Go kart engine or pit bike engine?

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Rhelmar

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Me and a couple of friends are gonna be building a go kart. We are still doing research on a number of topics so I thought making an account on here would be beneficiary. My first of probably a number of questions is regarding the engine. Which should we use, a gokart engine or a pit bike engine?

The go kart engine is more expensive from the get-go and it doesn't include the clutch. I'm comparing these 3:
12.9hp Evo engine
6.5hp Honda engine
14hp YX140 engine
I'd like to mention that it is quite hard to find engines in Austria. I have to import from other countries. We are not really experts and so we would like to avoid buying used ones. And while on topic of the engine. We are not quite sure how much performance we can expect just by looking at specs. We would like to build a kart that's quite quick. It doesn't have to have an insanely high topspeed. but we would like it accelerate to 60mph in around 7-8 or less seconds. 4 seconds would be too fast but i don't think that that is even remotely possible with an engine like this lol. If the topspeed is even that high. We probably won't be getting it to 60mph most of the time anyway. I just want it to accelerate faster than your standard 100hp family sedan. I'm only using 0-60 time because that's the most well known measurmet of acceleration.

We all have a drivers license and have about 1 year of driving experiance. I'm not going to pretend that i'm some some pro racer but if think i can handle a decently quick Go kart. Now if the engine is too quick that would be bad as well. We don't want it to be extremely hard to controll and always struggling to get traction.

To cut to the chase, I want to know if getting a go kart engine over a motorcross engine is worth it. I also want to know if the engines listed are powerfull enough/too powerful. Also why is the honda engine the same price as the other engine that's twice as powerful. What performance could I accept from these engines.

PS: I'm writing on a tablet so excuse any mistakes.
 

ezcome-ezgo

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Given those choices and prices, I would not hesitate to choose the 14hp yX140 engine. I doubt it is actually producing 14 hp, but to achieve your desired outcome, you will need a transmission, so that is the answer.
 

mckutzy

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Hello and welcome....

What kind of skill do you have in building this or the like?...
What do you have to start with... As in a donor kart?
What kind of tools do you have?? Welder grinder ect...

And 60mph is kind of a tall order... Why is it always atleast 60mph...
 

anickode

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And 60mph is kind of a tall order... Why is it always atleast 60mph...

I've wondered that too. 40 seems kind of the threshold where typical go kart parts are no longer suitable, and you need to look to racing parts. Low speed tires aren't balanced enough or built to spin that fast, regular wheels aren't balanced, steering geometry becomes far more critical, 4 wheel braking becomes more important, and unless you're going to build an 8000 rpm high compression monster or use a bike engine, you're not going to have the gearing necessary to get any sort of acceleration out of it.
 

itsid

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fire up ebay and search for "13PS Motor" order by most expensive firt (incl shipping)
and scroll your way down (since otherwise you'll end up scrolling through hundreds of penny parts)
[eu-wide search of course]

that'd give you a good idea about what's available that's reasonable in price
some incl eu-wide free shipping.
buy a clone or better find an original gx390 on ebay (yes I know used... but it's worth it if you can find one for cheap ;))

in fact that evo eninge is just a gx390 clone slightly modded
you can do that yourself (without much training or knowledge) a good set of basic tools, some patience and the willing to listen/read and learn is all it takes ;)

a Honda gx200 is great.. but I fetched a gx200 clone on ebay for 100.. (109 iirc...)
so yeah ebay "6.5PS motor" and you might find that a clone is a cheaper starting point ;)
that 6.5hp is a common starting point for the average go kart around here.
it's surely enough for having fun; 13 isn't too much either.. so no worries about that ;)
(just do not expect twice the speed, since that WILL NOT work.. it's quicker not necessarily faster, if you know what I mean ;))


'sid
 

Rhelmar

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Hello and welcome....

What kind of skill do you have in building this or the like?...
What do you have to start with... As in a donor kart?
What kind of tools do you have?? Welder grinder ect...

And 60mph is kind of a tall order... Why is it always atleast 60mph...

I'm a complete beginner when it comes to actually working on cars, bikes or anything in between. However my friend has some hands on experience working on tractors and cars.
We have our hopes and dreams to start with lol.
My friend has a pretty well equipped garage (including grinder and welder), but if we need anything, his neighbor is a mechanic and they are on good terms, so we can borrow stuff if we need anything.

I simply used 0-60 times because that's the measurement of acceleration i am most familiar with.
 

bob58o

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Well my first build was a 6.5HP two seater with torque converter that went from 0-30mph in 10 seconds. Just for reference... 16"tires. Near 6:1 gear ratio. 450lbs-500lbs kart plus driver weight.
 
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