Go kart!

[foxrider]

So i was staring blank into space, thinking about how Im gonna miss my sled soon being that the snow is quikly melting. Then it dawned on me. Why not make a go kart with all the crap I have lying around the farm would be a great way to pass time and enjoy a hot summers evening going for a cruze. So far this is what I have.

- I have a bunch of those spare tires from car trunks, put those to use.
-Have lots of scrap iron and even some old custom things my uncle was building and forgot about when we got the farm.
-I can get a 12HP briggs engine from my grandfather for 20$
- I can get the from fork and handle bars from plenty of old bikes or else a couple trashed dirt bikes in the bush.
- Can salvage aluminum to fill in gap between frame form old sled tunnels.
- Was thinking about using an old trike axel or quad axel for the drive shaft.
-Its gonna be chain driven.
-Its gonna be one solid frame, no shocks.
-Not gonna fiddle with a jackshaft. Just gonna be a strait chain drive from drive shaft to axel.
QUESTIONS
How do I go about mounting the rear axel to the frame?

What kind of clutch should I use( so it doesnt speed away when I start it up)

-What should my gearing be?

- What length of throttle cable will be needed?
where can I find a long one.

- What should I do about brakes?

 

[zeebs]

BRAKES?!?! What are those? LOL

But on a serious note, by looking at your drawing I would make it a little wider than 2.5 feet thats not much, could get a little exciting in corners

 

[CountryRider]

Sick buggy man... This is what im building...

 

[foxrider]

BRAKES?!?! What are those? LOL

But on a serious note, by looking at your drawing I would make it a little wider than 2.5 feet thats not much, could get a little exciting in corners

Just a sketch, the 2.5ft is gonna be the frame width at the back,

YouTube - Go Kart


For a sprocket ratio, i was thinking 10:75(or something close to that) maybe even higher.
Wanna be able to throw some gravel.

 

[benclaluna450r]

Search up 1puglife on YouTube he made a few go carts like your wanting to build and he made videos about it

 

[foxrider]

another question: Should my sprocket ratio be that the drive shaft turns something like 4 turns to one wheel rotation, or should I have it that the drive shaft turns 1:1 or even 1:2???????

 

[ridndirty]

Check out Minibuggy.net you will find all the answers to all of your questions. Best site ever.

 

[KVF 700]

i would first find a clutch that will work on that specific engine, then go from there... not sure what people use for clutches on this size of engine. personally that is the only thing holding me back. i also have a lot of scrap materials and horizontal shaft engines form 12 to 20hp laying around, but cant find an affordable clutch set up. for engines of to about 8 hp you can get the "torque a vertor" from princess auto. it is essentially a small snowmobile like clutch setup, and provides great result. the other cheaper centrifugal clutches are kinda a piece of crap. they either need to be engaged or not, and with incorrect gearing they slip a lot. they are good for mini bikes and thats about it.

honestly if u can find an old dirtbike, quad, trike or even sled engine with clutches would be best and give u the performance you want. they all hve built in transmission/clutches. however if you do end finding a reasonably prices clutch for the engine you were discussing, let me know.

another thing is if you use a trike axel are whatever, it might be a challenge to fab up some kind of adaptor plate so you can bolt on small automobile wheels.

as far as brakes, the trike axel may have some you can utilize, if you decided to use a sled engine there is break on it. depending on your budget princess auto has cheap break calipers and rotors that you can get for certain sized shaft.

great idea with keeping it simple, no suspension. very realistic plan in my opinion. just keep the things above in mined. small issues but good to think about.

keep this thread or start a new one with pictures of your creation. ill try find some pics of my old projects lol

 

[Showtime]

Boys, boys, the clutch is the easiest piece of the puzzle and are on sale at my favorite store.............Princess Auto....They are on for $47.99, the only thing you need to know is the size of keyed shaft on your motor. They sell it all to build one, they have 2 kinds of brakes...hydraulic disc or band, if it's for your kid the band is all you'll need. To mount the solid axle (which they also sell) to the frame use pillow block with the bearings in them..oh they sell those too. I'm building my little guy a Gravedigger replica, will be digger green with silver wheels and black trim.

Random Cart Pic:

 

[Showtime]

What i have found is the most expensive pieces are in the steering arrangement, the ball joints and rods can be alittle pricey. I plan on keeping mine super light as i'm only running a 5.5HP Honda but again this is for my youngsters both under 6yrs, so i'm not looking to get a 100MPH out of it.

 

[TylerG]

What i have found is the most expensive pieces are in the steering arrangement, the ball joints and rods can be alittle pricey. I plan on keeping mine super light as i'm only running a 5.5HP Honda but again this is for my youngsters both under 6yrs, so i'm not looking to get a 100MPH out of it.

I've got a 550cc Liquid Cooled 2 stroke Cat Motor with only 100km on it..... We could build one for adults too....

 

[Bogger]

I was gonna suggest he just use the 670ho motor from his sled....:d

clutches are already there and she'd go like stink... come winter flip it back into the sled.....

 

[Bogger]

this hovercraft is powered by a 670ho....

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qj0DQ0h2jjI&feature=related[/media]

 

[KVF 700]

Boys, boys, the clutch is the easiest piece of the puzzle and are on sale at my favorite store.............Princess Auto....They are on for $47.99, the only thing you need to know is the size of keyed shaft on your motor. They sell it all to build one, they have 2 kinds of brakes...hydraulic disc or band, if it's for your kid the band is all you'll need. To mount the solid axle (which they also sell) to the frame use pillow block with the bearings in them..oh they sell those too. I'm building my little guy a Gravedigger replica, will be digger green with silver wheels and black trim.

Random Cart Pic:

i ha got to love the lawnchair seat and gps mounted to steering wheel awesome lol.

upon further investigation i see you can get clutches for up to 13 hp or 1 inch shaft. i thought it was only for the smaller engines. this solves the problem

 

[overkill131313]

I built a few sleds with wheels back 20 years ago........the one worked great till the chain coming off the original drive shaft to the rear axle broke........going down a logging road and about the speed of a mach chickin.......ya no brakes.......well that one was toasted.....

a friend built a sand buggy (no bigger than a honda oddasy) with a zx 11 engine........can you say stupid.......only used first and second gear........3rd made you $h!t your pants lol........first gear was just great!

I used to run a 125 shifter cart......that all the speed any one needs........after 90 mph is just gets nuts in a parking lot lol. so many combo's you can go with from a B&S engine to a 175 hp street bike engine.........just remember it hurts when something goes "Snap" on pavement! lol........Have fun building!

 

[underdog]

I have a old vw scirocco sitting in the yard that i want to make a go kart out of. Plenty of power.

 

[Bill Daley]

Your cables are no problem.Go to any bicycle shop and get them.Ask for the ones for a tandem bike.They will be plenty long enough.

I use them on my trike

 

[Showtime]

Alot of parts i am using are from an old Yamaha kids quad which is beyond repair but tire, rims, steering are still in tact. Great idea on the bicycle cables i was gonna use steel feaul line and feed a cable through it but that sounds much easier.

 

[Bill Daley]

The end that goes into the grip is the same.

 

[country_shorty88]

all so mean paintballs wont freeze on u tehehehe