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I have two boys and wanted to find a decent go kart that I could either discard after a couple years of use. I thought about building my own, as everything I found on CL / FB was overpriced junk and I had no clue how it was maintained... and local dealers sell re-branded Chinese karts for twice the price... but then I came across this Chinese kart that's actually decent:
TrailMaster Mini XRX+ which comes with a 5.5hp engine, LED lights, a (VERY loud) horn, 5 pt harnesses, electric start / stop, remote kill / start fob. The remote fob sold my wife and I, as it provides some comfort to us while they are learning... we were worried they'd punch the gas, head towards the woods and get impaled by a branch (maybe we've been watching too many Final Destination movies).
Anyway, at basically $1,200 shipped, it was a done deal.... and long story short: it was a great purchase, but there are definitely things to know going into it... such as being aware that it will be about 5-8 hours (or more) of getting it setup and checking EVERYTHING over to get it running perfectly.
1) First and foremost, there are NO assembly instructions (at least not with my purchase)... and what did come with it are just some high level specs and safety info... with several pictures having Chinese writing. The TrailMaster mini and mid versions are VERY similar and can be used for the most part. Here are several sources I used that were very helpful... both still leave out some random steps but nothing major:
[INDENT]- Assembly:
[url]https://www.gokartmasters.com/content/Go%20Kart%20A-
ssembly%20Instructions%20-%20Mini%20XRX%20%26%20Mini%20XRX-R-
.pdf[/url]
- Assembly 2:
[url]https://www.familygokarts.com/pdf/manuals/trailmast-
er/tm-mini-xrx_setup_instructions.pdf[/url]
- Basic startup instructions:
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzlIPs1N-A0[/url]r />
- Other instructions:
Website and Youtube videos by familygokarts or GoKartMasters[/INDENT]
2) The engine is a "Chonda" GX160 --- so you should be able to reference a Honda GX160 if you need extra parts or documentation.
3) They ship with VERY lightweight motor oil that is NOT meant for driving with. These things take hardly any oil, and since it's a cheap knockoff engine with no oil filter, change the oil before you start it up using a cheap 10w30 oil... then again after an hour of driving it, then again after about 5 hours. On the 10th hour and every 10 hours from then on, I would change over to a synthetic oil.
4) Check the spark plug gap... mine came set at 0.02" and needed to be adjusted to 0.03".
5) Supposedly a lot of these China units come shipped with a dis-solvable gel bag in the carb and you're supposed to let it idle for 30 min. prior to driving it. I did not do this and after experiencing issues, I had to open up the carb and cleaned it all out. One thing to note is that the carb has very little adjustment.
6) I was actually surprised with the overall build quality and bolt quality (none deformed or stripped on me)... and I was only missing one M8-1.25x30 flange bolt that I was able to pickup at ACE Hardware. There was an extra parts bag which I didn't need to use, PLUS there were extra parts in the main parts bag... I thought I missed something, but I looked things over several times and they were definitely just extra parts (roll cage washers, a couple bolts, and a screw)
7) The 5 point harnesses are fine except they will continuously loosen, so my fix was to use black gaffers tape to keep the adjustable harness strap from moving.
8) You can watch the video below for the rear chain adjustment and they say this is all that SHOULD have to be done on the initial setup... however, my top chain connecting to the clutch was way too lose as well, and that is covered under the second link below:
[INDENT]- [url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZQH7kL2XFw[/url]
- [url]http://kartingdistributors.com/pdfs/hamerhead/miniXRXsc-
hain.pdf[/url][/INDENT]
9) The only thing I had to actually modify on the kart was the passenger front tie rod, as when I was doing the wheel alignment, there was simply not enough adjustment in the passenger front toe in and I had to chop about 1/4" of the tie rod down to allow the wheel to be turned inward more and have the proper stance.
When I did my setup, I missed the following three steps: checking the spark plug gap, changing the engine oil, and letting it idle for 30 min before running it.
My results: after 5-15 minutes of letting the kids play with it, it puttered and then died. You could start it back up a few times, but usually it wouldn't move / have any power... after that, it wouldn't even start up and you would have to wait a while before it would start back up. I thought my chain was set too tight and causing the overheating, so I adjusted the chain and had the overheating occur three three times before I finally decided to change the oil, clean the carb, and check the spark plug. I am lucky it did not (noticeably) damage the engine. I may pay for this down the road (literally) and have to buy a new engine, but as long as it makes it a while, it will be time for an upgrade anyway. After doing the above steps, the engine is purring perfect test running it wide open for 30 minutes with a 220lb guy in it up hills and over big bumps.
If you want to build your own kart, not support "Chinese" crap, or whatever other reason... that's great for you... but if you want to go this route, hopefully this info will at least help you out in getting a good running kart (at least for now).
[IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/SvKQcDfGXU4OQidyP-
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Q=w1920-h1080[/IMG]
[IMG]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/9pWDREqB7HMM7f6Cg-
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g=w1920-h1080[/IMG]
Rating:  [4 of 5 Stars!] |
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