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Old 08-29-2018, 03:34 PM   #1
bruce_leroy
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Default Yamaha G16E restore and build

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the golf cart world. I just picked up a G16E as a project cart. I have started tearing it down and am in the process of removing the rust/sandblasting the frame to prep it.

I'm planning on putting an ATV engine/tranny in it. I found a chinese 250cc ATV engine with tranny that I'm leaning towards but have a few questions first.

First, would a 16 hp 250cc engine be enough to get 35-40 mph? It's a 4 speed tranny with reverse and I want to make sure I gear it correctly to get decent low end for when I have a couple of people on the cart but still be able to do around 35-40 mph.

Second, do '88-'96 EZGO carts share the same differential input shaft size as Yamaha G16s? Both are 19 spline shafts, I wanted to make sure they're the same before I order the sprocket/spline.

And third, from my research it looks like Yamaha differentials have a governor in gas carts but not electric. Can someone confirm this?

Thanks!
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Old 09-04-2018, 08:18 AM   #2
Unforgiven
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Default Re: Yamaha G16E restore and build

First Welcome to BGW,...

What I know:(I'm not sure on the exact gear ratio, going off memory here)
G16E, electric cart,.. rear diff is going to be 12:1? ratio. Plenty people slap a sprocket on the rear but find out you will have low end torque but no top end. Where a gasser rear is 6:1 8:1 something around that. If you play around with your sprocket ratio you could see 35 45 easily. Don't know if I would choose a Chinese donor. My kids had a pair of the 110cc and that was a horror story.
Your cart is a lot heavier than that atv. I would say close to 3x.

My cart has a 350 rancher motor and rear axle. My Marathon was electric. I GPSed mine at 52. Added windshield, rear seats, It may hit 40 now. It's a handful at that speed.

Don't know if this helped just trying to save you some time and money.
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Old 09-04-2018, 12:37 PM   #3
bruce_leroy
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Default Re: Yamaha G16E restore and build

Thanks Unforgiven. I've done a ton of research and have moved forward with the project. I'll use this thread as my build journal too.

I have torn the cart down to the frame to address the rust. I have ground the rust off the frame and will be soda blasting the rest of the rust off this week once my Harbor Freight soda blaster is delivered.

I can confirm that the G16E has a 12:1 reduction in the differential. There is also no arm on the differential that is attached to the governor on gas yamaha diff's so I can also say there doesn't seem to be a governor on electric yamaha rear ends.

From my calculations, I'm most likely going to need to fabricate a jackshaft to get the right ratio for me to hit 35-40 mph. The front sprocket on the engine I've selected doesn't have enough teeth and I don't think there's enough room to shove a huge sprocket on the transmission to make up for the 12:1 reduction of the differential.

I have a zongshen brand motorcycle/ATV 250cc engine on order. The difference between them being the ATV version has a reverse gear in the transmission so I went with that. These are "honda inspired" engines that are very common in Asia/Australia. I've read their ATV's aren't the greatest quality but the engine is solid so hopefully my experience will be good. This engine comes in various flavors, I went with the overhead cam model which has better top end performance and more power than the pushrod counterpart.

The engine will be here in 2-3 weeks so I've got some work to do on the frame to prep it!
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Old 09-10-2018, 08:29 PM   #4
cfherrman
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Default Re: Yamaha G16E restore and build

It will get along just as good as a stock gas cart so don't worry, good enough to build for and have fun cruiser
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Old 09-24-2018, 08:47 AM   #5
bruce_leroy
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Default Re: Yamaha G16E restore and build

Quote:
Originally Posted by cfherrman View Post
It will get along just as good as a stock gas cart so don't worry, good enough to build for and have fun cruiser
I hope it will get along better than a stock gas cart! I've received the engine and electrical components. I bought a 5 gallon gas tank for a generator and have the radiator and jackshaft components on order. I am gearing it to do 38 mph @ 8,500 rpm which should be plenty fast for me.

I've cut out the rusted battery support brackets and removed all the electric drivetrain components. I used an angle grinder to remove the major rust and soda blasted the frame to remove the remaining rust. I'm down to clean metal again and will be welding in some patches over one badly rusted area and fabricating some motor mounts and jackshaft supports next.

Two of my tires are flat so I will probably go ahead and replace all four tires so I have fresh rubber all around. I'm finding its cheaper to get new wheels/tires than to replace just the tires on my current rims. Is this really the case? Amazon has a set of four wheels/tires for $160 while its around $50 to replace a single tire on my existing rims.
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Old 10-29-2018, 10:15 AM   #6
bruce_leroy
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Default Re: Yamaha G16E restore and build

Build Update:

New heavy duty shocks/springs were installed in the rear to replace the tired old shocks and stiffen up the suspension. The engine mounts have been welded in, jackshaft has been fabricated and installed. I welded a sprocket to the input shaft on the differential and have installed the 520 motorcycle chains.

This week I will be installing a clutch pedal and hooking up the throttle cable. The radiator and gas tank will be mounted and hoses will be installed. Hopefully I will have the engine ready for a startup test in a week or two.
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Old 10-30-2018, 12:27 PM   #7
TheNewGuy
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Default Re: Yamaha G16E restore and build

Nice clean work looks good so far.

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Old 11-12-2018, 11:54 AM   #8
bruce_leroy
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Default Re: Yamaha G16E restore and build

Build Update:
I made some good progress over the weekend. I mounted the gas tank, fuel pump and radiator. The gas tank is for a generator, it was the only cheap 5 gallon gas tank I could find that was nice and slim and had a built-in fuel gauge, all for $40 on ebay.

I was originally intending to gravity feed the gas to the carburetor. After mounting the engine in the lowest possible position I could, I found that the carburetor sits higher than the bottom of the fuel tank. I bought a pulse driven fuel pump for a lawn tractor on amazon for $7 which ended up working very nicely.

My first startup attempt did not go well. The pulse fuel pump was working nicely but I wasn't getting spark. After deciphering the wiring diagram for the chinese made wiring harness that came with the engine, I found that the wiring harness was all wrong. You definitely get what you pay for. I had to rewire the connectors in several plugs and fix some quality issues. After rewiring everything, I started getting spark and the engine fired up!

Next up- welding an exhaust system, fabricating the shift linkage and going for a test drive!
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Old 01-09-2019, 10:26 AM   #9
bruce_leroy
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Default Re: Yamaha G16E restore and build

The clutch pedal was installed and shift lever/shift knob installed from my M3. The shift linkage was made using 1/2" threaded rod and swivel rod ends.

I had some issues to work through before I could go for a test drive. First, the clutch plates were stuck together. I had to take apart the clutch basket and oil the plates down to get the clutch to disengage. Next, the carburetor jets were never sized for the engine. The motorcycle engine I bought came with a carburetor and was advertised as ready to run. When I cranked up the engine it wouldn't idle, I had to feather the throttle to keep it running. Going up to a size 30 pilot jet fixed the idling issue and I increased the main jet to a 115. I'll have to do some full throttle runs to check the main jet size after the engine is broken in.

I started with a short exhaust pipe and put a motorcycle muffler just under the seats. It was way too loud for neighborhood cruises so I fabricated a longer exhaust pipe and routed it out under the rear bumper.

On my first test drive I was having issues with my chain tensioner system. I bought some rubber chain rollers off of Amazon and used a tension spring to hold tension. The springs were too weak and my drive chain was jumping when I was trying to accelerate. The rubber rollers didn't last long either, they were eaten up by the chain after 10-15 minutes of driving. I have some nicer plastic rollers that were a little more expensive, hopefully they'll hold up better. I also ditched the tension springs and made a tensioning system using screw clamps. More test drives will need to happen to see how the new tensioning system will hold up.

I will be finishing up the body work, painting the body, installing head lights/tail lights and doing the electrical work soon. I bought a motorcycle tachometer with gear indicators that I will hook up too.
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Old 02-12-2019, 09:47 AM   #10
bruce_leroy
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Default Re: Yamaha G16E restore and build

Body work done, paint done, engine wiring done, headlights, tail lights, turn signals wired up, motorcycle tachometer wired up with turn signal indicators, headlight indicators and gear indicators hooked up. The windshield frame has been fabricated, the windshield was cut from high impact acrylic and tinted.

I'm working on fabricating the roll bar next and will be ordering new vinyl for the front/back seats.
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