Viper Offroad with full suspension project log.

[Buick455]

Put a locking collar on both sides of everything getting a key (Sprocket, Brake Disc, and 1 on insides of the hubs). You WILL lose the setscrew and the key if ya dont... lol

You want to put them on so they hold the key inside the part, when the setscrew stops working the torque on the keys gonna wiggle it free and prolly out one side or the other. no they dont make Loctite for go karts

Get the half collars (ones with the 2 hex bolts) much easier to install and remove after rust, and they hold better then the setscrew ones ever will.

Its looking very good, i wanna see it in motion...

 

[theo]

also remove the set screws and install short bolts.

theo

 

[ColokartDad]

Man she is starting to look good!
I agree, you should make the lower arm an a arm,you can keep the upper as an I!

 

[félix]

very nice kart

 

[modelengineer]

That's looking great. What sort of bushing are you using on the suspension? Also I agree with whoever suggested changing the I arms to A arms. 100x stronger and more reliable.

 

[theo]

xoltri,....any up dates and vids of your buggy???

theo

 

[xoltri]

Only made a small amount of progress over the last month, I've been busy building a fence! Maybe in the next week or two I'll do a big chunk of work.

I abandoned the solidworks modelling though, I don't know if I have the know-how to analyze the results that it spits out.

 

[rocko]

Any updates?

 

[xoltri]

Finally I have figured out the main thing that was holding me back for all this time. Today I managed to get the drive train figured out as well as get the bearing hangers and motor mount tacked on.

With the swing arm the way it is the engine was interfering with the upright suspension support when the shocks were fully compressed. To combat this I have removed the fuel tank from the engine, as well as the bracket that it sits on. I am not going to be using the governer anyway so I took all of that stuff off also.

With this stuff removed I was able to mount the TAV2 in a more vertical position, which gave me more clearance for the tire. It also allowed me to move the engine several more inches forward putting the axle in almost the correct location according to the plans.

The tire in the photos will for sure be used in the front, but I may get a wider tire for the rear. I just used it for the photo for illustration.

 

[xoltri]

I managed to get a bit more done this evening after my 8 month old son went to bed. I finished welding the engine mount and bearing hangers and I welded the spindle bolts on to the front. Starting to look like something now! I may even have it on the rubber in the next few days.

 

[Rickracer]

Are those just "Y" arms? Are you sure they are gonna hold up??

 

[whitepower]

Hey Yo That drill presss with the lasser thing i just put one together at my garage thats 70x40 only cost me 50 bucks got it on sale L good log seen a viper front suspension test on yt gona look sick

 

[Rickracer]

You definitely need to change your front upper shock mounts. Unless they are a heim joint style mount, they will snap off when they are flexed, not to mention, they are mounted in single shear, opposite the direction of rotation. You should cut off the studs they are mounted on, and do two tabs with a bolt through them so they can rotate on the same plane as the lower mounts. This will not only allow them to pivot without binding, the upper mounts will be about 3 or 4 times stronger than they currently are.
Also, I think a 1" axle is probably not going to be strong enough for any serious abuse, 1.25" would have been a much better choice.

 

[xoltri]

You definitely need to change your front upper shock mounts.

Hey Rickracer,

I do appreciate your advice and honestly if I had to do it again I would probably have chosen a different design of kart. However I am following the plans I purchased in both design and materials so I can only assume that this will work. I may still do some of the awesome suggestions mentioned here but for now I am going to get the main parts of the kart built first.

Thanks!

 

[Rickracer]

... but for now I am going to get the main parts of the kart built first....

I can certainly understand that, but now is the time to make any necessary or desirable changes to the original design, not later , after you've found they don't work right or won't hold up. Upon closer inspection of the front lower shock mounts, I see they are in single shear as well, just a bolt welded to your "I" arms? I'd suggest cutting off ALL the front suspension and starting over with double a-arms. At this point it would not be all that hard, you'll need a couple more heim joints and some more tubing, that's all. As far as the shock mountings, many places sell ready made mounting tabs like you would need for $2~$3 each.

 

[xoltri]

I got a bunch of stuff done, I'll let the picture and videos speak for themselves! Don't mind the pink shoes, they are my wife's and were closest to the back door.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBdUCW26ykc

 

[flowerman]

wow nice kart is that a honda GTX200 on there?

 

[t0x1k]

I would suggest losing so much distance between the sprockets. I ran like that on my kart and at a decent speed the chain began to fling around violently.
That or use a set of idlers.

 

[Ferrari motors15]

I want to know how many it cost to you to do all the kart

 

[02mx-5]

Do you think the rear shock mount needs some support? I mean from the bar behind the seat that the shock mounts to, on an angle down to your knee area. i think it would help strengthen everything