Got a kart, but with a few problems.

[anderkart]

That wallus racing shop could probably tell you what model engine and kart you have. You could email them asking with the links to your kart and engine pictures. I'd also ask if they sell parts for your kart and engine, and if they will ship parts to you so you wouldn't have to make that 2 hour drive...

 

[Nodroz]

That wallus racing shop could probably tell you what model engine and kart you have. You could email them asking with the links to your kart and engine pictures. I'd also ask if they sell parts for your kart and engine, and if they will ship parts to you so you wouldn't have to make that 2 hour drive...

That's a good idea. I'll do that, thanks.

Btw, it's Sunday today = shops are closed = empty parking lots! We took advantage of this and went driving with my kart. Here are a few movies. Sorry for the bad quality, I needed to capture them from Facebook.

First video is from me warming up the engine - so I'm going a little slow.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd7N8NSero0&list=UUdSO6ocuDYsOEWFeYiYpIfw&index=1&feature=plcp

Second video is from my brother driving it. He didn't want to go fully, because the brakes aren't 100%.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6VLOkdlWCY&list=UUdSO6ocuDYsOEWFeYiYpIfw&index=2&feature=plcp

It was a hell of an awesome day and kart. :great:

 

[Nodroz]

Hello guys,

I've read that my engine can go 19 000 rpm. I would like to calculate the kart will go at that rpm.

The rear sprocket has 84 teeth and the sprocket on the engine has 10 teeth.
Ratio 8.4:1.
19 000 rpm.

19 000 / 8.4 = 2261.90 (the amount of rpm the tyres turn)
2216.90 * 0.86m = 1945,238 meter per minute.
1945.238 / 1000 = 1.945 km per minute = 0.03 km/h. Thats inpossible, lol.
Whats my mistake?

 

[anderkart]

Hey cool you got it running

Assuming your back tires are around 11 inches (279mm.) tall, your estimated top speed would be 74mph or 119km/h at 19,000rpm.

You can estimate top speeds with this speed calculator: http://www.diygokarts.com/speed-calculator.html

 

[Nodroz]

Oh right. I completely forgot about that calculator, lol.
Thank you!

 

[Nodroz]

Hello guys

I went to the kartshop yesterday for some new stuff:
Fuel tank
Shorter brake stick
clips to tighten throttle
front bumber

im having troubles with the brake pedal setup. I cant connect the rod to the pedal. I made a little piece of metal but when i steer the rod touches the steer arms... As you can see on the pic. Any ideas?

EDIT: this time with pictures.
The brake pedal:

Brake pedal with my iron thingy.

But once I steer, the steering rod will touch the brake rod.

The rod is already at the highest slot on the master cylinder. I need to find a way to make the connection on the pedal higher.

wtf, this pictures are good! Nice phone.

 

[jonboy]

You can make a riser plate that attaches to the frame and bring the master cylinder up about and inch. I should be real easy to do.

 

[OzFab]

Ok, I have three ideas you can try, in no particular order:

1. Bend the brake rod until it clears the tie rod (either above or below). You will lose a bit of length &, if it's aluminium, be careful, it may crack &
2. Move the rod to the lower hole on the master. This will make the brake pedal a bit harder.
3. Move the bracket you made up the pedal. This will mean the brake rod may get in the way.

So, three possible solutions but each with it's own problems... you decide

 

[anderkart]

Your kart probably just used a stainless steel cable with clamps instead of a linkage rod. That's why you had to instal that L-bracket to conect your homemade clevis. I'd suggest you just use a cable like this pic:

 

[Nodroz]

Thanks for the tips guys! I really appriciate it.

Anderkart, does a cable have any disadvantages? Why do people always use those rods and not a cable?

Fabroman, the first idea seems me the best to try, if I don't do it with a cable.

 

[anderkart]

A lot of newer racekarts use a rod, plus a cable backup just in case the rod fails. Stainless steel cables are very-very strong, I think that homemade clevis/L-bracket system you rigged up will fail under hard braking.

 

[Nodroz]

Ok, thanks. I'll install a cable then. It will be easier and better, according to you. Thank you.

 

[Beginnersluck]

You got that for 75$!

 

[Nodroz]

You got that for 75$!

Exactly! Very nice deal. I haven't done any modifications to the engine and she runs like a charm. The mixture is perfect.

We're going on a circuit next weekend, probably. Afterwards I'll sell it to earn some money for my next projecs.

 

[Nodroz]

Alright guys, update time!

I've installed the front bumper. Nice color... LOL

Then I tried to bend the rod to go over the steering rod, but that didn't turn out to be a good idea, so I went over to anderkart's idea - stainless steel cable. Here are a few pictures of how I attached it. Will that little clamp hold it?

I've tried to install the fuel tank, but again I have some problems. The clamp that hold the fuel tank on its place is not width enough. Apperently, on old karts the 2 bars supporting the steer are made a bit wider. What would you guys suggest me to do here?

Thanks in advance!

 

[OzFab]

Make one from a piece of 3mm flat bar; it only needs a hole in the centre & a slight curl on each end

 

[Nodroz]

Make one from a piece of 3mm flat bar; it only needs a hole in the centre & a slight curl on each end

That's not such a bad idea! Thank you.

Does the fuel tank needs any more support to keep it in its place? For now it'll be only attached to that little piece. Should I make something on the floor?

 

[anderkart]

Your karts looking good

I cant tell how strong that cable clamp is, (you could use double-clamps...) but if you ever go race at a track they might require its bolts/nuts to be safety wired. They might also require you use a brake rod, plus a cable for backup. You could call/email your track and ask about that.

I agree you could buy or just build a wider fuel tank clamp. A good clamp should be all you need as long as your fuel tank fits snugly in-between those 2 steering column support bars.

 

[Nodroz]

Ok guys, today I went for another test-drive on the parking lot! We took a GPS with us to see how fast we went.

I accomplished a top speed of 75KPH. My friend, however, reached 98KPH! My friend thinks it still can go a little bit faster if the parkinglot was a little bit longer.

The brakes with the cable clamp is working great! We had no failures or whatsoever. The brakss also worked like a charm! You could stop in under 20meter if going over 80KPH! Really nice! The kick and the adrenaline when going that speeds is just amazing! I have no words to describe it. However guys - STAY SAFE. Always.

I have a little question about the fuel tank. This is a new fuel tank, as you can read in one of my previous posts. There is 1 fuel line connected to the tank, which is connected to another fuel cable inside the tank that goes to the bottom. This works fine, but there is another connecting pin at the top of the tank. We had to close it with some tape, as there was fuel coming out when driving. I think this connection is a air inlet - fuel goes out, air gets in. Otherwide the tank gets vacuum. We noticed this vacuum problem after a bit of riding. When you loosened the dop of the tank, you could hear the air getting in.

Where is this pin connected to? Should I just put a line from the pin to somewhere above my steering wheel, so air gets in, but no fuel?
(I hope you understand me, lol)

 

[Nodroz]

Hello guys,

For now, I got everything sorted out! The kart drives fine. Engine starts without much effort, except when it's really hot, the piston will hardly movie due to high compression.

Anyhow, got a new video! I caught the police on tape aswell! We were karting and we saw the police coming toward us. We turned the kart around and stopped karting. Then the policemen just passed by and drove further as if nothing ever happened. It's weird, but we understand that they basically said we're allowed to drive there!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqcoaqw9C5A

I do have a few questions however. I noticed there's some oil and other dirt leaking out from between the cilinderhead and the cilinder. Theres probably some fitting worn out?
I am going to dissambly the motor and have a look at the bore aswell. I heard you have to replace the piston every 10 hours of work. Is this true?

I'll contact that shop anderkart talked about. Maybe they have some more information for me.

Also, I have a 84 teeth sprocket on my axle. I would love to have better acceleration so I would like to get a bigger one. I looked up an online shop and there are sprockets going over 90 teeth. The thing is, I guess I'm already at my limit for clearence issues. How do other people solve this, with the sprockets over 90 teeth? How much clearence should I have atleast?

Btw, are there any forums dedicated to karting alone? (don't want to leave you guys, just need some more info)