go kart + 4 wheeler parts..

[saiko]

Hi all! My friend Jon (specv44) and I have been working on this kart for a while now. First it was a free body with a little 3hp motor that we replaced a 13hp gx390 clone. We rode it around for a while and it was loads of fun, but we decided to redo some things. You can see where it was before we started tearing it back down to add some suspension parts from a 4 wheeler. We will be updating this as we go along

Hi guys, my name is Jon. Currently working on a little go-kart that myself and friend have been building. The sticker that is on the frame is too far gone to distinguish what it is, but you guys can probably tell from the pictures.

Anyway, got a question for ya. After some hard running yesterday, the belt started to get a bit hot and my friend said it was smoking a bit. Pulled the driven spring out this morning, and it seems to be thrown out of whack. Now that I need to replace the spring, would it be better to go with a yellow or another color spring, as opposed to the green spring?

The cart is getting ready for some BIG changes (actually later this week it should be), going with a 250 ATV front suspension/steering with a single shock/spring rear swingarm. So I was also wanting to see what you would recommend as far as gearing as well. Below is what it is currently, and what it WILL be soon.

Currently:

13hp HF blue (GX390 clone) 1" shaft
TAV2 torq-a-verter system, green spring, set on 3 I believe. 9 tooth sprocket on the converter
48-50 tooth rear sprocket (would have to count to verify)
16" rear turf saver tires
custom header pipe
governor still in tact, minus throttle stop

Changing to:

13hp HF blue (GX390 clone) 1" shaft
TAV2 torq-a-verter system, yellow spring (???), set on 3. 9 tooth sprocket.
??? tooth rear sprocket
24" ATV all terrain tires
custom header pipe
governor still in tact, minus throttle stop (IDK if I want to remove governor, works pretty well right now)

Right now we are liking the fact that it exceeds 45mph (let off due to hat flying off and the tiny steering wheel wasnt great on a sidewalk), mainly flat ground with lots of slowing down/accelerating. But with all the suspension changes coming, we are planning on taking it to the same environment that I take my 4 wheeler to, so we want to ensure it is going to haul my 120lbs buddy around in 8" deep sugar sand with no issues (and perhaps my 240lb self from time to time).

I know this is a lot of information for an initial post, but I will take as much advice as I can get. Thanks!

P.S. Yes, the seat will be changed soon lol.

After last night's tear-down:

Finished cutting the welds that held the floor-pan to the frame:

Little bit of frame cleanup to knock the remaining welds down flat:

Blurry, but welding the sub-frame together:

Another view, after completely welded:

It was welded with a little $100 gas-less MIG from HF. No cleanup, I dont think it looks too bad:

As it sits now, will pick up tomorrow when I get another spool of wire:

 

[saiko]

Here's some more progress...

Made some progress on Friday night and Saturday:

Finished the hubs for the rear axle, to allow for the ATV wheels to bolt on to the existing hubs:

Getting more comfortable with my $100 HF 90amp MIG:

All 4 ATV wheels installed:

Cut the rear of the frame off, test fitting the bar to close the rear in:

Swing arm mount attached to frame (no bracing done yet):

 

[saiko]

Now the swing arm is attached, I made an adapter for the steering wheel and mounted the pedals. I just have to come up with a way to put some spring in them. I'll try to get some pictures of that stuff and post it.

 

[gokart14]

good lord that will be like driving a mini monster truck

 

[saiko]

Pretty close to it. The floor pan will be ~16 inches off the ground. We chose to make it as high as it is due to the front shock supports from the Yamaha Bear Tracker being so tall.

 

[rabies]

very nice work. you have some super welds

 

[specv44]

Thanks! I love when my welds turn out well, they look better and hold better than bad looking welds lol.

 

[apfcb94]

dang dude. thats alot of motor. i was up at harbor freight last week. 6.5hp was onsale for $80 for fathers day. nd 13hp was like $170

 

[specv44]

woah, I would have bought 2 more if i had known they were that cheap. I think I paid $350 early last year for ours.

 

[Big Boy]

Nice project you got here. I'm pretty jealous.

 

[specv44]

Thanks Big Boy, tonight we started tackling gas/brake pedals, motor plate has been leveled out (kind of, it will work, had to raise the rear 2"), shock/spring has been attached now (then I poked a hole in the shock, dammit!), finished welding the shock mount (now it needs to be trimmed/cleaned).

Slowly but surely we are getting it done. At least today we were able to jump up and down on the front AND rear suspension lol.