karasaki 500cc Kart Project

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T.E.D. Jordan

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Jordan I can't wait to see this thing in a video! A buddy offered me a honda 500cc streetbike engine, for my kart frame that I just picked up. I wanna see how your kart runs so I know if it is something I wanna do.


Me too, thanks :thumbsup:

I'd go for it, I'd have preferred a honda if I'd have had the choice but this was right time, right price. I was offered an R1 engine at the time but thought best not to lol.

Jordan
 

kaymo

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great build. nothing like a pretty weld! ive seen quite a few sportbike karts in my area and its beginning to get very tempting to pick up a wrecked bike as they are cheap and plentiful. at the beginning of your build i saw the short little kart and thought "that will never work" but im obviously wrong. i kinda thought you might simply add a swingarm/engine combo to the rear axle mount, to make a center pivot kart... but obviously this is for a track and not playing in the yard... like us rednecks do around here!

nothing like a good parallel twin! way cooler than a V-twin any day..
 

T.E.D. Jordan

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Thanks kaymo - yeh this karts just for the lane which is concrete/tarmac and the local airfields etc. We've had offroad karts which were good fun though.

Hope the twin will do be me proud!

Located another axle, which meant that my 40mm bearing and carriers are no good, but the new axle came with 50mm bearings and carriers.











More updates later

Jordan
 

T.E.D. Jordan

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These are the tie bars I'm having manufactured. I'm having to wait for special taps being delivered that are quite expensive :( If they'd only been the next size up we could've used the lathe instead - oh well!



Jordan
 

T.E.D. Jordan

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Looking again this morning Im going to have flats machined at 90 degrees to the ones shown in the drawing there as well, because access is tight there. Should've thought about it earlier but its not in the hands of the machinist yet so thats ok.

Jordan
 

T.E.D. Jordan

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Sent off these dxf files to a firm to be laser-cut very cheaply. Ordered more than I needed Incase I screw the welding up lol




No-one seems to like my thread anymore :(

Jordan
 

T.E.D. Jordan

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Fair comment :p

I havn't had it running as of yet. But it turns over, has compression and did spark when I had the wiring loom on it, as I had to buy a starter motor for it. It never had the carbs on it then though otherwise we'd have had it running by now which I'd bet it will no problem. The bike was running when it was crashed, from there it went to the police yard, then to my friend then to me with only some of the ancillaries removed along the way, the only engine ancillary to be removed being the starter.

Once the rear engine mount is done I might fire the old manifold back on and try it though! Got alot to get before then though, heres a quick list off the top of my head to even get the engine running:

Radiator,
Raditor Fan + Shroud,
Coolant pipes (some of mine split/perished),
Thermostat (precaution),
Sealed Battery,
Oil filter,
Spark plugs,
Oil...

and the list goes on! Some of it isn't required to start it and stop it after a couple of seconds ( bar oil ), but it needs to be gotten anyway.

Jordan
 

T.E.D. Jordan

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Got my stuff back from the laser cutting firm, rapid turnaround tbh, sent files monday, quote recieved back monday evening, paid tuesday over phone, here friday:

Bit of free advertisement, thats what I recieved from them. (Not shown but I actually got 3 of each plate as I may install a third bearing/good to have a spare 'tab'.


Plates that will carry the bearing housings. I made them so theres just enough room for a weld on the underside of the plate to the frame rail, meaning my bearing/axle is tucked up to the chassis as much as possible, allowing a little more clearance to the floor over standard.


These little tabs are for the rear engine tie bars. Waiting for them back from total engineering. They'll have the bottom rose joints connected to them.


Got my new bearings too for the carriers that came with the axle. Hopefully I'll get both the axle brackets welded in today which will let me look at where I can mount a brake carrier plate.

Jordan
 

fowler

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nice job
looking good


this built is the first one iv seen to go longer than mine :roflol:
and i thought that would be hard to beat

getting there though
 

T.E.D. Jordan

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Thanks for the comments guys.

Yesterday was crap because it promised to be a good day of kart work, but failed to be!

Got a call off Total Engineering Developments saying he was rushed off his feet but he'd managed to mill the flats in the st/st bar I'd given him, and would I mind if I finished it off by putting the drill through it and tapping the holes back at the workshop on our lathe. I was fine with that because the flats were the parts I didn't want to do because out mill doesn't have an indexable head on it. By the time I'd worked until 12.30, swung by T.E.D. and stayed there for ages talking then got home, changed and down to my workshop it was about 2.00 :( by then after I'd cut the ends of the bars and faced the surfaces up I couldn't find a 10.8mm drill for the M12 x 1.25P LH/RH taps. Naff!

So heres the bars in unfinished format, I've ordered a drillbit:



1 of the new axle bearings:



Was annoyed so I cut a rear tab off to see how the new ones would look (roughly)

Before:



After:



Bear in mind that last pic the plate was just sat atop a weld so its no-where near where it needs to be :(

Will update after I get the drillbit

Jordan
 

T.E.D. Jordan

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Waiting on my drill bit to arrive, wouldn't be surprised if it didn't land until friday :(

Won these on ebay cheap for burnout tyres etc:



Lousy update :s

Jordan
 
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