Preliminary updates to kart

After having a few runs around out garden on our new kart we were able to assess what needed repair or replacing. After all, for £160 we knew we were going to replace or upgrade some parts!

First thing was the brakes needed bleeding. With the appropiate brake fluid we were able to bleed the brakes. These were simple caliper design. There were no bleed nipples on caliper but 2 hex head bolts on each cylinder. With a quick open on these bolts and a pump on brakes to expel the fluid and tighten back up we had some good locking brakes.

Our next task was to renew the cable from the brake pedal to the master cylinder. After a search on ebay we were able to locate a connecting rod with clips and that seemed a better solution than a cable. So one was ordered and within 2 days were were refitting the new connecting bar between brake pedal and brake master cylinder.

The kart had standard wheels and tyres which were Ok but did not give much clearance between chassis and floor.

Search on google and came across grass kart clubs in Linconshire in UK. Viewed their websites and could see they were using larger diameter tyres with tread to give more ground clearance.

A phone call to a club member was made and yes they do use larger tyres as used on lawn mowers and could supply a set of 4 tyres, 4 rims and front and rear wheel hubs as hole centres were different to standard wheels for £200! 

This was over our budget so more research was needed to try and obtain tyres and hubs on ebay to help reduce costs.

We were able to locate new front and rear wheel hubs on ebay from UK Kart Store. These have a stud fixing centre of 80mm and another search on ebay located 4 quad bike rims and tyres. The tyres are slighly larger in diameter than what the grass karters use. They are 145/70 x 6 which make them just under 13" dia. These were purchased from ebay and within a few days we had all the part ready to fit.

The old wheel hubs needed some WD40 to get them off as they slightly rusted onto axel.

The rear axel was given a good clean to remove surface rust.

The front hubs need the 17mm wheel bearings tapped in and new spacers and soon they were on the axels.

The rear axel is 30mm dia and the rear wheel hubs were soon fitted. 

Uk Kart Store supply the front and rear hubs and are good quality. 

The rims/tyres were fitted to hubs and it certainly lifted the kart chassis of the ground by about 2" so plenty of clearance.

So thats the brakes and wheels sorted.

If you are not part of a kart club there is very little information to go on as to what fits and what does not work.

There are so many different karts on the market it difficult without guidance to now what to do which is why I am writing this blog to give anyone some idea of what can be done.

More to follow on new bearings, rear sprocket and new brake disc.

Reviving the passion for karting

Many years ago my brother in law had a couple of go karts powered by Villiers 200cc 2 stroke engines with 3 speed gearboxes We had great fun tearing round an oval circuit on a field he owned as he was a farmer.

We had no helmets, only goggles to keep out the dust! We would spend an afternoon racing wheel to wheel with back sliding out on the slippery grass, covered in mud, ignoring the bumps and having as much fun as a Formula 1 racing driver.

Sadly time moved on and the field we used was ploughed over and used for growing corn and the two karts were sold to members of the Historic Kart Club somewhere on the UK.

The thrill of powering those karts around the marked out circuit with bales of hay has never left me so when one of my boys becoming teenagers and having experienced the trill of karting on a friends kart in their very large garden it was "Dad can we get a gokart?" and the thrill and excitment of 30 odd years ago was kindled.

Over the next weeks and months my desire is to blog the progress of finding our kart and the improvement and modifications and the experience we have had flinging our Honda powered kart around a marked out circuit wih cones around a grass field.

The only grass karting clubs in the country are in Wisbech, Conningsby and Bourne all in the Linconshire area miles from where we lived in Worcestershire.

So where do we look for a kart?

I had no real knowledge of karts.

So we searched ebay and yes plenty of karts but so many variations and classes and engines! It was a minefield1

So ebay was searched every week for months until we found one in Newport in Wales.

Knowing nothing about karts, engines etc we did a buy it now for £160 and it was on with trailer and down to Newport to pick up.

It appeared OK. The Honda GX200 engined fired up and ran smooth.

We have a lage grass garden so next day we fired it up and did a few spins arond our garden but it was apparent that a number of things needed doing to the kart.

Over the comming weeks I will share the journey of how we got the kart to where it is now as there may be a lot of folk out there not knowing where to get parts and what to do to modify kart.

Our kart as it is today but it took a lot of research and time to get new parts to improve performance.