Building a Go Kart

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Schwartz

Schwartz

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Schwartz38
Hey all,

I am contemplating building a go kart in order to learn more about the general workings of automobiles (but mostly to have fun :D). I know it seems pretty ambitious, especially to someone who does not know much about DIY and cars. But since I would like to make an attempt, I was wondering if anyone would like to help me out in the design process and/or anything else. Anyone interested? I am competent in Rhinoceros 4.0 (3D modelling) so it will be much easier to communicate ideas.

Thanks,
Schwartz
 
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To start out all you need is a Birel chassis and an SRS motor. It should get pretty easy from there.
 
Wow I've been thinking about doing this too. Basically we are taking chopped up tube frame from a bike or any other light steel and welding it into a frame, and sticking a 200cc on it.
 
What do you want from it? Off road karts would be a lot more useful as you can't really go anywhere on the roads.
If you do want to build an onroad kart then copy an existing chassis design from Birel/CRG etc.
For an off road kart there are lots of online designs and you can buy books at hardware stores.
The usual thing is to get an engine out of a crashed bike.
 
Can't seem to find a simple labeled diagram of a Birel/CRG chassis. Any help?
 
Slashfan
Wow I've been thinking about doing this too. Basically we are taking chopped up tube frame from a bike or any other light steel and welding it into a frame, and sticking a 200cc on it.
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No you want a 300+ cc dirt bike or motorcycle engine.:D pretty simple with the chain drive and clutch lever. I've always wanted to try it.
 
Currently modelling the chassis in Rhino.

Chassis.jpg


Chassisside.jpg


Chassisshot1.jpg
 
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savage388
No you want a 300+ cc dirt bike or motorcycle engine.:D pretty simple with the chain drive and clutch lever. I've always wanted to try it.
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I'd go bigger but right now all I have available is a 200 off an XR200 from the '80s. The 200 I think will just be a temporary thing but if anything tells me right, it'll scream because I have a 200 on my 3 wheeler and that ****er is fast as hell. So with this probably being only another 50lbs or so heavier I think it'll be pretty fast. Eventually I'd like to upgrade to a 1200cc but that won't be for a long time.


Right now I plan on just building a toy but in the long run I'd like to make it street legal.
 
Schwartz
Found a Birel chassis design if anyone else is interested. 👍

Also going to buy a new 212cc motor for $120 at Harbor Freight Tools.
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Remember you don't want a direct drive youll need some sort of clutch on it.
Slashfan
I'd go bigger but right now all I have available is a 200 off an XR200 from the '80s. The 200 I think will just be a temporary thing but if anything tells me right, it'll scream because I have a 200 on my 3 wheeler and that ****er is fast as hell. So with this probably being only another 50lbs or so heavier I think it'll be pretty fast. Eventually I'd like to upgrade to a 1200cc but that won't be for a long time.

Right now I plan on just building a toy but in the long run I'd like to make it street legal.
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Oh an xr200 would do nice. I thought you meant like a 5 hp Briggs or something :lol: personally my goal is to get an old air Cooled 4cyl bike engine and go from there.
 
savage388
Remember you don't want a direct drive youll need some sort of clutch on it.
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As I said before, I'm new to this stuff. What's wrong with direct drive? And what kind of clutch system would I use and how would it work?
 
savage388
Remember you don't want a direct drive youll need some sort of clutch on it.


Oh an xr200 would do nice. I thought you meant like a 5 hp Briggs or something :lol: personally my goal is to get an old air Cooled 4cyl bike engine and go from there.
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Hell no lol I have a 6hp Tecumseh on the go-kart I have now. It's fast but only tops at 30 because of the governer. My 3 wheeler with the 200 (18hp I think, some are rated up to 38hp) does about 65 with big tires on it, stock tires the top end a little less I think. Yeah the XR200 motor is off my friends old bike he used to race (he races a KX125 now but it's built to hell) so it's a little tired but a quick tune up will get it back up to speed again.

If I go with the 1200 later on, I think that would be sweet, but my dream project is taking a car frame and shoving a V8 on it with a C6 tranny and car tires and go riding around in that lol
 
Nice. I can get you some examples and dimensions from Intrepid kart.


You don't need a ridiculous 1200cc motor. Just get a 100cc Yamaha KT100, or a 4 Cycle motor with 8 HP. The chassis also needs to flex.
 
Schwartz
As I said before, I'm new to this stuff. What's wrong with direct drive? And what kind of clutch system would I use and how would it work?
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With direct drive as soon as you start it the wheels will spin like the blade on a lawnmower. You want something that will keep the wheels from moving when your idling but spin them when you hit the gas. Kind of like the centrifugal clutch on a chain saw, how the chain stops when it's idling. I know they sell engines for vibrator plates ( basically a gas powered tamper/ soil compactor) they have this type of clutch. I know theyre cheap because my dads boss has a bunch laying around.
@slash the v8 one would just be a dune buggy. :lol:
 
savage388
With direct drive as soon as you start it the wheels will spin like the blade on a lawnmower. You want something that will keep the wheels from moving when your idling but spin them when you hit the gas. Kind of like the centrifugal clutch on a chain saw, how the chain stops when it's idling. I know they sell engines for vibrator plates ( basically a gas powered tamper/ soil compactor) they have this type of clutch. I know theyre cheap because my dads boss has a bunch laying around.
@slash the v8 one would just be a dune buggy. :lol:
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Okay, so it's basically a clutch that engages/disengages depending on how much centrifugal force from the engine is acting on it. That makes sense. Now where can I find one of these for cheap? And can I attach it to the engine I am thinking of buying?
 
Schwartz
Okay, so it's basically a clutch that engages/disengages depending on how much centrifugal force from the engine is acting on it. That makes sense. Now where can I find one of these for cheap? And can I attach it to the engine I am thinking of buying?
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I'm not sure about either however your local power equipment store will likely have an engine with one and/or more information. However for the price of everything you may want to get a dirt bike engine or something similar being that your building a frame and everything from scratch. Theyre real cheap on craigslist and it wouldnt be much harder. Or you could just buy an old donor racing style quad and give your gokart full suspension and have a rear axle to use. Just a thought as I don't know how far you want to go with this thing.
 
nitrorocks
Nice. I can get you some examples and dimensions from Intrepid kart.


You don't need a ridiculous 1200cc motor. Just get a 100cc Yamaha KT100, or a 4 Cycle motor with 8 HP. The chassis also needs to flex.
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1200cc is for later project. The 200 is already to go on.
 
I've made plans in the past for a kart and the hardest part for me fabrication wise was a rack and pinion steering system. That was pretty much the only part I wasn't keen on constructing myself.
 
It would be ok to get a GX200 style engine at the start, but you will get bored very quickly. It doesn't take much more work to get an old dirtbike engine on it, and you would have the advantage of gears and a real clutch.
 
ExigeEvan
Are you assembling racing go kart components or making an off-roader from scratch?
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We intend to make a road kart, while creating as many parts as possible to try and keep the costs down. I think we may need to simply buy a steering column and mechanism, brakes, and axels.
 
i agree. by the way it is called a steering shaft not column.
 
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