I was helping a friend clean out a shed and there was a go kart frame with everything except a motor

He didn't want it so I took it home....I sand blasted the frame and painted it....doing some research I found its a Manco Dingo kart with bigger tires

Now I'm ready for a motor ( I haven't been on a go kart since I was a kid ) I have a new Honda 13 HP motor with electric start ??? is this too much motor for a go kart ??? that came with a 5 HP motor ???

Eyeballing this frame I need to weld on a bigger motor mount plate for the 13 HP motor and it looks like everything will fit

My neighbor's oldest boy has already ask his dad to buy it when I'm done building it my concern is will it have too much motor (speed) for a 15 year old kid

Should I put on a smaller motor ???....so far I have no money invested in this project and plan on selling it for $600.00 so I would like to not buy another motor since the honda is a freebie motor and I have no other use for it

I guess my biggest concern is will it be safe for a kid to drive

 

What's wrong with you! There's no such thing as too big a motor!

Seriously though, the kart will be no faster than it was with the 5 hp engine, assuming it's geared the same. It'll reach top speed quicker, but it won't go faster. All the small engines I'm familiar with are governed to 3600 RPM. As long as you don't gear it to take advantage of the extra power, the kart will be quicker but not faster.

 

Not far from where I live is a company called Bug Karts and they have some really nice toys there, racing karts that go 150 MPH
Do you want to go fast or slow? what kind of a frame is it.
Most of the slower ones I have seen have a 8 hp 4 stroke/ cycle and the serious ones have around 35 hp 2 stroke/ cycle at around 12,000RPM. Check out the karts at Northern Tools to get an idea.
Is the drive a centrifugal clutch and sprocket or is there a torque converter?

 

It seems to be geared for speed now it has a 48 tooth axel sprocket as compaired to a 60 or 72 tooth sprocket and the engine clutch will be a 12 tooth plus the larger tires 18-9.50X8

This honda engine has no governor on it so I'm guessing the RPM would be about 4000-4200

 

What's the Honda motor out of that it has no governor? You're saying that the throttle on the carb gets directly controlled by the operator?

The 13 HP engine should have a larger shaft, so you'll need a different clutch and sprocket anyhow. I'd regear it for 25 mph, or less if it has those scary friction brakes that rub the tires.

 

Don't know what the motor is for but its not hooked up to a governor throttle is controlled from the carb
The brakes a mechanical disk brakes.....I have a centrifugal clutch for a 1" motor shaft which the honda has

Maybe I'll talk to this kids dad about gearing it for a slower speed like a 70 tooth sprocket if its too fast for the kid

 

I was thinking more along the lines of a Harley Sportster engine............
~50 hp w/ a 5 speed............

 

I do have a older Honda 750 4 Cly complete motor but setup for shifting and clutch would be a nightmare.......maybe my next project should be a mini bike with this motor

 

Should be able to set up a suicide clutch and jockey shift fairly easily.

 

or you could just set up a throttle stop? we used to use old chainsaw motors,sprokets and saw chain with the teeth ground off. leave it to loggers they also needed 2 guys to get them unstuck cause the were made from scrap metal!

 

I have a late 90's Manco Dingo with 8HP Briggs. I think it does about 25MPH, but it can't break the tires loose expect or wet ground. I would think the 13 should be fine.

 

with no govener the rpm will be all it can get and 2 turns until dynamite. then your neighbor will say you sold him a bad engine. really, just hook the gov. back up.(bet it still has the gov shaft and arm still in place, just need spring)
Clark

 

man i have a 10 hp briggs that is sitting around, i was gona make a go cart but i dont have any time. 13 would be nice, make sure its not big for the frame i had a frame but the motor wouldnt fit, and it would have been way to much work to make it fit.

 

Talked to the neighbor that wants to buy this kart when its done......he said his son is a very responsible teenager and that a big motor shouldn't be a problem

So I'll finish building it with the 13 HP motor.....I'm a little worried about the clutch holding up since its only rated for a 8 HP motor and I'm not going to put on a big buck racing clutch on it (the neighbor was warned about this)

Should be finished next week.....maybe I'll test drive it for a few days

 

put a CTD in it 325 hp 610 ft lb of tq hell ya 900+ lb black smoke