Loking for cheap go cart

[jbk240z]

Hey Guys,

I am looking for a cheap fixer-up go cart for my 9 year old son. He is finally showing interest in mechanical things, yay. I thought this would be a great project for him & I, and a great learning experience for him. Preferably a 2 seater, but single is okay also.

I have 2 engines, so engineless would be ok. So, if you know of one, please let me know.

 

Thans, Jason

[cockerstar]

Have one you can have for free, just have to pick it up

[jbk240z]

Thanks for the offer, but Tacoma is a bit far to travel from Denver.

[Darrel]

craigs list.

http://denver.craigslist.org/rvs/1526077438.html

[sticky280zx]

dont think id stick my 9year old in that one....looks like it would roll and i wouldnt want my kid in a chair for the rest of his life....id look for a 1 seater shift cart style like that one with a bigger wheel base/slick wheels for pavement (so it loses traction and slides if anything) or a biggun 2seater with a roll cage setup

[Darrel]

There are more go karts, just search for different spelling and terms.

 

go kart, gokart, go-kart, etc. There is one with a cage using other terms.

 

Just need to make sure to use a governor to keep the speed under control.

[josh817]

Have you ever thought about maybe racing? When I turned 8 my dad got me into karting with North Texas Karting. It has expensive initial costs but after that they're really cheap to run, compared to cars. I did the Yamaha 100cc heavy weight class which was obviously the 100cc single cylinder air cooled 2 stroke and the weight was 250lbs I believe with driver. I was stuck between heavy and light so we had to add weight to do heavy weight class.

 

Anyway, we ran a restricter plate on the intake and a 3 hole, can style exhaust as compared to that bee sting looking exhaust. They were single speed karts so you can tinker with gears. In my situation, I was stuck running the same motor all 3 years I raced so we through on the tiny front wheel to the rear rather than running the fat ones, this way I was quick out of the turns, and we didn't have to change the actual gearing. The track we ran at was a tiny .8 mile sprint course I think. When nationals were held there and the 80cc and 125cc shifters came out they all hated it due to all the shifting. Point is, it was a really great experience. You may want to do the typical kart and then perhaps get him into a racing cart like the one I described. As he gets older you can bump up to different classes or go to different clubs. I knew one kid that ran in a totally different club and they ran the BIG car tracks, like actual car courses, those were the 80cc and 125cc shifters.

 

My dad says during the 3 or 4 years that I raced, he saw me grow so much. I started out not giving him any feedback and ended with one of those little computer read out screens on my steering wheel so I can flip through the menus while driving, come in, and tell Dad whats going on so he could adjust. All in all I was doing 3rd place during every race, won like $75 in race money. 1st and 2nd place kids were so far ahead of us they were like lapping everyone else, their fathers put a ton of money into those motors... The REAL race was from my spot back. I didn't just blow everyone away, and thats what was fun, I had people to actually race with. Hell, my first time out, I had tire marks on the side of my cart because we crossed the finish line touching each other. Its great fun, relatively safe too! There were even 6 year olds out there running 50cc pull chain karts! Speeds at that track, because it had a lot of turns, were only like 70 mph maybe 80 if you were running really hot. You start them with the plug in starters, stick it into the hole and press the button, it spins up the motor. We all had wet clutches so we could sit there on the grid and keep the motor running. When Dad bought himself a kart so he could come out and practice with me, he had a dry clutch which meant he couldn't sit at all. I remember we had to sit him up on a 2 inch block, he'd get in and I'd push the back off the block to jump start him. Some people came to the track alone so you saw them push the kart, flip the ignition and jump in before it drove off! The only thing I never liked about the karts was that it was magneto ignition I believe so if you spun out or locked the brakes, unless you were still moving quick enough for the engine to catch again, you were stuck. The system was also good on keeping the kids from getting spoiled. every season we had to work like 2 events either waving flags or doing the entry desk. As a club, you get a yearly membership fee and then you pay like $20 for driver and $10 for each pit crew, and they have 1 race each month, up to 2 sometimes. Being a member meant you got a key to the gates so you could go out to the track any day you wanted, and run some practice laps! Gas was regular gasoline with the 2 stroke oil added, and the only thing after that were tires and they lasted a long time! I'm almost tempted to go back to karting by myself as a 19 year old college student, because its really that cheap!

 

Here are some pictures and a video:

 

 

I had orange plates to show that I was a novice. This was when I first got my kart. You can see the 3 hole can exhaust. The adults run the pipe that was big and fat, ran out behind the seat. You can also see the fat taller tires on the rear, that went to small ones later on like I said, and there also isn't any computer on the wheel. The computer only read info out to you, the intake system was a carb but by looking at the exhaust temperature you can see if you're running lean or something, blah blah blah. It did have a rev limiter in it, I think we had ours set at 12000. The only injury I ever had was when I went off roading and the seat bumped my sides up. I stole my sisters pillows the following races and stuffed them in the seat. Your suit is just a basic motorcycle suit and helmet because you aren't worried about fire, you're worried about possibly coming out and sliding along the ground, which just so happens to be what motorcyclists do... Dad made me spend Christmas and Birthday money to buy my gear so I had to dish out 2 years worth of money! I thought it was bad, really wasn't... Gloves, suit, neck brace, and helmet were $212 all together.

 

Here is a single gear kart on the track I raced at, oh and there isn't any track to track travel unless you're into like winning national events. You go to the same track, all the time, at least for the NTK club I was in. Its been a while so things could be very different.

 

Here is a shifter kart on the same track but going reverse:

[dr_hunt]

Yup, now that looks like alot of fun! I'd get one too and teach him how to drive. Then bring him down and we will let him take a spin in the mud pit in the '33 with the alky 509 slingin' some mud!

[josh817]

Yup, now that looks like alot of fun! I'd get one too and teach him how to drive. Then bring him down and we will let him take a spin in the mud pit in the '33 with the alky 509 slingin' some mud!

Yup, thats what my dad did. Actually, it appears he went backwards in the growth pattern... He started out in endurance, went to short sprints, then bought a kart and sold his cars. Weird. Anyway, we had a single kart trailer, he welded on a top shelf with two rails and hinged it so the front could drop down. When we loaded them up, we took a ratchet and hooked it onto the socket that was on the cable thing, ratchet it down, roll his kart up, ratchet it up, and then roll mine under.

 

When you go, all you need is a tool box and a 10 gallon jug of fuel. You can bring spares I guess but we never had to fix anything. The only time we needed a spare was because I slid off the track, splashed into a puddle and water got into the air filter (presumably that red oval canister you see) so we just threw a regular air cleaner that you find in O'Reileys. When you go to practice any time in the year, there are no fees. Typically we were the only ones there! You just unlock the gate, drive in, lock it back up, and go do some laps! Dad and I would go out together and then sometimes he brought his buddy with him who had a son with a 4 stroke and they'd make us race each other, 2 stroke against 4.

[jbk240z]

Josh, you must be reading my mind. The plan is to get him into racing if he likes it. I don't want to force him though. He loves going to the drags and monster truck shows, so I think he will love it. I would like to start with a regular type of cart (slow), then move up from there.

 

Yup, now that looks like alot of fun! I'd get one too and teach him how to drive. Then bring him down and we will let him take a spin in the mud pit in the '33 with the alky 509 slingin' some mud!

 

I think we will take you up on that Doc. Sounds like a blast.

[Darrel]

There are 3 go kart places i know of in the area. Centennial by the airport/broncos, bandimere and IMI near colorado national speedway.

 

Did you find a go kart yet?

[jbk240z]

not yet, but still looking.