Hello from the central Sierra!

Pondo

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Hey everybody! This is a pretty cool forum. I've been doing a bunch of reading here researching an upcoming project. I've never had a go kart as I've never had anywhere to ride one. I also always wanted a Honda Odyssey when I was a kid. Now a buddy of mine has a derelict Odyssey with a bad motor and torque converter. He has an old pressure washer with a Honda GC160 motor and no pump so we're going to combine the two and see what happens. I love to build things and these days mostly do bicycle projects, both resto-mods and full customs. For this one we're going to be using a go kart axle kit, a torque converter and a jackshaft to get the gearing low enough for this little 5 horse motor to push a big Odyssey around. Should be fun. Anyways, thanks for the great forum and I look forward to getting to know you all better. Build thread coming soon!IMG_3471.jpegIMG_3597.jpegIMG_2691.jpegimage000001.jpeg
 

Whitetrashrocker

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Welcome.
Just a word of caution. Make sure the output shaft on that engine is straight with a keyway, and not tapered. Some pressure washers used tapered shafts and don't play well with gokart parts.
Sound like your on the right path though.

Start a build thread and post pics as you go.
 

Pondo

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Welcome.
Just a word of caution. Make sure the output shaft on that engine is straight with a keyway, and not tapered. Some pressure washers used tapered shafts and don't play well with gokart parts.
Sound like your on the right path though.

Start a build thread and post pics as you go.

Thanks for the tip! It does have a 3/4" straight/keyed shaft so it should play well with a torque converter kit. I just added a few pics here too, just for fun. :D
 

Pondo

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Welcome, might want to pick a bigger and better engine though.
True that! This will get us started and if it isn't enough power we should be able to easily swap in a gx200 or predator 212. It will mostly be used by kids on flat terrain so hopefully it will be ok for a while. It's got my creative juices flowing though. Now I want to find a FL350 chassis that I can build a 650cc shifter cart with for us old guys to fart around with. :ROFLMAO:
 

Pondo

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I was thinking more along the lines of a 420 and 40 series. That is a big, heavy kart with big tires. That will affect it.

That would be ideal, for sure. It's ok for this one to be slow, the kids are young still. When they get older we can hot rod it if their dad is into it.
 

Edwin Spangler

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Fun fact: I "stole" an Odyssey when I was younger, 11-12 maybe. My good friend whom I stole it from, we stayed good friends until our 20s, turned out to be a murderer. Funny thing that is.

What were we talkin about?
 

Pondo

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Fun fact: I "stole" an Odyssey when I was younger, 11-12 maybe. My good friend whom I stole it from, we stayed good friends until our 20s, turned out to be a murderer. Funny thing that is.

What were we talkin about?

That's a fun story. Except for that last part. But the Odyssey part is pretty fun!
 

Grizzlymi

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Best people to steal from are murder's!

Nice bikes, Pondo! I'm a bike guy as well, nothing to crazy or custom like yours.

Welcome to the madness!
 

Pondo

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Best people to steal from are murder's!

Nice bikes, Pondo! I'm a bike guy as well, nothing to crazy or custom like yours.

Welcome to the madness!

Thanks man! I'm into all kinds of bikes, the full custom ones are fun to build. I also like vintage mountain bikes, klunkers and anything weird or interesting. Someday I'll get around to restoring my old Honda Z50A mini bikes too. I've had those for 45 years now. :D
 

Grizzlymi

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I have a few cruisers, a 60's Columbia Big Mac I redid and a Brooklyn Bikes cruiser I threw some ape hangers on and some white walls. lol. I have a 1994 Cannondale M600 I converted to single speed and use as a beat around bike for the city. Daily riders are my fat tire bike for local commuting and my Trek Marlin 8 for the trails. Still have my 1999 Gary Fisher. First bike I bought brand new. That thing has seen it all and lots of memories on that thing. I still have my 2004 Fisher Marlin. lol.

Would love to see some pics of Hondas! Ruttman mini bikes were built around here, so I have had plenty of those and Lil Indians. :cheers2:
 

Pondo

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I have a few cruisers, a 60's Columbia Big Mac I redid and a Brooklyn Bikes cruiser I threw some ape hangers on and some white walls. lol. I have a 1994 Cannondale M600 I converted to single speed and use as a beat around bike for the city. Daily riders are my fat tire bike for local commuting and my Trek Marlin 8 for the trails. Still have my 1999 Gary Fisher. First bike I bought brand new. That thing has seen it all and lots of memories on that thing. I still have my 2004 Fisher Marlin. lol.

Would love to see some pics of Hondas! Ruttman mini bikes were built around here, so I have had plenty of those and Lil Indians. :cheers2:
That sounds like a really cool collection of bikes. It's cool you kept your Gary Fisher for this long. I'll see if I can find some pics of my mini bike stuff but I don't think I have any and those things are buried in the shed. Not sure when I might get around to those projects but it will be fun.
 
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