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???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart

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Randy

04-18-2003 15:10:47




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My son is looking to use a homelite chain saw motor on his school project mileage car. Not sure how to use the stock clutch to power the rear wheels. I had a fellow at Northern Hyd. say to use a bushing and install a centrifugal clutch like there go carts use. Years ago people used chain saw motors alot- not sure how they did it. Any ideas????? Thanks




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Tractor Dan

04-24-2003 19:14:18




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 Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Randy, 04-18-2003 15:10:47  
i built two go carts in school one i put a kawasawki 250 two stroke engine off a 3 wheeler on it it went well little over 60 mph, the secound one i put a 440 snowmobile engine on used both clutchs and made a gear box kindda screwed up on the gears thow at 95 buy a local troopers radar gun the go cart could have used alittle fine tuning on the handeling for those speeds i sold it and never seen it again probley a good thing cuz if i kept it i probley wouldnt be able to write this now

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Bill 52 8n

04-21-2003 19:33:52




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 Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Randy, 04-18-2003 15:10:47  
One more thing, a 4-stroke will get you better mpg than a 2-stoke motor. My buddies and I used to ride quads and bikes all the time, and I could get all weekend on a tank of gas in my 250 4-stroke quad where as they would fill their 250 2-stoke bikes twice a day.

Bill



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Bob

04-19-2003 17:15:46




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 Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Randy, 04-18-2003 15:10:47  
Is the intent to build something to see who can go the furthest on a gallon of gas, since you called it a "mileage" cart? In tha case, I'd go to ebay and buy one of those Honda Z50 motors They already have an automatic clutch, 3 or 4 forward speeds, and just sip fuel. If you want to build something fast, I've got a nice Honda 450cc two cylinder motorcycle engine ($75) that you can build a beauty out of, and chances are you can make it go fast enough to make you wet your pants.....

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Bob

04-19-2003 17:15:32




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 Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Randy, 04-18-2003 15:10:47  
Is the intent to build something to see who can go the furthest on a gallon of gas, since you called it a "mileage" cart? In tha case, I'd go to ebay and buy one of those Honda Z50 motors They already have an automatic clutch, 3 or 4 forward speeds, and just sip fuel. If you want to build something fast, I've got a nice Honda 450cc two cylinder motorcycle engine ($75) that you can build a beauty out of, and chances are you can make it go fast enough to make you wet your pants.....

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Bill 52 8n

04-19-2003 16:42:12




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 Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Randy, 04-18-2003 15:10:47  
I put a 22.5cc, 1.5 Hp weedeater motor on a scooter. I used the original centrifugal clutch for the weedeater, cut the driveshaft down, welded the shaft into the drum of the cent clutch, had and alum bushing made to fit the end of the clutch housing, put a bearing in the bushing, ran the driveshaft through the bearing out the end of the clutch housing about 2 inches and welded the smallest sprocket i could find on it. I put the biggest sprocket that will fit on the rear tire (12 in). I can get the scooter up to 35 mph down the road. The motor is only going about 2/3's it max rpm, but there just isn't enough motor to get it higher. Perhaps a pipe and jet and a lil porting will get me there. I took pics last week, i'll try to post some this week.

Bill

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some1

06-22-2003 20:43:23




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 Re: Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go c in reply to Bill 52 8n, 04-19-2003 16:42:12  
hey thats cool can u tell me how to put a weedeater engine on a scooter\



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G Taylor

04-19-2003 07:30:38




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 Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Randy, 04-18-2003 15:10:47  
Doesn't the Cart Racing rule makers have a law against doing a "Ben Hurr" to the competition with the saw's chain?



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Ludwig

04-19-2003 05:27:15




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 Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Randy, 04-18-2003 15:10:47  
I don't know what a "mileage car" means, but aren't chainsaws, particularly today's chainsaws, a bit small?
If it were me I'd look for a Rotax or Kohler 399cc aircooled snowmobile engine. 24hp and the centrifigal(sp) primary clutch should already be on the engine get the secondary off a snowmobile and you'd be styling because its already set up to change ratios (upshift) as you run. Then just need to rig up a chaindrive off of the secondary clutch to the wheels and figure out the right ratio. Probably a gocart could use 1:1 but it would be worth playing with.

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G-MAN

04-19-2003 16:31:45




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 Re: Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Ludwig, 04-19-2003 05:27:15  
Depends on the saw and model. I have a Stihl 044 that has a 71-cc engine, probably more than enought to scoot a go-kart around as it's rated at about 5.4 hp. The big, bad Stihl 088 uses a 125-cc engine. The only problem is that at around $650 and $1250 respectively, it's not likely anyone will be chopping these types of saws up for the engines, but there are some older saws with big engines. A friend of mine had a go-kart with a large McCullough (spelling?) saw engine on it, and it would run 40-50 mph wide open.

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John Ne.

04-19-2003 07:05:26




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 Re: Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Ludwig, 04-19-2003 05:27:15  
For something like this a little motorcycle engine of 75 - 125 cc would be easy to use, with transmission and chain drive, and a throttle. Would think a small chain saw engine would smoke the centrifugal clutch just getting it moving, figuring a weight with rider of about 250lbs. John in Ne.



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Wayne

04-19-2003 00:02:28




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 Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Randy, 04-18-2003 15:10:47  
Since the idea behind this project seems to be mileage vs HP/speed, is a chain type drive really that important? I'd see if I could find a compatable clutch off of a concrete saw that uses a belt drive. Better yet would be to find a complete engine as this would solve all the compatability problems. This way you could use a step pulley, say on a jack shaft, and give yourself a number of different ratios to play with to achieve the maximum MPG at the best speed, which is what I'd figure your shooting for. In response to the other posts, I have a 4 cyl 75Hp 2 stroke Johnson outboard motor that I've been longing to build a "play toy" with. Talked to a guy who had seen something similar. The builder tested it at a small airstrip, and what I was told he burned up a set of tires in one run down and back. 75Hp at 10,000RPM, simply awsome power. I'm old enough to know better, but it sounds like so much fun, I just don't care...LOL Good luck on the project car. Wayne

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G-MAN

04-19-2003 16:34:34




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 Re: Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Wayne, 04-19-2003 00:02:28  
I think I heard on Paul Harvey quite a while back that some group did a study on what exactly was the most efficient means of transferring mechanical energy. The winner was plain old roller chain, which would help in a situation where you want every last little bit out of your gasoline. Belts tend to slip and create heat, which is wasted energy. I would also install some sort of lock-up device to eliminate the loss of energy in a centrifugal clutch.

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mj

04-19-2003 09:12:28




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 Re: Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Wayne, 04-19-2003 00:02:28  
The Johnson/Evinrude V-4 was converted to bolt to a VW transaxle for off-road use sometime in the late 60s' or early 70s' by a firm in Arizona or California. The V-4s were also used in personal-sized owner-built mini helicopters. As I remember, the engines themselves were marketed under the 'Vulcan' brand; the choppers were called 'Scorpions'.

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Randy

04-19-2003 17:36:58




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 Re: Re: Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to mj, 04-19-2003 09:12:28  
Thanks for the replys!!!. The idea behind this is that my son and a few other students(10 grade) are to make a vehicle to compete with others to get the best MPG using there ideas. I have a homelite 360 chain saw that I a fellow gave me, minus the bar and chain-runs great. Another of the students has a 5hp briggs ,but needs some work-plus would need to change the way it picks up fuel. They dont pickup every last drop in stock form. They hoped to come across a old moped and use the final drive (motor/trans/wheel) and create a trike type vehicle, but no luck finding one... Thanks so much for your ideas and thoughts!!!!! Randy

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mj

04-18-2003 23:24:12




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 Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Randy, 04-18-2003 15:10:47  
One more time....!!!!



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mj

04-18-2003 23:15:52




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 Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Randy, 04-18-2003 15:10:47  
I can't stop!



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mj

04-18-2003 22:52:02




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 Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Randy, 04-18-2003 15:10:47  
Now you've got ME going on karts...check out the link below.....there's a photo of a twin McCulloch-powered kart and a whole lot more! Hmmm..... my neighbor has a frame and I've got an extra chainsaw..... ..:-)



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mj

04-18-2003 22:36:42




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 Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Randy, 04-18-2003 15:10:47  
In the '60s, during the go-kart craze, Comet and others made centrifugal clutches just for that industry. All of the chainsaw makers produced kart engines and the aftermarket sector was huge. If you can find some of the old kart magazines I'm sure that you will find an answer and there are go-kart clubs worldwide. The link below will get you started.

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Larry806

04-18-2003 18:30:54




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 Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Randy, 04-18-2003 15:10:47  
I'm sure you don't want to do it like Grampa did for us ! He took a big Mc Cullough motor put a sprocket on the shaft & had it direct drive. Grampa wasn't much on extras so he just wired the throttle open. We pushed started & jumped in. He did install a kill switch after my brother wrecked the first time out. That was out throttle just turn the switch off to slow down for turns than turn it back on & go again Oh for the good old days Ha Ha Larry

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Brian G. NY

04-19-2003 06:25:06




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 Re: Re: ???Anyone used a chain saw motor on a go cart in reply to Larry806, 04-18-2003 18:30:54  
Never met your Grandpa, but he's my kinda guy!!



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