Front suspension only for off road?

[Bakiras]

Hello everyone! I would like to know if it's possible to build an off road go kart with suspension only on the front while using a springer seat to make the ride a bit more comfortable. If yes, will it have any positive effect on the handling? Will it be better to not put suspension at all? Mind you, this is not gonna be a f1 car, it will reach 40km/h tops.

 

[Snaker]

Sure it is.
I had a suzuki 4 wheeler ATV that had front suspension with a hardtail.
It had the doughnut tires on the back.
The tires added some "suspension" but could send one into a nose down launch if the speed and bumps were just right.
Might be a help to search ATV junkyards and use the whole front end of one.

 

[Bakiras]

Sure it is.
I had a suzuki 4 wheeler ATV that had front suspension with a hardtail.
It had the doughnut tires on the back.
The tires added some "suspension" but could send one into a nose down launch if the speed and bumps were just right.
Might be a help to search ATV junkyards and use the whole front end of one.

Thank you very much for the reply. I will try to find a front end of an ATV but I doubt it. There aren't many junkyards with parts that I can use around here.

 

[Denny]

You could also do a cheap and easy swing arm rear suspension also.

 

[Bakiras]

You could also do a cheap and easy swing arm rear suspension also.

I thought about that but I wouldn't want the engine to go up and down every time I hit a bump. Now that I think about it, I found some cv joints from farming equipment at a really good price so I may as well fabricate a simple independent rear suspension with a arms. I think that that would be the best choice since I am planning to taking this thing to some gnarly places.

 

[Denny]

I thought about that but I wouldn't want the engine to go up and down every time I hit a bump. Now that I think about it, I found some cv joints from farming equipment at a really good price so I may as well fabricate a simple independent rear suspension with a arms. I think that that would be the best choice since I am planning to taking this thing to some gnarly places.

People and manufacturers do it all the time!

 

[Bakiras]

People and manufacturers do it all the time!

I agree but the situation is a bit more complicated, for me at least. If I go with the swing arm option I will have a tough time figuring out the shifting linkage. If you are able to help me with that one then I definitely choose the swing arm.

 

[Denny]

Others have done it, I have not and did not pay enough attention to how they did it though. Go in the build off section and look up Joe405’s off road dune buggy build. I think he did it with a cable which would be quite easy.

 

[Bakiras]

Others have done it, I have not and did not pay enough attention to how they did it though. Go in the build off section and look up Joe405’s off road dune buggy build. I think he did it with a cable which would be quite easy.

I will check it out, thanks for all the info btw

 

[Denny]

Joe’s build is from a few years ago so you’ll have to search. I think he used a small ninja motor. Like a 250 or something.

No applause please, just send money!

 

[madprofessor]

You could also do a cheap and easy swing arm rear suspension also.

Easy is correct. You can even take a hardtail kart and literally cut it in two, and just put it back together with hinges. Voila, you have a swingarm. Just add shocks. Cable the brakes and the throttle.
There's another way to do it that leaves your motor stationary. You mount the motor rigid above the swingarm, and then run the primary chain from the clutch or CVT or whatever the motor output sprocket turns out to be to a jackshaft. You run the secondary chain from the jackshaft to the rear axle. The trick is to hinge the swingarm in the exact same plane as the jackshaft sits. That way the secondary chain tension will never change as the swingarm goes up and down, while the motor sits nice and still above a kart with suspension under it.
Pics below show one of those, with some special geometry added to the swingarm. The shocks are 17" nitrogen-filled adjustable coilovers, mounted in a cantilevered geometry that actually reverses the action of the springs. They act with diminishing resistance when compressed, instead of the resistance increasing. No need to get that fancy, the point is to show the stationary motor above a swingarm with a ridiculous amount of travel.
This particular kart got a 44" axle for the swingarm/jackshaft, and after the bearings were mounted, the axle got cut into 3 pieces so that only the jackshaft section would spin with the chain, while the 2 swingarm sections just go back and forth.

 

[Bakiras]

Easy is correct. You can even take a hardtail kart and literally cut it in two, and just put it back together with hinges. Voila, you have a swingarm. Just add shocks. Cable the brakes and the throttle.
There's another way to do it that leaves your motor stationary. You mount the motor rigid above the swingarm, and then run the primary chain from the clutch or CVT or whatever the motor output sprocket turns out to be to a jackshaft. You run the secondary chain from the jackshaft to the rear axle. The trick is to hinge the swingarm in the exact same plane as the jackshaft sits. That way the secondary chain tension will never change as the swingarm goes up and down, while the motor sits nice and still above a kart with suspension under it.
Pics below show one of those, with some special geometry added to the swingarm. The shocks are 17" nitrogen-filled adjustable coilovers, mounted in a cantilevered geometry that actually reverses the action of the springs. They act with diminishing resistance when compressed, instead of the resistance increasing. No need to get that fancy, the point is to show the stationary motor above a swingarm with a ridiculous amount of travel.
This particular kart got a 44" axle for the swingarm/jackshaft, and after the bearings were mounted, the axle got cut into 3 pieces so that only the jackshaft section would spin with the chain, while the 2 swingarm sections just go back and forth.

It is indeed very simple and that's what i'm about to do, thanks for the reply.

Joe’s build is from a few years ago so you’ll have to search. I think he used a small ninja motor. Like a 250 or something.

No applause please, just send money!

As for the shifting, i decided to utilize a push and pull shifting cable from a car or something similar.