Help on Belt-driven Go-Kart

[paparoach]

Question:

Lately we've been plagued by belts that are prematurely being damaged due to breakage, aside from the fact that we do have worn-out pulley teeth already, do any of you have a good idea of what proper set-up is okay for just recreational use?

Our Kart specs:
Engine: Honda GX200 (5.7kW@4500rpm)
Clutch: None Direct Pulley Drive
Engine Pulley: 22 teeth
Rear Wheel Pulley: 59 teeth

Any inputs on reliable belt specs would be highly appreciated

 

[camarossnitro]

Get a motorcycle-grade belt. Not a amateur-grade belt.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

you probably have a wet clutch inside a reduction box attached to your engine. id just get a new cog and belt

welcome to the forum!

 

[landuse]

you probably have a wet clutch inside a reduction box attached to your engine. id just get a new cog and belt

welcome to the forum!

I was going to say the same about the clutch. Having a 22T going to a 59T definately means there is some sort of 2:1 reduction unit on the engine.

How tight is the belt when it is on? Are you cheaping out on your belts?

 

[paparoach]

no, seriously, the owner deliberately did not install any clutching on this, just directly coupled to the engine,

the belt is 960mm long, 31.75mm in width, 8mm tooth pitch profile, considering that this larger pitch profile is for higher hp apps already, but we already considered this in the design due to repeated shock load (accelerate-brake-accelerate-accelerate&brake...)

the belts just barely last a week, 6 hours a day in usage...

do you guys think we should increase the gear ratio, like get a larger rear pulley? what's the largest pulley/teeth number so that this would be less stressful on the belt?

thanks again for the inputs, i appreciate all of this stuff from you! more power to the forums!

 

[landuse]

How do you start the kart? Do you have to have someone start it and someone else sitting in the seat because it is going to take off on you? When you come to a stop, does the kart die?

I am thinking that if you do not have any sort of clutch the belt is getting very stressed. Looking at your gear ratio now 59/22 = 2.68:1, I am surprised that the kart will even start rolling. That is like taking off in your car from a complete stop in 4th gear. Have you got any torque at all?

Post some pics of the engine and the drive components so that we can see them all together. We cannot see the engine or the pulley sprockets properly. I want to see the engine and both sprockets in one pic

 

[paparoach]

okay, will get back to posting pics soon as i get my hands on a cam and the karts, gracias!

 

[landuse]

okay, will get back to posting pics soon as i get my hands on a cam and the karts, gracias!

Dont forget to answer these questions:

How do you start the kart? Do you have to have someone start it and someone else sitting in the seat because it is going to take off on you? When you come to a stop, does the kart die?

 

[paparoach]

oops, my bad, the karts do have a clutch system...we use optibelt Omega timing belts, one batch barely lasted half-a-day of action,

 

[landuse]

oops, my bad, the karts do have a clutch system...we use optibelt Omega timing belts, one batch barely lasted half-a-day of action,

I don't know much about timing belts, but they probably aren't designed for the stresses that drive belts are under