Kart Rods

[Kelly Wood]

I got bored today... and made another.

This one's more geared towards a pretty basic neighborhood racer. No fancy additions, all business.

Thanks for lookinn.

Kelly

 

[Kelly Wood]

and, a small mock up of really the only thing I'll do to it. A tiny bit of front end enhancement... and a number.

No clue what I should name it yet... but I'm sure it'll come.

Any ideas?

 

[OzFab]

Bumble Bee?
Wasp?

 

[itsid]

When I first saw the images I immediately had a tune in my ear.
A title called "Eat my dust AS-I dont remeber all the letters-OLE"
by "Showman and the thunderous staccatos" (it's on lastfm)

So if it's not "thunderous staccato"
it might as well be "Eat my snow"

'sid

 

[Kelly Wood]

Small update:

Haven't done much lately as the kart racing is in full swing but this last weekend was just crazy.

Double header race (sat & sun) 14 hr days at the track and we come home with a great experience.

Sun, clouds, downpours, lightning, humidity... then dry. We had it all.

In the end, my daughter took 1st the 1st day and 2nd the 2nd day with the fastest lap times on both days. Can't complain.

Their class was the featured class of the day so they got to have a little fun at the awards... by soaking each other with champagne. Heck yea. Girl fight! (they're all friends really, but it was funny to watch)

During one of the downpours, poor sarge got caught in it and now won't start. Sad.

Guess we'll have to fix that now.

More soon.

Kelly

 

[mysteryboy28]

congrats on the 1st and 2nd place!

have you used ackerman on any of your karts? steering would be a lot better.

 

[landuse]

Well done on your daughters wins!!

 

[Kelly Wood]

congrats on the 1st and 2nd place!

have you used ackerman on any of your karts? steering would be a lot better.

Thanks!

Urban Defiance doesn't have it but with me sitting forward a bit and leaned over like I do, it does quite well.

The other ones are all a variation of it so yes, I do on my newer ones. But the point is not to turn it into some crazy technical thing... the point is to make do with what you have & race them. I have a rule with the kartrods. Single point steering. (I call it that anyway) How you set it up is your business but you can only have one HOLE in the steering shaft.

Kelly

 

[Kelly Wood]

Small update:

With Sarge's 1st motor off and on the bench, I thought I'd fit up the spare... The older Briggs with the updraft carb. This sucker fires on the first pull.

Seems to look ok I think, also will be changing it up a bit by:
1. Rig up an emergency brake to activate the current scrub brakes, then...
2. Hook up some real brakes.

SHould be fun.

Thanks for looking.

 

[mysteryboy28]

Thanks!

Urban Defiance doesn't have it but with me sitting forward a bit and leaned over like I do, it does quite well.

The other ones are all a variation of it so yes, I do on my newer ones. But the point is not to turn it into some crazy technical thing... the point is to make do with what you have & race them. I have a rule with the kartrods. Single point steering. (I call it that anyway) How you set it up is your business but you can only have one HOLE in the steering shaft.

Kelly

Some crazy technical thing? All it is is welding your steering arm onto the spindles pointing at an angle towards the center of your rear axle. That's it. And it makes quite a difference on how you either drag one of the front tires when turning, or don't. Not to use ackerman for the sake of avoiding a couple minutes of lining up a straight edge (like a piece of pipe/tubing) from the spindle to the rear axle, well yeah it seems kinda silly.

 

[Kelly Wood]

I get it and I hear ya.. but, to the folks that are limited in resources, it is a technical thing and some might not understand it at all... plus, most don't have welders I believe.

Still, that's not the point. My point (as it's always been) is to just throw it together & be able to use it. If one wants to get into tweaking it to make it better, by all means, do it.

It's about the simplicity of making something you can drive... and drive it.

Kelly

 

[mysteryboy28]

not to argue your point (ok, i'm arguing the point. lol), but somewhere along the way you got it in your head that ackerman was difficult, time consuming, and not important. all of which are incorrect.

you post frequently on here, so a lot of the new guys are watching your builds and admiring your work. misleading them to think the way you do about ackerman is not in their best interest (ackerman is NOT an old wive's tale. lol). maybe revisit the concept, and consider applying it to your work if you really want the public to watch and learn from you. you're a role model, after all.

it really is as simple as:

 

[Kelly Wood]

LOL Lovely. Role model? (read this in a friendly / sarcastic manner ok, I'm cool and have no issues with what you're saying)

Good points of course, but you're reading me wrong by saying it's in my head that it's difficult. The ackerman principle is pretty simple and I get it. Always have.

...I just that don't care if these contraptions of mine have it or not.

Please, you folks watching: Ackerman steering rules, if you can swing it, do it. It's the bomb. Ole Sarge kind of has it. There's instructions here on how it works too. Read them.

If it weren't for ackerman steering & the way newer stuff was built... that first turn would be a death trap and many would be dead.

I'm not a role model when it comes to mechanics although I did have the erector set figured out in minutes. Creativity, perhaps. I'm just a guy that has a knack for artistically building usable crap from unused crap... then drive, break, fix. Lather,rinse, repeat until happy or dead.

The whole idea of racing these beasts was aimed at a very simple crowd with limited financial and mechanical resources. Plain & simple.

Build what you can... run what ya brung. As I said, if you wanna tweak it, fine. Don't matter to me... mine turn just great as they are. If it ever got all serious, old Urban Defiance would have it for sure... but for neighborhood / urban racing, it just doesn't matter much to me because it handles just fine.

Did that make sense?

Be safe.

Kelly

p.s. This post was written when you only had 2 pictures posted. Since then, you've added 4 more. I'm sure others will find it helpful.

 

[mysteryboy28]

i noticed a dramatic improvement on my turning radius of my buggies when i applied ackerman (ackermann with 2 "n"s? blah) to the spindles. went from turning like a big boat, to to turning like a little boat. lol.

i hate having to do it too. but it really does help make steering easier, allows you to make tighter turns, and eliminates the drag on the tires. you can even hear the difference when turning. sounds much less like you're dragging something when you turn. lol.

k, i'll shut up about it now.

how's the quitting smoking going? i found an alternative: gaining weight by eating all the time. lol. but hopefully the dog i just adopted will help me burn off some calories walking him every day.

 

[Kelly Wood]

I failed quitting. Will try again soon. I"ll shut up now too.

ATTENTION VIEWING AUDIENCE: Don't try this S&*() at home. I'm a danger to myself.

Kelly

 

[Kelly Wood]

Well done on your daughters wins!!

Sorry, forgot to thank you. Thanks.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

Don't get TOO discouraged. It's a well-known fact that most do not succeed on the first attempt. Often, multiple attempts are required. I too have failed. I WILL succeed, just a matter of time.

 

[itsid]

...when i applied ackerman (ackermann with 2 "n"s? blah)...

I'm so sorry, but it is Ackermann!
This type of steering was first discovered and used by a Munich (germany) wagon builder named Georg Lankensperger (that was 1816) he patented that system in germany,
To obtain a patent in Great Britain he asked a fellow (from Stollberg, germany) art dealer that lived in London at that time to request a UK Patent on that steering geometry and guess what his name was:
Rudolph Ackermann
And that's why it's called Ackermann steering (TWO "n"s )

'sid

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_Ackermann
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ackermann_steering_geometry

PS doctor wisenheimer is back in town

 

[Kelly Wood]

I'm so sorry, but it is Ackermann!
This type of steering was first discovered and used by a Munich (germany) wagon builder named Georg Lankensperger (that was 1816) he patented that system in germany,
To obtain a patent in Great Britain he asked a fellow (from Stollberg, germany) art dealer that lived in London at that time to request a UK Patent on that steering geometry and guess what his name was:
Rudolph Ackermann
And that's why it's called Ackermann steering (TWO "n"s )

'sid

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolph_Ackermann
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ackermann_steering_geometry

PS doctor wisenheimer is back in town

(... the commercial ends with a very calm voice saying)

This has been another episode of itsid's corner, thank you for tuning in where next time you might hear our hero say "NINE"

We now return you to your regularly scheduled website, now in progress.

 

[landuse]

OK. I always thought it was one 'n'. Who would have thunk!