Anyone out there ever make their own go-kart?

[Toecutter]

Been thinking of making a go-kart for our dirt/gravel roads... something for general goofing off and ripping back and forth to the sister-in-law's place. I was thinking "ATV" style wheels, rear mounted engine (whatever small, sub 100 cc engine I can find for as cheap as possible.)

I've got a line on a free non-running Honda three wheeler from the 80s... thinking of using the rear axle and wheels from that... anyone see any issues? Better ideas? Pictures of stuff you've built?

Thanks.

[rtbickel]

If you use those bigger wheels/tires, go for a bigger engine - 250cc or so.  Look to your local salvage yard.  Back in the 70's me and a couple of friends built one with a dad-welded frame and a salvaged Yamaha 360 enduro single.  Little racing style tires made it scary fast, but what a hoot! 

[Sheepdog]

I built one when I lived in the Caribbean. A family friend had a great shop and a couple of ace Portuguese mechanics. The entire cart was built from scratch in a day around a big two-stroke single. It was crazy fast, but kept breaking chains. No pictures, but just imagine the cobbiest attempt at locomotion ever built (the steering wheel came from a 12� 150# gate valve). The next day, I moved on to pushing coral around with his Cat D9.

It was a great week for a 15 year old kid...

Those Honda 3-wheelers are notoriously evil-handling. Part of the problem was the lack of a fourth wheel, but much was due to the live axle. Because both wheels turn as though they incorporated a diff lock, turning will be dicey whether it has three wheels or four. It will handle better if only a single rear wheel is driven.

[Toecutter]

I built one when I lived in the Caribbean. A family friend had a great shop and a couple of ace Portuguese mechanics. The entire cart was built from scratch in a day around a big two-stroke single. It was crazy fast, but kept breaking chains. No pictures, but just imagine the cobbiest attempt at locomotion ever built (the steering wheel came from a 12� 150# gate valve). The next day, I moved on to pushing coral around with his Cat D9.

It was a great week for a 15 year old kid...

Those Honda 3-wheelers are notoriously evil-handling. Part of the problem was the lack of a fourth wheel, but much was due to the live axle. Because both wheels turn as though they incorporated a diff lock, turning will be dicey whether it has three wheels or four. It will handle better if only a single rear wheel is driven.

That's what I was looking for... wasn't aware of the live axle. (I flipped more than my share of these things back when I was young... and put them through the ice, and into rivers and and and...).

Hmm. I'll keep my eyes open for something better suited.

edit: although...this thing would only ever see loose dirt, sand and gravel... a live axle might work better.

[Rick in WNY]

Little brother and I built one waaayyyy back when.

5HP briggs snowblower engine, from an old rusted out broken snow blower. Wheels from... I forget what. Built the frame from wood with steel axles and reinforcements. Since I knew enough about vehicles to be dangerous and since we didn't have any way to make a differential, our Dad suggested one-wheel drive with a chain. So, the engine was bolted in biased to the right hand side, a centripetal clutch was found... somewhere. I think Dad's buddy with the chainsaw shop provided it. Then just a length of chain around the drive sprocket to a larger one on the wheel and that was the driveline.

Thinking back on it, we would have done it with a v-belt, pulleys, and tensioner, but got the clutch so that settled that.

Yes, if you mashed the gas it torqued to the left a little, but it was just fine, we learned to control it, and that made building and operating it so much simpler.

[Lannis]

If it's not going to be used in deep grass, mud, or rough ground, I'd just build a simple standard go-cart, 8" wheels, with a single drive wheel, scrub brakes, and a centrifugal clutch.   You could put anything from an old 5 HP Briggs off a junk tiller, to a new $150 "Predator" engine to a romping stomping chainsaw engine in it.    Simple, nothing to go wrong, easy to fix.

Lannis

[Toecutter]

Well, it will probably see use on some back woods stuff. By bro-in-law has a dirt bike track on his property, and a couple km of "trail" through the bush.

I'm just at "daydreaming and planning stages" right now, though, so I'm digesting any and all ideas.

[pikipiki]

There's a book entitled "Design and fabrication of a cost effective Go Kart" quite a mouthful,  recently published and free to read on Kindle. You probably have to subscribe but you get a month free then can cancel, no idea if the book is any better than what you find on the Web just searching. Seems to be an Indian author so cost effective probably means very little ??

[Toecutter]

Indian + cost effective = sign me up. 

[canuck750]

I loved go-carts back in the 60's, the kids with $$$ had Briggs and Stratton 5hp beasts in theirs, mine had two friends pushing the all wood with salvaged tricycle wheels my builds consisted of.

Two skinny 8 year olds pushing did not make a single hp but we sure had fun.

[Muzz]

I am under pressure (every now and then) from the 19 year old petrol head grandson to build one.

So far I have resisted......... Be fun to do tho............

[sign216]

Out where I am (New England) the old Tecumseh side valve snowblower engines are the most sought after motors.
Hard to find, and maybe the Harbor Freight Asian Predator engines do have better numbers.

But an old American sidevalve has value to some of us.....



I'm still using my 25+yr engine to blow snow.  So I can't give it up yet.

[PeteS]

I made one out of 2x4s when I was about 10. Door hinges on the front corners for steering. Don't remember what wheels I used but would guess from a radio flyer wagon. Powered by some old 2 stroke motor and way over geared with pullies. No brakes only an idler pulley on a stick that was lifted to tighten the belt. Hang on. I am sure it went over 30 mph but with lots of belt slipping to get rolling.
I started a second one a few years later using water pipe. I had a 4 stoke motor and one rear slick with sprocket but never finished it as parts were getting too expensive.

Pete

[Ncdan]

I built one when I lived in the Caribbean. A family friend had a great shop and a couple of ace Portuguese mechanics. The entire cart was built from scratch in a day around a big two-stroke single. It was crazy fast, but kept breaking chains. No pictures, but just imagine the cobbiest attempt at locomotion ever built (the steering wheel came from a 12� 150# gate valve). The next day, I moved on to pushing coral around with his Cat D9.

It was a great week for a 15 year old kid...

Those Honda 3-wheelers are notoriously evil-handling. Part of the problem was the lack of a fourth wheel, but much was due to the live axle. Because both wheels turn as though they incorporated a diff lock, turning will be dicey whether it has three wheels or four. It will handle better if only a single rear wheel is driven.

I had a couple of the Honda 3 wheelers, Sheep and you'd be surprised how those things could be maneuvered and ridden at speed thrown into curves on dirt at breakneck speeds. Google 3 wheeler races and be amazed!

[TimmyTheHog]

build one together with my high school teacher who was in charge of the metal fabrication class.

We savaged parts out of an old small riding lawnmower and used the engine & axles out of it...

I was in charged of lightening the body while my teacher was in charge of "juicing up the engine"...

well, as we didn't bother upgrading the brakes, we drove the thing into the wall the first bend around the school gym LOL...

lesson learned: when Power/Weight Ratio goes up, the allowable stopping force must also go up or something else will.

[Chuck in Indiana]

Probably everyone here has made a go kart when they were a kid..

[Gliderjohn]

From Chuck:

Probably everyone here has made a go kart when they were a kid..

I am one of the few that didn't. However...a neighbor kid I hung with some received a pretty nice one from his parents. We all lived in the country and his father bladed an oval dirt track. That is where I learned how to power slide. 
GliderJohn

[Sheepdog]

That's what I was looking for... wasn't aware of the live axle. (I flipped more than my share of these things back when I was young... and put them through the ice, and into rivers and and and...).

Hmm. I'll keep my eyes open for something better suited.

edit: although...this thing would only ever see loose dirt, sand and gravel... a live axle might work better.

As I recall, the technique for steering those 3-wheelers called for pushing your weight to the outside of a turn until the inside rear wheel lofted, when the steering could finally work as designed. It was an imperfect and non-linear approach, however...wherein the rider's slightest miscalculation would pitch him/her into a tree.

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Probably everyone here has made a go kart when they were a kid..

I never made a go-kart.  Maybe it's time to do it now? 

[Rick4003]

 I build one as my school workshop project. Maybe a bit over the top.
400cc Yamaha engine and independent suspension all around. Spend a ton of money on that project [emoji23] ran out of time and never got it totally up and running. Still have most of the parts to put together at some point.

-Ulrik

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

[Guzzistajohn]

You might be better off buying a used one some kid has out grown

[larrys]

My go-kart story. Once upon a time I shared a house with a guy who worked as a mechanic at the local Honda motorcycle dealer. They would take anything in trade. If it was crap, it would be offered to the employees for free. Anyway, my roomie brings home a Honda Odyssey with no motor and a wrecked early '70's CB450 . We shoehorned the 450 motor into the Odyssey. It was scary fast until I kissed a tree with it.
Best,
Larry

[Toecutter]

You might be better off buying a used one some kid has out grown

Where's the fun in that?

[jas67]

...this thing would only ever see loose dirt, sand and gravel... a live axle might work better.

The live axle would make for better drifting 

[Toecutter]

The live axle would make for better drifting 

Yeah, that's where I'm leaning... farm fun... it's not a party til a pallet is on fire, and someone is revving an engine of some kind.

[RinkRat II]

  Possible repurposing of a riding lawn mower??  Just throwin' it out there

        Paul B

[TimmyTheHog]

Yeah, that's where I'm leaning... farm fun... it's not a party til a pallet is on fire, and someone is revving an engine of some kind.

MAN, make sure you sent out an invite when the party starts...

I like bonfire....*shamlessbump*

and ya, Live axle will def be a hella more interesting to ride around...just need to remember your turning radius is HELLA outta wack when going in highspeed 

[Guzzistajohn]

Where's the fun in that?

I guess I’m more of a rider than a fabricator. Everyone is different.

[Toecutter]

I guess I�m more of a rider than a fabricator. Everyone is different.

I'm no fabricator... I'm just a jack-of-all trades that gets easily bored. I'm a tinkerer that chases whatever project is interesting to me.

[Muzz]

Those Honda 3-wheelers are notoriously evil-handling. Part of the problem was the lack of a fourth wheel, but much was due to the live axle. Because both wheels turn as though they incorporated a diff lock, turning will be dicey whether it has three wheels or four. It will handle better if only a single rear wheel is driven.

I have both the250 shaft drive Honda 3 wheeler and a 300 Big Red Honda quad. I agree, you have to be a bit cautious turning the trike on grippy dirt, not so bad on sand.

Farm use for trikes is basically zip now as there were so many accidents when they first came out.