Cycle Kart Build List
This is a running build list that will be updated as I make purchases toward my Cycle Kart project. Items purchased together typically reflect split shipping rates.
| Part Name | Price | Shipping | Vendor | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rear Axle Differential | $41.75 | $34.87 | eBay | |||
| Various Bolts | $4.53 | P/U | Tractor Supply | |||
| 2 6′ 11 gauge 2′X1′ Rectangular Steel | $18.30 /ea | $11.95 | MetalsDepot | |||
| 8HP Tecumseh Power Sport Engine | $299.95 | $40.93 | eBay Motors | |||
| 4 5/8″ Flange Bearings | $2.63 /ea | $3.96 /ea | eBay Motors | |||
| 1 1972 Honda CT 90 17″ Wheel | $20.51 | $14.24 | eBay Motors | |||
| 1 1972 Honda CT 90 17″ Wheel | $26.00 | $14.24 | eBay Motors | |||
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1 1971 Honda CT 90 17″ Wheel
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$33.00 | $17.00 | eBay Motors | |||
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1 1971 Honda CT 90 17″ Wheel
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$30.00 | $17.00 | eBay Motors |
#1 by bill collins at October 24th, 2009
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Nice to see another build going on. I have my own in the works and am about at your same level of progress (gotta finish the electric car first…)
#2 by admin at October 25th, 2009
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Electric car sounds interesting, is it an electric Cylce Kart? I thought about an electric Cycle Kart conversion, but figured I stick to an authentic build first. Check back in and keep us posted to your progress.
#3 by bill collins at October 27th, 2009
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nope, a real electric car (formerly a 1991 Audi 90)…so do you have plans for the body are are you going to free-lance it?
#4 by admin at October 28th, 2009
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The Audi sounds like a fairly ambitious project so a Cycle Kart should be easy. As far as body, I’ll do the typical plywood box with foam fill and a fiberglass wrap. I have no experience with fiberglass but I intend to figure it out myself. For the plywood step of the build I do hope to execute an interesting looking (drivable) box to trick myself into thinking I’ve had two cycle karts, one in plywood and one in fiberglass.
I corrected your name on all your comments.
#5 by Brust Roethler at November 15th, 2009
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I’m very interested in doing this with my son. We’re in the infant stages (parts are probably going to be his christmas presents). I’m thinking of going with a cheap chinese (harbor freight) motor, but am having trouble visualizing the rear axle mounts, clutch setup (are you going comet Tav-30, or other? Where are you buying the clutch?), and front axle details.
I’m looking forward to pictures!
#6 by admin at November 16th, 2009
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I would strongly encourage you to build a Cycle Kart with your son as long as you work safely.
- I’m sure the cheap motor will work but may not last as long or may suffer from some power loss (from what I’ve read).
- I will be using a TAV2 that I will buy somewhere online. The hoffcocomet shopping cart is currently offline.
- Steve, who comments on this site, has a flickr thread of his build with some pictures of the front axle at http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=cyclekart
Thanks for visiting and good luck with your build!
#7 by Brust Roethler at January 2nd, 2010
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Nice. We have many of the parts in hand now. All four wheels have correct 25-37mm bearings installed. Need the rear axle, and will be purchasing the motor/clutch soon. Probably start with a centrifugal clutch and move to the comet if needed. Lots of little details to get sorted. Any pictures/ideas for the drive flange?
#8 by mark west at March 2nd, 2010
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Hi I’m Mark West from Harrisburg Pa
I read about cyclekarting last year and am
building my own,but I kinda broke the rules a little…but I guess I can…right now I’m building a 2 passenger cyclekart..I have two frames built
a regulation one passenger that I will follow the rules with, but I’m doing this bigger one first,I got a atv motor from ebay with a transmission..(I like reverse) and a starter (beacuse of my bad back)and a I can hook up lights…got a coupe of king bee lights off ebay for 40 bucks.(maybe some night rides on the mountain trails near my house)
I have modifyed it a little to make the
frame wider and when I get to the body,
I will scale it a bit larger too.
I’m doing double brakes in the rear been thing about front brakes and read the post you had about that..
I machined the axel ends down in the rear
so the axel shafts hang out long enough
to bolt outside the wheel so all four wheels
will look the same..I’m working on the steer ing right now and hope to finish this summer..
and next fall start on the second one..
and on that one I’m gonna build it to regulation size and specs..
I have a bunch of extra honda wheels and a third frame for sale too..I got pics to share and
love looking at the progress photos here as well as on other sites ..
I’m having a ball with this whole thing and can see all of you are too..
Best of luck with all your projects..
Mark West
wovradio@hotmail.com
#9 by Josh at March 2nd, 2010
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Mark, welcome to the site! I am in Mechanicsburg, so someday we’ll need to get together to race as we may represent the only cycle karts in central PA.
I’ll be interested to see how your “cycle-car” comes along, I imagine it will be similar to the Buffy-Porson on Mike’s site?
Also, I’d love to post pictures of your work if you have any.
Stay in touch!
#10 by mark west at March 19th, 2010
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If somebody can email directions on posting pics here I will….and again if anyones looking for a frame or wheels I got a them both fairly cheap
MW
#11 by gijs and jeroen at April 11th, 2010
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Dear cyclekart people,
i have a few questions about the frame.
my first and important question is;Do you af any drawings from the frame??
and the second question is; What kind of steel you used in the frame. thank you,
gijs and jeroen daelmans.
#12 by Josh at April 12th, 2010
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I would encourage you to check out the “official” specifications page at http://cyclekarts.com/CycleKartSpecs.html . Most people use 1X3″ 1/16″ steel although there are several other options available.
#13 by Samuel at May 13th, 2010
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Whenever I get around to doing mine, I’m gonna try using wooden rails with metal cladding at certain stress points. I just like using wood. In fact, i might do the rear of mine in a “boat tail” sorta like chitty chitty bang bang. Some of you have extra wheels? I might be interested. Mine’s gonna be a slow build….but its fun to tinker with.
#14 by Samuel at May 13th, 2010
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Thanks Josh. I’m aware of that. I’m doing my own modified version…..more of a touring cart…..than a racing cart : )
If you look closely at the pic of the build of the front end suspension of the “EPA” (I believe it was) you’ll see its wood cladded with metal. May weigh a tad more, but thats ok with me.
Still could use some wheels though ; )
S.
#15 by Samuel at May 13th, 2010
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Hey Josh,
Do all C-K’s use a differential rear axle, or is this unique to yours? Was also wondering what the advantage might be…..sounds cool though.
S.
#16 by Josh at May 14th, 2010
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Samuel,
-Thanks for visiting the site and commenting! I debated the wooden rails, especially since I am doing a lot of unusual stuff on my Cycle Kart, but decided that I may tackle that on the next one. The JAP V8 was an awesome looking racer from 1908 with wood runners, so I think you should try to build a Cycle Kart version of it.
-Wheels are sometimes difficult to find in good condition, but I got mine on ebay without too much hassle.
-There are some definite pros and cons to using a differential axle as opposed to a live axle. A live axle has power to both wheels and performs better in loose dirt or gravel but has difficulty turning on tarmac because it requires the outside wheel to lose traction while cornering (making control difficult). The differential axle, much like a car, has power to both wheels and performs better on tarmac because the outside wheel can turn faster while cornering, however in loose dirt or gravel it can lose traction resulting in one wheel drive when you could really use two wheel drive. Most Cycle Karts use a live axle, but I thought it would be fun to take it to auto-crossing events where the controlled cornering on tarmac would be absolutely necessary.
-Good luck with your build!
#17 by Samuel at May 15th, 2010
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Thanks Josh. That sounds like a really great idea. If I ever do a larger “touring car” version, that might be something I might use. Your machine is looking good. I’m still in the parts collection phase of mine. One step at a time… : )
S.
#18 by Samuel at May 19th, 2010
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One question on wheels. When procuring them from old honda ct90 machines, do you use the front wheels for the front of the CycleKart, and the rear wheels on the back, (ie..just like the bike config?) or does it matter? For instance, I figured you don’t want 4 front wheels. TIA ; )
S.
#19 by Josh at May 19th, 2010
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Samuel, It really depends on what you can find. Some people use four front wheels and you could use four rear wheels. Typically no matter what type of wheel you use for the rear, you modify the honda hub to accommodate a fixed hub that attaches to a live axle. This typically requires 4 through fastened bolts, which can be performed on front or rear wheels. Honda wheels have 14mm axles and most cycle karts use a 1″ axle, thus requiring the hub modifications.
#20 by Samuel at May 19th, 2010
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Thanks for the quick response! So technically, you could also use two front wheels on the front of the car, (I think they look the best anyway ; )…) and since you are modifying the hub anyway in back, use the rear wheels on the rear right? (ie…all four dont have to be the same type…all 4 front or all 4 rear.) In your opinion do the front and rear types look similar enough for this to work?
If not I’ll just look for 4 fronts.
S.
PS…thanks for your patience ; )
#21 by Josh at May 19th, 2010
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I purchased the front and rear wheels from two separate bikes to use the two front wheels in the front and the two rear wheels in the back. I only used two bikes so that the quality of the chrome is the same per side. The rear wheel honda hubs are different from the front hubs, but most cycle karts use this set up and the difference in the way they look works since the rear wheels are driven. When front wheels are used in the rear position it is difficult to hide the four through bolts, so they look different from the front anyways. The rear honda hubs conceal the through fasteners better.
#22 by Greg at August 23rd, 2011
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Hello,
I have been watching for quite some time, you need to cowboy up and finish this thing! I finished mine in a year and I take it car shows for lots of attention. Turn off the TV and do it!
Greg
#23 by Zach Dillinger at September 2nd, 2011
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I’m really interested in building one of these. I’m a furniture maker and I build / repair cars, so I think I can work something out. I live in Michigan, any other Michiganders out there working on something like this?
#24 by Rick at October 9th, 2011
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I would like to see some more photos of project and finished karts. I live in Michigan, and would like to see a track and location set-up for the karts.
#25 by Josh at October 10th, 2011
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I know there are others interested in Michigan. Once I finish my Cycle Kart, I plan to put together some way for people to network within a state.
#26 by Jeremy at March 10th, 2012
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I am from the northern Indiana area, specifically Elkhart. My father and I are currently building 1, possibly 2 cyclekarts. We would love to have a group to race with also.
#27 by Carlos at April 26th, 2012
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How much would it cost to buy one of these?
#28 by Josh at April 26th, 2012
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Occasionally a Cycle Kart will go up for sale, but no one currently makes Cycle Karts for the purpose of selling them. It is also against the specifications and culture of Cycle Kart Enthusiasts to not be personally responsible for the build. I would encourage you to give it a try, good luck.
#29 by Zach Dillinger at May 3rd, 2012
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yes, please do! Facebook would do nicely!
#30 by Josh at May 3rd, 2012
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Agreed, I registered the Cycle Karts facebook group years ago, but have never promoted it or done anything with it.
I just updated the “about” page to connect it to http://www.CycleKarting.com. You can join at https://www.facebook.com/groups/119317264755273/ to be notified if I ever put that regional network effort.