Poor Man's Shifter Kart: Engine Choice?

[Blackdog]

Assuming i could find a CR125 or a CR250 engine used, for reasonable money ($500 or less)...which would be a better option for some fast fun...not looking for race class compliance. Is the 125 too finicky with narrow power band? Would the 250 be easier to just run stock? Is a early 2000s engine significantly better than an earlier 1995 engine ?
Thanks. I know it's a lot of questions... trying to wrap my head around which direction to pursue.

 

[Kartorbust]

Are you positive you want a 2 stroke engine? Doing so you'll need to have a tuner pipe (expansion chamber) custom made for the kart. It would not be an easy task. A CRF125 (4 stroke) will be a lot easier to get hooked up. Just my opinion. If you go the 2 stroke route, find someone who makes tuner pipes for engines, there's a lot of math that goes into it. They can be setup for bottom, middle, and top end power.

 

[Blackdog]

Jeez...i never knew that. So you'd need to reuse the bike exhaust/muffler or have a custom one made...hmmmm....there are not off-the-shelf pipes for this motor?

---------- Post added at 09:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:58 PM ----------

Okay...so switching gears to a four-stroke (no pun intended)...is a CRF250 a reasonable candidate?

 

[Kartorbust]

You can run a 2 stroke without the pipe, but it'll be down on power. A CRF250 should be fine, just not sure you need anything that large realistically.

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[Dwebb26]

Hey man can you help me out with wiring for that exact Lifan
Engine. I’m goin for the same thing.

 

[Dwebb26]

Could you offer me any help to wire up a kickstart
Cdi Lifan engine? I made a post about it but no response