Budget GoKart
Aka a kenbar
Or bodies that reminds me I need to find a go kart body lol!And that's why concession karts have bumpers that surround the wheels.
Quick Warning to all karters
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madprofessor
"Loose Cannon Creations"
Brake vs. chain.......
Lots of smart talk about brakes here, here's something not included yet.....
A guy told me about a situation where he had a kart using a jackshaft as most do, and he had a brake disc mounted on that shaft instead of on the rear axle. Thought he was being smart because the disc wouldn't get wet there going through wet grass. He got in a bad situation, even had a minor wreck, when the rear chain (driving the axle) broke or jumped off, whichever he said, and guess what, no brakes. Disc could only stop the jackshaft, without a chain the axle "jez kepp on aspinnin".
Lots of smart talk about brakes here, here's something not included yet.....
A guy told me about a situation where he had a kart using a jackshaft as most do, and he had a brake disc mounted on that shaft instead of on the rear axle. Thought he was being smart because the disc wouldn't get wet there going through wet grass. He got in a bad situation, even had a minor wreck, when the rear chain (driving the axle) broke or jumped off, whichever he said, and guess what, no brakes. Disc could only stop the jackshaft, without a chain the axle "jez kepp on aspinnin".
JTSpeedDemon
2019 Build Off Winner!
Scrub brakes are the most reliable!!!
Ridiculous, but true!
Except they also have the worst braking power. Mine can brake pretty well though, they're just hard on the tires.
Ridiculous, but true!
Except they also have the worst braking power. Mine can brake pretty well though, they're just hard on the tires.
J.S.@SMS
Road Hazard
What about band brakes? And they save the tires.
JTSpeedDemon
2019 Build Off Winner!
All that has to happen with band brakes is a little water or oil to get in it and there goes your braking. Or the anchor or control rod to pop off, and kaput. Or even just a worn out band can cause problems.
But yes, they do save the tires.
But yes, they do save the tires.
Smerft85
Member
Had my control rod pop off on my top speed run, down my street, toward a very busy cross street. Both feet went to the front tires, and got it to slide sideways on some gravel, basically "drifting" my way out of being run over. They are hard to slow down from 40+ when you unexpectedly don't have brakes, and I fully admit I got VERY lucky!
madprofessor
"Loose Cannon Creations"
Wet brakes in or out........
True about band brakes getting wet and fading out. My last project, a minibike, I wanted to avoid that so I went with internal expanding shoes drum brakes, harder to get wet, and still work better than bands when they do. Didn't have the option of a whole lot of cable pull due to the use of a handlebar mounted brake lever, but a kart can get a much greater amount of pull action by proper attachment to the brake pedal.
My brake shoes were dragging in the drum because apparently no drums come perfectly round, or it's that bearings don't come perfectly straight in wheels. Point being I had to adjust them that close to get any real braking with a full pull of the lever, and even then couldn't lock the wheel up. You use those on a kart and you can adjust loose enough not to drag even before being broken in (like mine did) and still get enough pull to lock the tires. All mechanical, very strong grab, hard to get wet, makes for very reliable braking, that being the most important thing.
NOTE: I'm talking about using that setup on a live axle where both rear wheels will brake, not a single wheel brake, that's dangerous.
True about band brakes getting wet and fading out. My last project, a minibike, I wanted to avoid that so I went with internal expanding shoes drum brakes, harder to get wet, and still work better than bands when they do. Didn't have the option of a whole lot of cable pull due to the use of a handlebar mounted brake lever, but a kart can get a much greater amount of pull action by proper attachment to the brake pedal.
My brake shoes were dragging in the drum because apparently no drums come perfectly round, or it's that bearings don't come perfectly straight in wheels. Point being I had to adjust them that close to get any real braking with a full pull of the lever, and even then couldn't lock the wheel up. You use those on a kart and you can adjust loose enough not to drag even before being broken in (like mine did) and still get enough pull to lock the tires. All mechanical, very strong grab, hard to get wet, makes for very reliable braking, that being the most important thing.
NOTE: I'm talking about using that setup on a live axle where both rear wheels will brake, not a single wheel brake, that's dangerous.
Bansil
Painter of gnomes....
Dang junior, that wasn't even considered "pizza" back in the early 80'sBetween bmx racing, trick riding and motorcycles, my parents were just glad we had tricare or whatever
I probably overdid it with hydraulic brakes on my Manco but me plus the kart add up to over 400lbs and it can hit 50mph. I can lock 9" wide slicks at full speed but it still slides far. I have been thinking about front brakes but at that point I may as well buy a used sprint kart.
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