pic: Beginnings of a gokart

[sanddrag]

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[Timmyd]

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.

[CJO]

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

(not sarcasm, really)

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by 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

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.

[Timmyd]

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

[NoodleKnight]

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

[Andrew Blair]

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....

[sanddrag]

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!

[Greg Perkins]

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

[Timmyd]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

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!

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

[Timmyd]

pics might help

[sanddrag]

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.

[Timmyd]

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

[Ben Piecuch]

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

[Kyle A]

[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.