Ok, Confess, How many of you Drove Go Karts In the Street?

[CHELLIE]

Ok, I am Guilty as Charged Shame on me But I knew how to have Fun growing up and I even Bought my kids a go kart when they were old enough, but i did not let them drive it in the street LOL

But I wish i had one that went this fast when i was in Jr High, my friends had a go cart, and i was driving it in the street by their house, I saw a cop drove the cart into my friends Yard, ran into their house and out the back door and around the corner, I saw the cop drive around the corner looking for me, but i hid good in the bushes that silly cop drove right by me and when the coast was clear, I ran to my house SAVED LOL, I will Never Ever forget that Running from the Cops

Put Yourself in the Karts Driver Seat and Hang on

The FUZZ at 8;49 Your a Baby Boomer if you know what the Fuzz is LOL

R1 Go Kart Passes a Cop

[billintn]

Me be guilty also. 1959-60 we built our own with 2x4 and lawnmower wheels. Lawnmower motor. But at that time, in our neighborhood, worse thing the cop would do is tell us to " take that thing home!"

[stuart]

around us it was minibikes...small ,tube steel frames with 3 hp motors and centrifugal clutches. mine had a 5 hp briggs and straton that i squeezed into the frame and it threw every adult who tried to floor it with a kick out wheel,i laughed so hard watching them try to hold on and let it go to crash.several times the exhast area would catch fire.....[adults to me were my teenage brother and his friends].....they thought they could handle akids bike.

i would travel the streets with my friends to get to church parking lots where we would cruise around unhassled by the police who considered that as private property and up to the churchs to chase us off ,which they allowed it[approx 1967year]....that is ,until leaving to make the run home....then we were fair game to take the bike away for dad to p/u at the station.i never got caught!

chellie ,thanks for that random question...it put a smile on my other wise dreary face wondering if the winds will be 10 to 15mph,or should i clean the garage and winterize the yard equipment.

even though my minibike was quick,at wot it would bog down leaving a huge cloud of smoke...,once the carb cleared i would be back and running...good times chellie,good memories I'd forgotten them,this was before my partying years.

[Wildflyer]

I have absolutely no idea how I survived that portion of my childhood.

I was a bit too mechanical for my own good. I built a minibike out of water pipe, angle iron, flat steel, and whatever else I could get my hands on. I taught myself how to weld on it and I'm glad no one else could see the weld joints, they were not pretty.

It started life with a 2.5 hp Clinton motor and centrifugal clutch, soon I got a old army water pump motor, much more power, then I started tinkering with it. I replaced the small up draft carb. with a larger side draft, removed the governor, straight pipe exhaust, shaved the head, and used a much thinner head gasket. All this was done in stages, but at the end I had a SCREAMING Briggs & Stratton.

Then one day I really got stupid, and put 1/2 gasoline & 1/2 Blue Blazer model airplane fuel in it. Took it out on the street, and was paced by a friend on a motorcycle, at about 45 mph. AT 9000 rpm a B&S motor has an unearthly howl. I have no idea how much horsepower it was putting out but I decided to try my home made jump ramp behind a 50' long 2 story building in the backyard.

I hit that ramp faster than I had ever done in the past, forgetting (remember the stupid part) that 20' from the bottom of the ramp was a porch of a storage shed, which forced me to turn right 90`.

I did not come down in time, I hit the shed at about 30 mph, did sort of did a Wille Coyote into the side of the shed, broke my nose. After less than 10 minutes of run time, I melted a hole in the piston.

And if that wasn't dumb enough, I shoe horned a 125 cc two cyL, 4 speed Honda motorcycle engine in the frame. I hit 60 mph in third gear.

This bike never had any suspension other than the foam in the seat, and with the Honda motor, it had no brakes.

Somehow I survived this and other contraptions I built and motorized. But I have no idea how.

[CHELLIE]

Originally Posted by stuart

around us it was minibikes...small ,tube steel frames with 3 hp motors and centrifugal clutches. mine had a 5 hp briggs and straton that i squeezed into the frame and it threw every adult who tried to floor it with a kick out wheel,i laughed so hard watching them try to hold on and let it go to crash.several times the exhast area would catch fire.....[adults to me were my teenage brother and his friends].....they thought they could handle akids bike.

i would travel the streets with my friends to get to church parking lots where we would cruise around unhassled by the police who considered that as private property and up to the churchs to chase us off ,which they allowed it[approx 1967year]....that is ,until leaving to make the run home....then we were fair game to take the bike away for dad to p/u at the station.i never got caught!

chellie ,thanks for that random question...it put a smile on my other wise dreary face wondering if the winds will be 10 to 15mph,or should i clean the garage and winterize the yard equipment.

even though my minibike was quick,at wot it would bog down leaving a huge cloud of smoke...,once the carb cleared i would be back and running...good times chellie,good memories I'd forgotten them,this was before my partying years.

I knew this thread would put a Big Smile on a lot of peoples faces Here I bet just about everyone here is a thrill seeker and do Fun Things like that, Take care and have fun, Chellie

[Fishbonez]

I was never alowed to build one or drive one in the street. However I did get a lot of opportunities to drive at the local Go Kart Track where I grew up. I remeber being kicked out for recless driving on their course. They did not go nearly as fast as that one but were pretty quick and we used to bump each other cuz bumpin is racin LOL and drift the corners and then we would be asked to leave. We always came back the next dy to do it all over again. Always wondered why they just did not ban us from their establishment LOL

[kyleservicetech]

That brings back old memories of the mid 1950's. My dad bought a 6.5 Hp gas engine for $25, that didn't run when he got it home. Pulled the flywheel, cleaned the points, and that was it.

We used it for the grain elevator and other farm stuff. And when it was not being used, I made up several go carts with our arc welder. One was a three wheel unit with a single wheel in the back, the next ones were minibike type. None of them had any springs in the suspension. Don't have a single photo of any of them. On the farm, we always had a lot of scrap steel material around.

My dad once drove that three wheeler out to get the mail on the main road, never rode it again. "No springs!"

Those things had a lot of miles on them, riding around the gravel roads in my home town. Even took it on the highway once, it would hit 45 MPH, as tracked by a friend in a car.

Even now, 55 years later, my garage has a 180 Amp Stick welder, 5 Hp air compressor, and six lawn tools with Briggs engines, a weed wacker with a 4 stroke engine, and a 2 stroke leaf blower. The basement work shop has a 12 inch Craftsman metal lathe, a small milling machine, and a LOT of electronic test equipment, computers and the like.

[70sflyer]

I was not able to enjoy the moto sports while growing up but did enjoy U control air planes and building them.I made sure my kids did have a taste of mini bikes ,go carts and airplanes and now my grand kids are enjoying it all,with a little help from me,Im am back into all electric.ITs so much fun seeing them expanding there horizons.

[earthsciteach]

Um, guilty of driving go karts and 3 wheelers in the street.

[Fishbonez]

Well I do admit to driving/riding a 4 wheeler in the street during the winter with a tire tube tied to the back. Oh the fun we had with that. I do believe we ran from the cops once as well if I give it enough thought

[tr4252]

I had a 2 x 4, lawn mover engined kart at the age of 11 or so. Traded an autographed photo of John Glenn with another kid for it.

Had to drive it in the street to get to a small local park area with a winding one lane asphalt road running through it. It wasn't so much the kart that attracted attention, as the groups of hangers on. This park had an old F-86 on a concrete pad as a sort of memorial; we used to crawl all over it.

It was a learning experience; tinkering with the thing, taking the engine apart, redesigning it any number of times. Also a lesson in values; I should have hung on to that picture of John Glenn.

Tom

[RightFly]

If you count an old Oliver 70 tractor racing an old Silver King tractor on gravel roads back in the day, then I admit to the charge. It was usually after a long day of bailing hay and sometimes we still had the 4 wheel wagons attached. They sure bounce good.

[kyleservicetech]

Originally Posted by RightFly

If you count an old Oliver 70 tractor racing an old Silver King tractor on gravel roads back in the day, then I admit to the charge. It was usually after a long day of bailing hay and sometimes we still had the 4 wheel wagons attached. They sure bounce good.

Oliver, also brings back memories. Dad had an Oliver 88 with the diesel engine. It was the first diesel powered farm tractor in a 10 mile radius. Once our neighbors found out about fuel economy, didn't take long for the neighbors to follow suite.

LOL, Diesel fuel for farm use was 18 cents a gallon then. How times have changed.

[kyleservicetech]

[QUOTE=CHELLIE;847942]
But I wish i had one that went this fast when i was in Jr High, my friends had a go cart, and i was driving it in the street by their house, I saw a cop drove the cart into my friends Yard, ran into their house and out the back door and around the corner, I saw the cop drive around the corner looking for me, but i hid good in the bushes that silly cop drove right by me and when the cost was clear, I ran to my house SAVED LOL, I will Never Ever forget that Running from the Cops

QUOTE]

We've got a go cart racing track about 30 miles from here. Don't know what size engines they are using, but they are very high powered racing engines. If memory is correct, they hit 75 MPH on a very short straight away.

[TLyttle]

Hmmm, my favourite sport. My first kart had a 2hp Power Products on it, suitably hopped up. Lawns didn't get mowed for a few weeks. Then it had a 2 1/2hp Clinton. Then I found a 250 Villiers on a chain saw, and the fun really began: direct drive, to start it the driver sat as far forward as possible, 2 guys lifted the back, ran a few steps, then pitched it. Driver slides back just as the rear wheels hit, bang it was doing 30mph, THEN you hit the throttle. No need for brakes, because when you shut the throttle right off, the engine simply stopped.

Then I worked in a chain saw manufacturing plant, and the company decided to build a kart for competition. The development engineer and I built 4 engines for it (2 to run, 2 spares). Out at the track (2.9 mile course), they got it on radar at 122mph. The elitist blighters wouldn't let me drive it because they were afraid I might make the boss's son look bad... true story!

[CHELLIE]

[QUOTE=kyleservicetech;848086]

Originally Posted by CHELLIE

But I wish i had one that went this fast when i was in Jr High, my friends had a go cart, and i was driving it in the street by their house, I saw a cop drove the cart into my friends Yard, ran into their house and out the back door and around the corner, I saw the cop drive around the corner looking for me, but i hid good in the bushes that silly cop drove right by me and when the cost was clear, I ran to my house SAVED LOL, I will Never Ever forget that Running from the Cops

QUOTE]

We've got a go cart racing track about 30 miles from here. Don't know what size engines they are using, but they are very high powered racing engines. If memory is correct, they hit 75 MPH on a very short straight away.

My son said that there is a go kart track around here too, I am going to have to check that out

[CHELLIE]

yes my son was right OK, for now on, You will find me at the Go kart Race Track LOL, Good thing is that I dont have to run from the Cops driving a Go Kart here

JT Racing Kart Rentals

[Don Sims]

Ok, Confess, How many of you Drove Go Karts In the Street?

So that's why I drive motorcycles still?!?

[Fishbonez]

Originally Posted by CHELLIE

yes my son was right OK, for now on, You will find me at the Go kart Race Track LOL, Good thing is that I dont have to run from the Cops driving a Go Kart here

JT Racing Kart Rentals

Look out soon Chellie will be driving and flying at the same time

[earthsciteach]

Actually just watched the video. Sadly, I didn't have a four cylinder with 6 speed manual transmission on my go kart. I WANT one of those!

[kyleservicetech]

Originally Posted by CHELLIE

yes my son was right OK, for now on, You will find me at the Go kart Race Track LOL, Good thing is that I dont have to run from the Cops driving a Go Kart here

Hi Chellie
Just watched that video clip. Around here, they've got a racing go-cart track right adjacent to the Milwaukee to Madison bicycle trail. (That trail is somewhere around 80 miles, and goes through three railroad tunnels. One tunnel is near a mile long.) From what I can tell, they've got two racing classes. First is a Briggs and Stratton class. Those Briggs engines don't run anything like your Briggs engines from your snowblower. These Briggs engines are turning far beyond 3600 RPM.

Then they've got those real high powered two stroke racing engines. Watching those things go full speed around that course is a lesson in bravery.

[pablo27]

I raced 150mph gearbox 'Superkarts' back in the late '80's early 90's, my son races over here in the UK on non-gearbox 200cc 4 stroke engined karts, top speeds of around 80mph.......we never race on the streets, that's far too hairy !

[kenchiroalpha]

Hi Chellie
I still do though its 2 wheels and not 4
Do enjoy

Nice Day 001

Nice Day 002

Take care dearest friend
Yours Hank

[CHELLIE]

Hi Hank nice to see you back posting again I had a Honda Mini Trail 50, That was fun to ride, wish i still had it LOL Take care and have fun, Chellie




Gee, I almost forgot, I got chased by the Cops Riding my Mini Trail too at night LOL, I rode it into someones back yard and turned off the eng, the Cops pulled into that same driveway, but they did not get out of their car Saved again I was riding with some friends, they had a mini trail 50 and 70, but they had a driver lic, i did not at the age of about 15 That was the second time i was Chased by the Cops, there may have been a few more Times too I never Got caught

[CHELLIE]

Gee, in one thread, I confessed to being Chased by the Cops Twice LOL, I was a wild one when i was younger Ok, who am i trying to Fool I still am a Wild one Take care and Have fun, Chellie