Winter driving with a 150cc go kart is not easy, we adapted a TrailMaster 150 XRX with skis and tracks. The tracks are from the TrailMaster Super Traxx 200.
The axle needs to be turned on a lathe to adapt the tracks to it. It also includes a keyway to lock the axle to the tracks. We use the original 14 teeth sprocket on the transmission and the 39 tooth sprocket on the axle, but it causes the engine to rev to high and isn’t working correctly. We did changes the transmission sprocket to 17 teeth and 22 teeth on the axle. To keep the tracks from rotating, we lock both together with 3 pipes across both tracks.
The skis are mounted to the wheel hub directly. We cut a 1/4″ thick plate to fit the wheel hub, welded it to a round pipe and added 2 arms to the skis for stability. We can changes the wheels to skis the same way you change a wheel.
The top speed is about 30km/h or 18.6 mph. We tested the machine in 12″ of snow, and it performs pretty well.
We still have a few things to do to make it better, cover the tracks with fender as the snow-filled the engine, and will eventually damage it. We will remove the 3 pipes across the tracks to remove the drag in the snow and find a better way.
Rear swing arm setup:
Pros:
– Can drive the machine at low speed for now until I switched the roller of the sprocket. The engine is not at the peak hp and can’t overcome the drag of the snow. By changing the roller or sprocket, the engine will rev higher and keep the speed.
– Definitely fun to drive in the snow and use the machine all year round now.
– Skis reduce the drag compare to the wheels from the first version.
– With the skis or wheels, the machine is easy to turn but need a bigger radius from the original all wheels set up.
Cons:
– Until fixing the engine rev, it’s not really a powerful machine for a 150CC.
– The engine become fill with snow and melt and turn in ice. Air filter and CVT might have problem eventually.
– There’s 2 metal bars going across to keep the track together and reduce the tree on the axle. Those bars drag in the snow.
– The machine is too low and soon the frame bottom up on the snow, you can’t move it anymore. Well, depending on your expectation and how deep you want to go.
– Don’t know how much stress it put on the engine so far, like CVT and engine itself. Might end up destroying the engine faster.
Next step:
– Raise the machine higher to clear deeper snow.
– Protect the engine from the snow filling it.