CincyKarter
New member
Hey Everyone - thought I would drop a quick note of introduction. Have been viewing the forum for a little while and just registered.
I've been a kart enthusiast since I was a kid and got my first kart when I was 10 or so. That has turned into an obsession of all things mechanical that go fast into adulthood.
My son and I started looking for a kart project, and found this frame for $25.00 bucks on Craigslist:
We spent the next few months taking it apart, cleaning it up, and prepping the frame, etc. I really wanted to teach my son how to use tools, etc. so we re-used as much as we could...we put rusted bolts in a parts washer, cleaned up threads with a tap and die kit, and wire wheeled all of the metal parts to have a nice original dull luster like they did when new.
This ended up being the finished project:
The engine is the typical Harbor Freight 212cc Honda Clone. After we got it all installed and tested, we did a few modifications to it. We installed a Hilliard HD clutch, an RLV header and silencer, K&N filter, jetted the carb, and changed out the valve springs in anticipation of a future governor removal (which we have not done yet).
Anyway, we've had a lot of fun building it and riding it. It's geared for acceleration vs top speed and even with my 220 lbs butt in the seat it pulls HARD and sounds great with the little header pipe on it. GPS says 30 MPH, which feels like 80 MPH. With the governor removed it would probably turn 6K RPM and hit 50...but it doesn't have the brakes for that, and we'd need to swap out the flywheel, etc. Fun stuff, thanks for adding me to the forum!
Funny video of my son and his buddy - they carefully measured the height of a GoPro and the ground clearance of the kart before attempting this. Fast forward the video to about 25 seconds and turn up the volume:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGNVbYkDifs
-- Mike
I've been a kart enthusiast since I was a kid and got my first kart when I was 10 or so. That has turned into an obsession of all things mechanical that go fast into adulthood.
My son and I started looking for a kart project, and found this frame for $25.00 bucks on Craigslist:
We spent the next few months taking it apart, cleaning it up, and prepping the frame, etc. I really wanted to teach my son how to use tools, etc. so we re-used as much as we could...we put rusted bolts in a parts washer, cleaned up threads with a tap and die kit, and wire wheeled all of the metal parts to have a nice original dull luster like they did when new.
This ended up being the finished project:
The engine is the typical Harbor Freight 212cc Honda Clone. After we got it all installed and tested, we did a few modifications to it. We installed a Hilliard HD clutch, an RLV header and silencer, K&N filter, jetted the carb, and changed out the valve springs in anticipation of a future governor removal (which we have not done yet).
Anyway, we've had a lot of fun building it and riding it. It's geared for acceleration vs top speed and even with my 220 lbs butt in the seat it pulls HARD and sounds great with the little header pipe on it. GPS says 30 MPH, which feels like 80 MPH. With the governor removed it would probably turn 6K RPM and hit 50...but it doesn't have the brakes for that, and we'd need to swap out the flywheel, etc. Fun stuff, thanks for adding me to the forum!
Funny video of my son and his buddy - they carefully measured the height of a GoPro and the ground clearance of the kart before attempting this. Fast forward the video to about 25 seconds and turn up the volume:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGNVbYkDifs
-- Mike
Last edited by a moderator:
