Predator Mods...

[mindymogul]

Alrighty then...

i can't seem to find a d^nm thing on the predator engines for anything with mods. what i've been trying to find is something for a coil to run my lights off from since they draw too much from the battery I have. im not sure if I should find a blown 8 or 13hp and pull the coil from those or if there's any mods out there to help my needs. any ideas?

 

[OzFab]

You either need an engine with the electric start function or a conversion kit

 

[mindymogul]

where would I get a conversion kit? i can't find anything on ebay and gopowerports, gokartsua, and some of the other sites i checked don't have anything as far as I can see.

 

[OzFab]

Well, see, there's the problem, AFAIK, no one makes a kit for the predator so, you would need a Honda GX clone (which the predator is not); there are kits everywhere for those...

Truth be told, you don't even need the entire kit, you only need the charging coil, magnetic pickups & somewhere to mount it but, as the pick ups are built into the flywheel... we're back to square one...

 

[mindymogul]

so in other words i'm better off to go with the 8hp (to keep it cheap as possible) and buy a whole new drive system? what if i milled out a sprocket and welded an add-on piece to the chain drive connected to the jackshaft? i could run a starter/generator on that couldn't i?

 

[KartFab]

hold on there one sec, i remember some dude did this on youtube

here it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZodC58L0Zc
not to get your hopes up, but his engine might have been an early one, IIRC the 'new' ones have a wonky crankshaft that wont accept the lifan/gx200 flyhweels. If i knew for sure that these puppies accepted electric start, i already would have set it up :-(

If you dont want to lay down the cash for a genuine honda, there are always the 'box stock clones' that are a gx200 exact clone that will take a honda flywheel and electric start setup (from what I am aware of).

 

[DHC]

i could run a starter/generator on that couldn't i?

Can you?.... oh yea! "Should' you?... it's on you! ANYTHING added to the drive system of a kart will 'rob' HP. Electrical's are very nice but over rated on a go kart (IMO) a simple battery that is recharged via wall socket at end of day is 1000X's a simpler fix (and usually cheaper). Electric start is VERY nice... but overrated for a kart.

 

[mindymogul]

well, it's not just that. this is a beast and it's actually running a modified snowblower drive system to allow for high torque at low gears and decent speed in the highs. (a lot like a 90s ford ranger 2.3l 5spd) but this thing is also run at night all the time. i'll get some pics of it when i can to show my dilemma.