[Kartbuilding] Hey

[Stephen Burke]

Hi,

I paid €180 for the broken motorbike, a RXS100. Of course, although 
the engine started and was running, it wouldnt go into gear! The gear 
change lever splines were worn and they said "ah sure once its welded on, 
it'll work fine".
But no....
The gear change lever was actually broken!! I had to take the sides of the 
gearbox and install a new gear change lever. Costed €20. I then 
realised that they managed to break the gear change lever, while leaving 
it in 4th gear. As a result of them still driving around in 4th - they had 
also completely burnt out the clutch!!!
I managed to get a second-hand clutch after a 3hr drive for €30. 
Managed to get the motorbike back up and running.
Then I went on to trying to sort out the wiring loom, trying to take just 
the engine electrics out. After messing with trying to charge the battery, 
I blew the CDU (Capacitor Discharge Unit, - the main electronic points). 
That costed €50 to get a new second hand one.
So a total cost of €280, but I did manage to use the sprockets, 
chain, rev clock etc.
On my second kart - I went straight to a motorbike repair shop - and 
bought just the working engine off him. He had just the engine on its own 
ready for me. It was a GP100 (Suzuki 100cc, as above), and costed me 
€100 which worked out way better.

The rev clock was very easy to install. It was simply operated via a 
flexible cable which one end screwed into the gearbox. All I had to do 
then was to mount the rev clock above the steering wheel. It was a manual 
mechanical rev clock so I didnt need any electrics etc. to use it.

What I suggest for yourself, is to start building the kart. The engine 
will come eventually, and you are best NOT to rush into wasting money on 
an overly expensive motorbike engine. I like to use the guide 1 euro; for 
1cc. So if your gettting a 125cc engine, it'd cost € 125. You will 
have to do the necessary money calculations to convert from euros to 
dollars.

Best of Luck,
-steve

On Tue, 20 Mar 2007, Carson wrote:

> How much did you the motorbike for? And how do you install the rev clock? See 
> i really don't want to buy that engine off ebay, i want to find a broken dirt 
> bike or atv and buy it for cheap and just take the parts off, like engine and 
> brakes. I just need to find one in my area...
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Burke" <sburke at burkesys.com>
> To: "Carson" <firebelly at carolina.rr.com>
> Cc: <kartbuilding at lists.burkesys.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 6:50 AM
> Subject: Re: Hey
>
>
>> Hi,
>> 
>> With practice is it easy enough to get the motorbike engine into neutral. I 
>> also connected up the Neutral Indicator LED, which basically just works via 
>> a simple switch on the gearbox, and it helps show me exactly if Im in 
>> neutral or not.
>> 
>> As for the engine - its a bit pricey, although it does look very clean. Its 
>> also going to cost $79 for shipping, so the total cost will be $380. I 
>> would be more of the opinion of getting a very cheap, if not broken 
>> motorbike engine and fixing it up!
>> The first motorbike engine I got: I had to buy the whole motorbike!! It was 
>> worth it however, as I got to use loads of pieces off it, e.g. brakes, rev 
>> clock, chain and sprockets etc.
>> It would be an idea to look for a crashed motorbike in your neighbourhood 
>> also!
>> 
>> Best of Luck,
>> -steve
>> 
>> On Tue, 20 Mar 2007, Carson wrote:
>> 
>>> Thanks thats what i thought. I heard that while the wheels are moving it 
>>> is very hard to get it into neutral. And i have already found a engine on 
>>> ebay thats 300 buks :
>>> http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320093845492&ssPageName=MERC_VIC_RCRX_Pr4_PcY_BIN_IT&refitem=220089526458&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=closed_view_item&usedrule1=CrossSell_LogicX&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget
>>> It is very nice for 300. But i will be in debt by the time im done with 
>>> this gokart. lol. Thanks again!
>>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Stephen Burke" <sburke at burkesys.com>
>>> To: "Carson" <firebelly at carolina.rr.com>
>>> Cc: <kartbuilding at lists.burkesys.com>
>>> Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2007 4:08 AM
>>> Subject: Re: Hey
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> Hi,
>>>> 
>>>> In relation to your first question regarding the 1-N-2-3-4-5 gears, it is 
>>>> quite simple, when moving the lever/gear change from 1st to 2nd:
>>>> Think of it as a half shift between 1st and 2nd gear. In order to get 
>>>> into neutral (which is harder than you think) - you have to drop to first 
>>>> (while keeping the clutch disengaged), and then move the gear change 1/2 
>>>> up. In other words it would be like:
>>>> 1-1/2-2-3-4-5
>>>> 
>>>> Moving from 1st to 2nd is very seamless and you would forget Neutral is 
>>>> even there!
>>>> 
>>>> As for your other question relating to motorcycle jumkyards and getting 
>>>> parts - well eBay is your next option. I have heard of a few people 
>>>> buying motorcycle engines and parts there. Look around there for the 
>>>> cheapest bits and pieces. While it may not be as cheap as getting the 
>>>> parts from a second hand junkyard etc. it's your next option.
>>>> 
>>>> Best of Luck,
>>>> -steve
>>>>
>>>>  On Mon, 19 Mar 2007, Carson wrote:
>>>>> I was wondering on a motorcycle engine tranny the sequence of shift is 
>>>>> 1-N-2-3-4-5. How do you go from 1st to 2nd without putting it in 
>>>>> neutral?
>>>>> Oh and i can't find many motorcycle junkyards near me is there anywhere 
>>>>> else i can look for parts?
>>>>> Thanks
>>> 
>>> 
>
>