, of course, simply wrap the wheel with such a chain, but a more reliable option is a composite bandage similar to a car chain made from individual elements.

Please note that winter mopeds do not have footrests. The fact is that the driver has to help himself with his feet while driving to maintain balance, so it is best to put miniature plastic skis on them or, as a last resort, make “skis” from scraps of children’s skis. Their length is no more than 400 mm. I note that the brake on the moped is only on the rear wheel with manual drive.

To work in tandem with a moped, make two towed devices— “snow plow” and cargo sleds. The first is for clearing paths. It consists of two boards with a cross section of 30X300 mm and a length of about a meter connected in the shape of the letter A, with a jumper approximately in the middle of this letter A. Of course, such a “plow” can only remove freshly fallen snow. The cargo sled is an ordinary plywood box mounted through spacer bars on two children's skis.

Of course, carry out all work on cleaning and transporting snow in first gear. If the engine starts to “sneeze”, you will have to install a larger diameter sprocket on the rear wheel. That's all.

Yes, when switching to the summer version of the moped, standard footrests and, preferably, a foot brake are installed on it.

The numbers in the figure show:

1 — rear pendulum ailka, 2 — seat cushion, 3 — fuel tank(from a plastic canister suitable in volume and dimensions), 4 - reinforcing gusset (steel sheet 2.5 mm thick), 5 - seat base (box made of sheet duralumin), 6 - frame spinal tube (steel pipe with a diameter of 36 2.5 mm ), 7 — steering wheel (from Monica “Karpaty”), 8 — strengthening gusset (steel sheet 2.5 mm thick), 9 — front vipka (from mopeds like “Riga”, “Karpaty” or “Verkhovyna”), 10 - rubber guy-shock absorber, 11 - bracket (pipes - 22X2 mm in diameter, supports - 2.5 mm thick frame, gusset - 3.5 mm thick steel). 12 - wad (glued from plywood blanks, the sole is a steel sheet 0.8 mm thick), 13 - engine (type V-50 or Ш 58 - Ш-62), 14 - vertical frame pipe (steel pipe with a diameter of 36X2.5 mm ), 15 — rear engine mounting bracket (steel sheet 2.5 mm thick), 16 — shock absorber (from motorcycles like “Minsk” or “Voskhod”), 17 — snow chain, 18 — rear wheel.

3. SLAVETS, engineer

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