Tao Nighthawk build

[Mavaholic]

I bought this TaoTao Arrow 150 about 3 years ago. Although well constructed, the 150 cc engine just didn't cut it for me. From day one I started thinking of putting in a motorcycle engine. I was looking for a twin in the 500 cc range. Then about a month ago I ran across this 97 Honda Nighthawk 750 in the local Craigs List for $250. That was the right bike at an unbelievable price. It had been laid down so it was a little tore up. Didn't matter for my purposes.

 

[Mavaholic]

First step was to pull the bike engine and remove the engine assembly out of the kart.

 

[Mavaholic]

Building mounts for the 750 in the Tao frame.

 

[landuse]

Nice! The bike engine looks huge compared to the gy6

 

[karte_m0lim]

I would be scared to sit in front of that engine

 

[JTSpeedDemon]

Might want earplugs.
And a fireproof suit.
And a fire extinguisher.
And a VERY reliable engine shutoff switch.

 

[Mavaholic]

Might want earplugs.
And a fireproof suit.
And a fire extinguisher.
And a VERY reliable engine shutoff switch.

Naaa, those things are for sissies and smart people. I plan on putting the stock mufflers back on so ear plugs won't be necessary. I do have an easily reached master shutoff switch. Fire extinguishers are always a good idea. I have one in all my cars but hadn't thought about the kart.

Anyway, first test fit shows the need to extend the swing arm for exhaust clearance. I figured 3" would be enough. That kinda sucks because the thing has a horrible turning radius as is, plus I will not have reverse. But on the good side I should have enough power to slide around tight turns.

 

[Kartorbust]

You could always tinker with the steering geometry and front end to make it steer better. You're already dropping in 5x the engine displacement and about 7 times the horsepower.

 

[Mavaholic]

You could always tinker with the steering geometry and front end to make it steer better. You're already dropping in 5x the engine displacement and about 7 times the horsepower.

It has rack & pinion so I can't get any more movement out of the rack. The tie rod arms can be shortened, but not very much. I would also have to reshape the backside of the lower a-arm because the tires are almost touching at full turn. I have thought about it and it may be in a future mod. I'll see how it performs with the new engine first.

 

[Mavaholic]

Cut up the stock exhaust and welded them back together to form headers. I will eventually reattach the stock mufflers. Also extended the swing arm 3.5 inches

 

[Joe-405]

Did you get the title with yours ? Mixed answers about them being street legal online and was curious.

 

[Mavaholic]

I had to add a third pedal for the clutch. The original set up had 2 pedals on separate axis. The brake master cylinder was in-between the two pedals. I made an assembly based on 1 axis. I cut down the original brake pedal and moved the master cylinder in front of the pedal. I moved the gas pedal over to the clutch position, and took the rear brake pedal off the motorcycle and reshaped it for the new gas pedal. I took the 2 long bolts that were the axis and welded them together to form one really long bolt. Then made an assembly, turned some bushing on my lathe, added springs to return pedals to neutral, and finally stops so as not to over extend the cables. Finally made the whole assembly bolt on. Its easily removed with 4 nuts. You use to have to pull the long bolts out to get the pedals out.

 

[Mavaholic]

Did you get the title with yours ? Mixed answers about them being street legal online and was curious.

I have titles for the kart and the motorcycle although I have no intentions of making it street legal.

 

[Panhead5496]

Oh man this thing is going to be epic! Can't wait to see the finished project!

 

[Mavaholic]

Going through the Honda main wiring harness, cutting out everything I don't need.

 

[Mavaholic]

I used the kart's F-N-R shifter and just cut out all the detents. Then reshaped the Honda's foot shifter. Made a few brackets and works like a charm. Bang it forward to upshift and back to downshift.

 

[Kartorbust]

Is there room for a clutch pedal or will you be doing a clutch handle on the gear shifter?

 

[landuse]

Looking good!!

Is there room for a clutch pedal or will you be doing a clutch handle on the gear shifter?

In one of the posts above he has pics of the clutch pedal he is using

 

[Mavaholic]

I couldn't find an off the shelf cable long enough for the clutch so I used the original emergency brake cable. With a slight mod it clipped onto the engine clutch arm. Then I made this bell crank assembly and bought another cable complete the run to the pedal.

 

[Mavaholic]

Had to raise the rear bracing for engine clearance. Mounted the gas tank further back then original. Also had to weld a 1/4 bung in the tank to use 5/16" nipples and fuel line. The 1/8 nipple wasn't going to feed 4 carburetors. Then mounted the voltage regulator, starter relay, coil packs, and ignition module. And then there are those magical wires that makes everything work.