2000 Yamaha G16 predator swap

[Jvelella]

Hey guys. Just got my first cart and planning out my build. Going to post up here what I have, what I’m planning on doing, and hoping to get some help as I go.

I just bought a 2000 Yamaha G16 gas cart. It was a beach cart and abused pretty bad. The stock engine is smoking, knocking, and 100% on its way out (good for me, made the cart cheaper).

I live on a golf coarse that allows your own carts but am required to keep it quiet they said. Truly not looking for anything beastly, just a decent cart that goes 15-20 mpg. Maybe more in the future. I would like to keep the stock pedal start also.

I have a decent amount of tools, can do light welding (not aluminum), do have a plasma cutter, drill press, etc.

So what I am planning on doing is getting a Vegas cart engine mount and a predator 420.

I’ve looked around here info on the 420 and the g16. Not finding that many threads. So was wondering if someone can either tag a few good threads or answer some questions. Here are some of my questions:

- can I re-use a lot of the stock parts for now such as the stock clutch, starter/generator, exhaust?

- What are some known things that would be required to change? Such as air box modifications or what ever.



Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance and hope to be a help in the community as I learn more.

[raydhd]

Look at the Vegascarts step by step installation manual. The G16 is probably the cart used most on the yamaha line with the VC single cylinder clone swap. The main issue for you will probably getting it quiet enough for course use.

[Jvelella]

I went through the install guide on there but it is for the 670cc. So don’t know what is different with the 420cc.

[raydhd]

Go farther down to the archived discontinued section and the 460 guide is there.

[Jvelella]

Got it. I’m guessing the 460 and the 420 should almost be the same on what is comparable and what’s not?

Also can I use the stock clutch assembly on the 420 shaft?

[raydhd]

The clutch you either need to buy a comet 780 for a direct bolt on or cut the crankshaft shorter and tap the mounting hole in further to use an adapter for the stock clutch. IMHO the only way to go is to change to the comet. P.S. With the stock engine used up how good can the stock clutch be ?

[Jvelella]

True. The clutch seems like to be one of the only things that appears to be newer on the cart so I think I’m going to go that route to start. Again not really looking for big power just stock or better but good and reliable. Maybe to the comet in the future.

What adapter would I use for the clutch? Any part numbers? Also any known threads on cutting the drive shaft/tapping it?

In theory from everything I am looking at on here. Vegascarts mount, predator 420 with clutch adaptor, some light exhaust fabrication, and the intake adapter with filter and I should be good to go to make it functional?

[raydhd]

CPP a sponsor sells one part#CPPCOL for $49.95

[slonomo]

If you use the Predator 420 you can just keep the stock air filter and exhaust that come with it. The stock exhaust is decently quiet, especially if it's under the cart and you use some heat wrap insulation under there.

Also, if you cut the crankshaft and use the stock golf cart clutch, you can't swap that out for a 780 in the future, the crank will be too short. To do that you would need to get a new crank at that point. Just something to consider.

If you use the VC mount and adapter, you might also want the VC starter/gen mount setup so you can use your factory starter/gen.

The biggest hurdle is the wiring and using the factory starter/gen and pedal start with the new engine. If you are mechanically inclined it shouldn't be too difficult to figure out. Wiring seems to be an issue on a lot of the builds I see. I think Vegas Carts does have wiring kits, or they used to.

[raydhd]

If you use the S/G the wiring stays exactly the same. The only item you need to add is a way to shut the engine off on a yamaha. You can do one of 3 ways to do this. 1 set the idle low enough that when you turn the key to off the S/G doesn't keep the engine running Option 2 is to use Sho's sticky with the Bosch 5 wire relay, Option 3 is just to add an additional kill switch. I actually use options 1 and 3 myself. When I first got my 460 running I drove it around with the completely stock S/G wiring set up and had an extended kill wire in my hand and just touched it to some metal to ground the engine and shut it down.BUT for use at the golf course and using the stop/start switch you could use option 1 or 2. Option 2 operates just like the stock cart where with Option 1 the idle is so low the engine shuts down the minute then the gas pedal is no longer depressed. Vegascarts has wiring kits for the 625 but never had one for the single cylinder clone nor there own VC 460. The VC 625 had it's own starter and charging system rather than using the stock S/G so a new wiring harness was needed to simplify installation.