2013 - AusEx (AmEx Replica)

[OzFab]

That's what I'm hoping; I have a 60t & a 65t coming...

 

[Fast Eddie]

Great job bro! Nice to see you survived your maiden run. Now you gotta really test it! I had a 55T on mine with a little taller tire and that combo gave up alot of low-end for top-end.

 

[OzFab]

Yeah, I'm not going that tall... Right now, it's quick & I can break the tyres loose if I punch it; I don't wanna get too far away from that...

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Fan-funkin'-tastic, man! Looks good, sounds good, goes good... Stops- hey- with those brakes, how hard do you have to BLINK to lock 'em up and spin out???

 

[DaiSan76]

Do the steering arms hit your heels?

 

[OzFab]

Fan-funkin'-tastic, man! Looks good, sounds good, goes good... Stops- hey- with those brakes, how hard do you have to BLINK to lock 'em up and spin out???

Not hard at all, the disc is still a bit rough but, it should be ok once it all beds in

Do the steering arms hit your heels?

Only on tight turns... I consider that a bump stop

 

[JCB003]

Very nice. Lots of work into this one.

 

[souperman000]

again, all I can say is great job!

 

[OzFab]

Very nice. Lots of work into this one.

...& lots more to come....

I've spent most of today cutting foam & material for the seat etc & making another spacer for the clutch. It turns out that the spacer I made (see post 85) ended up being 1/8" too long, allowing the clutch to move. Seeing as it would've been almost impossible to put it back in the lathe & shorten it, I made another spacer to go behind the clutch; no more moving...

 

[Nodroz]

It is looking very good! Awesome work dude!

That sprocket sits really close to the road! A 60 tooth sprocket will fix that.

 

[OzFab]

WARNING: TRIPLE POST AHEAD!

Well, the new sprockets arrived in record time; I orded them on Thursday night, we had a long weekend & they arrived on Tuesday; thanks to Paul from Cut Price Racing.

Last week when I test drove, the chain kept popping off because the tensioner arm was too short (it was too short & was hitting the sprocket) & the spring was waaaay too weak so, during the week, I bought a much stronger spring & started making a longer tensioner arm. It's not welded together yet but, it does the job but, the chain keeps coming off Probably just an alignment or initial tension issue which will be sorted on reassembly

First chance I had to get the kart out was today (Saturday) so, I bolted up the 60t, shortened the chain to suit & took it for a zap.

HOLY FLYIN' GO KARTS BATMAN! It has just as much acceleration as it did with the 70t, still breaks loose on bitumen if I try hard enough & boy does it mooooooove!
Sorry guys, no vid on that coz there was no one around to hold the camera

 

[OzFab]

The Little Secret

Now, how many of you are wondering why I need a chain tensioner & the brake caliper mounted to the axle instead of the frame (as mentioned in posts #124 & #127)?

Well, here's why:




THIS BABY'S GOT 4 POINT MICRO SUSPENSION!

I told you about the front but, I've kept this a secret until now.

It's a pretty simple setup really: The bearing plate is bolted to a 10mm x 30mm flat bar which sits inside a length of 30x60mm RHS which is attached to the frame. Between the top of the flat bar & the top of the RHS is two valve springs, held in place by two spring retainers & a 10mm bolt (on each spring). There's a pic below of the whole assembly without the RHS

 

[OzFab]

Just for posterity, I snapped a couple of pics before completely stripping it to bare frame ready for final welding, grinding & paint

 

[Nodroz]

The sprocket sits in the grass! :O Is the smaller one installed yet?
Looking good mate! Ready for painting!!

 

[OzFab]

Yes, that's the 60t. It looks like it's in the grass but, look at the tyres. On concrete or bitumen it has about 1" of clearance

 

[Nodroz]

Btw, that's an ingenious idea for the rear suspension! Well done! (Just noticed it, lol)

Aren't those springs a little too stiff
?

 

[OzFab]

Nope, they're pretty much perfect. If anything, the front springs may be a little stiff...

 

[Jim-L-L]

Nice work ! Can't wait to see it painted ! what sort of wheelbase & track is the Ausex ?

 

[landuse]

Sneaky! Good job Tony. That is a great suspension idea. I wish i got ideas like that

 

[OzFab]

Nice work ! Can't wait to see it painted ! what sort of wheelbase & track is the Ausex ?

Wheelbase is right on 4' (1200mm), track is around 43" (1100mm)

To be honest, I'm a bit worried about painting; it's winter here right now, not exactly optimum painting conditions

Sneaky! Good job Tony. That is a great suspension idea. I wish i got ideas like that

I wasn't trying to be sneaky, just leaving a little surprise for last