Recent content by Russell ATV

Much depends on the purpose of the kart. Nothing can turn with more g force than a racing kart. They can pull 2Gs in a turn. They are almost square in terms of their dimensions (43"), except the rear wheels can push out to 50". For sand, you want something longer. For off road trails, you...

High Power Kart part 3 When off road, crawling up some gravel (and by gravel I mean softball to basketball size rocks) can be a be real pain with a hand operated clutch and a cantankerous sequential shifter from an old motorcycle engine. So, I started to research the pure evil of snowmobile...

If you are looking for a solid mechanical brake solution, I recommend this: http://www.pccmotor.com/dibrcapamipo.html This is similar to what you might find on a bike, but bigger and stronger. I have this on the rear axle of my 20 and 17HP karts and they have no problem locking up the rear...

Twin Engine, Twin CVT, Gravel King When you have just too many parts lying around, you hate to not build something. One day with the family, I came across a key part at a yard sale. I am not a yard sale guy, but I know value when I see it. In a pile of parts from a snowmobile, I saw a couple...

High Power Kart Part 2 Once you have experienced 4 wheel independent suspension on an off road kart, there is no other alternative. There is a reason the high dollar ATVs and Side by Sides use an independent suspension. It comes down to cornering. The swing arm set up forces your front tires...

High Power Kart, Part 1 At some point, modified industrial engines (or two) will just no longer cut it. To make a kart tough enough to handle tough terrain, you must make a solid, if somewhat heavy kart frame and wheels. So, I watched Craigslist to find the right mix of tires (cheap) and motor...

The Metro axles are also pushing around just over a ton of mass, much more work than a kart. Russ

Have a look at RockAuto.com . Then, look at the Geo Metro as a possible donor. The left CV half shaft looks about perfect for a 4' wide vehicle. Did I mention the price is $32 complete per side. I just bought 2 myself to replace a U-joint axle I have on a kart. The Metro was rated for...

The Rail, long travel Kart After studying various options for independant suspensions using a coil over spring, I decided the double A (or wishbone) was the best solution for the front tires. For the rear, the solutions were highly varied. However one design, a 3 link trailing arm, seemed to...

The Son's Karts My son's first kart was an electric, and it used the really thin 1090 spring steel and he loved it. perfect for a 6 year old. It could be driven in the yard and make it up hills. It had a 450 watt electric bicycle motor and a mess of NiCds. I don't have a lot of Pictures, but...

Your metal work is extremely good. I have to ask the question, as to why you are linking the frame around the engine to the rear swing arm. It would seem you should let the motor to axle part of the design take precedence. Make it functional, and then make it pretty. Unfortunately, I often...

A Simple Rigid Kart / Engine Side Car Realizing the limitations of the spring steel suspension, I tried a few ideas ranging from the round rubber cylinders of the Go-Ped Trail Ripper to a traditional coil over spring design. So, I build a fun little rigid kart with some left over steel and...

The Last Spring Steel Kart At this time, I moved from the plains of Texas to the Mountains of Washington. Gravel in Texas is about the size of a pee, and off roading is on well compacted clay. In Washington, the Logging roads and Wilderness nearby contain gravel with rocks the size of...

Yes, looks like you have also tried to keep the design simple and the weight down. If you are using the Clone engines, the design should match the performance. I eventually had to go the coil over spring suspension route as well. My next kart was my last spring steel suspension kart. Russ

Oh, forgot to include the link. This video does it justice. Imagine being the film guy as tree trunks come flying at you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhA65jtBw_s#t=55