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Newby to karts, finished restoring Markay Cheetah, sourced a MC93 engine. It has the pulley mount for starting. What is the most reliable way to start these. Seen the chainsaw belt starters but that seems a little spoty. There was a post for a hand held but parts sourcing was absent. Any help, suggestions or suppliers would be greatly appreciated. The pulley is in board so no room to convert to starter nut style. Should I just source pull start recoil?

Many thanks for taking the time to respond.

Scott, you CAN start a '91 with a recoil starter, but it can really be a chore. There are often electric belt starters on eBay and other forums. Either a hand held, or the more common one with starter and battery on a two wheeled cart BE SURE THE ROTATION IS CORRECT for your engine!! The better way is to source a clutch nut that has a hex on it so you can use a hand held "stick" starter such as one from Coleman. These are easy and reliable. You can then start from outside the wheel, plug in your socket and have at it. Google Coleman Kart starters and talk to Brad Coleman, or go on the various kart suppliers like Comet Kart Sales. REMEMBER, when you order, make sure the starter is spinning the engine the right direction. I have used Coleman for years with no issues. I hope this number is still good for Coleman. Ted Johnson

Brad Coleman
Coleman starters
thebeststarters@yahoo.com
Coleman Products
1708 Willox Court
Fort Collins, CO 80524
970 482-5385

Scott,

Motor is on the right side of the kart while seated, correct ?

R.E.A.R.

Correct motor is on the right side, I did not realize you could spin it on the clutch side, many thx!

Scott, the "stick" starters are very easy and convenient to use, but a good one, such as Coleman, has a way to screw or otherwise retain the starter socket. It's no fun chasing a socket fifty feet down the pits! Ted

This is depending on who is starting you.

If you use the wayback machine we did an article on building a gear reduction starter from a Honda Prelude but it was lost in a changeover.

Belt;
Pro / Easy, simple, cheap, small hand leld is fine.
Con / carts are bulky, combersom and if used improperly puts a big side load on the main bearing of the engine.

Self contained hex drive;
Pro / small, lighter gear reduction gives plenty of torque
Con / cost, if driver or person starting is not paying attention it's easy to snap the end off a crank.

I have both. Sometimes there is just not room for a pully next to a seat.

Rob, that was the reason I bought the "Siamese" Coleman. If I had kept the duals on the Van Tech, I'd have needed to start them both from outside of the kart. There was JUST enough room between engines to get a belt in there, but it was a bit dicey getting the belt out after starting the right side engine. If I had kept the setup, I'd have found a pair of clutches with starter nuts to replace the Norams I had on there. Ted