G2 Advice Wanted

dirtdustand4x4 · 10-08-2014, 09:10 PM

I am starting a parts plan for my newly acquired G2 (1990). I would love some advice from the BGW community.

The direction:
The cart runs. I plan to do the usual tune up items to get it to run well like the air filter, fuel filter, fresh gas, oil change, spark plug, air box seal, belts, and rear end lube. I want to keep the stock engine for the time being but plan to do a big block some where in the distant future. I want to use the cart for off road dessert and dune driving with the family. The idea is to get the best use out of my dollars. I am willing to spend money on the right parts but love to rebuild and modify things on my own when it makes sense. I am a professional welder fabricator so mot much scares me but time can be in shorter supply than money sometimes.

The questions:
1. I plan on a Jake's LT kit. I want to run it at the 6" level. Can I get it without the rear parts cheaper and do the rear on my own? Any coil over specs suggestions for the rear?

2. I want to go larger on the tires but maintain usefulness with the stock engine. Is 20" a good compromise between added speed and lost torque for the stock engine? I would also like to run stock rims to save some money.

3. The Jake's kit adds considerable width to the cart. If I run a 7" wide tire in the front can I still fit it between the wheel wells in my full size truck?

4. Does anyone run a simple pair of jump seats in the rear? I can't bring myself to mount a giant rear seat kit. There seems to be a lot of extra weight and space spent on elaborate side rails and foot rests.

5. What are my odds on the sand with a stock engine? Is it a waste of time until the big block upgrade?

All recommendations are welcome, including common improvements I may be missing, or something you think I need bases on the direction. I want this to be a fun, reliable cart that my wife can take the kid out with. I want to have fun in it too of course.

Thanks in advance.
-Kevin

Mike Mac · 10-08-2014, 11:30 PM

I could only suggest you contact Don Plowman, vender on here.

smokindawg · 10-09-2014, 04:47 AM

I know you said time is at a prime so money may not be as much a problem as the latter.

That being said, If it were me, I'd build my own front end (Which is what I plan for the project G2 I've started working on) That way you can build the front as wide as you like.

I added 4" to the width of my G1 when I built my lift kit for it and it will still fit in the back of my GMC Sierra. But if I added another 3" I may still get it to fit but It would have to roll over the wheel wells and make it hard to load and unload. Plus I'm not sure at the height your talking it would then clear the wheel well with the floor height.

As far as sand, I can't say how you'll do with the stock engine. I have never run the sand but figure it's a power eater, so just a guess, but I'd say it will be pretty hard on a stock engine.

slonomo · 10-09-2014, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dirtdustand4x4

I am starting a parts plan for my newly acquired G2 (1990). I would love some advice from the BGW community.

The direction:
The cart runs. I plan to do the usual tune up items to get it to run well like the air filter, fuel filter, fresh gas, oil change, spark plug, air box seal, belts, and rear end lube. I want to keep the stock engine for the time being but plan to do a big block some where in the distant future. I want to use the cart for off road dessert and dune driving with the family. The idea is to get the best use out of my dollars. I am willing to spend money on the right parts but love to rebuild and modify things on my own when it makes sense. I am a professional welder fabricator so mot much scares me but time can be in shorter supply than money sometimes.

The questions:
1. I plan on a Jake's LT kit. I want to run it at the 6" level. Can I get it without the rear parts cheaper and do the rear on my own? Any coil over specs suggestions for the rear?

I wouldn't try it. Jakes makes a good product at $700 it's worth every penney!

2. I want to go larger on the tires but maintain usefulness with the stock engine. Is 20" a good compromise between added speed and lost torque for the stock engine? I would also like to run stock rims to save some money.
22" will work well if you use a performance secondary clutch, provided your governor is bypassed and the stock engine runs good.

3. The Jake's kit adds considerable width to the cart. If I run a 7" wide tire in the front can I still fit it between the wheel wells in my full size truck?
You prob won't be able to fit in the pickup.

4. Does anyone run a simple pair of jump seats in the rear? I can't bring myself to mount a giant rear seat kit. There seems to be a lot of extra weight and space spent on elaborate side rails and foot rests.
Jump seats prob aren't safe. The reason the rear seat kits are so big is because they want that platform for your feet and some side arm rests to hold onto. Without the foot rest people often fall off the carts. So it's a safety issue. Even at 10mph at the campground, people get hurt.

5. What are my odds on the sand with a stock engine? Is it a waste of time until the big block upgrade?
You can run in sand, just very slow. Even with a big block, you need lots of hp to run well in the sand. Power to weight ratios need to be very high to have fun in the sand. In a cart, if you aren't running 40hp at the dunes, you aren't having fun. Cart's are heavy, add two or more people....that's the killer....weight. Stock engines only put out 10-13 hp at best.

All recommendations are welcome, including common improvements I may be missing, or something you think I need bases on the direction. I want this to be a fun, reliable cart that my wife can take the kid out with. I want to have fun in it too of course.

Thanks in advance.
-Kevin

I'd go with the Jakes LT kit, some nice shiny wheels of your choice, and some all terrain tires of some sort. I like the Carlisle 489's, they are smooth on pavement and work in any terrain, including mud.

Performance secondary clutch kit from Plowman's will get you the torque you need to pull hills and gain back some from the big tires.

Clone engines will give you more power for lower cost, but the big power is with the Vtwin engines, prob recommend the Briggs 23hp Vanguard kit from CPP if money is no object.

A nice 5x10 trailer can be had for $1200 to transport the beast. I bought a used one for $700. Can't live without it!

If you want an extra boost in power, take the head off and mill it some to boost compression, then do some port work and jet the carb. Plowman's can advise on this also. He has some power kits avail and also does custom engine work. He's the Yamaha cart expert.

After you run that setup a season, you'll be ready for the big block kit. Save your $$$!!!!

dirtdustand4x4 · 10-12-2014, 11:22 AM

Thanks for the replies.

Ok, I will go with the complete Jake's kit for the cart. I am still going to look for a replacement coil over for the rear I think. Everything I read talks about how terrible the stockers are. Still looking for suggestions there.

I will have to find a way to get it into the truck. Maybe I can back it is between the wheel wells if I don't get rear wheel spacers.

The trailer idea wont work. I used to carry my old cart on a little trailer and it worked great. Now when we head to the desert I tow a car hauler with my land cruiser on it. No room on that and no chance of a second trailer, haha. Still gotta get all the toys out there though.

I am going to revisit the rear seat options later based on your safety concern. Maybe I can come up with a removable foot rest for the hitch or something. Over all length is one of my issues so it will fit in the truck with the tailgate up.

I don't really expect to be able to go duning with a stock cart, I have the Toyota for that. However it would be nice to be able to cruise the camp sites and make bathroom runs in the yami. I guess I will be confined to the wet hard pack at Pismo until I get to do an engine swap. In the mean time, I will hit up plowman for a clutch spring.

jmz · 10-12-2014, 10:30 PM

I have more skills and time than money :). most everything on my cart is homemade. What kind of compression numbers is the motor showing ? If low , I would start doing an engine swap right off the bat. :)

Signatures ???? We don't need no stinking signatures !!!!!

Bubba75 · 10-13-2014, 12:44 AM

I know that a stock G16 setup will fit between the wheel wells of my 1500, barely, but if your going LT I am pretty sure that widens everything and you are going to have issues. I haven't measured, but I'm not sure mine would fit now after Jake's 6" and new 22's.

There was a product I looked at years ago for my Polaris called a HighRider ATV loading system that might be an option. I did a search for it and someone has one NIB on Colorado Springs, CO craigs list for $500 (even though that is far from you).

dirtdustand4x4 · 10-15-2014, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmz

I have more skills and time than money :). most everything on my cart is homemade. What kind of compression numbers is the motor showing ? If low , I would start doing an engine swap right off the bat. :)

Signatures ???? We don't need no stinking signatures !!!!!

Ok, I got a chance to run a compression test on the engine today. I am getting 156 psi. Gonna stick with this engine for a while, based on that result.

I like the idea of wheel well ramps and that is something I could easily fabricate in an afternoon. I think I will use that as my backup plan if the final measurements end up too wide. Thanks for the idea.

Since the time money ratio is always an issue, I am going to buy some things and fab others when it makes sense. I am gonna go with the Jake's LT for now and modify if needed. I will make my own bumpers and roll cage for it since I have made dozens of them in the past for various vehicles.

Still lookin for rear shock swap suggestions in place of the stockers for the LT setup.

10-08-2014, 09:10 PM	#1
dirtdustand4x4 Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: SoCal Posts: 48	G2 Advice Wanted I am starting a parts plan for my newly acquired G2 (1990). I would love some advice from the BGW community. The direction: The cart runs. I plan to do the usual tune up items to get it to run well like the air filter, fuel filter, fresh gas, oil change, spark plug, air box seal, belts, and rear end lube. I want to keep the stock engine for the time being but plan to do a big block some where in the distant future. I want to use the cart for off road dessert and dune driving with the family. The idea is to get the best use out of my dollars. I am willing to spend money on the right parts but love to rebuild and modify things on my own when it makes sense. I am a professional welder fabricator so mot much scares me but time can be in shorter supply than money sometimes. The questions: 1. I plan on a Jake's LT kit. I want to run it at the 6" level. Can I get it without the rear parts cheaper and do the rear on my own? Any coil over specs suggestions for the rear? 2. I want to go larger on the tires but maintain usefulness with the stock engine. Is 20" a good compromise between added speed and lost torque for the stock engine? I would also like to run stock rims to save some money. 3. The Jake's kit adds considerable width to the cart. If I run a 7" wide tire in the front can I still fit it between the wheel wells in my full size truck? 4. Does anyone run a simple pair of jump seats in the rear? I can't bring myself to mount a giant rear seat kit. There seems to be a lot of extra weight and space spent on elaborate side rails and foot rests. 5. What are my odds on the sand with a stock engine? Is it a waste of time until the big block upgrade? All recommendations are welcome, including common improvements I may be missing, or something you think I need bases on the direction. I want this to be a fun, reliable cart that my wife can take the kid out with. I want to have fun in it too of course. Thanks in advance. -Kevin

10-08-2014, 11:30 PM	#2
Mike Mac G8 Specialist Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Phoenix Posts: 7,799	Re: G2 Advice Wanted I could only suggest you contact Don Plowman, vender on here.

10-09-2014, 04:47 AM	#3
smokindawg Gone Wild Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Missouri Posts: 2,755	Re: G2 Advice Wanted I know you said time is at a prime so money may not be as much a problem as the latter. That being said, If it were me, I'd build my own front end (Which is what I plan for the project G2 I've started working on) That way you can build the front as wide as you like. I added 4" to the width of my G1 when I built my lift kit for it and it will still fit in the back of my GMC Sierra. But if I added another 3" I may still get it to fit but It would have to roll over the wheel wells and make it hard to load and unload. Plus I'm not sure at the height your talking it would then clear the wheel well with the floor height. As far as sand, I can't say how you'll do with the stock engine. I have never run the sand but figure it's a power eater, so just a guess, but I'd say it will be pretty hard on a stock engine.

10-12-2014, 11:22 AM	#5
dirtdustand4x4 Not Yet Wild Join Date: Jul 2014 Location: SoCal Posts: 48	Re: G2 Advice Wanted Thanks for the replies. Ok, I will go with the complete Jake's kit for the cart. I am still going to look for a replacement coil over for the rear I think. Everything I read talks about how terrible the stockers are. Still looking for suggestions there. I will have to find a way to get it into the truck. Maybe I can back it is between the wheel wells if I don't get rear wheel spacers. The trailer idea wont work. I used to carry my old cart on a little trailer and it worked great. Now when we head to the desert I tow a car hauler with my land cruiser on it. No room on that and no chance of a second trailer, haha. Still gotta get all the toys out there though. I am going to revisit the rear seat options later based on your safety concern. Maybe I can come up with a removable foot rest for the hitch or something. Over all length is one of my issues so it will fit in the truck with the tailgate up. I don't really expect to be able to go duning with a stock cart, I have the Toyota for that. However it would be nice to be able to cruise the camp sites and make bathroom runs in the yami. I guess I will be confined to the wet hard pack at Pismo until I get to do an engine swap. In the mean time, I will hit up plowman for a clutch spring.

10-12-2014, 10:30 PM	#6
jmz Gone Wild Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Gonzales, Texas Posts: 585	G2 Advice Wanted I have more skills and time than money :). most everything on my cart is homemade. What kind of compression numbers is the motor showing ? If low , I would start doing an engine swap right off the bat. :) Signatures ???? We don't need no stinking signatures !!!!!

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10-13-2014, 12:44 AM	#7
Bubba75 My wife says I'm crazy... Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Central Ohio Posts: 384	Re: G2 Advice Wanted I know that a stock G16 setup will fit between the wheel wells of my 1500, barely, but if your going LT I am pretty sure that widens everything and you are going to have issues. I haven't measured, but I'm not sure mine would fit now after Jake's 6" and new 22's. There was a product I looked at years ago for my Polaris called a HighRider ATV loading system that might be an option. I did a search for it and someone has one NIB on Colorado Springs, CO craigs list for $500 (even though that is far from you).

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