2 Seat Go Kart Axle

[ospreyfe55]

This is my first post and I have been reading up on a lot of stickies and threads and I have learned alot. I figured I might ask for some help/advice. I just recently traded a Wii for a 2 seat kart with a Honda GX120 on it. I have already ordered a new max torque clutch as the old one was always engaged-the spring was shot! This cart is in dire need of wheels and tires which leads me to this thread. The rear is a live axle setup and after disassembly I took some measurements to source new parts, but it seems to be dificult to find. The axle is a solid 3/4" I am trying to find hubs to fit it. I feel that the hub on rightside is ok but just need a new wheel/tire setup on that side however on the leftside I need a new double hub along with a new wheel/tire. The brake drum and sprocket are ok. I am having a hard time finding hubs that fit the 3/4" axle along with the current bolt pattern of 3 1/8" Should I just replace all the hubs to a different bolt pattern that fits the 3/4" axle? If so can someone lead me into a parts source direction? I can take and post pics if need be and please be kind on your responses. I have 5 kids and all but one is bugging me to get this thing going! I am trying not to ruin my kids first karting experience and also trying to keep momma calm! Thanks in advance.

 

[OzFab]

Pics are always a good idea, a picture says a thousand words...

Why do you need a double hub on a live axle?

 

[Half-breeder]

Welcome... I found Amazon to be a 'decent' place to source out parts cheaper, if you take the time to compare...(found my TC/CVT 30 series TAV2, for $139. new, through them).

... and yes pics are ALWAYS nice!

 

[Poboy kartman]

Pics are always a good idea, a picture says a thousand words...

Why do you need a double hub on a live axle?

Maybe for the sprocket/brake band? ???

Please fill out your profile so we know where you are. Doesn't do any good for us to source parts if you're in Iraq.

 

[ospreyfe55]

Why do you need a double hub on a live axle?

Do I not need a double hub? Or maybe I have it confused. It was a wheel, spacer, sprocket and brake drum. Maybe I am thinking the spacer is the double hub. Here are some pics. The wheel that has the sprocket attached had the center beat with a hammer to open up for the spacer!

 

[OzFab]

Ok, it's not what I'd call a double hub, more of a spacer but, either way, it connects the wheel, sprocket & brake drum to the axle; you didn't mention that the live axle was enclosed :toetap05:

Anyhoo, the pics raise another question or two:
-How did you measure the bolt circle of the hub (not that I doubt your abilities but, let's be honest, I don't know what your skill level is...
-Why do you feel you need to replace the left hub, what's wrong with it? (just curious, it may be an easy fix)

 

[ospreyfe55]

Ok, it's not what I'd call a double hub, more of a spacer but, either way, it connects the wheel, sprocket & brake drum to the axle; you didn't mention that the live axle was enclosed :toetap05:

Anyhoo, the pics raise another question or two:
-How did you measure the bolt circle of the hub (not that I doubt your abilities but, let's be honest, I don't know what your skill level is...
-Why do you feel you need to replace the left hub, what's wrong with it? (just curious, it may be an easy fix)

Fabroman-No worries on asking about my skill level, I was an aircraft mech for the last 13.5yrs and currently a flight engineer on the CV-22 Osprey. But lets be honest I can always learn something and I am human so I will make mistakes. I am not sure we are talking about the same terminology but to clear things up the bolt pattern was measured using the bolt patterns forming a box and the measurement was taken from the center of one bolt diagonally to the other. Not sure if that clears it up. Also I have not measured the center of the wheel, which I believe is referred to as the bolt center? As for me think of replacing the hub on the left wheel, basically the spacer is cracked on onside that presses against the wheel which I didn't know was crack until I took it apart. It may not b that big of a deal, but the main concern is I need new tires, which I found at a local lawn shop, but the left wheel is rusted out and the center is beat up. And like I stated early I am having a hard time finding hubs that fit a 3/4" axle along with the proper bolt pattern. Please let me know what pics and measurements I can take to help you help me. Again thank you for your input so far. This is very frustrating. Just don't want to spend endless amounts of money when other things on the cart need my attention.

 

[OzFab]

the measurement was taken from the center of one bolt diagonally to the other. Not sure if that clears it up.

Perfectly

I am having a hard time finding hubs that fit a 3/4" axle along with the proper bolt pattern.

There are many online stores where you can look:
BMI Karts
MFG Supply
Go Kart Galaxy
Go Kart Supply

just to name a few...

 

[itsid]

Maybe it's a metric hub?
80mm or 88mm and some other odd numbers can be found on many chinese quads and ATVs.


[EDIT]
Wait.. did you measure BOTH sides?
3 1/8" might be the sprocket hub brake hub side..
http://www.bmikarts.com/Sprocket-Brake-Hub-with-3-18-Bolt-Pattern-_p_1383.html

Maybe the wheel side has a different bolt pattern.

'sid

 

[Poboy kartman]

Well maybe how he described how he measured clears it up for some, it doesn't for me.....

That kart looks eerily similar to thugkart....."diagonally?.....if I skip a bolt, I get 3 1/8" center to center. Measured correctly ( at least in my world- I get 2 3/16" does that make a difference?????

 

[itsid]

Well maybe how he described how he measured clears it up for some, it doesn't for me.....

That kart looks eerily similar to thugkart....."diagonally?.....if I skip a bolt, I get 3 1/8" center to center. Measured correctly ( at least in my world- I get 2 3/16" does that make a difference?????

you're right, both look like a Carter Bros Superwheel,

but that doesn't mean the hubs have to be identical, does it?
I mean, both karts will have had several previous owners by now, and one of those might have changed one or two parts along the way.

But ospreyfe55's Hub just looks to be original as far as I can tell
Here's a Carter Hub:
View attachment 31580
Image taken from this thread

'sid

[EDIT]
HA!
found it part # G308:
http://rdswebs.net/reliablegokarts...._page=product_info&cPath=1_31&products_id=421
unfortunately sold out...

It has (4) 3/8" bolt holes on a 3 3/32" boltholecircle btw

 

[ospreyfe55]

Dang you guys are fast. I went out to take more measurements and pics and came back to a bunch of information. Thanks a bunch. At least I know who the kart was made by! Now I got to figure out what to do about the wheels and hubs. That spacer seems to be ok with the exception of a small missing piece and I can't see myself forking out $110 just for that! So what are my options, what do you guys recommend? I will go throughout that thread that itsid found and see what that other guy ended up doing.

Well maybe how he described how he measured clears it up for some, it doesn't for me.....

That kart looks eerily similar to thugkart....."diagonally?.....if I skip a bolt, I get 3 1/8" center to center. Measured correctly ( at least in my world- I get 2 3/16" does that make a difference?????

Does this help any? That is the way I took the measurement.
http://www.gokartsupply.com/img/bhc4.jpg


And of course with a little digging this is what I have found-
http://www.gopowersports.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/carterpdfs/2515-1.pdf

Looks like i need 5" tires up front and 6" tires in the rear.

 

[firemanjim]

O my gosh..... a newbie that does his homework! I/we commend you sir!
It seems the 5"-6" combo was popular for a while..... That spacer you have can be found on ebay. Search go kart wheels.... If its not bad, have a reputable aluminum welder fixer up for ya.... The wheels can be media blasted and lookin new again if you got a can of elbow grease layin around,for after the blasting. The whole kart will be nice , with a couple cans of elbow grease.... lol
The gx120 can use the same home brew mods we use on the bigger gx/predator engines. Read up on that, youll thank me later....
Before buying tires, count your teeth and play with the speed calculator to see what kinda speed your looking at.....

 

[Poboy kartman]

Hmmmmm- I'm still a new to karts so I'm learning too. That is not how you measure automotive rims. But it would indeed be a bolt hole circle.

So they are both original hubs. Maybe you can post up a picture of what the problem with the hub is?

Once again this is a good example of the power of pictures. I would have not even responded to the problem without them.

 

[ospreyfe55]

Elbow grease i got. Im going to use the cabinet blaster on base to clean up the wheels but basically it has three different types of wheels on it, the front is mismatch as well and has one is cracked. But I think the rear spacer will be fine. I think the better bet will be to replace the rear bearings to accomodate 1" OD bearings, move to a 1" axle and replace the hubs/sprocket to accomodate the new 1" axle.

 

[itsid]

Doug, at least in the real world, the bolt hole circle is EXACTLY how to measure automotive rims

'sid

 

[Poboy kartman]

O my gosh..... a newbie that does his homework! I/we commend you sir!
It seems the 5"-6" combo was popular for a while..... That spacer you have can be found on ebay. Search go kart wheels.... If its not bad, have a reputable aluminum welder fixer up for ya.... The wheels can be media blasted and lookin new again if you got a can of elbow grease layin around,for after the blasting. The whole kart will be nice , with a couple cans of elbow grease.... lol
The gx120 can use the same home brew mods we use on the bigger gx/predator engines. Read up on that, youll thank me later....
Before buying tires, count your teeth and play with the speed calculator to see what kinda speed your looking at.....

That can of elbow grease is the most important tool I own. When in starts getting low I top it up (12 oz at a time)

Been concentrating on the frame so haven't done much with the wheels yet but played a little with one. I used sandpaper on the rim and a wire wheel followed by sandpaper on the hub. They aren't close to finished yet:

 

[ospreyfe55]

Well the right rear wheel is in pretty decent shape and will look good after media blasting, the left wheel that the sprocket and brake drum attaches to is another story. Its rusted pretty bad and has already cut the inner tube when its inflated. Not to mention the rim has been modified to fit the spacer. I did find a place that had a few of the old carter 6" rims in stock. I might just have to break down and get them. The bearings on the front wheels are shot too. But those should be easy to replace. I looked into a different axle setup but didn't really find any options. I am 60 bucks into this and I wonder if I should just stop and keep the motor and find something else a little newer.

 

[Poboy kartman]

I wouldn't give up just yet. I'm going to a place tomorrow where there are some old rims. I started to snag them the other day because they looked like the same size as the ones on our karts. I picked one up and it had fire ants all over it so I threw it to side and then forgot about it. ..

Bearings are cheap. You can fix almost anything with patience and elbow grease. The bearings are "shot" on the kart I'm working on. I may have to replace one...( feels like the ball bearings are square in that one). But I'll bet the others will be just fine after I take off the dust covers and clean and regrease them.

 

[jonboy]

You are going to play hell finding that drive side hub. I searched the web over and the people that do have them for sale want almost $200 for them. The key ways can be TIG filled and re-broached. That's what I did on mine. If you know any machinist buddies you can have them make one or try to make a universal one work.