I own a Suzuki 160 which while it is small is absolutely awesome for my use which is primarily hauling deer out of the woods. It fits anywhere.

Anyway I also just bought a Gocart. It is a 12HP 2 seat unit that I want to use with my son. The problem is that the transmission of the cart is in a million pieces and the parts to fix it are no longer available. I am looking at putting an engine/tranny out of a wrecked ATV into it as a swap. I have a spare 160 engine and electronics but I am thinking that wouldn't have enough power.

What engine size would be about right for this project? I do not want to end up with something that has so much power that we will kill someone but I also don't want to have a pooch. I realize I could gear the 160 down a bit but I would still like to have a reasonable top speed.

I am at your mercies for suggestions. Once I get some ideas of wrecked ATV's to look for I can move on. Ideally it should be a chain driven, 2wd, have reverse and be a 4 stroke. I appreciate any help.

Most lawn carts have a 5 horse Briggs in them. I would think a 160 would be more than enough.
Can you go more? Sure, you can put a Honda 750 in it if you want!!!!! Now that will give you some power!!!!
Anyway, just pop the 160 in it and be happy with a fun little cart.

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N2O; better racing through chemistry<BR>If I was 21 and had good medical insurance, I would own a Banshee. I'm not and I don't, so I don't. <BR>Quads are cheaper than drugs but both are hard on our bodies.

The problem I am worried about though is that this thing is a big cart. It has a footprint of 5 foot wide, 5 foot tall and about 9 feet long. It is a full suspension all that jazz cart. I am worried the 160 won't have enough pop for it. I know the 160 would be great in a little one seater flat cart, but I don't know if it would work in something as large as my cart.

In that case I would go with a bigger engine. It's your choice on which one.

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N2O; better racing through chemistry<BR>If I was 21 and had good medical insurance, I would own a Banshee. I'm not and I don't, so I don't. <BR>Quads are cheaper than drugs but both are hard on our bodies.

Interesting project arnard. I would think a 250 to 350 would work well. Not sure what to take it out of though. Maybe something out of a early 80's Honda or Suzuki. Im just not sure what quads had reverse in the early models. The 160 might work OK, doesnt it have a 6 speed? or is it a 5 speed?

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07 Jetmoto 250 Sport
07 90cc Mini Ute
06 Jetmoto 200 Enduro
06 Jetmoto 200
06 Jetmoto 150
06 Jetmoto 125
04 Yamoto 150
01 KTM 400 EXC
92 WR 250
91 CR 250
88 YZ 80
85 CR 500
83 XL 600
82 XR 200
79 XR 75
79 Odyssey
73 Bultaco 360
71 Rickman Montessa 250
70 Rupp Enduro
69 Honda 50

A stock Yamaha Warrior/Raptor 350 motor is about 18HP, 348cc, 6 speed with reverse, air cooled. And they are bullet proof. The motor is pretty much unchanged since about '87. I think they spent more time changing (simplifying) the wiring, and went through 3-4 carbs over the years.

I think it would be a great motor for what you're looking at. Stock gearing is 13/40 (or 42, not sure) with 22" rear tires which puts it at about 60+. With a 20" tire (sand paddle) it can pull me over 50MPH, and I'm not a small guy. Gear it down a little and it would probably crawl really well, but also have some nice top speed.

A Honda 300ex motor might work. But the convoluted reverse gear would be interesting to retrofit into a cart. Press a button, pull a lever, and press down on the shifter.

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2003 Yamaha Warrior
2004 F-150 4.6/SC/SB (for work and play)

Working for a living is a highly overrated way to spend your time. - MWQ

...I think you're better off getting advice from someone who doesn't have to wait for the battery to charge before they can ride. -- Scootergptx

The ‘lesser of two evils’ is still evil. -- Bob Barr

Thanks for your input guys. I ended up getting a Kawasaki 300 that spent it's life as a test engine for a company locally that makes tuned exhausts and air filters. The engine came with all the electronics (minus the coil) and the carb and air filter housing and probably only has about 20 hours on it. They used it to test the db rating of muffler prototypes.

P.S. The Suzuki 160 is a 5 speed plus reverse.

That sounds like a good choice. If you dont mind take some pics of the project and let us know how it turns out.

Thanks for the 5 speed answer.

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07 Jetmoto 250 Sport
07 90cc Mini Ute
06 Jetmoto 200 Enduro
06 Jetmoto 200
06 Jetmoto 150
06 Jetmoto 125
04 Yamoto 150
01 KTM 400 EXC
92 WR 250
91 CR 250
88 YZ 80
85 CR 500
83 XL 600
82 XR 200
79 XR 75
79 Odyssey
73 Bultaco 360
71 Rickman Montessa 250
70 Rupp Enduro
69 Honda 50

I need a bit more help if anyone knows.

I am going to need to put in a jackshaft system to drive it. The swing cage on teh back of the cart is only about 3 feet long and the axle is mounted almost deadcenter of that. If I were to mount the engine and drive to the existing axle location it would actually be a forward mount. This is not possible due to the case of the engine. I also would have to offset the engine as the differential is in the center of the cart and the atv engine of course drives on the left side.

I have decided to run the engine drive to a 1:1 jackshaft behind the engine and then run the differential off the jackshaft. This also takes care of the problem I have of the atv engine using 520 chain and the diff using 41 chain. It should end up something like this:

Engine
|
| Diff
| |
| |
Jackshaft

Does anyone know of a good source of drive gears? I need a 520 drive gear that has a smooth ID to go on the jackshaft. So far everything I have found is splined to fit an atv.