Mini 2-stroke go-cart build

So I'm building a little something for me and my friends to ride around, as well as the kiddos when they get older. I already have a 43cc 2-stroke engine with the clutch and sprocket already setup on it. It's coming off an old project I never showed anyone.

(Don't mind the dog licking it's ass in the background)


It's a bmx bike with the 2-stroke... It was pretty fun! it topped out at around 30-35 mph. And still had lots of torque. But some people were scared of it for some reason.. So I will be building a mini go-cart with the engine. It just has to be really lightweight. I think I already have most of the parts to build it, I will need to buy an axle and bearings for the rear.

Here are some pics.





The frame is 32" long and 13.5" wide. I used an old four legged stool as the seat frame. Very light and rigid so far!



^This is where the engine will go. It's still subject to change though.^



And those are the steering parts that I have. It's a mix of murray and mtd mowerdeck parts, and craftsman steering parts. I started to build the steering, but I ran out of wire for the welder... Gotta go buy more sometime tomorrow.

Ideas welcome!

this is gonna be awesome. kinda like a barstool racer. nice custom steering wheel you made from the craftsmans wheel

Yeah, kinda like that... This one will be a little more on the "getto" side I'm trying to take my time with it and think about things before i go and weld stuff on.

Anyway, Got some of this today!



So started to mess with the steering column a bit. It's held in by the c-clip from the craftsman steering system, it keeps it from falling out the bottom.



Added some more support up towards the top. I'm still going to add a little more, but it's alot tougher then I thought it would be already.



So thats all I got done today. Only got about an hour and a half out there today. I really like working on this thing. Here's one last pic of it without all the crap and clutter around it. (Except my sweet new hippopotamus dump truck)



More soon I hope!

That Hippo dumptruck looks sweet! How does it perform in the mud?

Its coming on nicely. Starting to look like something already! This is making me want to get back onto build my racing mower-kart ... thing. What wheels are you using on it?

Dang! That thing is cool! Almost does look like a barstool racer. I like the use of the deck hangars for the steering- makes it adjustable as well - the steering wheel chopped down also looks wicked - never thought of that . Maybe a lil sprocket change and itll go faster?

Itd be cool to make a bike like that - weird that people were afraid of it.

Look for some pillow blocks - ive used em and they work great - northern tools has em- theyre not to expensive either- they also have axles.

dangeroustoys56 wrote:

Dang! That thing is cool! Almost does look like a barstool racer. I like the use of the deck hangars for the steering- makes it adjustable as well - the steering wheel chopped down also looks wicked - never thought of that . Maybe a lil sprocket change and itll go faster?

Itd be cool to make a bike like that - weird that people were afraid of it.

Look for some pillow blocks - ive used em and they work great - northern tools has em- theyre not to expensive either- they also have axles.

I will be needing the pillow blocks for a future project!
I guess i check out Northern tool for them.

Awesome, i'll probably be doing the same thing to my craftsman steering wheel.
WHy not put a briggs 5hp or honda clone on that?
Looks like it's going to handle great.

No Idea on what wheels Im gonna use, I may have to buy those, pillow blocks and an axle. Gonna wait till I need them though.

What size axle should I put on there? 5/8"?

roboman: if I had a bigger motor, Id be using it! I'm gonna make this as light and small as possable. Like I said before, the bike used to go like 30 mph, I'm thinking of making it top out around 20mph so you can rip wheelies!

Roboman79: Yeah i first used em on my 70 toro when the original axle bushings were totally shot - i bot another couple pairs for my upcomming mods. They have a few different kinds of em - actually arent too bad costwise :

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/NTESearch?storeId=6970&N=0&Ntk=All&Ntt=pillow+blocks&Nty=1&D=pillow+blocks&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Dx=mode+matchallpartial

Obviously the larger the axle- more theyd be- actually theyre designed for industrial use - like giant blower motors and conveyers and stuff - so theyre definitly built for high speed use. Plus theyre greasable.

Fearlessfront: Id say 1" and up is good- specially for if you plan on tearing things up with it. You can always upgrade the motor later - thats the easy bit.

man i didn't even know you were doing somthing like this, but ive been slightly busy, but that thing looks cool, i would probably build somthing like that for the weedeater engines i have laying around, or chainsaw engines.

dangeroustoys56 wrote:

Roboman79: Yeah i first used em on my 70 toro when the original axle bushings were totally shot - i bot another couple pairs for my upcomming mods. They have a few different kinds of em - actually arent too bad costwise :

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/NTESearch?storeId=6970&N=0&Ntk=All&Ntt=pillow+blocks&Nty=1&D=pillow+blocks&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Dx=mode+matchallpartial

Obviously the larger the axle- more theyd be- actually theyre designed for industrial use - like giant blower motors and conveyers and stuff - so theyre definitly built for high speed use. Plus theyre greasable.

Fearlessfront: Id say 1" and up is good- specially for if you plan on tearing things up with it. You can always upgrade the motor later - thats the easy bit.

Awesome the 1" only cost $9 bucks, i might just buy a few to have on hand!

cant you use the front tyres off of a lawn tractor? hmm maybe there heavy?

bigbleuboy wrote:

cant you use the front tyres off of a lawn tractor? hmm maybe there heavy?

Thats kinda what I was thinking, I have lots of old craftsman front tires laying around...

dangeroustoys56: Those things are damn cheap! Thanks for the heads up!

No problem- i noticed them at one job i once had- the place had these giant blowers for a glass oven - it didnt occour to me to use em until i had an issue with the toro axle. I bot like 3 sets of different kinds for the upcomming projects.

Ok, lots to show you guys!

I worked on this thing all day because I had the day off from work... Made alot of progress too! Almost all day was spent on the steering.

First off, I used a set of craftsman spindles in the front, just because it was easier then trying to make my own.







Dont, worry, they'll get more support in the future.

Here's the steering hooked up. It's not like I had originally planned, but it works very well!





I didn't like the steering wheel I had made, mainly because I wanted to use a twist throttle and hand brakes. I couldn't imadgine trying to use my feet on this little thing!

So, I started building one from scratch.





With twist throttle on there.



Then, decided I didn't like how the seat was setting up either.... So I chopped it off!





Here's the new seat.



A better look at it.






It was a loooong day out there!
Tell me what you think!

Dang man that thing is looking awesome, i love the handle bars you made.

Schweet! Nice work. Sitting a lil lower would make it more stable anyway, but no room for a big v twin! LOL. How easy is the throttle to use? Looks like it might be difficult to use it. If the bars were splayed out a tad more- might be easier?

dangeroustoys56 wrote:

Schweet! Nice work. Sitting a lil lower would make it more stable anyway, but no room for a big v twin! LOL. How easy is the throttle to use? Looks like it might be difficult to use it. If the bars were splayed out a tad more- might be easier?

Thanks guys!

I thought about that, I wanted to keep it compact. I may have to change it depending on how it handles. I tried them just sitting on it, and it seemed like everything was in the right place. Only time will tell.... I have a habit of changing things alot... Thats probably why I cant get any projects done!

Well- way i look at it is if its done, then some mods to make it better are done- then its not a waste of time - specially if it breaks - then you have the reason to make it better.

that
looks
AWSOME!!!!!you should make a video of the making or the finished thing!

OK I got to lookin at what ya got goin here, can I make a suggestion, make a body for it from a radio flyer kids red wagon

that looks cool dude! where do you get that (or the body)?

Damn! That wagon looks so cool. Beats my idea of making a racer from a push mower!

That would be a neat project- ive seen quite a few variations- one had hydraulics and was like sitting on the ground - some monster ones with atv tires - cool stuff.

that wagon is too cool! It even has little shocks! It looks like it was expensive to build though. I'll do something to make it look nicer when it's all done. I'm gonna try and work on it today.