Gas Engine Drive Train
- I'm considering hooking up a neat little Go-Kart engine to my RIX SA-3E compressor. I was wondering if it is acceptable to use a centrifugal clutch or is it usually done with a direct drive? The clutch would give the engine the ability to idle without the compressor running. And the throttle could then act like an On/Off switch. I seem to remember these 2-strokes develop their power on the high end so idling on the low end seems logical.
Back Story:
- I converted this Lawn Boy F-Series engine to horizontal shaft several years ago when my oldest son and I built a vintage style go-kart. This was probably 1988 when I checked out a 1961 book on How-to-Build-Go-Karts from the Library. Back in'61 they used the West Bend 580 2-cycle motor... Which I had no source for in 1988. I noticed the Lawn Boy F-Series is almost identical to that engine. So I bought a used Lawn Boy mower and took the engine off. We re-ringed the piston, reamed out the carbon from the exhaust ports, removed the governor... And Holy Cats that thing was fast.
- The Go-Kart frame itself has long since disappeared but I made a point of saving the engine as I was most proud of that. Like the West Bend 580, the Lawn-Boy F-Series is a 3.5 horse. My manual for the RIX lists two engines: Honda GX-120 and GX160... Which according to the specs are both 3.5 hp. So...