Mr2Poe: The Kraft of Karting

This will be my first attempt at a blog post, so bear with me and hopefully I can shed some light on a few different subjects. While I am like my wife in so many ways - a follower of Christ, an engineer, a chaotic person (though that is my nature, not my choice) - we differ in so many ways. I am a very hands on, gotta see it, need to take it apart to know how it works, don't really care that much about the theory behind it... person. I hope by now you can tell that Mrs. Poe is somewhat of an opposite personality in that respect.

Today's post is about that need to deconstruct, and on the rare occasion construct, what often are the very common things in life. In this instance a children's Yerfdog go-kart had crossed paths with me and my friend, Mr. Robinson.

It happened as I was working as a mechanic at MSU that a co-worker posed a proposition to me. He had a go-kart and motor that had been sitting around his house for some time that he thought would be a good project, but didn't have time to personally complete. The price would be what he liked to call a "long wheel base $10" (to the people without dirt under your fingernails, that would be a $100 bill). I did not have a need to buy it nor a place to store it, but boy did I ever want to build it and drive it.

In order to see the job through, I contacted Mr. Robinson who shares my passion for Frankenstein contraptions. It was my opportunity to live vicariously through someone else. Mr. Robinson bought the kart and, along with it, the 1980's model 200cc big, red three-wheeler motor- 14 Horsepower and 5 speeds of blissful fun.

Over the next several weeks, we worked to get the wiring harness corrected, carburetor installed, exhaust welded, and we even took time to reinstall a braking system. Before we could finish with the project, I ended up getting a job which took me away from my good friend. Well just this past week I headed back to Starkville to visit friends (as Mrs. Poe has been telling you), and whadaya know? I called Mr. Robinson to take my inaugural ride in the overhauled Yerfdog.

This first video is his arrival and a short walk around of the vehicle. You may see that he made his own muffler, which works very well (previously it was about 3 times as loud). It also has a gas tank from an old pressure washer and a couple of new lawn mower tires.



The second video is him just playing in the gravel a little bit. The top speed is in excess of 40mph... for now. I took an "in car" video, but it was so bouncy you can't make a whole lot out. Hope you enjoy, and until next time it was nice meeting you.