needing a lot of help/advice on this one

[jdfelda]

hi i'm JD and i'm a student and go kart tinkering aficionado from oklahoma and i have built a few go karts in my day but am now trying to step it up with legitimate chassis etc.. seeing as i've always built my karts i know exactly how they work and why they work that way inside and out because i made it that way. being new to the buying karts scene, i need to know what the heck is up.


just bought this clone class racing kart off craigslist and there are a few things i need to figure out on it. first off, the guy who sold it to me messed around with the governor arm trying to bypass it and one time i was driving the kart and the whole arm came off and i had a runner. luckily the kart and it's surroundings were safe but now i'm without a governor arm for the lifan and it just goes full throttle upon start. i did take the arm off one of my predators i had lying around but then when i drove the kart it seemed way slower as if the governor arm off the predator was not completely compatible with the lifan. also, i'm wondering how i can get more speed out of the kart.. i'm not sure what sort of clutch it has (i'm assuming it's some centrifugal clutch gearbox setup) but it seems that the kart has decent torque but hardly any top end so i'm trying to perfect that gearing to my likings.. another thing i was wondering is why are the bumpers so dang high up?? (i put the exhaust and intake on it) here are some pics, feel free to comment with suggestions ETC.

 

[Hellion]

Nice find. Guess you're gonna be a racer then? You embraced the Dark Side™ in a real bad way...

 

[jdfelda]

Nice find. Guess you're gonna be a racer then? You embraced the Dark Side™ in a real bad way...

is this forum not very "race kart" friendly?

 

[chancer]

Oh no. It can be. There are a couple really sharp race guys here. Just not the majority.
Plus your linkage question is not really race specific anyway.

Most of us remove the governor entirely. Are you going to race the kart? or is it for fun?

Cause if it is just for Fun remove the governor entirely and make a new linkage.
https://www.affordablegokarts.com/govenor-removal.php < How to

 

[jdfelda]

Oh no. It can be. There are a couple really sharp race guys here. Just not the majority.
Plus your linkage question is not really race specific anyway.

Most of us remove the governor entirely. Are you going to race the kart? or is it for fun?

Cause if it is just for Fun remove the governor entirely and make a new linkage.
https://www.affordablegokarts.com/govenor-removal.php < How to

it's mainly just for fun but i'd like to be able to haul it out to my buddy's track and race it some weekends, but nothing real serious

 

[chancer]

I just wondered if you needed the Governor for race track rules.
Yank that sucker out. It restricts the RPMs to 3600, With out it you can safely turn 5500 on a stock motor.

 

[jdfelda]

I just wondered if you needed the Governor for race track rules.
Yank that sucker out. It restricts the RPMs to 3600, With out it you can safely turn 5500 on a stock motor.

how about that gear box? what is it? a centrifugal clutch? i don't know what ratios it has so idk how i can be in control of my gearing

 

[Hellion]

is this forum not very "race kart" friendly? &#55357;&#56841;

Oh, we don't discriminate in that way. All karts are welcome. I will say this though, you will be limited with what you can do with that kart because of what it is. Part of the issue is low ground clearance, as a rule.

I'm surprised the "bumper" is not scraping the ground.

I think the majority here would rather focus their efforts and their money on engine hop ups and have the kart itself as a secondary concern. By that I mean simple 'yard karts' are usually the vehicle of choice.

GoPowerSports has a new Manco style kart frame in development and their prototype has attained 49 MPH.

how about that gear box? what is it? a centrifugal clutch?

That is no clutch. That is a gearbox but making a positive ID on it seems elusive. Got some closeup photos?

 

[jdfelda]

Oh, we don't discriminate in that way. All karts are welcome. I will say this though, you will be limited with what you can do with that kart because of what it is. Part of the issue is low ground clearance, as a rule.

I'm surprised the "bumper" is not scraping the ground.

I think the majority here would rather focus their efforts and their money on engine hop ups and have the kart itself as a secondary concern. By that I mean simple 'yard karts' are usually the vehicle of choice.

GoPowerSports has a new Manco style kart frame in development and their prototype has attained 49 MPH.



That is no clutch. That is a gearbox but making a positive ID on it seems elusive. Got some closeup photos?

i know it seems that way but honestly clearance hasn't been much of a problem at all.. my driveway even has a really gnarly bump where it meets the street and as long as i take it at a turn it has no issues and doesn't scrape. i've also driven it all through the yard without a hitch

 

[jdfelda]

I just wondered if you needed the Governor for race track rules.
Yank that sucker out. It restricts the RPMs to 3600, With out it you can safely turn 5500 on a stock motor.

are there any transmissions for the predator 212 that could help me achieve higher speeds? this seems like it could go for yard karts also so maybe someone has some info on that

 

[Hellion]

What is the gearbox that is currently on the kart? And why?

are there any transmissions for the predator 212 that could help me achieve higher speeds? this seems like it could go for yard karts also so maybe someone has some info on that

You tell me, Mister "go kart tinkering aficionado from oklahoma and i have built a few go karts in my day".

A torque converter/TAV (or CVT) has some benefit certainly. That's what we use. But it also robs a bit of power and some of it is lost through the maze of whirring belts and pulleys. Also adds weight.

A lot to be said about a Cent. Clutch that locks up and transmits the revs that the engine is making right to the wheels (via the static gear ratio).

 

[jdfelda]

What is the gearbox that is currently on the kart? And why?



You tell me, Mister "go kart tinkering aficionado from oklahoma and i have built a few go karts in my day".

A torque converter/TAV (or CVT) has some benefit certainly. That's what we use. But it also robs a bit of power and some of it is lost through the maze of whirring belts and pulleys. Also adds weight.

A lot to be said about a Cent. Clutch that locks up and transmits the revs that the engine is making right to the wheels (via the static gear ratio).

key word "tinkering" i've always just used $30 centrifugal clutches off ebay.. but now i'm looking to find something more legitimate to try and get some speed out of the thing. as i said, are there any transmissions out there for the predator? and i'm not talking (F N R) transmission i'm talking about something more like a "shifter kart"

 

[chancer]

NO. Not really.

It looks like that engine has a Gear reduction bolted to it.
Most likely a 2-1.
I can't say if that was to slow it down or in place of a jack shaft to allow a smaller axle gear due to the short racing tires.

 

[jdfelda]

NO. Not really.

It looks like that engine has a Gear reduction bolted to it.
Most likely a 2-1.
I can't say if that was to slow it down or in place of a jack shaft to allow a smaller axle gear due to the short racing tires.

if it's reducing speed or torque too much i want it off but i don't know if it's helping anything?

 

[Hellion]

So, how fast does this thing go as-is?

Anybody clock you? Use GPS on your smart phone?

 

[jdfelda]

So, how fast does this thing go as-is?



Anybody clock you? Use GPS on your smart phone?

i gps clocked it today with a max speed around 22mph but i think my "fix" on the governor slowed it down significantly because not only did it go a lot faster before the old jimmy rig came apart, but i found the website that sells this exact kart and it says it's supposed to do 40-45

 

[bob58o]

For a shifter kart I think you'd need something like a motorcycle engine.
I think there are eBay 150cc 4 speeds or 200cc 5 speeds For like $300 and $600 respectively.
Something like the gy6?

 

[jdfelda]

For a shifter kart I think you'd need something like a motorcycle engine.
I think there are eBay 150cc 4 speeds or 200cc 5 speeds For like $300 and $600 respectively.
Something like the gy6?

are they 2 stroke?

 

[Hellion]

^^ They can be two-stroke. Some are four but the gist of it is that your typical motorcycle engine is a high compression engine and usually revs into the 10,000+ area.

i gps clocked it today with a max speed around 22mph but i think my "fix" on the governor slowed it down significantly because not only did it go a lot faster before the old jimmy rig came apart, but i found the website that sells this exact kart and it says it's supposed to do 40-45

So the kart on the website is your kart down to the nuts and bolts?

Because 22 MPH is pretty slow, er I mean not impressive by any stretch of the imagination.

You need to toss that governor as far as you can throw it, provided of course that you open the engine up to retrieve it.

Otherwise, this whole kart and thread of yours is a comedy of errors of massive proportions!

 

[jdfelda]

^^ They can be two-stroke. Some are four but the gist of it is that your typical motorcycle engine is a high compression engine and usually revs into the 10,000+ area.



So the kart on the website is your kart down to the nuts and bolts?

Because 22 MPH is pretty slow, er I mean not impressive by any stretch of the imagination.

You need to toss that governor as far as you can throw it, provided of course that you open the engine up to retrieve it.

Otherwise, this whole kart and thread of yours is a comedy of errors of massive proportions!

the whole point of this thread was to get some help on something i obviously know little about, thanks. i will look into the 200cc 5 speed on ebay. but before i do that i'm gonna remove the governor and see what that does for me. then after that i'll try replacing that gear box with a centrifugal clutch (i believe i have one that should work)