Custom manual clutch

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ddowns46

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I'm using jb weld professional epoxy which has a shear strength of 3960psi up to 550 degrees. This clutch will not see those temperatures and will run significantly cooler than a standard centrifugal clutch. Furthermore, as others have said, the failure mode does not endanger the user. I had my brother, a materials engineer, analyze the joint properties and thermal considerations and he agrees that the joint will not fail. With that said, if it does I will purchase the more expensive industrial epoxy that is meant specifically for brake and clutch lining.
 

ddowns46

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Hey all, sorry I haven't been on in a while. With the holidays it been hard to find time to get the kart going. I also bought a '52 chevy pickup so that been stealing some time.

The clutch is fully assembled and the motor is mounted the kart for good. I still need to modify the intake manifold to clear the right rear wheel, and run a cable for the clutch actuator.

I've started it up and used a wrench to actuate the clutch and the thing works great! Very smooth, with no noises or anything. Given, this is without load, but still...its a big milestone.


Stay tuned. In the meantime, more pictures.
 

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Doc Sprocket

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Oh, my... You've just distracted me, HUGE! That is a beautiful truck, and I am quite jealous. My dad and I have been looking for a project for the last year or so, and a truck of that series is at the top of my hit list. Nice score!

And- dang, that clutch sure looks purdy!
 

carter

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Oh, my... You've just distracted me, HUGE! That is a beautiful truck, and I am quite jealous. My dad and I have been looking for a project for the last year or so, and a truck of that series is at the top of my hit list. Nice score!

And- dang, that clutch sure looks purdy!
See if you can find a '63 Riviera, they're powerful, extremely customizable, and they look beautiful when done right.
 

ddowns46

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Hi everyone,

I just wanted to chime in with a quick update. Testing has been going better than expected and the clutch works exactly how you would want a manual clutch to operate! Burn-outs, donuts, power slides, fast starts, decompression braking, and clutch feathering are no problem with our 7 hp Invader Kart. It really does add a new dimension to driving a go-kart, and our friends hate it when we pop the clutch out of turns and accelerate past them! After our provisional patent application was approved, we spoke with the some of the largest clutch manufacturers in the US (Horstman, Max Torque, Noram etc.) to gauge interest in the product. Since the responses were overwhelmingly positive, we have decided to pass on a licensing agreement with a larger company to test the waters in business for ourselves. In order to make the product at a larger company, the design would have to be mostly 'watered down' (stamped instead of machined etc.) to keep manufacturing costs down. Since our company is just myself and my brother, we do not have much overhead and we can sell these nicely machined and robust units at a competitive price. We have received quotes for manufacturing, and have established vendors for the internal hardware so now we have an idea of how much they will cost to make per unit in bulk. Currently, we are hoping to sell these units with a price tag of around $100 so that the average go-karter or mini bike enthusiast can afford to buy our product. Once our website is live within the next couple of weeks, we will be open to taking discounted pre-orders to the first set of people who want to try the manual clutch. In addition, we are in the process of filming videos of the clutch in use, and will have these on display on our website along with any testing data that we can come up with. I just wanted to update everyone on here and just get a sense of what our potential market might look like. Please comment if you consider yourself someone who might be interested in buying this product in the near future! We'd love to hear your thoughts, positive or negative.

Thanks,
D
 

gvfc2

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Id love to buy one. i have a mini bike and i think it would be a great enhancement over the cent. clutch i have. it would be amazing to use. im also going to try and get a go kart soon and would love one for that as well. i currently have an unmodded predator 6.5hp
 

B man

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Id buy one. dude you could hit it big. racers would love to have this clutch. play your cards right and you'll be a rich man.
 

OzFab

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Man, you better start moving, pretty soon you'll have more orders than you can handle.

I do have a few questions:
1. Can it be used on a vertical engine?
2. Do you have plans to develop a 1" version?

This is what the USA was built on: A guy with an idea that has the tenacity to put it into motion (excuse the pun). Good on you for following through with your idea. One day, you'll be a very rich man
 
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