Forgive my ignorance for I am a newb!

[SNateYingling]

I was thinking today while driving home from getting my kart tires. If one could procure...say a 500 or 600cc motorcycle engine complete; how hard would it be to mount that sucker up to the back of the kart and include a shifter to crank through the gears?

I don't think my kart weighs much more then a couple hundred pounds (if that, I lift it up in the truck all the time now)

Doesn't a 5HP motor equate to roughly 190cc engine? Thats what I gather from reading. I know it will depend upon the motor but I am speaking in general terms.

Again, I am kind of a newb to this, so go easy please
I learn quick and will be talkin' shop with y'all soon enough!

Nate

 

[solomon]

You can't really convert HP to CC. It would take some fabricating and what not, could be done in a few days to a few weeks.

 

[Russ2251]

Doesn't a 5HP motor equate to roughly 190cc engine?

Roughly and generally...yes.
In the case of a B&S 5hp, 213cc's (more or less) is more correct.
What you are talking about is a shifter kart and has been around for a few decades.
Many on this site have done or are doing so.

 

[NMshifter]

take a look at my intro page and you can see a homemade cycle engine shifter kart. its all fairly simple to fab up. if you have any questions feel free to ask.

 

[modelengineer]

Doesn't a 5HP motor equate to roughly 190cc engine?

Not really. A 110cc 4-stroke bike engine will make around 8hp. A 250cc 2-stroke bike engine can make over 60hp.

Yes, you can hook up a big street bike to a kart, and no, it's not exceedingly difficult if you have a welder and a grinder. However, if you had one of these engines I'd consider building something bigger and safer like a mini buggy. If you want to use it on the road you can just fit really stiff shocks and lower it. Easy.