So I think it's finally time for me to start my own thread, and share what I've come up with for a design, before I drift from deliberation, past pontificating, into procrastination.
I wanted to share the design I've come up with so far, as it's almost complete, to see if I've overlooked anything obvious, or done anything wrong. It still needs a little work, but most of what's left will depend on the actual items I buy, and how it fits me, after the rough mock-up is built, full-size… Have I designed a comfy kart, or a slightly rounded, overly complicated coffin, because I can't get back out again? I’ve just finished building a garden shed, to free up the space in the man-cave, so once that’s clear I’ll be making a mock-up out of 2x4 wooden beams, to confirm how accurate I’ve been while sitting in my office chair with a tape measure. I’m pretty sure the answer is going to be “not very”, so some of the dimensions are going to have to change, but fingers crossed.
Those of you who I was lucky enough to meet in person at the inaugural CK meet may remember that I was planning on building a kart based on a very famous train from 1916, immortalised in a set of books in 1945… the LBSC E2 class, 060T.
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You might know it by a different name.
As you can see, I got a little way into that design before I realised it had a couple of slight problems for my intended use:
- I wanted to use it to take my boys (currently 2 and 5) to school, but I wonder how quickly they are likely to grow up and fall out of love with the tales. Not so much an issue though, as it could be re-shelled, assuming I can build it fast enough for them to still like it when it's on the road.
- The seating position puts both of them, and the engine, on or behind the rear axle. I suspect only certain on-lookers would see the comedy value of a kart doing a spontaneous stationary wheelie, as the weight of daddy getting out causes both boys to be ejected out the back, before it sets itself back down again. Again, not an insurmountable problem, but fixing this in the design meant it wasn't looking great, proportion-wise, and was starting to limit the driver space considerably.
- In the event of an accident, their arms and heads are quite likely to become the roll cage. This is the real kicker, and only going to get worse, as both of them are mini giants.
Unsurprisingly the wife was less than happy with the prospect of that 3rd point, and said I should just make a single seater kart instead. Something along the lines of "knock yourself out" (or that's what I heard, at least) so onto plan B… some kind of classic racer. This was going to be the second build I did anyway, so just brought things forward a bit, but I wasn't yet fully decided on which car to pick as the inspiration. Rory Race Car, or LCC Rocket maybe? I've always been a fan of the shape of some of the earlier F1 cars.. classic cigar-type shape, so I hunted around for pics of my favourites. Stefan has since posted a few which caught my eye, like the 1933 Driscoll/Jamieson Austin, or an Appleton 1933 Special based on a Maserati. What I picked ended up being a sketch of a 1958 F1 style car, built to race in Italy, against American indy cars, by a company which is quite well-known for not liking anyone to replicate their cars, so I'm not sure I should say exactly which one. It does bear similarities to quite a few cars, plus I've tweaked the dimensions and basically guessed at the width, so I'm hoping I should be OK, and they won't try and sue me or crush it.
1958 is just before all the aero wings and stuff started coming in to F1, so shows the classic shape. This is what I've come up with (which I’m rather pleased with):
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I'm not fully set on the roll hoop, but given that it's going to be road-registered, I thought I might want some protection against being squished. The 1inch box I've used everywhere else just doesn't seem man enough against a truck wheel which is likely to be taller than my whole kart!
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The engine in the model is a very rough sketch of a Zongshen 200cc quad engine, which i think claims around 11hp and 13ft-lb, but the only reason I've used it is the upright layout of the cylinder, with the gearbox attached behind it, so it fits behind the driver, in front of the rear axle, and clears the swing arm (kinda). The front hubs and the shocks are lifted from a model of a quad-bike I found, re-scaled to the approximate size I’ll need. Again, I’m not set on these, as I’m still undecided whether I want this style of hub/knuckle/calliper-carrier (eg these from a stock-car
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/363556291264), or if I’m better off with a regular king-pin/stub-axle setup (like Gemini Karts). I think the choice of wheel may determine that, as I’m torn between 15in MX5 space-saver spare wheels (with 54.1mm hub-centric 4x100 PCD) or the standard 17in pit bike wheels (like those from Fun-bikes).
The bulk of the other bits I plan to get from a company I found on Alibaba who make kart, quad and ATV kits (at quite reasonable prices). Solid rear axle with chain, sprockets, brake disks, hubs, spindles, control arms, coils, steering rack, shaft, UJ, wheel, and possibly I may get the lights kit too. Everything in this pic is listed for £550 (inc shipping, but may need to add import tax):
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I believe what’s going to help me decide on the bits I’m unsure about, is whether or not you all think this design counts as a cycle-kart. I’ve recently re-read the “what is a cycle-kart” page and found it specifically prohibits manual gearboxes, and shiny double-wishbones on display, but those are 2 features I really want to keep. I plan to auto-test it, and basically call it my daily driver, so I really want it to stay planted on the road, with some comfort, and be able to clutch-kick it, or hand-break turn, which doesn’t work so well with a centrifugal or CVT. The design does conform to most of the other points; 2.4m overall length, 1m track width, 1.8m wheelbase, 1m tall. I’m not sure on the weight, as I’ve not done a materials list yet, and like I said, the engine is still TBD, depending on what I can find to fit for a reasonable price. If it’s already a cycle-car, then I’ll just opt for the stronger hubs and wheels, but if you think this is still in the spirit of a cycle-kart, then I’ll probably go with the Gemini arms and spoked wheels.
Please let me know what you think, if you have any questions, or would like to see any other angles, measurements or close-ups of the design.
Thanks,
Konrad