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FUN TIMES

ENTRY-LEVEL FUN KARTS — Fun Kart Series Part 2
By Paul Dilger – Courtesy of OPE Magazine

As I mentioned in the “Introduction to the Fun Kart Industry” article last month, I have selected Brister’s Design and Manufacturing Company’s “Spider” model as an example of an entry-level fun kart. This kart illustrates the basic design, construction and safety features found on most entry-level karts in the industry. Beyond the basic design, each manufacturer has features that distinguish its models from the competition.

The entry-level kart is one that can carry a passenger, has one rear-wheel drive, minimum horsepower-per-weight ratio, and comes without any of the optional accessories. In most cases, it is also one of the lowest-cost models. Interestingly, I came across an equipment catalog that sells a fun kart for the do-it-yourself individual. Not only did it cost more to piece the kart together, it didn’t have any of the modern innovations or safety features that the manufactured karts have. (I’ll be covering these further in detail as I process with the series.)

Chuck Brister, owner and president of Brister’s Design and Manufacturing Company, has spent the better part of his adult life designing and manufacturing motorized products, ranging from fun karts and lawn equipment to pressure washers and garden tillers. Working with his father J.H. Brister, who started Brister’s Thunder Karts in the 1950s, he has helped lead the karting industry from garage-built karts of the 1960s to today’s highly engineered off-road vehicles. He has several patents in his name, including a clutch lube system, a throttle override safety device and a safety fuel cap. The Brister family sold Brister’s Thunder Karts in 1996, and Chuck Brister opened Brister’s Design and Manufacturing Company in April 2002.

Two safety innovations that Chuck Brister has developed and patented are designed to prevent fires resulting from spilled gasoline. His safety fuel cap integrated the fuel cap with the engine’s ignition. When the cap is removed, the magneto circuit is interrupted, bringing the engine to a stop. This prevents anyone from adding gasoline to a running engine.

Another of Chuck Brister’s patents keeps the gas cap locked on the fuel tank until the engine cools. I look forward to the application of these engineering ideas to make consumer products such as lawn mowers and string trimmers safer to re-fuel.

Throughout this article, keep in mind that the Brister “Spider” fun kart that I am highlighting does not represent all the features available on all models that Brister’s markets. Chassis design, electrical accessories, brake systems, controls, engines and drive trains vary among all the different models. It would take too much space for me to distinguish all their options, so let me encourage you to visit Brister’s website at www.bristers.com and study all of its design characteristics yourself.

Every fun kart manufacturer offers additional accessories, such as clothing and helmets to make fun karting safer. Be sure never to allow any individual to ride without securing himself/herself using the safety belts and wearing ANSI or DOT-approved head protection, including safety goggles or glasses. I should mention that the passenger seat is not designed to safely restrain pets, so they should never be allowed to ride as passengers. Because the driver and passenger are close to the ground, dirt particles thrown up by the tires can easily get into their eyes, so never ride or drive without ANSI-approved safety glasses.

The “Spider” that was shipped to me arrived in a hardwood crate in fairly good condition. The crate contained the partially assembled kart, the owner’s manual, an operation and safety video, and the hardware necessary for assembly. The entire crate (and its contents) was enveloped in a plastic wrapping that protected the kart from external elements. Uncrating took approximately 15 minutes with the use of a pocket knife and skill saw.

Dean, my 10-year old grandson, with no prior mechanical experience, was able to assemble the kart in about a half-hour. (That’s actual assembly time. That time did not include learning about bolt and wrench sizes, as well as learning how to read and understand an assembly diagram.) It was an excellent learning experience, and he subsequently had no problem assembling two other karts I will be highlighting later.

Entry-level karts have a rigid frame and do not have a suspension system. The kart assembly includes a sturdy axle with a wheel spindle and tie rod attachment arm. These spindle bushing are pre-lubed at the factory and come without Zerk fittings. If for some reason lubrication is reduced over a period of time, the spindle can be easily disassembled by removing the bolt. You can then install a Zerk fitting and add grease.

It is easy to remove the front wheel and the sealed bearings (that are) pressed into the wheel’s bushing. If these bearings need replacing, they can be removed by using a bearing puller or by driving them out through the bore from the opposite side of the wheel. Note that the wheel is held in place by a lock nut. The lock nut positions the wheel on the spindle, thus holding the bearings from lateral movement. The lock nut should not be torqued the way you would a nut and lock washer.

The rear axle spindles are welded into the frame tubing. The rear wheels are free spinning on the rear axles just like the front spindles. Here, the engine drive axle does not turn; a bushing assembly rotates on the axle. The sprocket and wheel hub are assembled to the axle bushing.

The “Spider” is propelled by a 5-horsepower Tecumseh, single-piston, overhead-valve engine. I was more than impressed with the acceleration and speed this engine could provide. The safety gas cap has an anti-splash foam assembly inside the cap.

At first glance, it appears that the “Spider” has only one fender. This may be true, but it is in reality a safety guard shield that should always be in place when the engine is running. Under the safety guard shield is the drive mechanism, which should be worked on only be experienced technicians—never children! Because of the danger of clothing and hair being caught up in the chain mechanism, anyone working on the kart should tie up any long hair and remove any loose clothing before starting the engine.

The centrifugal clutch driving the chain sprocket and the chain adjuster keeps constant spring tension on the chain. This feature, by automatically tensioning a constant pressure on the chain, prevents a loose chain from coming off during operation.

The centrifugal clutch itself is worth describing because it is one of the patented features on Chuck Brister’s transmission system. The standard engine crankshaft, has a milled keyway with two modifications. Chuck Brister’s patent modifies the standard crankshaft by drilling the end of the shaft and the keyway to allow for lubricating grease to move through the center of the shaft to the hole in the keyway. Grease then fills the keyway and passes up through the drilled hole in the clutch fly-weight assembly sleeve, where it lubricates the bushing in the drum that spins on the sleeve. Maintenance is reduced to just cleaning and changing the oil as a result of the lubrication to the bushing and the chain slack adjuster.

Both the accelerator and brake pedals have easy, accessible, adjustable control cables at the pedals. The brake can also be adjusted when the chain shield is removed to replace the brake band. A second cable is attached to the brake bank coupling yoke on the engine side of the brake band. This cable activates Brister’s throttle shut-down when the brake pedal is depressed. When the brake pedal is depressed, the brake band is pulled down along with the throttle shut-down cable. The other end of this cable is attached to the engine, where you’ll find Chuck Brister’s patented throttle pull-down mechanism that pulls the throttle down to an idle when the brake pedal is depressed.

Chuck Brister made a strong point that it is quite normal for a young person learning how to drive to panic and forget what to do next. During braking, this safety pull-down prevents drivers from mistakenly accelerating should they hold down both the brake and the accelerator pedals at the same time. Any motorized vehicle has a difficult time braking under full power. A downhill panic is the worst-case braking scenario when accidentally giving full power and trying to stop at the same time.

All of Brister’s kart have safety ignition keys to give the driver engine shut-off control during normal operation and in a panic situation; and to allow parents to remove the key when they do not want their children or anyone else to drive the kart.

The basic, entry-level kart is uncomplicated and most kart manufacturers have a similar, competitive model. There are many other optional features covered in this article that are available for Brister’s higher-performance machines that you should investigate.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Chuck Brister and Larry Schwall of Brister’s Design and Manufacturing Company for their time and expense in providing me with the materials for this article. In addition to its website, you can contact Brister’s at PO Box 649, Roseland, LA 70456-0649. Brister’s phone number is 985-748-4889.

Next month, I will look at one of Carter Brother’s high-performance karts.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paul Dilger is a retired professor of agricultural engineering at Cal-Poly State University in California. He worked as a mechanic in the U.S. Army before attending college. After graduating from college, Dilger taught mechanics for 25 years. He is currently a private consultant helping companies develop quality service training programs.

Article is © May 2003 by Outdoor Power Equipment (OPE) magazine and used here with permission. OPE magazine is published monthly by Adams Business Media at 833 W. Jackson Blvd., 7th Floor, Chicago, IL 60607. For subscription information and requests, call Subscription Services at 847-647-7399.

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