What next??

[Buoy]

OK, I'm new this go-kart hobby, and you all successfully guided me in disconnecting the oil sensor in my 6.5 hp Harbor Freight motor on a Manco frame.
After working out my electrical gremlins, and repairing a fuel line I nicked, I'm running good.
Now, how do I remove the governor on this motor, and what repercussions am I facing??
I was hitting 29.5 mph gps last week.
I did an alignment this morning, and it feels like I may have picked up 2-3 mph. GPS is in Toledo with the wife (she'll be home tonight - back in Arizona).
So, how much trouble can I get in by getting rid of the governor?? I already have an exhaust that is loud as hell and echo's off the walls of the mountain.
I don't want to grenade the motor, but it pizzes me off when I'm giving it gas and it is "putting" while it is bumping the limiter.
Igor

 

[oldbikerarlo]

Where in Az.? I'm in Marana.

 

[Bluethunder3320]

first try loosening out the throttle stop screw. this is simple and wont harm the engine....

if you still want more RPM, tear into the engine, remove governor (google search 6.5 honda clone governor removal)

you can go as far as youd like on engine mods. you can push out 20HP and 10,000RPM with enough cash into the motor.

 

[kendelrk]

you can get in MUCH trouble by taking out the governor, but heres the facts 1. you have to find a way to make a linkage directly to the carb on this engine, 2, you cant run it WOT youll be making your own grenade, you dont have the parts in the engine to withstand that much rpm.and 3 you have to open the engine up, now a go kart without a governor on this lets you accelerate faster and hell makes it a whole lot faster, and more fun, but if your serious about doing this, i can show you how i set up the carb linkage and another member could guide you through it, because i just took out mine today with the help of the neighbor,

 

[Doc Sprocket]

you can get in MUCH trouble by taking out the governor,

Not if handled properly.

1. you have to find a way to make a linkage directly to the carb on this engine

True, but there's a zillion FAQ's and tutes on how to do this- it's not voodoo

,

2, you cant run it WOT youll be making your own grenade, you dont have the parts in the engine to withstand that much rpm.

Again, not if handled properly. Keep the factory valve springs, and gear the kart high enough that the valves aren't constantly floating. The REAL issue is free-revving the engine with no load applied to it at insane RPM.

and 3 you have to open the engine up

,
Again, not rocket science. See above comment about FAQ's, etc.

now a go kart without a governor on this lets you accelerate faster

If the gearing is the same as before, acceleration will be exactly the same. Increased maximum RPM (at it's most basic level) increases maximum road speed, and does not affect takeoff at all.

and hell makes it a whole lot faster,

Should make it faster, if gearing is appropriate.

if your serious about doing this, i can show you how i set up the carb linkage and another member could guide you through it,

Again, see FAQ's and tutes comment. There is a vast wealth of how-to stuff on this forum, much of it is stickied for easy reference.

Kendel, please try to avoid stating non-facts as fact, and propagating the whole "you're gonna blow up your engine" stuff. We've got enough problems with that as it is.

The facts are that if the work is done correctly, good maintenance is applied, good materials used, and everything is done "smartly" all around- It will improve performance, it will serve you well, and it will probably shorten the overall life expectancy of the engine. Bear in mind that the life expectancy of these engines can range into hundreds of hours under varying conditions, and you'd have to ride a TON to get into the hundreds of hours...

 

[kendelrk]

your right toystory, i think its because, i was always afraid to open engines up, i just didnt want to mess everything up, and have problems like blue, but today i did see that if done properly everythings fine, and as for valve floating, how high does it need to be for the valves to not float?

 

[Buoy]

Where in Az.? I'm in Marana.

I just bought a house in Apache Junction - A HOUSE, not a trailer - (local humor, excuse me guys) I live on a dirt road, so I have plenty of space to run this thing.

Thanks everyone for the great replies.
I guess I should back track a bit and tell you what I want to see out of the Kart.
I'm not necessarily looking for acceleration, with the dirt/gravel roads I have to really feather the pedal to just get it to hook up with out spinning.
I can get out to pavement and lots of hilly road, and you can hear it hitting the rev limiter (boating term, sorry - GOVERNOR), and I want to keep giving it power.
My real push to get this thing together was that my 12 yr daughter is going to visit in a few weeks, and she's going to be bored out here in the desert. I want to keep it tame for her, but I want to know how to "kick it up a bit" for myself.
I'm not an idiot that would run it WOT without expecting it to go kaplooey, but I'm also not expecting to get 100's of hours out of this motor. I want to beat it up a little bit, and if I get 200 hrs with only moderate abuse, I'm good.
The motor is only about $165, (not chump change, but not the long dollar) so I'll just buy a new one when I blow this one up.
I don't want to go crazy and start changing valves and carbs and cams and chit like that - I'll throw away that money on my boat.
Just pizzes me off that I'm at max throttle and the motor is coughing and holding me back - I know when to get out of the throttle.

 

[kendelrk]

was there load on the engine? if theres no load the engine does surge somewhat, and its not to hard to do, the biggest problem for me was getting the bottom of the arm out because i didnt have everything positioned righy. and check to make sure you linkage is good, and that the original throttle arm is a bit tight, if you plan on keeping it

 

[Buoy]

was there load on the engine? if theres no load the engine does surge somewhat, and its not to hard to do, the biggest problem for me was getting the bottom of the arm out because i didnt have everything positioned righy. and check to make sure you linkage is good, and that the original throttle arm is a bit tight, if you plan on keeping it

I see you guys mentioning throttle linkage alot...
Again, I'm new to this, and I wouldn't know good from bad, or what to change, or what questions to ask.
All I know is that if I'm running on flat road and floor the pedal, it will start to back off on me and only give intermittent fuel. Same thing if I go over a hill, coming down the hill it doesn't keep accelerating as I give it gas, just a popping out of the carb through the exhaust - almost sounds like a "jake brake" on a semi truck.
Would pictures help diagnose?? Pictures of "what"???
Mechanically I'm not an idiot, I've just never played with this kinda toy before - I guess that's why I'm counting on you guys to guide me.
Thanks to everyone for getting me this far.

 

[kendelrk]

that poping is a backfire, probably from running so hard. how thesse engines work is kind of like a car, when you use 3,000 rpm to get 60 well say (just making up things here) then it drops down to 1,500 but your still going the same speed thats what happens, it keeps the power going, but at less rpm to burn less gas, i have used the gas tank n my tank, rode it everyday for 2 maybe 3 hours and made it a week

 

[Buoy]

OK, so that is a result of the governor holding me back - right??
I want to wind this thing up tight and go higher rpms - I don't want to blow the motor prematurely, but I know myself, and eventually it is inevitable. I just do that sort of thing. I guess by me asking all these questions is just me asking to learn how to blow it up, or actually just walk that line of pushing it to the limit without going over for as long as I can. I know that I'll eventuzlly blow it up, but I want to do it on my time, and not have a warden (governor) telling me what I can do. Yeah, I guess I have issues with authority...lol

 

[kendelrk]

The backfire no, that's just reving so high, theses engine from factory have a backwards gasket . And are lean, get a number 90 jet better air intake and a nice header with muffler . The governor does lower it and hold you back, on my mini bike motor which is now on my kart, I used to pull it to full throttle then push the governor open with my finger just a bit and it was much faster, I couldn't believe it. The neighbor today helped me take out my governor and make a linkage i just need a throttle stop, I drove his with the same mods and it was really fast, my family thought it was a racing motor at first, that just shows you, and I'm the same way , but please tell me that you wear a helmet when riding

 

[r_chez_08]

The engine is highly unlikely to blow up if you just remove the governor.
I have a clone which i run at WOT with the governor removed and stock valves etc and its fine.
Just make sure it has a load, otherwise the rod could go!
Another thing you may also consider, if the wheels are spinning you may have too much torque and you could gear for a bit more speed.
Here is a good gov. Removal guide.
http://www.affordablegokarts.com/govenor-removal.php
A few thing that could possibly cause problems-
1. Make sure the two dots line up on cam and crank,
2. You will want to replace the side cover gasket otherwise you may leak oil,
3. You need to tighten the bolts on the side cover in an "opposite way" eg do a bolt on one side, then the opposite side.
4. You need to connect up a new throttle which allows the full sweep of the butterfly.
Hope that helps

 

[Doc Sprocket]

In all honesty, If a) You're constantly bouncing off the governor, and b) You have to "feather the throttle" quite a bit to be able to take off without spinning the tires all over the place, then-

Perhaps you're examining this from the wrong angles. It sounds to me like you'd benefit from gearing up a wee bit. It would reduce the wheelspin on takeoff and increase your top end. Now, that's not to say that a governor tweak or removal wouldn't help later on, but the symptoms you describe tell me that you're geared to deep for the circumstances. Just a thought.

 

[Doc Sprocket]

theses engine from factory have a backwards gasket .

ALL of them, or yours did? Big difference.

And are lean, get a number 90 jet better air intake and a nice header with muffler

.

Whoa. Couple points here- First, I don't think they are too lean in stock form. Do you? And why do you? Second- if a high flow intake and exhaust are done, YOU are creating the lean condition and must alter the jetting. Third, #90 might be a decent ballpark, but is not necessarily the correct size for this application. Testing will tell.

 

[kendelrk]

most all, from hf anyway, and they are, my stock wouldnt even run all the way off of choke, and i used 90 and it seems to run fairley well

 

[Bluethunder3320]

out of like 5 (i think?) clones ive got, none had backwards gaskets.

ive got one straight piped and didnt need to rejet.

 

[devino246]

The backfire no, that's just reving so high, theses engine from factory have a backwards gasket . And are lean, get a number 90 jet better air intake and a nice header with muffler . The governor does lower it and hold you back, on my mini bike motor which is now on my kart, I used to pull it to full throttle then push the governor open with my finger just a bit and it was much faster, I couldn't believe it. The neighbor today helped me take out my governor and make a linkage i just need a throttle stop, I drove his with the same mods and it was really fast, my family thought it was a racing motor at first, that just shows you, and I'm the same way , but please tell me that you wear a helmet when riding

The engine backfires when you let your foot off the petal because the air/fuel mixture suddenly leans out. A leaner a/f mixture burns slower so unburnt fuel is allowed to leave the combustion chamber and enter the exhaust system.