Lots of common questions below. We suggest you find someone with a cyclekart in your part of the country (that might include a plane ride to get there if there aren't any close by) and have a drive before making any decisions on upgrades over what the standard formula is. Make it part of your building journey and visit a friendly cyclekart owner. You will gain a lot of useful information and save yourself a lot of energy/time spent designing parts that aren't required.
There are plans and drawings available on the Internet, although we do not recommend any of them. Be cautious: many plans are drawn by people who have never built a cyclekart, or who built only one and never updated their drawings to fix the issues they encountered.
US designs use buggy seat springs with a large arch. A large arch forces the spindles to sit much higher above the axle’s base so the spindles are in line with the chassis rails, keeping the kart level. That extra height increases the lever arm and bending moment on the axle mounts, and also increases bump steer. This is just one example of a small difference a new builder may not notice in drawing until it is too late. In New Zealand, we can get custom flat springs made at Bellamy & East (Christchurch) that are much better suited to cyclekarts, which requires a different front-axle layout than the US plans show.
It is best to start your design from the inspiration car outward. Choosing the inspiration car first lets you match chassis proportions, wheelbase, stance, and attachment points to the body. Starting from a generic plan and forcing the body to fit almost always results in a cyclekart that looks like a go-kart wearing a shell. Designing around the inspiration car naturally resolves the geometry issues mentioned above — spring choice, axle height, and chassis layout all align from the start. This means the generic plan someone else is selling rarely suits your cyclekart.
Front brakes are not allowed in NZ events. The standard design stops well with rear brakes only, and simplicity keeps costs and risks down. In fact, many original pre-WWI race cars only had rear brakes.
Why we don’t allow front brakes: 1. Simplicity 2. Rear brakes work well with engine braking 3. Safety: Karts with front brakes may stop faster than others, leading to crashes 4. Overbraking front wheels can result in understeer or spinouts.
We hear so many ideas on how to "improve" cyclekarts by people that haven't driven one. The biggest improvement that can be made on the front end of the cyclekart is to use correct steering geometry, making the kart steer properly is more important than making it stop faster.
Consider this, some of the race cars, cyclekarts are modelled on, only had rear wheel brakes (e.g. Stutz 1915 Indy car, 1914 Mercedes indy car), these cars where considerably faster and heavy than cyclekarts, yet they coped in race conditions, your cyclekart will be just fine with rear brakes only, drive it accordingly.
It’s technically possible to adapt almost anything if you’re willing to invest the time, effort, and money. But is it worth it? Many people start with reused go-kart parts thinking it’ll save time or cost, but often find it easier to build from scratch. Reusing parts can introduce complications and compromises that add more frustration than benefit.
Yes. Some builders have successfully used hand controls. Devlin Martinsen and Kell Wood are examples—Devlin has brake and throttle on the wheel, and Kell uses a hand throttle.
No. CycleKarting is a hands-on hobby focused on creativity and personal craftsmanship. Building your own kart from scratch is part of the fun — it’s about solving problems, making decisions, and ending up with something unique. Kitsets would take away that individuality, which is one of the things that makes CycleKarts so appealing.
A CycleKart builder is only limited by their creativity and willingness to learn. The original inspiration cars we are modelling our cyclekarts on where riveted, bolted and screwed together, not welded, and they lasted very well. So if you think you can make a material work, give it a go. If you choose to build a steel chassis don't worry about welding, bolt it together like Meccano and any bits you do need welding, pay a welder to fuse them for you, it will be the most cost effective and better way than buying a cheap welder.
Yes, but they’re likely to be too stiff. A single leaf from a 1000 kg-rated 3-leaf pack is still around 300 kg capacity. Most CycleKarts weigh only 120–160 kg, so the ride would be extremely harsh. You can trim trailer springs to suit, but it’s trial-and-error and time-consuming. Custom made springs can be easily ordered from Spring makers in New Zealand, Bellamy & East in Christchurch or Archers Auto Springs Auckland, there may be other options that come up that we aren't aware off also. Just don't bother importing the springs from the US, the arch is really too big for a cyclekart.
Get a 3/4" (or 19mm) TAV AND motor shaft to make life easy. The common sizes for CycleKart clutches and TAVs are 3/4” or 1”. A 19 mm shaft is very close to 3/4” (19.05 mm) and usually fits a 3/4” clutch. Avoid 25 mm shafts unless you’re comfortable modifying parts or sourcing special adapters.
Thin wall 75 x 25 is unobtainium in NZ. Time to get creative! People here are using the 2-2.5mm wall 75 x 25 and making do, or drilling/cutting it on the inside to bring the weight down. If you go this way and decide to cut openings on the inside to lighten, you need to be aware of keeping dirt out of the openings to prevent corrosion.
Bevan's 1903 Mercedes used the 75x25x2.5 RHS.
Other options:
Realistically, use whatever you can make work. Others have used C-channel, Mike's blue Renault is made from 60x30 channel.
https://gittrevillegp.com/2021/09/12/vanderbilt-cup-renault/
My Rolls Royce Edwardian is being made out of an old treadmill frame 50 x 25 x 1.6. My Stutz Indy kart will use 50 x 25 x 1.2mm rectangle from an old garage door!
Kelly Wood in the US has made chassis from bed frames that are angle and box section. One guy in the states CNC cut all the parts out of sheet and welded it up to form the whole ladder frame similar to the real car. https://gittrevillegp.com/2021/01/01/chrysler-imperial/
Don't rule out wood for your frame rails, Brian in Christchurch has very successfully made three karts using wood rails, he strengthens the attachment areas with steel (I'm thinking my last kart will got this route).
https://www.cyclekartclub.com/registry/1905-CycleKart-Veteran-CK1905.45204/
https://www.cyclekartclub.com/registry/1910-Austin-7-CK1910.53239/
https://www.cyclekartclub.com/registry/1914-CycleKart-American-STUTZCK1914.48452/
Bevan built his JAP with plywood chassis, as he says the original chassis is wood with a heavy motor so in a CycleKart it will be fine (the original car had a 5.1 litre V8 Aero engine!).
https://www.cyclekartclub.com/forum/cyclekart-tech-forum.2/1913-gn-jap.67976.68014/#msg-68014
Yes. It works if you slightly tilt the cylinder rearward to maintain proper oil splash. Don’t tilt it forward, as that compromises internal lubrication. More info: motorbicycling.com thread.
Two reasons: 1. 🔥 Fire risk: Spark arrestors are required in some venues 2. 🔇 Noise limits: Some areas have strict sound rules
Feel free to run open pipes at home, but for group events you must follow the rules so we can keep using shared venues. Most stock engines already come with acceptable mufflers. And while loud straight pipes might feel more powerful, in reality that only benefits high-revving drag cars. Small single-cylinder engines actually need some back pressure to produce their best power. 😁
Check the NZ Build Guidelines first and talk to others in the community. Avoid rushing into buying parts or redesigning things before understanding how CycleKarts work. Visiting other builders can give you valuable hands-on knowledge that saves you time and effort. Start by choosing a vintage race car that genuinely inspires you, and let that inspiration guide your design. Many people try to build a frame first or copy a CycleKart they’ve seen, planning to decide on the body later — but this often makes the build more difficult and less satisfying.