Hi all! My 13yr old son just purchased this WildKart and to say the least we have several questions?
First, here is what we believe/think we know. LOL
We believe it’s a Yamaha KT100 engine? We did a compression test, and it has 120psi?
It has an L&T wet clutch 4 spring 3 disc that leaks really bad.
It came with an IAME spare engine.
We did get it running but it seems like you have to really wind it up high to get it moving and the clutch gets really hot after running it around the block once, I drained the old oil and just filled it with ATF per a video we watched on youtube.
It has an 11-tooth sprocket on the drum and an 80-tooth drive sprocket with a 219 chain.
Questions???
What year Kart do we have and is it indeed a WildKart?
Should there be a kill switch, it’s not a problem now as it’s not running great and dies if you don’t keep the RPM’s up but once we get it running better will this be an issue?
The ALFANO display doesn’t work it looks like maybe a battery plugs into the back of it, but we cannot find any info?
We are not racing this kart anytime soon it’s more for fun and we would like to make it more street able should we look at running a different clutch setup?
What’s the deal with the IAME engine, I can find no cc size info on it, are these good engines, it does have an electric start on it, would this maybe be worth trying to install in the kart with a battery?
Do they make an electric start or pull start for the KT100 engines?
If we stick with the L&T wet clutch, do we need to run their oil or is ATF ok and if so what type of ATF do you recommend?
I have attached several pictures and we really appreciate any help/info you can provide.
Thank you, Zane and Cooper Bullock
Could be a wild kart. All the ones I know of look slightly different. But I’m familiar with 2007-2009 models, based on the hardware it could be pre 2007 but definitely not newer than 2007.
No the kt100 does not have a kill switch. Kt100s naturally die when you let off the throttle and it gets below a certain rpm. You can adjust the “T” needle on the carb clockwise little by little too keep it idling if you need to, but as you get going from a dead stop it will need to open it back up. Especially with the pipe exhaust.
The bigger black T needle is the low speed. Turn it clock wise until it bottoms out. Then turn it back out 1.5 turns. Start there, then on the smaller L needle, repeat the procedure closing it off, then open .5 turns. That should get you going decently.
I don’t Know much about the older Alfano gauges
The L&T clutch is a great clutch. Probably one of the best engine clutches for the kt100 you can buy. Once you get the Alfano reading Rpm’s you can then see the stall speed, and then adjust the clutch to slip at a certain rpm. If the stall is too high, it’ll burn up. You could go to a 3 disk dry clutch setup such as a horseman hdc-5 or a patriot clutch. Slip the l&t around 9500-10,500
That is an IAME gazelle. 60cc engine. Pre-dates the popular mini swift engine utilized today. However it’s utilized on smaller cadet chassis for kids 8-12 years old, the kt100 with that exhaust configuration you have it makes more power than that older 60cc.
No the kt requires an external starter. Unless you have it direct drive. Which is not having a clutch and the drice sprocket mounted on the crank shaft vs having a clutch slip and lock up then you’d push start it. Direct drive is a blast…that is until you seize the engine…!
ATF should be fine if you’re not racing it. I would take the clutch apart and make sure the pressure plates aren’t burnt up and the friction material is good. If anything rebuild it with new disk and set the air gap according to l&t. As I mentioned they are properly the best wet clutch out there, but if abused as anything else, it will not work properly. Also if you’re not on a track or really getting to open it up, I would put a 10t driver on the clutch. An 11-80 on a kt usually meant it was geared for a long straight, allowing the clutch to lock up and stay locked up for a long period of time. If you’re in parking lots you’ll be slipping the clutch the whole time, burning it up in no time. It’s no different than taking a manual car and riding the clutch up a hill.
The Alfano takes a CR2430 or CR2450 3 volt cell domed side to the centre contact. Any 3v cell can be used suitably packed in place.If the cover is missing a simple piece of plastic screwed on will seal the housing.
This is an early model but the setup instructions are on the net.
The display should light up with the battery in and both buttons pressed for ten seconds or so.
There is a pickup front centre of kart which operates with a magnetic strip buried in the track surface to record lap times.
The rev counter lead is the one looped through the display housing and clipped to the plug lead.
Third lead is a temperature lead of some sort, cylinder head or exhaust gas temp.
Wow Myles! Thank you so much for taking the time to help answer my questions we really appreciate it. You have definitely given us some things to think about.
I’d just like to take a second and appreciate OP’s post. This guy knows how to post to a help forum. “Anyways, here’s a few photos” Proceeds to post 30 photos from every angle possible
Myles did a great job answering but I think we should note that it’s not advised to drive on a street with that. You should be driving on a track. Karts and things like car bumpers or immovable objects is a very bad combo. Even if you’re careful, you can’t predict every eventuality. Especially if you’re new to running it.
Someone had to be the wet blanket, sorry! But it’s nice to see you guys approaching this as a father son project. Makes it much more fun and a great bonding experience.
Couple more notes. The KT will rev high before it moves, because of the clutch setup. With that exhaust and clutch you’ll want it to slip to 9-10k RPM for best performance as Myles noted. You could lower the stall speed by tightening the springs inside, it just wouldn’t accelerate as well at lower RPM. You can get a dry clutch as well for a little less maintenance if you want, though not as durable. I always ran dry clutches when I raced KT, never had issues. But note that these engine packages aren’t made to putt around, so any clutch is going to get hot and burn up if you’re just driving around a street, as you’re constantly slipping the clutch. Everything is made for winding it out on a track where the clutch is locked up most of the time.
The KT was one of the most popular engines in the karting world for decades, but is no longer really raced anywhere competitively so there should be plenty of spares out there for relatively cheap.
TJ, Wet Blanket! . I definitely expected someone to mention about driving this thing on the street and I appreciate the concern. I realize this kart is less then adequate for cruising around the neighbor hood and I mentioned that to my kid when we went to look at it but he saw this and had to have it, he was able to raise half the money on his own and we covered the other half. We are new to karting but not new to HP, we do a lot of desert riding out here in the west and the kid has had an engine of some sort between his legs since he was able to walk , we raised him to respect speed and HP and the second you let your guard down it will bite you but with that being said I am definitely more worried about the other person then him.
Not to belabor TJ’s point, but karts (well their drivers) are particularly vulnerable on the road due to their low profile. Most deaths that I know of happened in karts on the street or in lots. Experienced drivers too.
It’s not even a question of experience or skill. Karts are plain just not suited for the bumpy and dusty nature of the roads. When things go wrong, even at a low speed you can find yourself with wheels off the ground, headed head first into a parked car. Guard down or not, it doesn’t care.
Ok…
There should be an identification plate welded to the rear cross bar behind the seat. Post a pic of that.
11:80 sounds like a tall ratio so the clutch is going to get a workout at lower speeds for sure.
James, Thanks for the reply. There is no plate welded on that cross bar, sorry I didn’t take any pictures. I crawled allover this thing last night and couldn’t find a plate or any numbers stamped in the frame anywhere?
We ordered a new clutch last night for it and took Myles advise and went with a 10T sprocket.
Thierry, thankyou for the reply and the link to the manual. I was able to find a picture of the cover online and see the tray you are talking about, I am going to pickup one of those batteries today and try it to see if the display turns on, unfortunately this cover does not seem to be available anymore. Maybe someone on this site has one I could purchase from them???
Hmm it may not be a Wildkart then. That’s where “CIK” chassis have an identification plate and I’m pretty sure most Willd karts are/were CIK homologated.
Other places to check are the bearing carrier brackets on the frame, also the area under the front panel near the front of the kart. It may be stamped in those areas.
I might be at the shop today, I’ll take a look at mine and see if there are any other areas that might be marked. I have an 09-11 WildKart
/edit… So after more digging I’m more confused than when I started on what the chassis is. My best guess is that the frame is a Corsa (Made by Haase) with Wildkart components… Notably Wildkart pedals, tie rods, stub axles and rotor. I have no guesses on what the chassis model is.
Wildkart (Italian) make complete chassis under their own brand, also supply a range of kart components under that brand and lastly white label their chassis for other brands. Lotus being one example.
Haase have always made their own stuff from what I understand… So that’s where I’m a little puzzled at the mix of components.
I don’t think it’s a Corsa. I drove one from that era and it wasn’t single-bend at the waist, and would’ve had bronze anodized components and different caster pills. Unless someone literally changed every component to WildKart stuff.
Are you sure WildKarts were all homologated? They had some pretty cheap models I thought weren’t homologated.
I’ll double check those areas tonight and let you know what I find. The kart is super clean and doesn’t appear to have had much use. We picked it up for $1,100.00 hopefully we didn’t overpay???
Seems like a good deal if you’re just looking to pound some laps for fun. Even if you ended up wanting to race it, you could still bring it up to spec to fit into the current class structure for a fairly reasonable sum. The Yamaha engine isn’t raced anywhere anymore, but you could just plop on a different more modern engine package and be ready to go if you wanted to.
, we raised him to respect speed and HP and the second you let your guard down it will bite you but with that being said I am definitely more worried about the other person then him.