New to buggies, Tomberlin Punisher

[Danzboys]

I'm in the process of trading off one of my ATVs for a buggy, this will be my first. It is a 2007 Tomberlin Punisher that is completely stock and unmodified. I've been doing a lot of searching for what mods I can do and the first one that comes to mind is to get bigger rims and tires. I like the rims and tires that are on my Honda 300EX. I'm thinking of getting a simialr set for the Punisher, will new hubs front and rear be all that I need? Another even crazier thought is, has anyone ever put small car rims on these with an adapter, like a narrow 13in. car rim? I know that with the current 150cc powerplant it would drastically hurt performance, but planning on repowering it with an ATV motor with reverse. Any and all help is greatly appreciated, excited to hopefully be a buggy owner soon.

LCDR Dan

[dunebuggyrider]

welcome an congrates on the punisher

[metalstudman1]

Welcome- Are you trying to just elevate the buggy?
I have a Punisher with a Honda TRX200SX engine in it. I think the fronts are 4 x 110mm or 108mm and the rears are 4 x 130mm. Swapping out hubs isn't usually that simple!!! The Punisher has great front spindles and brakes already, I doubt you'd find a matching spline for the rear axle. Wheel adapters can be expensive!!! I know Yamaha rims fit the front and Suzuki rims fit the rear. I have 20"x10"x9" front & 22"x11"x10"(stock rim) rear and it works well.
You're correct about the power going away with a taller tire size change- but a sprocket change can fix that.

[Danzboys]

Thank you and yes, I'm trying to get a bit more ground clearance underneath it. When you say Yamaha and Suzuki, I'm assuming you mean ATVs, correct? Any model(s) in particular that I need to look for? Would I need to get new hubs or are you saying they are a direct bolton? I was hoping to go to a 22" in the front and 24" in the rear, but like I said, I'm new so I'm still researching what I can and can't do, LOL!!! Any and all help is greatly appreciated as I dive right in.

LCDR Dan

[dunebuggyrider]

Dang thats some big tires

[Danzboys]

I know those are pretty big, I'm wanting the taller tires for the added ground clearance considering that the place we ride has very uneven terrain and several breakovers, the added clearance will come in very handy. Well, I've been searching online for different sizes that I could get away with. For the rear I found 25x12x10 that I like and can afford. As for the front the best I could find was a 22x7x10, but that means a rim change for the front and I believe a hub change as well. That will get me another 3" of clearance. Then again, I may change my mind once I get the buggy home, but in the pics the rear tires look so small. I like the size I have on my 300EX and was trying to get close to those. Also thinking that a shock change would be in order too, but think I'll wait to get it on the trail before I go down that road.

LCDR Dan

[x-bird]

With the 13s you're wandering into the VW based full-size sand/dune buggy territory. You get a lot of loading into the hub area in the corners with that tall of a tire. Another route to look at for clearance is shock relocation to push the arms down more and change their rate through different leverage points within the arms/frame without changing the shocks. Not knowing the model, I can't tell you if that's a feasible approach to consider.

[dunebuggyrider]

I agree with you x-bird

[metalstudman1]

Originally Posted by Danzboys

When you say Yamaha and Suzuki, I'm assuming you mean ATVs, correct? Any model(s) in particular that I need to look for? Would I need to get new hubs or are you saying they are a direct bolton? I was hoping to go to a 22" in the front and 24" in the rear, but like I said, I'm new so I'm still researching what I can and can't do, LOL!!! Any and all help is greatly appreciated as I dive right in.

LCDR Dan

Yes they are ATV wheels!!!! direct bolt-on.Yamaha Banshee rears on the front of the Punisher, Suzuki LT230 rears on the rear of the Punisher. If you take the wheel bolt pattern I gave you - you can search for wheels. There are many sites that have lists of all the models and their bolt patterns.
These are the tires on mine- it makes the buggy level- 8" off the ground and that's pretty good for a mini-buggy & plenty for rough trails.


You really need to take it out and run it before trying to do too many mod's!!! You may decide it doesn't need anymore ground clearance. I don't think you can put a longer shock on the front as the suspension is already at it's limits with the 18" shocks, you could change them out for a more expensive smoother set but that's about it. The rear has 14" shocks and I wouldn't want the rear angled anymore than it is already.