This is the Bolt Go-Kart Kit, it’s a collaboration between GoPowerSports and Build Break Repeat that allows anyone with simple hand tools to assemble a fully-functional go kart at home in a matter of hours, with no welding required.
Kit-built go karts have existed since at least the 1950s, and probably earlier. The biggest hold up is that they typically require welding and most people don’t have welding equipment, or welding expertise. The team at GoPowerSports joined forces with Build Break Repeat to solve this issue, and the result is the kart you see here – a kart that can quite literally be bolted together.
Above Video: This is the official assembly guide from the popular YouTube channel Build Break Repeat, they co-developed the kart with GoPowerSports and it’s now for sale.
The Bolt Go-Kart Kit
The Bolt Go-Kart Kit ships out in 4-5 boxes, and when ordering you can opt to include a suitable 212cc engine and a 12T Hilliard centrifugal clutch, allowing you to build a fully-drivable kart in one go without needing to source additional parts yourself.
The kart has a simple square section steel tube chassis with wheels bolted to each corner. In order to keep it simple there’s no suspension, just that which is afforded by the tire sidewalls of course. There is a single pedal on either side, an accelerator and a brake, and the pedals can be installed in two positions making the kart suitable for kids or adults.
As with most go karts, the engine is mounted to the rear behind the driver, and it operates the rear wheels via a single sprocket. There is also a single brake, a belt and drum arrangement for simplicity, and the kart has four knobby tires offering on and off road ability.
The kart has adjustable pedal distances, allowing it to be set up for adult riders or for kids, and switched back and forth using a wrench or socket.
The basic kit costs $1,597 USD, and the kit with the engine and centrifugal clutch included costs $1,746.95 USD – this is the version that’ll make sense for most people as it’s all inclusive. The engine is a simple single-cylinder unit with an electric starter and a displacement of 212cc, with 7 bhp.
If you’d like to read more about this kit or order your own you can visit the listing here. The company can ship to the lower 48 states, and they offer shipping to Alaska and Hawaii but they ask that you call first to get a shipping quote.
This go kart kit was designed from a blank slate, as an easy to built project that requires no welding – making it ideal for families to build together in their garage or shed.
Images courtesy of GoPowerSports
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.