New to GO KARTS. GX160 NEED HELP ON A BUILD

mfloresjr09

New member
Hey guys thanks for the add. I recently purchased a go kart with a honda Gx160. My crank and rod is no good they are grove really bad. I figure if Im going to rebuild it what should I install or upgrade. Just want build a nice peppy little motor. I want to do a good upgrade on the whole thing. Just dont know were to go with this. I work for a honda dealership rebuild v6 and 4 cylinders and all kinds of other things. Stuck please help.
 
If you are not under a rules body, buy a preditor or Honda clone, it will be a lot cheaper than new crank and rod.
 
Thanks for the reply. Honestly I am just doing this for a hobby, downtime, and my kids. I would like to build one just to be knowledgeable about these motors. I have two motors, I disassembled one and have one that I have not torn apart yet. I have looked up parts on different websites and one that I found on here on the forum. I have owners manuals with specs on just about anything you can find.
 
I was honestly going to say the same thing . wanted too wait for Kart43 reply he is a Honda expert.
In that case a gx 200 crank with a arc rod and wiseco piston.
provided that crank fits in that block.
your best bet scenario is go with the parts that are designed and fit your engine IE GX 160 stuff.
 
What about top end cylinder head wise. Springs, pushrods, rockers and valves can I interchange for Gx200?? Most specs I see they are pretty close if not the same, I know rod wise i will have to stick with the gx160. See there are springs but I cant find any better quality pushrods for these motors. Should see about taking my head in to a machine shop and getting it ported or worked or can I just buy a complete head?????
 
The 200 crank will not work in the 160 without considerable modifications, not worth it. It depends on what generation of 160 you have, there is actually GX160 5.3hp GX160K1 5.5 UT1 -2-3 I really think the best bet is start with a new clone or preditor.
 
Kart43 can you send me a link on these clones I’ve heard that harbor freight carries predator motors. If I have another 160 crank your saying it is not worth building my motor???
 
Well guys I bit the bullet and went ahead and bought a predator 212cc now to find what mods to do to the engine after I break it in. I am excited to get this project going and have this kart running. Any ideas or suggestions to make this thing put out more power would be greatly appreciated. I will be sanding and painting my fiberglass body this weekend and messing with the chassis.
 
Well I have been working on getting everything married together but there is a slight problem...... Trans and motor will not mesh together. the shaft of the crank is smaller than previous GX. Need to know if there are different transmission that I can use for this predator motor.
Any info would help thanks.
 
Well the only description we had was you had a go kart, so I assumed it was a racing kart. It is most likely a yard or rental kart, the gear reduction/clutch unit on these requires an engine with a 20mm shaft and it is shorter.
 
When you say Trans I have to assume this is the Honda wet clutch with gear reduction. If that is what you have they do not make them with 3/4" bore, and you will find that very expensive to replace. A good machinist may be able to help but that would not be cheap and it would have to be done properly. It looks like you are back to the Honda, Honda sells an undersized rod -.25mm you can get the crank journal turned down.
 
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