Rigid GX160 > GX390 Clone Off-Road Resto-Mod

[Sleepy122CID]

After the shims for the front wheels arrived, I swapped wheels so I could begin working on the rear fenders (and check front fitment). I forgot to take pictures until I was nearly done with the first fender...

Started with a 10 3/4" double axle trailer fender. I cut the ends off. This picture shows the center of the fender, one of the fender pieces untouched, and a near finished fender.

Before modifying fender. 4" were cut off each end, then 3 relief cuts were made on the sides so it could be bent tighter, welded, and sanded smooth. I will get better pictures on the next fender.

Finished fender. Only mounting brackets remain.

 

[Sleepy122CID]

I rented a bobcat and had a couple buddies come over and help me knock out the trail yesterday. After we each made a lap of course we had to start timing ourselves. The first lap of the second round proved devastating for the go kart. One of my buddies came out of the s-turn too fast, got the bounces, and ended up planting the right rear tire into a small tree. Last night I ordered a new axle, an axle bearing, and a rotor to repair the damage (hopefully the caliper and wheel are alright). I now plan on adding some sort of exterior cage in front of all the wheels to hopefully deflect hits like that, or at least take the majority of the impact instead of the drivetrain.

 

[ramairgtz]

Ouch that one hurt. Good job on the fenders I've had my kart off in the mud a few times and I end up wearing alot of it (once was cow poo)

 

[Sleepy122CID]

Ouch that one hurt. Good job on the fenders I've had my kart off in the mud a few times and I end up wearing alot of it (once was cow poo)

Yeah the front fenders were inspired by the go kart my grandfather had for us to ride when I was a kid, and we used to end up with all kinds of dirt up our shorts. I'm going to put some mud flaps on the fenders in the future as well to help out a little more hopefully!

 

[Sleepy122CID]

Yesterday I made some "treeflectors" to hopefully deflect the trees / scoot the rear of the kart instead of another dead blow with a rear tire. I was thinking I'd try them like this until the next hit, but I think I may add another cross brace inside each one - the tubing isn't really that heavy anyway.

I need some help though. I'd like to make some sort of brush guard or something in front of the front wheels as well, but I can't decide how I should go about it. I don't want to wrap tubing all the way around the front wheels, but I'm afraid if I just weld a bar extending out in front of the wheels it won't be near strong enough to take a hit. Any ideas?

 

[r97]

i would suggest a piece of tubing going from that side rail piece (a bit below your shoulder) to the far corner of your "tree deflector" with a piece of tubing, a bit more bracing wouldn't hurt either. as for the bumper, you could prob make a decent one with some maybe 1.5, or 2" sq (or round) tubing, maybe 14ga, and then support that with some more tube, i can make a little sketch if you want, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out a good design.

 

[redsox985]

Make a collapsing bumper with stress absorbing points so that, in the event of a head on crash, the bumper would collapse, absorbing the blow and saving the kart. I know that this is an Audi, but the engineering of it is the very reason it wasn't used in Ironman 2.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pau8D24asjs

 

[r97]

i believe its called a crumple zone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MsqJFoWSjI

 

[redsox985]

Whatever it's called, Audi does it right.

 

[bighead]

I would aslo say add a bar from your Nerf Bar to the frame hoop.

Your looks really good. All you need is a down bar. It would look tuff too.


Some Ideas

 

[Sleepy122CID]

i would suggest a piece of tubing going from that side rail piece (a bit below your shoulder) to the far corner of your "tree deflector" with a piece of tubing, a bit more bracing wouldn't hurt either. as for the bumper, you could prob make a decent one with some maybe 1.5, or 2" sq (or round) tubing, maybe 14ga, and then support that with some more tube, i can make a little sketch if you want, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out a good design.

I was thinking about that, but I'd like to maintain the ability to remove the "cage" portion if desired (it is currently all bolted on with u-bolts - I know, not the sturdiest thing ever). I may bring a piece of tube from the bar around the hip/thigh area down to the "treeflector" though.

 

[r97]

that sounds good to, but i would suggest reinforcing it a bit more along with that.

 

[old pat]

just a question im doing almost the same thing only with a larger chassis and 11 hp HF
ibelieve the motors have the same size out put shaft (1inch 2 &/8 long ) what kind of clutch and where do i buy it

 

[r97]

well you need a 1" bore clutch, 1" bore cent clutches run about 120 bucks. depending on what you are doing a tc would be much more desirable.
http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GPEA_enUS316US322&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=1%22+bor+centrifugal+clutch#q=1%22+bore+centrifugal+clutch&hl=en&rlz=1C1GPEA_enUS316US322&prmd=ivs&source=univ&tbs=shop:1&tbo=u&ei=MjjvTL2JKMT6lwfx7MDODA&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQrQQwAA&biw=1366&bih=677&fp=9b84a0f9b294c817

p.s. you may consider creating a new thread.

 

[Sleepy122CID]

After tiring of smashing/bending and finally breaking the frame where the front wheels mount, I welded some new (axles/spindles?) on the front end, made the beginning of a bash bar, removed the front fenders (tired of those getting smashed down against the tires), and have yet to hit anything else again hah. I hope to get some updated pictures up soon!