MTD Wizard 'go kart' build

dangeroustoys56 wrote:

I was thinking of using a idler sprocket or a plastic idler pulley on a spring to keep tension on it ( or both). Wish i had some old snowmobile sliders ( they mounted under a snowmobile track chassis) - thatd be perfect - ill have to call my dad n see if theres an old pair up at the house.

Its possible its a 160- has the 3/4" crankshaft diameter.

We used plastic idler pulleys on 2 of our bikes, they work really good, one bike I actually used a wide flat steel idler, also works well and doesn't wear the chain!

I called pop- he said hed stop by a snowmobile shop and get a slider cover for me - we probably threw out a good dozen or two used sliders over the years ( we replaced them every year cause theyd wear thru) .


Ford Boi: Yeah i saw that trick on a lawntractor racing site - some even use machined skatebord wheels ( square notch cut in them)- have quite a few plastic idler wheels around, so ill use them and the slider.


Trcustoms: Yepper - ill get pics when progress on the tractor resumes.

Cool, i didn't know you were into snowmobiles.

Yeah ive owned a couple since i started snowmobiling when i was around 10 yrs old. 1st was a 1974 440 arctic cat panther - beast of a sled - even had electric start. Sold that n dad gave me his 1979 arctic cat el tigre 5000- i still have it back at my folks in the back of my old shed. Yes- both of them rode like 2x4's - the suspensions were very caveman style compared to the 2' of travel today. Dad had an '88 arctic cat wildcat 650 - thing was an EFI, oil injected , water cooled monster- he put all kinds of diggers on it so it had wicked traction. Once i ran it down a back road up north- i had it up to 110mph - it had more throttle , but that was plenty fast for me. In comparison, my sled was topped out at about 80mph and that was a really rough 80mph.....

Every fall we'd tear the sleds nearly completely apart , and go thru them cleaning, greasing, adjusting everything- and replacing bits and pieces needing replacing.

Pop and i would take off a couple times each winter and head tward the Adirondaks ( a few hours north of the house) and spend a week snowmobiling all over - the scenerey was amazing , it was pretty neat ( and a bit scarey) on how desolate some areas were ( specailly w/o a cell phone- was no help) but also how quiet it is waaay out in some places- shut off the sleds and its like totally silent.

One year we were heading out just as i had a midterm exam in middle school ( was one of those half year courses ) - teacher was like " you know youll be missing the exam- right? " I was like " hey - im going snowmobiling for a week - i could care less" - the funny bit was the day before leaving, the teacher gave me the midterm test, so i didnt miss it and get an F - i actually couldve cared less back then.

Another funny bit was once i broke my finger and had this huge cast on - i was like " I dont give a crap- im going snowmobiling!" - i put like 3 pairs of clean socks over my cast and went on the trip.

i was pretty gung ho about sledding back then - like screw everything and just go.

Sounds like when my dad was around we always were out on our quads.
I always wanted a snowmobile but here in Delaware we hardly ever get snow.

Years ago up at the house we'd get a bunch of snow- lately its been sorta light , not to mention alot of the local trails are closed ( due to property selling/property owners angry at people abusing the trails) - last few years i just rode around the yard/field before finally parking it- pop sold his sled long before that tho.