Carter Talon GY6 Kart

[electraglide]

Anyone have or had a Carter Talon GY6 Kart? what are your thoughts. I have a chance on getting one of these $400. Am I getting a money pit, a can of worms or a bargain .... ? Are they easy to work on are parts available .... Thanks in advance .......... it has reverse ... big plus ....

 

[BaconBitRacing]

Okay no experience, just some thoughts. I wouldn’t pay 400 for that, bad tires will set you back, most of these have decent parts availability, GY6 engines scare me a bit personally. Good news, this style is pretty darn common, so lots with experience. I say at least a can ‘o worms, maybe money pit, and a new seat is definitely needed. But the great, incredible news is; You got the bug! Guys, especially you, @Karttekk, we won over another one to the go kart addiction.
TLDR: My opinion, pass it up and get something nicer or cheaper. Experts opinions are appreciated.

 

[electraglide]

Okay no experience, just some thoughts. I wouldn’t pay 400 for that, bad tires will set you back, most of these have decent parts availability, GY6 engines scare me a bit personally. Good news, this style is pretty darn common, so lots with experience. I say at least a can ‘o worms, maybe money pit, and a new seat is definitely needed. But the great, incredible news is; You got the bug! Guys, especially you, @Karttekk, we won over another one to the go kart addiction.
TLDR: My opinion, pass it up and get something nicer or cheaper. Experts opinions are appreciated.

Thanks BaconBitRacing ...... good advice ... BUT ... like you said ... got THAT bug. Have a meme for you ... The Perfect BLT ( since your handle is Bacon .. for good reason ..... who doesn't like bacon )
B Bacon
L Little bit more Bacon
T Top it off with more Bacon

 

[BaconBitRacing]

Thanks BaconBitRacing ...... good advice ... BUT ... like you said ... got THAT bug. Have a meme for you ... The Perfect BLT ( since your handle is Bacon .. for good reason ..... who doesn't like bacon )
B Bacon
L Little bit more Bacon
T Top it off with more Bacon

That's my kind of BLT! Right now deals are a little few and far between, above the standard places like FB marketplace, Craigslist, OfferUp, etc, a good place to check out is local auctions, sometimes people just want to get rid of things there and don't care as much what they go for. Be careful though, with cars the rule is: not every car at the auction is bad/been wrecked, but all the wrecked cars go to auction'.

 

[Denny]

That is not a bad price for that kart! I would ditch the gy6 and go 420 with a 40 series personally. But that is just my preference. No matter what you buy used you’ll sink a ton of money and time in it before riding.

 

[Karttekk]

Okay no experience, just some thoughts. I wouldn’t pay 400 for that, bad tires will set you back, most of these have decent parts availability, GY6 engines scare me a bit personally. Good news, this style is pretty darn common, so lots with experience. I say at least a can ‘o worms, maybe money pit, and a new seat is definitely needed. But the great, incredible news is; You got the bug! Guys, especially you, @Karttekk, we won over another one to the go kart addiction.
TLDR: My opinion, pass it up and get something nicer or cheaper. Experts opinions are appreciated.

Once we get 'em hooked there's no turning back!

 

[Karttekk]

Carter has been out of business for years. Finding parts for their fun karts is a challenge, parts for their buggies is less of a challenge but still takes some searching. The GY6 is a good engine but it has some quirks. Losing spark is a common problem, hard starting if they sit for any length of time is another one. The fuel system is vacuum operated. When the engine starts, vacuum opens a fuel valve under the tank to allow flow. The CDI's fail in these things, those are the spark modules. Poor grounds haunt these machines. If they break down while out riding you have a 400 pound machine to somehow get back to the trailer or home. Great concept though. Cushy bucket seats, electric start, headlights, disc brakes, horn, cutoff switches from the dash or the engine. I quit dealing with them since they're such beasts, moving them around was getting to be too much. I would suggest going with a Trailmaster or Hammerhead buggy. Parts and support are readily available.

 

[Denny]

That’s why I go industrial engine on them instead of the gy6!

 

[Karttekk]

That’s why I go industrial engine on them instead of the gy6!

I think part of the problem with the hard starting is the carb fuel bowl. A regular horizontal engine's fuel tank drains into the carb fuel bowl until the needle shuts off the flow, unless you manually turn the fuel valve off at the carb. With a GY6, if the fuel bowl is low when you shut the engine off, there's no vacuum to open the tank fuel valve so the carb bowl stays low. When you go to start it next time the fuel valve only opens with vacuum so it takes time for fuel to refill the carb bowl. Something isn't quite right with the design, every GY6 I've owned was hard to start if it sat for a few days at a time. Ended up using starting fluid. I had good compression too so that wasn't the problem.

 

[Karttekk]

A good fix for that problem might be to trash the vacuum fuel valve and run a fuel line to the carb with a shut off valve at the carb, similar to a regular horizontal engine. Not sure what if any problems that might create though.