I pulled one of the kids old yard karts around on the slab behind the shop.-a My thought was to get it running again to be used as a rolling
speed bump.
The carb was shot, it has terrible ground clearnace, and my other
solutions lead me to wanting to put an easy to ready analog tach on it.
Here is where my thought process is so far.
Intruder II 7hp Subaru EX21
Mostly about the EX21.-a I'm getting ready to swap over VM22 style carbs with high flow muffler on straight header, and there is no way to
connect the governor.-a This is background only.-a Not seeking feedback on that.
The engines are actually very low hours.-a We never let the kids run the karts unsupervised.
Looking to connect reasonably large tach to engine.-a These engines do
have a lighting circuit, but maybe not a proper charging system (dual
front lights on cart).
Looking at the cheap import CX8150 Tachometer.-a It looks like I might
just be able to wrap the signal wire around the spark plug wire and get enough induction to trigger the tach.-a I am wondering about powering the tach.
1.-a I'm not above just putting a couple 6 or 9 volt alkaline batteries
in series to power the tach (and gps speedometer), but does the unit
require a common ground with the engine?
2.-a What exactly is the lighting circuit putting out?-a Could I power the tach from that?-a The tach says the power input is 9-72VDC, but if the lighting circuit is unregulated AC that could be an issue.
Kids driving could easily over rev, but my kids are not kids anymore,
and I learned to drive by the tach myself growing up.
Yes, I know heavier springs will reduce valve float, but then you need a better CAM to reduce CAM wear, then you actually start to need a billet
fly wheel and connecting rod to prevent the engine from coming apart at higher RPM, etc, etc, etc...-a I think the easy answer is to just keep an eye on the TACH and if it blows it blows.
Intruder II Ground Clearance
The Intruder II karts have only a few inches ground clearance under the
axle sprocket.-a It's pretty well designed for fun speed and
acceleration, but its more a yard kart as configured than an OHV kart.
I'd like to get more ground clearance.-a Larger tires only works if you increase power or change the gearing.-a Changing the gearing generally
means a larger sprocket on the axle which takes back some of that ground clearance.
I was thinking maybe add an intermediate jack shaft between the CVT and
the axle.-a Turn the CVT up and my own back plate out of heavier aluminum plate.-a I have plenty on hand I make aluminum molds.-a Then drive an intermediate jack shaft with the CVT and axle sprockets, and got with a
much smaller one to one sprocket from the jack shaft to the axle.-a This gives me even more room to play with gearing if need be, and any ground clearance from moving the suspension or increasing tire size is actually available.
I know at that level of fabrication its "almost" worth just building a purpose built kart, but not quite.
I'm pretty sure there will be some loss from the extra drive hardware,
but I am already improving engine air flow with a VM22 style carb and a header.-a I'm not looking to change it from a 25-30MPH kart into a 40 MPH kart.-a I am looking at getting more ground clearance at about the same speed.
What am I missing?
I've got the racks front and rear plus a receiver hitch so I can take my
big trailer close then use the little one to ferry the rounds out of the woods .
On 2/8/2026 2:09 PM, Snag wrote:
I've got the racks front and rear plus a receiver hitch so I can take
my big trailer close then use the little one to ferry the rounds out
of the woods .
AS a biker I am sure you already know this but be careful when towing
the "big trailer" with a light vehicle like that,-a It can go bad very easily and twice as quickly.-a I have towed more than I should with both ATVs and with my ElectraGlide.-a It is an adventure.
On 2/8/2026 3:15 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
On 2/8/2026 2:09 PM, Snag wrote:
I've got the racks front and rear plus a receiver hitch so I can take
my big trailer close then use the little one to ferry the rounds out
of the woods .
AS a biker I am sure you already know this but be careful when towing
the "big trailer" with a light vehicle like that,-a It can go bad very
easily and twice as quickly.-a I have towed more than I should with
both ATVs and with my ElectraGlide.-a It is an adventure.
-a This will be short distance on dirt road - just across the creek .
The big trailer is a 5x8 utility , don't know what max weight is - I actually towed a pretty big load of firewood on it with the JD . Did
just fine until the hill got a bit too steep and it spun out . I don't anticipate that problem with the 4 wheeler since it's heavier and 4
wheel drive . If I have any doubt I can ride it home and return with
either the tractor or the SUV .
On 2/8/2026 2:09 PM, Snag wrote:
I've got the racks front and rear plus a receiver hitch so I can take my
big trailer close then use the little one to ferry the rounds out of the
woods .
AS a biker I am sure you already know this but be careful when towingPut brakes on anything that excedes 50% of the tow vehicle's weight
the "big trailer" with a light vehicle like that, It can go bad very
easily and twice as quickly. I have towed more than I should with both
ATVs and with my ElectraGlide. It is an adventure.
On Sun, 8 Feb 2026 14:15:14 -0700, Bob La Londe <none@none.com99>
wrote:
On 2/8/2026 2:09 PM, Snag wrote:Put brakes on anything that excedes 50% of the tow vehicle's weight
I've got the racks front and rear plus a receiver hitch so I can take my >>> big trailer close then use the little one to ferry the rounds out of the >>> woods .
AS a biker I am sure you already know this but be careful when towing
the "big trailer" with a light vehicle like that, It can go bad very
easily and twice as quickly. I have towed more than I should with both
ATVs and with my ElectraGlide. It is an adventure.
Put brakes on anything that excedes 50% of the tow vehicle's weight
"Snag"-a wrote in message news:10mbomj$2h1p8$1@dont-email.me...
On 2/8/2026 10:06 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:
-a-a Put brakes on anything that excedes 50% of the tow vehicle's weight
-a That may be a good rule of thumb for a highway application . But I'm talking about dragging a load of firewood a few hundred yards down a
dirt road to my driveway and the splitter next to it .-a Top speed MIGHT
be around 10 MPH ...
On 2/9/2026 5:20 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:
"Snag"-a wrote in message news:10mbomj$2h1p8$1@dont-email.me...
On 2/8/2026 10:06 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:
-a-a Put brakes on anything that excedes 50% of the tow vehicle's weight >>>
-a-a That may be a good rule of thumb for a highway application . But I'm
talking about dragging a load of firewood a few hundred yards down a
dirt road to my driveway and the splitter next to it .-a Top speed MIGHT
be around 10 MPH ...
Been there done that.-a In order to save money in college I rented a
vacant lot with trailer hookups.-a Then I hauled in an old trailer.-a It
was right at that dividing line between travel trailer and mobile home. Really a small mobile home.-a Hooked up to the receiver hitch on my 76
F150 it was pretty sketchy.-a I towed it at 35 mph for 70 miles ont he freeway.-a At a little over 36 mph it couldn't be steered.-a You could
make suggestions, but steering wasn't really an option.
Just so you know a stabilizer hitch would have cured the problem, but I didn't have one.-a I had to scrounge and borrow a draw bar with a 2-5/16 ball to tow it at all.-a I have used stabilizer hitches a few times
since, but none of my current trailers are tongue heavy enough to need
one on my 3/4 ton trucks.-a On a 1/2 ton, sure, but not on a modern 3/4.
On 2/9/2026 12:05 PM, Bob La Londe wrote:
On 2/9/2026 5:20 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:-aI think you're talking about what I know as an equalizer hitch . Got
"Snag"-a wrote in message news:10mbomj$2h1p8$1@dont-email.me...
On 2/8/2026 10:06 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:
-a-a Put brakes on anything that excedes 50% of the tow vehicle's weight >>>>
-a-a That may be a good rule of thumb for a highway application . But I'm >>> talking about dragging a load of firewood a few hundred yards down a
dirt road to my driveway and the splitter next to it .-a Top speed MIGHT >>> be around 10 MPH ...
Been there done that.-a In order to save money in college I rented a
vacant lot with trailer hookups.-a Then I hauled in an old trailer.-a It
was right at that dividing line between travel trailer and mobile
home. Really a small mobile home.-a Hooked up to the receiver hitch on
my 76 F150 it was pretty sketchy.-a I towed it at 35 mph for 70 miles
ont he freeway.-a At a little over 36 mph it couldn't be steered.-a You
could make suggestions, but steering wasn't really an option.
Just so you know a stabilizer hitch would have cured the problem, but
I didn't have one.-a I had to scrounge and borrow a draw bar with a
2-5/16 ball to tow it at all.-a I have used stabilizer hitches a few
times since, but none of my current trailers are tongue heavy enough
to need one on my 3/4 ton trucks.-a On a 1/2 ton, sure, but not on a
modern 3/4.
one for our 25 foot camping trailer , as well as a friction type anti-
sway device .
On 2/8/2026 10:06 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:If it's relatively flat, OK, but that load of wood behind an ATV
On Sun, 8 Feb 2026 14:15:14 -0700, Bob La Londe <none@none.com99>
wrote:
On 2/8/2026 2:09 PM, Snag wrote:Put brakes on anything that excedes 50% of the tow vehicle's weight
I've got the racks front and rear plus a receiver hitch so I can take my >>>> big trailer close then use the little one to ferry the rounds out of the >>>> woods .
AS a biker I am sure you already know this but be careful when towing
the "big trailer" with a light vehicle like that, It can go bad very
easily and twice as quickly. I have towed more than I should with both
ATVs and with my ElectraGlide. It is an adventure.
That may be a good rule of thumb for a highway application . But I'm
talking about dragging a load of firewood a few hundred yards down a
dirt road to my driveway and the splitter next to it . Top speed MIGHT
be around 10 MPH ...
On 2/9/2026 5:20 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:I'll bet stopping that rig even at 35MPH involved some" talking to
"Snag"a wrote in message news:10mbomj$2h1p8$1@dont-email.me...
On 2/8/2026 10:06 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:
aa Put brakes on anything that excedes 50% of the tow vehicle's weight
a That may be a good rule of thumb for a highway application . But I'm
talking about dragging a load of firewood a few hundred yards down a
dirt road to my driveway and the splitter next to it .a Top speed MIGHT
be around 10 MPH ...
Been there done that. In order to save money in college I rented a
vacant lot with trailer hookups. Then I hauled in an old trailer. It
was right at that dividing line between travel trailer and mobile home. >Really a small mobile home. Hooked up to the receiver hitch on my 76
F150 it was pretty sketchy. I towed it at 35 mph for 70 miles ont he >freeway. At a little over 36 mph it couldn't be steered. You could
make suggestions, but steering wasn't really an option.
Just so you know a stabilizer hitch would have cured the problem, but I >didn't have one. I had to scrounge and borrow a draw bar with a 2-5/16
ball to tow it at all. I have used stabilizer hitches a few times
since, but none of my current trailers are tongue heavy enough to need
one on my 3/4 ton trucks. On a 1/2 ton, sure, but not on a modern 3/4.
On Sun, 8 Feb 2026 22:44:01 -0600, Snag <Snag_one@msn.com> wrote:
On 2/8/2026 10:06 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:If it's relatively flat, OK, but that load of wood behind an ATV
On Sun, 8 Feb 2026 14:15:14 -0700, Bob La Londe <none@none.com99>
wrote:
On 2/8/2026 2:09 PM, Snag wrote:Put brakes on anything that excedes 50% of the tow vehicle's weight
I've got the racks front and rear plus a receiver hitch so I can take my >>>>> big trailer close then use the little one to ferry the rounds out of the >>>>> woods .
AS a biker I am sure you already know this but be careful when towing
the "big trailer" with a light vehicle like that, It can go bad very
easily and twice as quickly. I have towed more than I should with both >>>> ATVs and with my ElectraGlide. It is an adventure.
That may be a good rule of thumb for a highway application . But I'm
talking about dragging a load of firewood a few hundred yards down a
dirt road to my driveway and the splitter next to it . Top speed MIGHT
be around 10 MPH ...
coming out of some of the woodlots I know would put the ATV, trailer,
and wood ALL into the drink or over the edge even at 10 KPH unless the
ground was firm and dry. Had some close calls with the old Cockshutt
540 with a load of hay too
"Snag"-a wrote in message news:10me9gu$3be0q$1@dont-email.me...
-a Pretty much level ground except a short stretch approaching the intersection where our road splits off . Maybe a hundred feet of 8%-10%
grade . But that's only coming from the west side of the creek ,
everything on the east side is going to be using the yard trailer to
haul out of the woods to the road where I'll have the "big" trailer
parked . It's more efficient to haul small trailer loads to a bigger
trailer to bring it back to the wood lot to be split and stacked if the
area being harvested is more than a hundred yards away .
Snag
---------------------------
I try to add some value each time I have to move the firewood, for
instance splitting large wet rounds at least in half before stacking
them to dry, to make them easier to lift. Laying the splitter beam end
on the ground lets me roll on rounds too heavy to lift without strain,
with a small split piece as the ramp. I don't split them to final stove
size (the palm of my hand) until they go next to the house so they
aren't as tempting to steal.
After they dry they rarely touch the ground. I tow the splitter wheels
up onto car ramps and lower a camper jack under the beam. A heavily
built table goes behind the beam, a tub to catch bark and slivers under
it. Without bending down I can move wood from the trailer to the beam
and the split-off piece into a wheelbarrow while the rest lands on the table.
Between uses the splitter stores on the table and shares the same
valuable covered ground space as my shop crane. Here all roof structures need to be built strong enough for the winter snow + ice load. The trick
is also making them crude enough to lack tax value, so many are framed
with carefully joined rough logs resting on flat rocks and walled with pallets behind hanging HF camo tarps that blend with the small pines.
The corrugated steel roofing is quite flexible crosswise and conforms to roof beam logs roughly planed "straight" on top with a chainsaw.
On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 11:05:11 -0700, Bob La Londe <none@none.com99>
wrote:
On 2/9/2026 5:20 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:I'll bet stopping that rig even at 35MPH involved some" talking to
"Snag"-a wrote in message news:10mbomj$2h1p8$1@dont-email.me...
On 2/8/2026 10:06 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:
-a-a Put brakes on anything that excedes 50% of the tow vehicle's weight >>>>
-a That may be a good rule of thumb for a highway application . But I'm >>> talking about dragging a load of firewood a few hundred yards down a
dirt road to my driveway and the splitter next to it .-a Top speed MIGHT >>> be around 10 MPH ...
Been there done that. In order to save money in college I rented a
vacant lot with trailer hookups. Then I hauled in an old trailer. It
was right at that dividing line between travel trailer and mobile home.
Really a small mobile home. Hooked up to the receiver hitch on my 76
F150 it was pretty sketchy. I towed it at 35 mph for 70 miles ont he
freeway. At a little over 36 mph it couldn't be steered. You could
make suggestions, but steering wasn't really an option.
Just so you know a stabilizer hitch would have cured the problem, but I
didn't have one. I had to scrounge and borrow a draw bar with a 2-5/16
ball to tow it at all. I have used stabilizer hitches a few times
since, but none of my current trailers are tongue heavy enough to need
one on my 3/4 ton trucks. On a 1/2 ton, sure, but not on a modern 3/4.
the man upstairs" too - - -
... jib crane ...
After you described the jib crane I tried it, but my 3' x 8' box trailer is >too unstable, I can roll it onto its side by hand to fix a tire.
"Jim Wilkins"-a wrote in message news:10mfekn$3mqeo$1@dont-email.me...
"Snag"-a wrote in message news:10mfabb$3laep$1@dont-email.me...
... jib crane ...
After you described the jib crane I tried it, but my 3' x 8' box
trailer is too unstable, I can roll it onto its side by hand to fix a
tire.
A jib crane on a vertical extension works well for logging etc in my
truck, as much for pulling logs to the trail as unloading cut firewood.
I lift logs onto folding sawbucks to cut to firewood length, to spare my back from bending down with the saw and to keep the chain out of the rocks.
Tell me more about your folding sawbucks ... there are times I'd rather cut >logs to stove length after dragging them out of the woods Snag
On 2/9/2026 7:43 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:I ran my old mini (Morris 850 Mk 1) down a road allowance in the
On Mon, 9 Feb 2026 11:05:11 -0700, Bob La Londe <none@none.com99>
wrote:
On 2/9/2026 5:20 AM, Jim Wilkins wrote:I'll bet stopping that rig even at 35MPH involved some" talking to
"Snag"a wrote in message news:10mbomj$2h1p8$1@dont-email.me...
On 2/8/2026 10:06 PM, Clare Snyder wrote:
aa Put brakes on anything that excedes 50% of the tow vehicle's weight >>>>>
a That may be a good rule of thumb for a highway application . But I'm >>>> talking about dragging a load of firewood a few hundred yards down a
dirt road to my driveway and the splitter next to it .a Top speed MIGHT >>>> be around 10 MPH ...
Been there done that. In order to save money in college I rented a
vacant lot with trailer hookups. Then I hauled in an old trailer. It
was right at that dividing line between travel trailer and mobile home.
Really a small mobile home. Hooked up to the receiver hitch on my 76
F150 it was pretty sketchy. I towed it at 35 mph for 70 miles ont he
freeway. At a little over 36 mph it couldn't be steered. You could
make suggestions, but steering wasn't really an option.
Just so you know a stabilizer hitch would have cured the problem, but I
didn't have one. I had to scrounge and borrow a draw bar with a 2-5/16
ball to tow it at all. I have used stabilizer hitches a few times
since, but none of my current trailers are tongue heavy enough to need
one on my 3/4 ton trucks. On a 1/2 ton, sure, but not on a modern 3/4.
the man upstairs" too - - -
I don't recall it being a big deal, but that was a long time ago.
I've had a few adventures. Once I spent a long weekend hanging out with
a female friend and I had a dead battery on my bike. (A VT500C) Didn't >stop us from going places and doing things. She push started me every
time, and I just circled back to pick her up.
I once took that truck down a brush choked trail as fast as I dared
around multiple blind turns in the dark just to scare my passenger, and
when I broke out into the open she just asked, "Okay, did I pass."
Another time we spent a holiday down on the beach at El Golfo (Golfo De
Sta Claire). Our "beach buggy" was a 1984 GL1200 with a sidecar with
stock highway tires. It was terrible, but there was almost always
somebody with a truck and a strap to pull us out. I found if I could
catch just that right stretch between the surf and dry sand we could run
for miles as long as I didn't hit any sinks. A few times I pushed while
my wife road, but mostly we went where we wanted.
I once spent the better part of a day backing that truck out of sugar
sand 4 feet at a time with a piece of plywood borrowed from what was
likely an illegal artifact site, because even with all 4 flat it still >wouldn't stay on top. (That piece of plywood was up on some saw horse >covered in pottery shards.) At least I didn't have to walk. I had an
ATV in the truck that I unloaded to go "borrow" that piece of plywood.
I ran my trap lines the first year with a Plymouth Volare station wagon.
Shackled up the rear, and put an impact on the front torsion bars to
get some more ground clearance. One day after a rain down in the river >valley there was a thin layer of water over top of a mud flat. I had no >idea where the road/trail was, but the law said I had to check my traps >everyday. With the tires nearly flat it would stay on top and keep
going once I got it going, but turning the wheel did almost nothing. I >could nudge it a little, so I steered towards the breaks in the brush
lines (where the trail was known to be) by nudging it towards the random >bush here and there. When I'd hit the bush I'd jerk the wheel hard in
the direction I wanted to go, and then look for the next bush.
Another time out quail hunting right after a rain I came upon a fancy
jacked up 4x4 stopped in the road. I went around him in my station
wagon the same way. Took me between 1/4 & 1/2 mile to get back on the
road.
I haven't always made the best choices, but as a result I can drive okay.
Stopping an overloaded truck with a floating front end on asphalt with
all known stopping points probably doesn't even break my top 50
shetchiest driving skills. Driving it did at first, but not stopping.
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