Ok im new to the forum and have read the rules, but your going to have to bear with me.
I am only 15 here so money is tight, i am getting an OK first job so that's about 10$ an hour before tax, so not that much money flow to spend a lot on projects. I had a 1994 Yerf-Dog kart with a 7hp Techumpsa PowerSport motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )). It was terrible to get started, it would never start even when hot, and it would never stay running. There was so much frustration and dissapointment over 1 little motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )). I worked on it for like 6 months and it was just plain terrible. So i was thinking of purchasing an upgrade, a FL350. But it is pretty expensive, about 2600$ dollars. It is liquid cooled, with a newly upgraded motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) and a new piston. It has a new exhaust and it looks pretty clean. BUT i want to make sure this isnt another ol' cart story. I drop 2600 just to find the thing is a pain in the ass that wont start, wont stay running, and just frustrating. So my question too you is, are the motors really difficult and hard to deal with? AND i run my motors hard, what needs to be done to the motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) so that it doesnt conk out me eh? BTW we have had a lwanmower that starts first pull for over 7 years, yet i cant get a cart to run for more than 30min, and i don't put ANY work into it. So again, what do i need to do to keep it good and running, and is it really worth it?

Why not fix the problem your having with your current buggy then save your money until you can afford better?

Sounds like your having a fuel delivery problem what is the model number on your Yerf-Dog kart with a 7hp Techumpsa PowerSport Engine (internal combustion Engine motors run off electricity) maybe their is a service manual online?

the crat i have is not by any stretch of the imaginatio, a buggy. It wasn't a fuel delivery problem, i was getting almost to much fluid to the carb. So i rebuilt it and Badabingbadaboom nothin. i gave up on that motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )). And frame.
I am moving torwards new horizons now, but i have yet to find out what that could be....

Too much fuel will make them hard starting too.

Their is only a few things that makes a Engine hard starting they are listed in the service manual, all you have to do is read the manual and perform a few simple test, anything you don't understand just ask.

No offense but if you were unable to fix something as easy as the Engine on that yerf mutt buggy you need to buy something you will never have to wrench on or something with a warranty, a single cylinder carberated 4 stroke Engine is about as simple and easy as its going to get.

I doubt your having a problem someone else has not already experienced I would join a yerf dog message board and start reading/asking, get it running right so it will bring top dollar give you more money for the Odyssey.

actually in my defense i am a very good mechanic. The motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) after some digging is very unreliable. It had over 100DAYS for time on it. I checked the old Engine clock and it was to the very end of the clock. Also it is a chome piston, very rare, and very very difficult to do any tyoe of repair. I also had a buddys dad look at it who is a long retired(But amazing master mechanic) who used to work on tank motors and army jeeps as a head technition. Even he said it was old, and very hard to keep it running good. He told me that if i could find any parts, and these are just a few, a brand new carb, a new flywheel, a new piston, and a new cam. I literally had a junk pit with abs. no way of repair. If i had hunted down those parts, it would have been the baddest machine on the road :O hahaha
But i couldnt, nobody had parts, even modified that would work for my rare Engine.

SO with all of this out of the way, i was thinking i am going to buy the cart, and then if the motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) turns out to be a pain, i will put in a new motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) and trans from RPS or somthing down the line. But i would hope that to be alas resort!

SO you still havent told me, what is the story with those motors?

As long as the fl350 has been built right, it can be a very reliable setup. Water cooling is a big bonus. From there on, you just need to be sure to run a good oil mix (both quality of oil and good ratio) and get your jetting set, regular maintanance (you DO have to work on them from time to time) and you should be set.

My advise, take your time, do some digging on the website here, see what problems people have had in the past and how they solved them, educate yourself on these buggys, and you should do just fine.

I own two FL350 but just bought them recently. One has never been driven yet as I bought it late last year and the snow was flying up here. The other I bought last summer and run a few times before motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) blew. Privious owner had elec fuel pump on it and left the vaccum line port open and this leaned out the Engine. BOOOM. The second time it blew was my fault. Got cheap on the oil mix (Just did as I was told like a good little boy -- wrong thing to do). The sticker on the tank says 20/1 for a reason. I think these engines are good if you know what you are doing. After all they are Hondas and should run a long time. Mine are air cooled and I run them in the mountians of B.C Canada. This is a very good site for info, just look around this site. I used to run a formula racecar, won championships and track records and this kind of entertainment is expensive. Any motor (( Internal Combustion Engine ? )) sports are expensive, that's just the reality.
Before you buy one check it out close -- is it stock -- did some clown put an electric fuel pump on it? Why? What else did this monkey do to the machine?

don't worry about only being 15. I built my first 2-stroke at 9. Hoser is right you should take your time and look around/read up on stuff on this site. An FL 250 is more like a next step up from the yerf and is a lot cheaper to but and fix up. They are lots of fun. Or you can save up and look around for a good condition FL350. If you are jetted right and you run good 2-stroke oil at the right ratio the engines can be very reliable. But these are 2-strokes and do have to be rebuilt a lot more often than a 4-stroke would. I know that there are a lot of things that you can do to the 4-stroke Karts out there to modify them. I also have 4-stroke karts myself. They are modified and are just as much fun for my family as our pilot but in a different way. I prefer GX series Honda engines in my karts and they can get almost as expensive depending on what you do to them. I know that their are a lot of karting forums that you could read on for more info. One piece of advice that I will give is that if you are interested in any toy you should get a manual and read it page by page before you buy the toy. There are links on the internet for the odyssey manuels so that you don't have to buy one.

x2 on the solid reliability of the FL350R, as long as you have it tuned properly (fuel mix & quality, jetting, leak-tested) and have gone though everything mechanical and electrical. Plus some extras like EGT gage, water-cool conversion, and the standard list of "must" mods (CCB, exhaust bridge relief, piston cooling, improved air filtration) don't hurt. You can't simply buy someone else's headache and expect it to run perfect, either.

Look at it this way...they built the FL350 for only one year, yet there are still quite a few around plus there's THIS enthuiast site and a couple other smaller sites for these buggies.

All engines wear. It's how you tune it, what you do to it, and how you ride it that will preserve it's life.

Before you buy one, spend a few hours reading through this site...the CSI reports...re-builds, etc. See what people have had issues with...what improvements they've made...and get smart enough to know what you're looking at, what to look for, and be able to call BS on crooked sellers. They are plenty of hardcore enthusiasts on Hoser's site (this site) that can help you out, and they enjoy it. =)

Before you buy something, put some pics & info up here and you will get some fast support.