Clutch or Direct Drive

[fraseathome]

Hi,

I am refurbishing an old Manco Dingo 285 and putting a big Honda GX390 engine into it. I have done everything to get both the old engine working and frame back up to standard but I am struggling to find a clutch for the 13hp engine here in the UK. I am on a budget (don't really want to spend any more than £80 on the full clutch system). Does anyone have any ideas?

• Could this engine be setup for direct drive?
• I have found a belt clutch for 13hp engines (but not bought it), how would I go about installing this?
• Does anyone know where I can find a budget clutch for this engine in the UK?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Fraser

 

[bajagokart]

First of all I would say I don't recommend direct drive because it will cause strain on the engine when you press on the brake! Second I don't recommend using a centrifugal clutch because it is only one fixed gear ratio! I do recommend you get a comet 40 series torque converter for your gx390! I have a 13hp clone and use the comet 40 series and it is unbelievable! I couldn't ask for better performance! I say thy you spend the 200 bucks and get a comet 40 series and spend the extra money! It's totally worth it!!! Best money you could ever spend! If you want to see how it is mounted, check my profile and look at my pictures!

 

[KieranM]

you could use a tensioning clutch by using a belt. Its not really a clutch but it is just a pulley that tensions up the belt so it will send power from the engine to the axle. When the tensioning pulley is not in use there is no tension in the belt and so its not driving the axle. Its a simple setup and all is needed is a 3rd pulley between the axle pulley and the engine shaft pulley.

 

[solomon]

if your on a budget just use a centrifugal clutch until u can afford a torque converter. Id choose a higher "top speed" ratio, because that HP should compensate for some acceleration and some torque.

 

[fraseathome]

First of all I would say I don't recommend direct drive because it will cause strain on the engine when you press on the brake! Second I don't recommend using a centrifugal clutch because it is only one fixed gear ratio! I do recommend you get a comet 40 series torque converter for your gx390! I have a 13hp clone and use the comet 40 series and it is unbelievable! I couldn't ask for better performance! I say thy you spend the 200 bucks and get a comet 40 series and spend the extra money! It's totally worth it!!! Best money you could ever spend! If you want to see how it is mounted, check my profile and look at my pictures!

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. I can't see any pictures on your profile which show how your TAV is mounted but I have a fairly good idea of how it is done. I originally thought that I would get a TAV but I found that Comet have closed their factory now which has made them extremely rare and even more expensive, the cheapest I can find is £250 which is way over my budget.

Thanks for your advice on not going direct drive.

Fraser

 

[fraseathome]

you could use a tensioning clutch by using a belt. Its not really a clutch but it is just a pulley that tensions up the belt so it will send power from the engine to the axle. When the tensioning pulley is not in use there is no tension in the belt and so its not driving the axle. Its a simple setup and all is needed is a 3rd pulley between the axle pulley and the engine shaft pulley.

Hi Keiran,

This sounds like a challenge but a cost effective one at that. I'm definitely going to consider this option. Can you provide any diagrams or pictures showing how this would work please?

Cheers,

Fraser

 

[fraseathome]

if your on a budget just use a centrifugal clutch until u can afford a torque converter. Id choose a higher "top speed" ratio, because that HP should compensate for some acceleration and some torque.

Hi Solomon,

Can you suggest any clutches which would cope with this engine (without burning out) and are within my price range? I was looking at Noram 1600 and 1800 but they are about £140 which again is out of my reach. I have contacted Noram directly and they have passed me the contact details for their UK distribution who I am awaiting reply from. Hopefully I will hear back but in the mean time I still need your help to determine the best solution.

Cheers,

Fraser

 

[KieranM]

I guess it just sounds complicated i dont think i explained it the best, its actually an easy set up i will have a look for a few pics for ya

 

[solomon]

I would just a get a Comet 1" clutch, i think it will be fine on ur motor, as long as ur not going over 4500 rpm. Comet 1" clutch is about $100.00 US

 

[Kaptain Krunch]

I would just do a belt tensioner style clutch, look at any riding lawnmower for ideas, almost all of them use this method (all non hydrostatic ones that is). They are very simple to set up, yet effective (i would take one over a centrifugal clutch any day).

 

[modelengineer]

Belt tensioner all the way. Pics of how I did it.

Picture a belt going around all 3 of those pulleys. The springs force the tensioner up (not the best way, better for the tensioner to be clamping the the belt down) and the clutch pedal lowers it. Simple and very effective, but you will need a jackshaft. You can't get enough reduction with just pulleys because really small pulleys are no good.

 

[anderkart]

Hey fraseathome, I noticed your in the UK. Most GX390's over there have 25mm. pto shafts, the GX390 engines sold over here in the states have 1" pto's. These 2 sizes are pretty close but clutches, Torque converters and pulleys for these 2 shaft sizes don't always interchange. So... before you buy anything, measure your engines pto shaft diameter (where the clutch mounts) with a Caliper to make absolutely sure what size you have there.

 

[Russ2251]

I don't recommend direct drive because it will cause strain on the engine when you press on the brake!

How so?
I use them all the time!
From 1hp on up, 2 cycle and 4. Great alternative to a clutch when on the cheap or experimenting with ratios.

Most GX390's over there have 25mm

Pretty close to 63/64ths.The use of .007" shim will solve fitment problems. 1" clutches no longer a problem on my Briggs and Lawn-Boy 2 cycle shafts.
25mm = 0.9842519685 inch
63/64ths. = 0.984375 inch
.. or a difference of -0.0001230315...negligible.

 

[fraseathome]

How so?
I use them all the time!
From 1hp on up, 2 cycle and 4. Great alternative to a clutch when on the cheap or experimenting with ratios.
Pretty close to 63/64ths.The use of .007" shim will solve fitment problems. 1" clutches no longer a problem on my Briggs and Lawn-Boy 2 cycle shafts.
25mm = 0.9842519685 inch
63/64ths. = 0.984375 inch
.. or a difference of -0.0001230315...negligible.

Cheers,

I pretty much ignored the post about the 1" clutches. I knew that 25mm was pretty much the same as 1".

Think I'm going to just go all out and import a clutch now but just so that I know how, to go direct drive would I simply put an cog onto the pto?

 

[Russ2251]

...would I simply put an cog onto the pto?

Yes, and can get them here.

 

[solomon]

I guess you shouldn't come to a slow or complete stop with that setup lol

 

[Russ2251]

I was first turned on to them many years ago as we didn't exactly have a lot of money. They (clutches) were much more expensive then than they are now.
Mercury was one clutch manufacturer that had bolt holes through the housing and clutch shoes so that it could be made direct drive on the fly (almost).
As I've pointed out before, it is a different driving experience, and I sometimes prefer it over using a clutch.
Don't knock it till ya' tried it.

 

[solomon]

Yea, but where I live, I need to come to complete stops for sometimes over a minute, so its useless for complete stops IMO

 

[Russ2251]

so its useless for complete stops IMO

I would only recommend direct drive for where you can free run. I'm very fortunate in that the landlord where I work is into GoKarts and lets me do whatever I want. My parking lot has a pretty large circumference.

 

[jace]

hey can anybody give me some good pulley sizes for a go kart with a belt tensioner setup..the cart weigh about 350 pounds with me and has 18" tall tires with a 5.5 honda clone