tractor supply helix 150cc go kart?

[greasemonkey85]

anyone have any experience with this go kart? me and the wife went to look at atvs tonight and was looking at the polaris sportsman 500 ho. nice but $6000 bucks. i dont really have the room to ride a atv and the only place to ride it is my parents house which is 4 hrs away. so we stopped at my local tsc on the way home to get chicken feed and she said something about that go kart. it is only $1800 and the specs on the website says it does 40mph. that would be good and safer for me and the kids to ride. i just want it to have enough power so that when we do go up home i can keep up with my brothers that have 250cc polaris and go trail riding with them. so it is for me as much as the kids, maybe more so me. what do you guys think?

 

[Kaptain Krunch]

Sounds expensive to me, you could build a whole sidewinder for that. I say buy a used dirt bike or quad, or make a go kart with a bike or sled engine in it.

 

[EagleTalons]

https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2009070622111333&item=28-1678&catname=engines

Engine.

Then get some metal and have yourself a family project.

 

[slideways]

They have zero low end power. Well designed suspension and such but since the motor is a chinese atv knockoff you'll have a tough time getting parts and figuring out how to fix it/service it. Since its a belt/slip drive type deal that is going to be a service item for sure. They also dont turn very well..

Being that a 5.5hp Briggs is a 206cc.. this is only a 150cc. It makes up for it with the variable gearing but if it was me i'd demand something at least 350cc-500cc for a 500lb kart.

 

[Rotore]

mc engine solves everything

 

[Kaptain Krunch]

https://www.surpluscenter.com/item.asp?UID=2009070622111333&item=28-1678&catname=engines

Engine.

Then get some metal and have yourself a family project.

NO

Mc or sled engine, why would you spend 175 on something you have to put another $240 into for a TC, then you still only have 13hp. You could get a sled engine with 50hp+ for under 500.

They have zero low end power. Well designed suspension and such but since the motor is a chinese atv knockoff you'll have a tough time getting parts and figuring out how to fix it/service it. Since its a belt/slip drive type deal that is going to be a service item for sure. They also dont turn very well..

Being that a 5.5hp Briggs is a 206cc.. this is only a 150cc. It makes up for it with the variable gearing but if it was me i'd demand something at least 350cc-500cc for a 500lb kart.

CC has nothing to do with HP. My rm 125 engine, if running would put out 20hp or so, a 5.5hp tecumseh is 196cc, My 750cc sled engine (again if running) would put out 140hp, A 18hp briggs is around 688cc.

 

[TerryOlson]

Displacement has everything to do with power. There are variables, but in general it's difficult and expensive to make more power with less displacement.

In the most basic sense an engine is an air pump. Displacement is the measurement of the amount of air (and fuel which directly correlates to the amount of air) you can put through a particular engine. The more air/fuel you can move through your engine the more power it can make. You can see how displacement is directly relevant to power. Again, there are many variables, but displacement is by far the biggest factor in determining how much power can be made.

 

[slideways]

Its ok.. he knows everything. After all we all have access to thousands of sled motors that only need spark plugs and carb cleanings to run again and provide years of entertainment. Of course that's why they were thrown out by their previous owners to begin with. After 30 years they simply forgot how to maintain them so they dumped them in a junkyard for us to put on our karts we make out of perforated angle iron and plumbing pipe.

 

[EagleTalons]

Its ok.. he knows everything. After all we all have access to thousands of sled motors that only need spark plugs and carb cleanings to run again and provide years of entertainment. Of course that's why they were thrown out by their previous owners to begin with. After 30 years they simply forgot how to maintain them so they dumped them in a junkyard for us to put on our karts we make out of perforated angle iron and plumbing pipe.

Haha, this makes my day.

 

[Kaptain Krunch]

Its ok.. he knows everything. After all we all have access to thousands of sled motors that only need spark plugs and carb cleanings to run again and provide years of entertainment. Of course that's why they were thrown out by their previous owners to begin with. After 30 years they simply forgot how to maintain them so they dumped them in a junkyard for us to put on our karts we make out of perforated angle iron and plumbing pipe.

Really? you wanna go down that road...
I dont know everything, i know that. I dont expect to get free sled engines, but i know they can be had for the cost of a clone, and Torque converter in most states, you just have to look. I dont understand why someone would spend so much on engines with so little potential. Anyways, if you wanna be a dick be a dick.

Displacement has everything to do with power. There are variables, but in general it's difficult and expensive to make more power with less displacement.

In the most basic sense an engine is an air pump. Displacement is the measurement of the amount of air (and fuel which directly correlates to the amount of air) you can put through a particular engine. The more air/fuel you can move through your engine the more power it can make. You can see how displacement is directly relevant to power. Again, there are many variables, but displacement is by far the biggest factor in determining how much power can be made.

Its true, it has some thing to do with HP, but what im trying to say is that an industrial engine is obviously going to make less HP compared to a performance motorcycle engine. The engine in the TSC kart is a performance bike engine clone engine( i think?), so you cant really compare it to a industrial engine just based on displacement.

 

[woodmandan2]

The engines in those things are scooter engines, which I have worked on pleanty overseas and 50% of the ones I have worked on have required parts after parts, and I couldn't get power outta any of em till I removed the governor, replaced the head, Larger carb/hours of friggin jetting, bought a new C.D.I, new spark Plug, new coil, new Variator, New clutch, New Variator Weights, New belt, and usually a balanced crankshaft to go with that... at least in china all of this coudl be bought for a little over 250 bucks, but here it would be 500+ because of how much they overcharge for parts heree.... and then again alot of the peoples stuff I did this on constantly were blowing pistions every few weeks er so, but this was mostly due to the massive 120cc pistion inside the originally 35cc engine... the 150cc engine is a bit nicer but it's still gonna need most of this stuff to get decent power/acceleration outta it... all in all scooter engines are a PITA and stay away

 

[slideways]

That is the trouble i've been seeing with them thus far.

I dont disagree that power wise starting with a rip snorting sled motor is a good way to go. But for 99% of us that are visiting this forum we want something that will start first pull, idle all day, and i can work on myself with basic tools. The complexity of finding the drive parts to a mc/sled motor and getting everything coordinated so a kid or myself could start it and ride it is pretty far out of reach for most of us. The other selection in the 4 cycle utility motor/ clutch/tc setup is something that basic knowledge can have working everyday for years.

Displacement is displacement. Putting it to the ground is what makes the difference you feel in your butt. Centrifugal clutches are about the worst way to distribute power to an axle. Torque convertors are only slightly better. A real shiftable transmission makes a world of difference. Otherwise how could an 80cc dirtbike blow past a 420cc clone powered kart?

 

[jr dragster T]

Guys, Stop arguing. I know Kaptain Krunch always recomends a good sled engine if you can find one. It realy is the best and most economical way to go. However its not always easy for somone to find a snowmobile engine for cheap. Hes not putting down what you have. He's just trying to help IMO.

 

[TOO FAST]

Yeah guys - stop pickin on the Kaptain. He's always got intelligent and knowledgable advice. If you can't handle his direct way of saying it then go back and help your mom in the kitchen

 

[jr dragster T]

If you can't handle his direct way of saying it

I usualy word stuff like that then people take offence to it.

 

[TOO FAST]

Well it would be good if we all had your gift of tact - seriously
your a good communicator - but alas i'm afraid it's too late for
me.

 

[jr dragster T]

Lol where all a good bunch of people I think.

 

[87srvsnow]

i like kaptains idea. if you want to be able to keep up easily on trails and stuff a sled engine would be the way to go.but i do understand that a sled engine might be a out reach for some people. do you live near where there is snow? if not i can see why there wouldn't be many sled engines around. i don't know about around your area but around where i live you could find a sled engine and a frame for under $1000.

 

[squat251]

I've never been trained besides working on engines and the like in my yard, and never once have I settled for a sled engine that wouldn't start first pull, be it a 340 or a 7000 (that's sarcasm...) point being, i think the kaptains totally correct, and when you look at it realistically a sled engine should be easier to work on, its 2 stroke rather than 4, and the ones that are cheap (old ones) have butterfly carbs, so cake and cake. but i get your point, young people have no right to that much power, and accidents aplenty for those who do. anything that will do 55-90 should not be run by a 12yr old. thats why in many states you need to wait till 16 to drive a car.