This post isnt aimed at anybody here, so don't take it personally.
We all take risks in life. Our perception of risk is influenced by how much control we think we have over the situation.
Putting on a billet flywheel by your own choice puts you completely in control. When its your decision, you may minimize the perceived benefit because of cost. You also minimize the perceived risk when you choose not to put one on your engine and rev it above governed rpms.
Your own perception of risk does not change the risk. and those of us that have a fully functional pre-frontal cortex, err on the side of caution, especially when the potential loss can affect your health, which is priceless. The cost of a a $100 flywheel pales in comparison to your health. So why take the risk? Is 100$ really worth rolling the dice for? Its up to you, but I already know my own personal answer.
Think about spreading misinformation, what if a bunch of people see you posting that its 'safe' or claiming there's no 'definitive proof' of needing a billet flywheel once you remove the governor, based solely on anecdotal evidence e.g. my buddy runs 6k rpms all day long and IT DIDN'T HAPPEN TO HIM, so therefore it will never happen to anybody-- this is complete bull-crap.
All it takes is one guy listening to your misguided advice about not putting one on, then he revs it to some ungodly rpm with his inexpensive springs he got online as a 'rev kit' and spins or shatters the flywheel and injures himself.
You yourself are not only responsible for your own opinions (which hey, do whatever you want, your free to use one or not), but you are also responsible for all these younger people that think the internet is the source of all knowledge... pffft.... and will literally take an opinion from a forum as the gospel truth.
E.G. Just think of little kid Billy over there, that poor little 13 yr old boy that searches "how to make my go kart faster?" finds all these youtube videos about governor removal, and searches for some performance parts. Next thing you know, his $75 - his entire life savings up to this point - is only gunna buy him that rev kit from omb warehouse.... oh wwait.... just last year omb had valve springs in that rev kit, but NOW THEY DONT.... why do you think that is? Now, instead they have this massive red lettering that says if you remove the governor, put on a billet flywheel. Some of you are gunna say right now,. uhhh duh they say that because they wanna sell you a flywheel. Im going to say... nah.... they are saying that to cover their own butts because of the RISK and LIABILITY they expose themselves to by selling a 'rev kit'....... So billy who is blowing his life savings on his modded engine can only rev so high....
So here you have proof at the onset of this post from bobs4cycle (professionals running engines on dynos, having the flywheels shatter) and you still deny it saying i see no pictures, i see no proof. You can keep those blinders on and stay ignorant, but it wont change the fact that there is a verified risk in running a stock flywheel on an ungoverned engine, and just because they dont spin or shatter in 100% of the cases, doesn't mean it wont happen ever. There is not simple answer here, and erring on the side of caution, especially when it comes to your health is always good. What is $100 compared to your health? especially when those billet flywheels are so stinkin shiny? I mean thats gotta be $100 in shine value alone, right?
