zero1dhd
Master Fabricator
Get some practice welding for sure, there are a lot of structural welds that are involved with this. Welds your A** is gonna be riding on at whatever top end the quad does, so if you don't have faith in your welds, get enough practice until you do.
I would recommend you use an auto clutch auto trans quad for starters, then if you so desire, step it up to whatever you want. Also I would recommend you use an electric start quad, it just makes it sooooo much better.
1)strip the quad down to bare frame, including swing arms, gas tank, electronics, everything.... MARK all electronics, most plugs are a one fits one, but not always....I fried some wires, and had to re-wire the whole kart....yay
2)mark the locations that you will need to extend - wrap them in masking tape so you can get a good clean line. I cut mine right after the main front end cage (4 tubes total) DO NOT CUT yet.
3)double check that your cutting locations are the best decision. Make sure your decisions are mathematical and exactly even to each other (makes it easier down the road); CUT as squarely and cleanly as possible
4)now that you have a front and rear cage, set the rear aside. You will need to widen the front cage. Cut all tubes that hold the inner cage together (perfectly in the center) Measure three times, cut once
5)I added 8" to mine, but I was limited to the gate it has to pass through into the side yard. Looking back 10" would have been better (foot room). You will need to cut (mine was 4) lengths of decent gauge tubing exactly to the length you decide. Mine had 5 horizontals, but I left one out for foot room.
6)Weld the horizontal extensions to the tubes that you cut apart, make sure to leave out ones that will be in the way of your feet (pedal movement)
7)Now to the back end. You will need to cut out the upper tubes that held the gas tank as well as the seat. Make sure to leave as much tubing as possible. You only need to make room for your body to sit into the opening
8)lay out square lines on the floor, I did mine with masking tape again so I could remove them when finished. Square up your new widened front end on the square tape lines. Place the back end on the square lines. Sit in the opening to determine how much length you will need to add to sit comfortably. Mark and measure with a framers square. Mark the floor with more tape where you determine is adequate room for your body. I believe mine was 9" inches on square, but I'm short and I wanted the shortest wheel-base possible.
9)with your square lines marked on the floor (you should have a # sign on the floor by now), place the front and rear on the marked # square lines. Measure the angle, mine was about 9 5/8". Again measure three times and cut once.
10)tack-weld the tubes in place. Make sure you use the square lines to make sure the kart is perfectly square so it drives straight. Gently put the front end (tires and all) and rear end (tires and all) on the kart and double & triple check everything is square and perfect.
11)when you are happy, weld them up 100%. The kart will still flex a lot at this point. You will need to gently sit in the opening to make sure you fit.
12) this is the point where if I had more tubing, I wouldn't have done the half-cage, I would have done a full cage going over my head, but I didn't have enough metal, so it is what it is.
13)weld up the cage, making sure everything is square, true, and even.
14)now it starts to get more tricky...You need to cut out the steering to lay it back more. I flipped the steering arms on the spindles so the "steering box" would be at the front of the kart. Again foot room. You will need to lengthen the steering rods, Unscrew them and add half the length of the dim you widened the front end by (4" to each for 8" widening, 5" to each for 10" widening, etc.) Weld the "steering box" in place, make sure the tie rods are on the same side as the spindles. If you flipped the spindles, you need to flip the steering box. determine the angle at which you want the steering rod to lay, weld in the upper support. I used some tubing of the same dia. as the handle bars, so I could mount the electric start unit... Also I had a nice steering wheel I was gonna add, but got lazy and just left the bar clamps and mounted the bars kicked as far forward as possible, so as to not hit my knees.
15)the rear swing arm...This is the hardest part. You will need to cut the swing arm in half. It just so happened that the old foot "pegs" were the same size tubing as the swing arm, recycle, recycle, recycle. Weld in the extra tubing. The length will be determined by the length of the motor you are using. Going off memory I think I added about 8" or so. Weld it up and brace the s*** out it. I used rebar along the entire bottom and threw 2" long beads at each end, over the seam locations, and in the middle of the added tube length. If you aren't confident in your square skillz, tack it together and triple check before welding it up 100%.
16)Motor mounts..... This is tricky for a few reasons. First you need to come up with them. Almost all motors have mounting holes for skid plates. Note these motors are almost always hung from the top, and now your gonna need to bolt it up on the bottom. Come up with the mounts, but don't weld them to anything yet. You need break the chain (Length TBD) and wrap it around the axle sprocket and motor output sprocket. Not too tight, but definitely not too loose either. Slide the motor around to figure this out. When the chain tension is "nice" Tack one motor mount in place in one spot. Move the motor until it is square with the rear end, more importantly the two sprockets line up perfectly. Weld up the motor mounts 100%
17)You need to come up with an exhaust hanger. I used the hanging motor mounts and recycled center section (cut out in section 7) to come up with a nice and beefy hangar (NOTE: this isn't shown in the pictures, I came up with it later) You also need to come up with a gas tank hangar. I fabbed this from scratch (NOTE: also not shown in the pictures, came up with it after the dinky little plastic tabs ripped off)
18)Come up with a seat, install. Come up with some sort of pedals, I used some of those clamp on "aftermarket" pedals you can get from autoparts stores for manual trans cars, I used the clutch and brake pedal, the gas is longer. Plumb them. I used the brake lever with some brake cable. Make sure the reservoir is facing up as it was on the bike. If you got the brake to work the throttle should be easier...
19)we're almost done, don't worry. Find a place to mount the battery, I did mine under the seat. Install all wiring, and electronics, make sure to keep them away from moving parts and heat. Also I would recommend installing a cooling fan above the motor (rigged to the key switch). Most of these motors are air-cooled, and your body totally gets in the way, so it'll overheat easy (again experience talks here - I think I'm gonna need a new motor soon...)
20)go over everything, make sure all is good and tight. When your happy fire that bad dog up. Give it some short bursts of gas and brake to make sure all is good. When everything seems to be in order, take it for a spin, go slow at first to make sure it's safe, then open er up, and have fun.
THAT'S IT....if you need further clarification or pictures of specific parts or techniques, please let me know. I tried to keep this as streamlined as possible, even though it's probably the longest post ever. GOOD LUCK and HAPPY FABBING!!!!!!
