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old go kart conversion

hi i have an old gokart that has two seperate motors for the rear wheels, i am looking to convert it to a single motor, but am going to require everything from rear axle and supports to all controllers and battery, i dont need anything powerful as it is a little kids go kart. any chance you guys can help on what I'll need

We can help with selecting the parts for the conversion and with finding the correct gear ratio so it has the top speed and or hill climbing ability that you want it to have.


I understand that the go kart is for a child so it and the driver will be fairly lightweight. Could you tell us a little more about the conversion goals like if the go kart will be used on pavement or dirt, flat ground or to go up hills, top speed, how many miles or minutes it should travel on a single battery charge?

it would be used on pavement. speed doesnt concern me at all, obviously not too fast as he is only 2 at the moment. i would want it to run as long as possible so my child can have as much playtime as possible.

We can gear it for the top speed that you feel is safe and figure out the largest battery pack that will fit in it for the longest ride time. Is it a steel frame go kart, or a plastic ride on toy go kart?

its a small steel frame with a a plastic cover that drops on.
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this is the body
We can supply all of the electrical and power transmission parts however we don't have much in the way of rear axles or wheels for a go kart like that so I recommend checking out a go kart parts store for those parts. We have have purchased parts and had great luck with this store: http://www.gokartsupply.com

I recommend to not use a live axle that powers both wheels otherwise the go kart will be hard to turn. A live axle that only powers one wheel would be fine, however a much simpler setup is a dead axle that is welded or clamped directly to the go kart frame and wheels with bearings that slip over the axle, and a sprocket on one of the wheels that connects to the motor with a chain. The wheels on the top of this page have bearings that fit onto a 5/8" axle: http://www.gokartsupply.com/tilden.htm

To keep the speed of the go kart slow a gear motor would need to be used which we have a good variety of. Once the diameter of the rear tire that will be used is known then I can run some gear ratio calculations and figure out which wheel sprocket to use to obtain the top speed that you want the go kart to have.

Once you have figured out which rear wheel and tire to use for the conversion then if you could let us know the size of the tire and the top speed in miles per hour that you want the go kart to go I can start working on the gear ratio calculations and what size wheel sprocket is needed to obtain the top speed that you want.

Our gear motors have sprockets for #410 bicycle chain which is a sprocket size that go kart parts stores do not carry however we work with a machine shop that can custom machine #410 sprockets to fit just about any wheel with drive hub. Or if a standard go kart sprocket is available with the right number of teeth for the desired gear ratio then a standard go kart wheel sprocket for #40, #41, and #420 chain could be used along with a #40, #41, or #420 chain and this chain would work with our gear motors (it would be a little loose from side to side on the gear motor sprocket compared to a #410 chain but it would work with it if you don't mind that).

Please let us know if you have any questions.
thanks alot for the information. Unfortunately im in Australia and that site doesnt ship here but I have managed to find some on Ebay. Not sure if I'm looking for the correct things or not. Theres this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/262008455115 or this one http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/171798099127 or this one http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/322121860238
You are definitely on the right track with those parts links however since all of the rear end parts will need to fit and work together I recommend purchasing all of them from the same supplier and working closely with them to assure that all of the parts fit and work together.

If the rear end parts you need are only available in the USA from a supplier who does not ship to Australia then we could include those parts in the kit and purchase them on your behalf and ship them to you with the kit.
wow you guys are amazing, you don't generally get that kind of customer service in Australia!! when i get home i will get some measurements of the overall size where the axle would go im assuming you would need that.
so the length of current rear axle is 840mm and the wheel size with tyre on is 6inches wide and 9 inches high
Since we do not sell go kart axles and wheels ourselves I am not qualified to answer questions about those parts. I recommend contacting the go kart parts store that you want to buy them from and working out all of the details about those parts with them. Then you can give us the part numbers and quantities that you need and we will add them to your kit and order them on your behalf.
ok I have decided to go with these parts for my wheels. i can source a 5/8" axle locally. will your sprockets suit these wheels or will i need to get the sprockets from them as well?? will also need some advice on braking if you can help me out. http://www.mfgsupply.com/az1027.html http://www.mfgsupply.com/8-353.html http://www.mfgsupply.com/8-350.html

If the kart is geared for a low top speed then the motor will provide most of the braking needed, however a mechanical brake would be needed to bring it to a full stop when going downhill or to stop it quickly. Two AZ1027 wheels could be installed with a chain sprocket on one of them and a brake on the other. MFG Supply has a 4" brake drum that fits AZ1027 wheels on this page: http://www.mfgsupply.com/4-485.html   


I notice that MFG Supply has a 48 tooth sprocket that fits the rim you have selected. With this 48 tooth wheel sprocket and a 13 tooth sprocket on the motor the top speed would be 2.5 MPH. Would this be an acceptable top speed or do you want the go kart to go faster?


If you want the kart to go faster than 2.5 MPH then please let me know what speed you would like it to go and I will figure out what size wheel sprocket it needs for that speed, then I can look into having that size wheel sprocket machined to fit the AZ1027 rim.

my thoughts were to make it go a little quicker. as i could just install a stopper so the pedal cant push it to max speed. would it be hard to get it to 5mph?? I will speak to mfg about the braking system.

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