What do I need to know before I start the engine on a new kart

I am about to mount my KA100 engine, sprocket, throttle cable, and battery onto my chassis for the first time. I have no individual karting experience, but solid mechanical ability. I took my engine apart and replaced the clutch sprocket because it was worn. Everything else looked good, did a carb gasket kit and cleaned everything so it looks basically new. (engine has 4 hours on it) My chassis arrives Monday, and I am a little bit nervous about making sure everything is right. I watched numerous videos about making sure the sprocket is aligned, mounting the engine, and those things. Is there anything I need to know before I crank it for the first time? Any lubrication besides the chain and clutch bearing? or anything I need to check beforehand that may hurt the engine or it’s components?

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Do you have premium gas and oil in the tank? Is the fuel all the way at the carburetor?

As much as we all like to hear it run, unless you will be heading to a track in the near future I would suggest waiting till you are ready to run it on a track. You redid the carb, and once you put fuel in it the diaphragm will degrade.

I assume you didn’t take your motor apart, just removed the clutch and carb. If you actually took the case apart I would be a little concerned. Otherwise, it’s fairly straightforward. Just remember everything is “live” the chain will drive the axle and everything is spinning. Make sure the chain is in line with the sprocket and driver and there is some play/deflection in the chain. Make sure everything is tight. A few things people sometimes overlook.
The motor mount to the chassis
The axle bearing set screws
Everything else should be tight but not Godzilla tight.
Since the motor was run and I assume broken in, it should be ready to run full speed. Make sure your carb settings are either where the previous owner suggested or as a baseline about 1 turn out on both the high and low. I like to prime the fuel line with a pump instead of using the engine to draw fuel. You have fuel with 16:1 2-stroke oil, IAME suggests ELF HTX 976 but other 2 stroke kart oils will work too.

If you don’t have the manual you can download it here https://iameusaeast.com/
might be good to review that first as well.

Good luck.

very good information. how do i use the pump to get the fuel to the carb. and the owner of the new track is inviting me out to drive the track before it opens around december 15th. when should i try to run it? i would like to run it a little bit of time before the 15th so i can order any parts if necessary.

and yes i just took apart the clutch, carb, and starter. why would it have been concerning to take apart the rest? is that bad to do?

i plan on running non ethanol 93 at a 16:1 with the 2 stroke oil for just my first session. don’t want to waste buying a 5 gallon drum of 98 when the track won’t open until march

Maybe…Taking the case apart requires new gaskets as any air leaks will diminish the performance. Save that for your first rebuild after about 15 hours.

As for the fuel pump, I bought a bulb-style pump at Tractor Supply and use that to draw fuel so that the line is full. I also use that to clear the line at the end of the day. If you are just going to be practicing probably not a big deal as you will likely need to change out the gaskets again before next season.

Where are you located?

I live in Benton Arkansas, 25 miles south of Little Rock. Arkansas is getting their first ever karting circuit. I have been driving the rental karts in dallas for about 7 years. I make the trip down every 6 months or so. And now I finally get to live out my dream of owning my own 2 stroke. So you think it will be okay to run it now and then replace the gaskets after I do my run in December??

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I say don’t over worry about it. Fire it up. Carb should still be just fine sitting for a few weeks with fuel in it.

I like to prime the carb before fire up, but it’s not totally necessary. To do that, unscrew the cap on top of the carb (flat head screw) while blowing into the vent line tube until fuel gets to the carb and overflows out of the loosened cap on the carb, then tighten that screw again. That just makes sure the carb has fuel in it, instead of cranking and cranking while you wait for it to draw fuel up the fuel line.

Then if everything is tight, lubed, and aligned, go ahead and hit the start button, holding it down while blipping the throttle to start. On the KA sometimes it needs to you to choke the airbox a bit while doing this. Do that by covering the airbox holes with your hand for a few seconds at a time.

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how do i get the rest of the fuel out of the carb when i go to put it up for a few months? just throw in a carb kit?

Yeah fresh carb kit if it’s been sitting with fuel in it for a couple months and it should be good to go.

Otherwise if you take the carb off and spray it out with carb cleaner, it should store just fine for when you start it up down the road.