G1 - You'll never believe what this guy did!

[ozwolt]

So I know this one guy who has an older Yamaha G1 that was trailering his cart with it loaded facing forward. When he got it up to highway speed the wind caught the roof and flipped the hinged rear body up and backwards. It hit so hard that it seems to have sprung something as it does not sit flat on the floor any more!


Welp, maybe that was me.
I can't figure out if the framework beneath the fiberglass body is bent or the mounting point near the rear bumper? Has anyone else ever encountered this error, or am I the only idiot around....and no, I no longer tow the cart facing forward.

We've had this cart (think it's a 1981 or 82 Yamaha G1) for 20 years and have never had to do anything to it but add gas & oil. It runs like a champ except for a few other minor problems. I will wait to divulge those later, rather than confirm your suspicions of my intellect. I do have a few other questions, as this site has me thinking about fixing the ol girl up.

[1989Marathon]

It likely bent the two arms that go front to back. Probably right behind the cross-brace. Remove the rear cowl(4 bolts) and make sure the two arms sit flat.

[gornoman]

Welcome to BGW!

Admitting your mistakes is the first step on the road to......


Ah.......forget that crap. Your story is the first I have heard of, but then again I'm an EZgo guy, lol.

[Mike Mac]

OZ, no doubt your title brought me in here. Now your having the balls to admit your guilt, (something I would never have the nerve ta do). Well, we gotta get this fixed!! I don't know a thing about G1's, but some body that does will come to the rescue, I'm sure.

Pictures would help.

welcome to BGW

geeezzzz i though this was about me !!

[ozwolt]

Thanks for the replies and welcomes. Yea I have tried to get this thing bent back into shape by various means but no luck. The front edge of the body floats about 1" from the floor. It does add for a little extra cushion in the suspension. I will remove the body as suggested & see if I can tell better what is bent....thanks for the suggestion. It's not that big a deal but the engine noise is considerably louder with that gap at your feet, not to mention a constant reminder of my foul up.

[pYr8]

Wow, that is a drag & kudos for facing the music! I'm pretty new to buggies & can't offer much except a WELCOME!

[simple man]

Welcome and sorry about your mishap! I had a car hood blow up on me once and it completely tore off from the car! I'm sure once you get into your cart you'll find out what got bent. If you can, take it by a frame shop. I think someone there can give you a good idea on a fix!

[sontag1]

It could have bent the hinges or the piece of metal where the hinges attach. With the top down, you should be able to remove the bolts attaching the top section to the hinges. Don't forget to unhook the little arm underneath the top. It will lift right off after that. You can get a good look at the hinges and the mounting point with the top off the body. I bet if they are bent, you should be able to straighten them right out with a little hammer action. The anchor point where the hinges screw into the top might be bent as well.

Take a look at those spots, and I bet you will be riding level soon.

[gb5114]

I know your pain. Just bought a G1 with the identical problem. I figured out what the previous owner did (same thing). On this one the two frame rails that go over the rear end had fresh paint cracked, so I got to looking and both tubes are bent right at the start of the radius. Took me about an hour to figure out what was bent. I done it the easy way (redneck style) notch the two rear tubes by the rear cross member, set the back on jack stands, put a little heat to it and walla, body sets flat. then welded the notches shut. It was a quick easy fix. The correct way would be to stub new rails in. Hope this helps.