Question for you guys about motors to use on bike or kart

[daniels]

I have a 2 stroke snow blower motor and was thinking of trying to use it on a bike or kart but I have a couple of issues. The motor is always at a constant speed and the carb has no throttle control. You just started the blower and that was it. The cable engaged the clutch and you pushed it. No speed control. Anyway, how would you guys use a motor like this? Like what kind of setup?

Thanks

[mikecwik]

two strokes are crude but effective power sources. generally they have a very narrow power band. no, you cant buy power bands. there really isnt any reason to have such a motor operating at anything other than idle or wide open. not sure what you could do to change it.

[daniels]

two strokes are crude but effective power sources. generally they have a very narrow power band. no, you cant buy power bands. there really isnt any reason to have such a motor operating at anything other than idle or wide open. not sure what you could do to change it.

Thanks Mike! What would you recommend then? Just maybe a clutch or torque converter to get power to the wheels?

[mikecwik]

i really dont have any recommendations. i am interested in the fueling system of your machine though, what make and model is it?

[r97]

I think this is a perfectly reasonable idea for a relatively lightweight minibike. Don't expect too much off road, or insane speed, but I'ts plenty of power to still have fun messing around on the street. A normal centrifugal clutch will work fine (check to see what type of PTO the engine has, that could make fining a clutch difficult).

So the carburetor has no throttle butterfly at all? If it has a butterfly (which right now would just be pinned at WOT) you can easily add a return spring and a throttle cable. IF it has no throttle butterfly then you should probably be looking at a new carburetor.

P.S. search you tube and Google, there are several places where you can find information on using these engines on minibikes. Also check out oldminibikes.com, and diygokarts.com, I am a member of both forums, but I'm much more active on diy go karts.

EDIT: Sorry, I just saw the date, looks like this thread isn't too active anymore....

[drujinin]

Snowblower Engine Governor

Actually that little snowblower engine has a governor on it, else it would bog down and never recover. Open it up, look at the little vane that catches air from the flywheel blades to pull a rod on the throttle plate against a spring.
Thats how it regulates the speed, an engine can not have the throttle plate pinned open as it would keep gaining speed.
I believe it will be a Tecumseh with a Walbro carb on it.
My 2 Cents!

[Blacksmith]

Alot of these engines on lawn mowers and snow blowers are "constant speed", i.e. rated speed, usually 3000 or 3600 rpm because that is where they should be operated when under load. Chances are the governor is being tensioned by a spring that sets the speed; when airflow on the vane equals the spring tension the engine is at rated speed. Substitute a cable for the spring or for the fixed anchor of the spring and you should be able to vary the engine speed.

[gungatim]

you need a different carb

Tecumseh 2 cycles from snowblowers had two styles of carbs, you need to look for the older style. It has both high and low speed mixture screws. This will allow you to pull off the governor and idle it down. the older Toro's had them, I think they switched to the non adjustable carbs in the 90's. I built a minibike with just such an engine and it works great.