pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

hey instead of using a manual clutch i would use a 3/4 max torque clutch it will engage around 2100 rpms and it only runs about $40 its what i got on the cart i just built and it works great and for the muffler scrap it it kills hp to take it of you will have to take off the gas tank and carb first . instead off a muffler use straight pipe it will give you more hp and it sounds awesome

hey if you want it the way you got it ignore what i just said.

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

Hmm, all you need is one of those fuzzy things for the mirror and it will be complete.

(not sarcasm, really)

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

I was thinking about that but I've had the carb on and off so many times that I don't want to do it again. I'll try it with the muffler and if it's too laggy then I'll straight pipe it. Also, I don't want the neighbors to get too annoyed with all my engines (weedwhacker, RC car, minibike, truck).

For the clutch, I have one of those centrifugal ones on my minibike and while it is nice and easy to use, I don't really care for it. It slips too much for my liking. Plus it is money I would rather save than spend. Budget is the key for this project. I've got a V belt setup, so I'm going to try it.

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

how much hp does the engine have with the clutch it should not slip as long it gets rpms . i used to have the problem with slippage it was due to the carburetors choke moving out of place so i zip tied it closed after that i tuned it it got up to rpms and took off but as you said their is the cost drive shaft sprocket and chain lots o cash most likely around $200 for the sprocket alone or at least thats what mine ran me

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

Don't forget to double your horsepower with a NOS GoPed kit, it's good for 100cc engines I believe =P.

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

Heres one important thing about your setup: i think those front wheels you have are the same ones we use on our go-cart, and they have a nasty habit of having the wheel separating from the hub. The small welds that hold the hub to the spoke portion break quite easily, but the wheel will not completley fall off. What'll happen is you'll not notice and end up rounding out the hole in the spoke portion, effectively creating a very nice piece of junk.

What you need to do is just remove the tire from the wheels and put some larger weld tacks on the hub. If you're careful you won't have to take the bearings out of the wheel, because that is a real #@!*. Avoid doing it at all costs.

Great idea! Try making it autonomous! Thats our little project, though it has been pushed to the side lately....

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

Do you think I'll have any problems with the wheelbase? I'm trying to make it as short as possible but I'm a big tall person (like 6'2 or 6'3) so I need the length or my legs will cramp up. I just don't want to have any problems not being able to turn sharply enough though. The other thing I could do is make an elevated seating position so that my legs aren't as extended and the wheelbase can be shorter, but then the CG would be higher and the ride might not be as exciting because I won't be as close to the ground.

For the wheels, I have an identical one on the front of my minibike and the only problem is that the bearings went out but that was only after quite a while and at $5 each it isn't too big of a deal to buy a new one.

One other question I have is about the rear axles. Is it bad if the wheel bearing is riding on a fully threaded bolt? Can I put tape on it so the threads don't eat away at the bearing? Common sense tells me not to put a bearing on a threaded bolt/shaft but logic tells me that the inner race of the bearing will not be moving in relation to the bolt/shaft.

Another objective of this project is to do it with no or little welding, so the way I am thinking of doing the rear axles requires the wheel/bearing to ride on threads.

Last, does anyone know how I can make my own spindles without welding? Is it possible? Currently, I think that is the only part I would have absolutely have to weld (can't think of any other way) but if I can do the whole thing without welding that would be awesome.

Thanks for all the replies. Keep 'em coming!

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

i dont know if you saw the monster garage where the high school kids made the shopping cart/gokart. they had a really small wheelbase, and ended up not being able to turn, so what they did was free-wheel one of the rear tires on a bearing. it acted similar to a rear differential for their application, where i see it would be the same as yours. looks good, maybe blanket will be the next gen frame material :p

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

the way you have the engine positioned makes it look like your going to only have one wheel drive ether that or your going to be above the axle. so i would move the wheels behind the engine and that wheel base is about the same as mine and i am about three inches off the ground and yet i can still hit the breaks and do 360s it should do fine if you have rack and pinion steering

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

pics might help

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

Thanks for the pics. I don't think you call that rack and pinion steering because there is no rack, and there is no pinion, but the pictured setup is the type of steering I plan to have.

How many HP is your engine?

The frame setup and wheel positioning on yours is interesting. It looks like you have your legs going over the tie rods. I might consider that. I was thinking of having the tie rods at the very front of the gokart and having the pitman arm and spindles pointing the other way and then having my pedals aft of the tie rods.

I'll have to sit on the ground and do some imagining to see what will work best for me.

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

it is a 2.5hp engine but i plan on swapping it out for a 3hp that has been ported and polished as is it goes 30mph but with the new engine 35+
i hope
the steering wheel is not on it because it has a quick release so i can get out of it more easily a pin with a button release threw the steering column

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

Hanging your legs over the front axle is very common is the Formula SAE competition. Just make sure you have a solid frame around them, to protect yourself from front end impacts.

You can see a lot of the pictures here...

Formula SAE Image Gallery

Bengineer

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

[quote=sanddrag]Do you think I'll have any problems with the wheelbase?

I dont think that you will. On our go cart we have a small wheelbase and the only problem that you may have is with it skiding a little bit when we are turning.

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

I meant will having a long wheelbase cause any problems with turning radius not being adequate? I do plan to drive only one wheel.

Also, what does everyone think of the bearing on threaded bolt issue. I'm thinking I'm going to cross my fingers and try it and I'm only out $12 if it doesn't work.

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

how about filling the threads with something? bondo maybe?

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

one wheel drive could make it drive to one side or the other and the threads shouldn't make a big deal of trouble but i haven't tried it so i don't know you may be able to turn down the threads on a lathe and put some tubing over it the same OD as the ID of the bearings cut the tubing in half and weld it on the missing threads but that is a little too much work for what you probably want to do

or you could fill the threads with weld and grind it down to fit

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

OK before i sound like an idiot what kind of tools do you have at your disposal
lathe, knee mill, MIG TIG stick welder, grinder, drill press, any of these???
if not your project is going to be a pain in the you know what

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

Personally, I would avoid using a bearing over a threaded rod. You would have to get the bearing to go over the threads fairly tightly, and with the beating that a go-kart will endure, I think that you will beat the threads over and wind up with an undersized shaft. You may not have problems, but I don't think that I would chance it. If the bearing slides easily over the threads, i would look for a smooth piece of shaft to make axles out of. You could get away with slip fitting the bearings on a smooth shaft because it will be much harder to deform simply because the surface is solid.

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

[quote=Timmyd] for the muffler scrap it it kills hp to take it of you will have to take off the gas tank and carb first . instead off a muffler use straight pipe it will give you more hp and it sounds awesome

This is up to you but I don't really like running straight pipes. The lack of any back pressure in the exhaust has a tendancy to burn exhaust valves over long periods of time. Also remember that if you want to run straight pipes you are going to have to richen the fuel mixture, because free flowing exhaust also makes the engine run lean. We have always used mufflers on our go-karts and never had problems, even revving 5500+ rpm (with a stock engine minus a governor, this gets a little scary :ahh: ). However, we run 8hp Briggs and Tecumseh engines on ours. As for extra power, you won't be able to feel much of a difference, unless your muffler is totally plugged up and this rarely happens to 4 cycle engines (2 cycles tend to have a problem with this because you must mix oil with the fuel, too much plugs them up). If you really want more power, you need more motor. It looks like a fun project though, good luck with it.

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

ok be really careful because my neighbor did this and welded himself a frame and my sister REALLY messed up her arm and shoulder on it. you may consider helmet and ...umm a real gokart frame...you can probably buy on on the internet ...anyway i just dont want to ee something like what my sister had


yea her arm looked like a hamburger and they used a nylon brush to get the gravel out...


be careful i dont want to hear a story about a first kid getting hurt..

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

Danger is what makes it fun! :D True but safety is more important.

You are correct in saying that this will be a dangerous gokart. It is all home made, scratch built, and built with getting it done in mind over quality. I do plan to wear a helmet. I do still intend to spend as little as possible on it so I will not be buying a frame. If I had a brand new 8hp engine or something like that, I'd put more care and money into the quality department but for now, it is just some experimental fun and I just want it to move decently. With me and a 3hp engine, I don't think the two of us will be going anywhere too fast but maybe I'll surprise myself.

The rear is the frame from the lawnmower. The frame will be primarily aluminum C channel (1x3x1/8 I think) bolted together.

May I ask what exactly happened to your neighbor's frame/kart to cause the accident?

Also I have a safety question. It would be a good idea to have a seat belt right? There isn't any reason not to have one (like on motorcyles) is there?

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

just curious. did this thing ever progress past this point in the picture?

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

Yep, I got some frame rails on, and some cross members, and the rear wheels and sprockets mounted, and a seat. But I haven't done the front spindles or steering yet. I plan to, but it has just been so hot outside this summer (95+ every day) that it's hard to do any work outside or in the garage.

Re: pic: Beginnings of a gokart
 

Looks like someone's been watching rerun's of the MONSTER GARAGE on the Discovery Channel. (That show rocks!)