High School Kart Project- Suggestions?

[gijoe985]

Hey all,

So, I am a high school auto shop teacher and I have been playing around with the idea of building a few karts as an after school project for our club. I was just opening this up to see if anyone had any suggestions.

We've got 3 HF 6.5hp motors. Lots of steel to work with and a very well supplied metalworking shop. My vision is to make something like a commercial kart, with bumpers. It would be for pavement. I'd like to make it so it could handle some abuse. I've been looking at frame designs. We are trying to keep the budget low.

Again, any thoughts or directions would be great.

 

[Jcotz]

Do you want advice on design or style of the kart? If so I'd probably recommend making a backyard style kart for your purposes. Maybe something like this... http://www.affordablegokarts.com/images/azusa_kart/azusa-kart-kit-066.gif
If you want help on gearing, engines, steering just ask.

 

[klicky96]

Buddy, when I built my first frame, I made a rectangle out of 1" tubing and continued from there.

 

[bighead]

I got a Honda FL250 front suspension from steering wheel to hubs.

Here is a pic of the set up like I have for sale.

Steering Wheel
Steering Column
J-Arms
Tie Rods
Shocks
Spindles
Hubs

Easy as pie to set up. And you have solid bullet proof front end.

$75 plus shipping. Which is a killer deal for what you get. I may be able to get a few sets. And I have wheels cheap as well.

The Ody Steering wheels has brake and throttle controls. This is nice for anyone can ride it even handicap kids. Brake and throttle cables are cheap on ebay. You would have find a main bar and weld that into your frame. And your done.

I added some of my modified Fl250's to give you an idea what you can do with this setup.

Edit: I miss the part about road kart.

 

[Basement_Modder]

Pull the governor on those predators. I have one and they seem so limited with it on.

That said, $250 in parts for a new flywheel, rod, wrist pin, and piston are in order afterwards, but it sure would be worth the (taxpayer's) money.

 

[bighead]

Pull the governor on those predators. I have one and they seem so limited with it on.

That said, $250 in parts for a new flywheel, rod, wrist pin, and piston are in order afterwards, but it sure would be worth the (taxpayer's) money.

Why would you spend $250 in parts when a new engine is $99?

 

[bighead]

How about finding a kart owner that has a kart you like. Then borrow that kart to copy it in the shop? This would give a basicaly plans to build?

Reading from plans would be cool for the kids though.

 

[gijoe985]

Here are some frame designs I found on google image-

https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/i...jVf2mkIh4S-zWGpFIbPwWko8ThUjkynllnxpcuBEDQMYQ
https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/i...F2CSZCplSFB_IBoxglrEp_oz1MP56i6EPSP0UKUF35vsw

Those represent what I am thinking.

Here is a link to, essentially, the kart I'd like to build.
http://gokartsusa.com/Commercial-Gokart-for-Rental-Track.aspx

Bighead- I'll highly consider your offer. We aren't really looking into a "off-road" kart like you have, but I'll be thinking about it.

Basement Modder- Anyone have any success in increasing the rpms of the governor? So we can push some higher RPMs, but not blow the motor.

 

[gijoe985]

Good pics here too-

http://www.kartbuilding.net/gallery/v/Commercial_Karts-Photos_and_Details/DSC02143.JPG.html

Also... Did I mention that we have a CNC plasma cutter... we could do a lot of cool things...

 

[jamyers]

Heck, divide up the kids in your club and have them research different topics - chassis, suspension (if any), engines, etc...

Sounds like a GREAT project, I wish my shop class would have done something like that.

 

[theo]

Check edge buggies, they have several robust gokart designs.

 

[gijoe985]

Jamyers, I wish I could have kids research stuff, the only problem is that the average high school kid doesn't have the problem solving and research skills needed to really come up with the answers I'd want them to. Though it would be good practice.

On the topic of brakes, hydraulic brakes look expensive. What about drum vs disc? If we're doing 30pmh or less, how big of a difference will we see? And what about wear and tear?

 

[flowerman]

Ok so firstly those free plans are only a basis or a guideline we have all been there and they are not great really. What I would suggest is that you buy a set of plans from a place like spider carts
Maybe something like this http://www.spidercarts.com/blackwidow-go-kart-plans.html

Ok you may have to pay but plans like this take lots of time and effort and some old folk has spent lots of time putting this together and this should not be too tricky to build, and that HF 6.5 HP will be a perfect match. You may also want to look at the recluse plans as well although they may be a little small.

And regarding disk or drum brakes I would go for a mechanical disk brake like this.http://www.mfgsupply.com/gomini/gominibrakes/gominibrakesdisc/4-488.html with a disk obviously, band brakes would be ok but you would not want to go over 20mph with them. They don't have huge stopping power, but they are a bit cheaper. But it's up to you and your budget...

I hope this helps Henry

 

[souperman000]

http://www.ronchampion.net/ (Its the BUggy obviously, 1st one)

I have this book and it is very informative. This guy wrote this book to build with kids.
Check it out, you can probably find it on Barnes and Nobles website. Thats where I got mine at least.

 

[gijoe985]

Alright, another question, what type of tire would you all recommend for running on flat, but rough, cement/asphalt?

Here is a good picture of a more "bare" looking kart design I could use as a base. I like the frame.

 

[gijoe985]

Ooh, one more really good question for me. What is the average wheelbase for an adult racing kart like the one above? Length and width... that will be important for designing the frame.

 

[theo]

Get your seat put on the floor, sit in it, get comfortable, and do some measurements.

 

[gijoe985]

Looking at this picture, yet another good design, is that a sway bar at the front?

 

[flowerman]

Sway bar? What are you calling a sway bar? are you talking about the tie rods/track rods?

And I don't know what fab skills these students have but building a frame like this will take much more time than a simple frame like the black widow. Or you could design your own, there is not really an average wheel base for those race karts anyway because there are different frames made for different classes. But designing your own shouldn't be too tricky presuming that you have problobly got auto cad and have a rough idea of what you want. As theo said just measure out your comfterbal position and work over that guide line.
Also what is your budget for the build, and I may have missed this but I is it just for crusing up and down the pavement or are you going to race them against each other. If you are making three of them you will want a sustainable design that will be easy to build one after another per say.

Henry

 

[Bluethunder3320]

i would keep it simple. especially if you are making 3 of them.

just a box design. maybe even order some kit parts if you have the money for it (includes axle, wheels, sprocket, steering set up, etc)

i like the fact youre using some clone engines... at my school they made karts but with little electric motors