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Rotary GoKart?

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Old Mar 16, 2005 | 09:08 AM
  #1  
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Rotary GoKart?

Does anyone have one? Seen one? Want one? HAVE ONE?

I've seen Rotary engines for R/C airplanes one ebay and a 1970s VW Beetle with a nitris injected RX7 engine in the back but never a rotary gocart.
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Old Mar 16, 2005 | 09:55 AM
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I think mounting that much weight in a go-cart chassis would be a problem, the engine in my go-cart (nothing serious, just for screwing around) is just a little briggs and straton, like a lawn mower engine.

Now a 1 rotor engine would have ridiculous amounts of thrust in a go-cart, but it still weighs like 100lbs.
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Old Mar 16, 2005 | 09:57 AM
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well "if it was possible" and if someone wanted to waist a rotary on a "shifter cart" .... id get that **** on video,lol!!! ... have you seen the GIXXER cart vid? i think thats what its called, its the engine from one of the many streey bikes... its pretty cool... to have a shifter cart with 160hp is quite nuts and you gotta have ***** to sit that close to the ground with that much power under ya... considering most go carts at you local track have about 6hp and are tuned way down to keep all the little children from killing eachother
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Old Mar 16, 2005 | 11:50 AM
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here ya go

http://www.swissrocketman.com/ete10
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Old Mar 16, 2005 | 12:08 PM
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^^ Thats nuts!

So kick ***!
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Old Mar 16, 2005 | 01:16 PM
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Mid-West Engines in the UK make a 300cc rotary that is used in go-karts, from what i remember it makes about 58hp n/a and weights about 60lb.

We also have an older version of this motor in our formula car, we are hoping to get about 70-80 hp from this little 42lb engine (with turbo) and CVT transmission.
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Old Mar 16, 2005 | 01:19 PM
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That's Freakin' Sweet!!
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Old Mar 16, 2005 | 01:21 PM
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Question

Originally Posted by couturemarc
Mid-West Engines in the UK make a 300cc rotary that is used in go-karts, from what i remember it makes about 58hp n/a and weights about 60lb.

We also have an older version of this motor in our formula car, we are hoping to get about 70-80 hp from this little 42lb engine (with turbo) and CVT transmission.
Mid-West Page is nota available any more, do you know about other page where I can see a Go kart with rotary engine...???
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Old Mar 16, 2005 | 04:47 PM
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Jee-zuzz, that's not a go-kart. That's a ******* catapult.

The Sachs air-cooled single rotor manufactured in the '70s was used primarily in snowmobiles, but also in go-karts. This engine was 303cc and made 19.5 hp @ 5000 rpm. I've seen photos but have no links at present.
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Old Mar 16, 2005 | 05:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Killer Bee Fan
Mid-West Page is nota available any more, do you know about other page where I can see a Go kart with rotary engine...???
All true. MidWest engines was bought out by Bombardier, makers of the Rotax 912S and 914 aircraft engines.

The MidWest engine was overpriced and therefore didn't sell well enough to Keep MidWest out of the red, but the ones that did sell were proving to be a viable alternative to the Rotax engines since the MidWest engine was also being used in aircraft--- so Rotax (Bombardier) bought them out.

It would be nice if Bombardier would take the ball and run with it, making this engine available for a reasonable price. But my more cynical instinct tells me that they intend to mothball it to keep it from creating any competition for their crown jewels, the 912S and 914.
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Old Mar 21, 2005 | 07:43 PM
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Last i've heard, the Mid-West engine was very expensive, 10,000 pounds in 2000 when i last talked to them.

At the time, I was looking for an engine that size and ended up buying a dozen or so of the sachs engines, the 294cc versions. I have dyno'ed these to 22hp and 20 ft-lb with a redline of about 9500 rpm on a fully stock motor.

With a few mods this motor has put out about 48hp and I project i could make about 75hp with a moderate forced induction system.

The best option is the Moller engines. These will soon be available in a wide variety of sizes for many applications... possibly even a retro fit for mazdas! I'm pretty sure they bought the tooling and rights from OMC a while back. In priciple, the engine operates in much the same way as the Mid-West and Sachs engines.
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Old Mar 21, 2005 | 09:12 PM
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Originally Posted by couturemarc

Last i've heard, the Mid-West engine was very expensive, 10,000 pounds in 2000 when i last talked to them.

Yup. That's why they sold so few of them and couldn't stay out of the red. That's why they sold to Bombardier.

...sachs engines, the 294cc versions. I have dyno'ed these to 22hp and 20 ft-lb with a redline of about 9500 rpm on a fully stock motor. With a few mods this motor has put out about 48hp and I project i could make about 75hp with a moderate forced induction system.

With an output of 75hp this engine would be a very good choice for an ultralight or small sport plane, assuming the cooling issues were properly addressed. What mods did you perform? I'm guessing you got rid of that big-*** fan and used some form of heat exchanger for the charge cooling after it exited the engine center and prior to entering the intake port?

The best option is the Moller engines. These will soon be available in a wide variety of sizes for many applications... possibly even a retro fit for mazdas! I'm pretty sure they bought the tooling and rights from OMC a while back. In priciple, the engine operates in much the same way as the Mid-West and Sachs engines.


I sure wish I could share your optimism regarding Moller. They've been taking deposits and grants for eons and making promise after promise without delivering the goods. I'll believe it when I see it but here's hoping.
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Old Mar 21, 2005 | 09:23 PM
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Didn't Suzuki or one the Jap bike co.'s make a rotory back in the '70's?
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Old Mar 21, 2005 | 09:37 PM
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Originally Posted by jgrewe
Didn't Suzuki or one the Jap bike co.'s make a rotory back in the '70's?
Yes.
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Old Mar 22, 2005 | 11:02 AM
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again, here ya go

http://www.suzukicycles.org/RE5/RE5-Rotary.shtml

if u ask, they will search for you. i use google and typed "suzuki re5"

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...&category=6027

Last edited by rxtasy3; Mar 22, 2005 at 11:06 AM.
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