[Kartbuilding] Go Kart

[Stephen Burke]

Hi Reza,

None of the karts I built had suspension. It would have been difficult to 
implement suspension on the karts. I also found that when taking the kart 
off-road, letting some air out of the tyres sufficed and provided a 
reasonable ride, with the 3/4 air filled tyres taking some of the bumps 
(at the cost of been a little slower off-road).

As for the estimated speed of the 125cc 4 speed manual 4stroke engine, I 
would put it at ~50mph on-road. For off-road you would need a flat 
straight with no bumps to get that speed. I would put an estimated 
30-40mph for off-road on a hilly environment. The speed can be adjusted 
by changing the size of the rear sprocket to suit the environment you are 
on also. A large sprocket on the rear axle would be good for high torque 
on off-road. A smaller sprocket on the rear axle would give better top 
speed for on-road surfaces.

As for putting a turbo on the engine, I would definately leave this until 
the kart is built and working. Putting a turbo on the engine can be 
complicated and take some time. If this went wrong you would have no 
engine for the kart. I suggest getting the kart going, test it and then 
decide if you need/want to put the turbo onto it.

Best of Luck,
-steve


On Sat, 28 Apr 2007, reza tabanfar wrote:

> Hi Stephen,
>      I am planing on building a go kart in a few weeks. For a fast
> go kart, which might go on bumpy roads occasionally, do i need
> suspension or will the chasis suffice? Also what do you think the max
> speed and acceleration would be with a  125cc 4 speed manual
> transmission, four stroke engine with about 13 hp and a total weight
> of (go kart) of about 140 kg. One last question, is it worth it to
> find a an old turbo to put on the engine?
>
> Thanks,
> Reza
>
> P.S. Your site is very informative.
>