What Protective Safety Gear?

[rmelo99]

Hi all we have a new kart that's going to be for the kids 6/9.

What kind of protective gear is recommended? Helmut? If so what kind?
Are bike or motocross helmuts the way to go?

Am I overthinking this?

Just did a predator swap and had a scan with test run where it wouldn't stop and my wife crashed and rolled the kart. I believe that's fixed but am thinking ahead for safety now before the kids get on this.

Thanks

 

[mckutzy]

If the kart/buggy has a cage, get some arm restraints to keep there hands inside.
They're a strap with some bungy material and velcro securement around the kids wrists or arms...

 

[Smerft85]

Helmet and eye protection are among the top 3, any long hair needs to be tied back and tucked into a shirt or something, the hand restraints as mentioned are a terrific idea provided there is a cage, a factory version of these can be seen on the old honda odyssey fl250 thru the fl450. Air pressure in tires should be included in safety measures, as well as checking brake functionality, it's scary getting near 40mph and finding out you dropped hardware from your brakes somewhere along the way. When we were kids we had one of those open faced motorcycle helmets that had the snaps for a face shield, worked great!

 

[Karts of Kaos]

also i would say when ever you do anything to your kart put it on blocks to test then ride.

 

[anickode]

Use blue loctite on all your brake hardware for starters.

Definitely have an easy to reach kill switch with good secure wiring.

If it's a live axle kart, I really recommend using a TAV2 kit on it so you can adjust the governor spring or use a throttle stop without crying your clutch, at least while they're learning.

FULL FACE helmet. They're hot, they're uncomfortable, but they are unmatched for head protection. DOT or FS/1 rated. That's motorcycle and atv. SNELL is an additional level of protection for Motorsports

If it's got a cage, seat belts and some bunjee net can be nice to keep limbs inside.

If no cage, do not under any circumstances install a seat belt. You want to fly off, not be strapped to it if it flips over.

If you're concerned about skin, motorcross gear is the only real logical route to go.

 

[rmelo99]

Thank you all. Kart doesn't have a cage. I put it up on jack and tested Kill Switch, Gas and Brake like 20X. Then did 10x tests in yard.

Mechanically I think we're in good shape. I was already advised against belts by someone on here. I had no idea, so yes all riding is belt free until we have a cage setup.

We took it out for some drives today up/down the street and had lots of fun. Parents driving, kids were passengers.

Going to look for some head gear. Kids wore bike helmets for now. I don't know how fast we were going but if i had to guess maybe around 10-15mph, hard to tell when you're that close to the road.