are 24" tires and a stock 295 a big no no?

[garredondojr]

hello guys just purchased a 92 marathon a few weeks ago and have been working out the bugs little by little. finally have it running fairly good but this thing is a dog. it will rev to the limiter in neutral but maybe only get's half the way on a flat surface and almost comes to a complete stop going up semi steep hills. compression was only 30psi before the valve adjustment and now getting 180psi. it has a 42" belt that is fairly new and plan on buying a napa 4098 soon. but am I asking to much from the little 295cc engine and the 24" tires it came with?

here's a list of things i've done thus far.
replaced solonoid
rebuilt carb
valve's set a .004"
replaced wires
new ngk plugs
1.5" muffler mod + bbq'd (was very heavy)
govenor tightened and linkage good
has larger mikuni fuel pump
air filter
syn 10w30 engine and regular sae 30 in the rear

don't have a gps but feel's like it goes 15mph at best and thats only on flat surfaces. has zero tq from a stop.

[pachanga90]

22" tires will definitely give better results.Keep in mind that in stock-form its' only about 11hp,with a flat power-curve.If you are looking to have a good Off-Road cart,either do some mods such as the clutches,exhaust,carb-jetting,etc..and drop to 22" tires,or Upgrade the engine(Clone,V-Twin,etc..).Hope this helps.

[garredondojr]

upgrading the engine is definitly out of the picture unless I can run accross a 350cc shortblock for cheap. and I'm not really sure if I could sell these mud lite 24" for enough to buy a similar tire in 22". then again I'm not quite sure how much of a lift this cart has as it has decent tire clearance for even the 24" tires. may look weird with 22" tires so i'd like to save that as a later option as well but may be my only option?

[garredondojr]

small update. figured out probably a big problem with my cart. the driven clutch never fully closed and I never realized the belt was supposed to go all the way to the top. so pulled it off and tore it down and found that it had zero preload, the ramps are non existant and the cam is gouged to hell.

going to order the ramps, weld up the cam, and buy a hi torque spring. this should really wake up the cart. put the short polaris belt on as well with little to no change but i'm certain it will be a different animal once its working correctly.

the clutch would fully open within the first 40 or so ft. think this explains why I have no tq. will update once its put back together.

[ncfenceguy]

I have a 96 with the 295 engine and 24 inch tires. It does fine on almost any hill and tops out on flat ground at 28 mph with the governor disconnected. It wont pull up a steep incline froma dead stop with these tires on it.

My cart started doing what your describing, no power, no topend, and I had to replace the driven pulley

[pachanga90]

Another option for Engine-Upgrade is a "Clone" such as the ones at Harbor-Freight.They sell new for under $400,Then you just need to build a mount and get a clutch-adapter kit,and a few odds/ends.Wish I had some decent 22's around,I would offer you a trade,I'm looking to go up to 24's!

[crryallcrwler]

i have 23 inch tires and i added the
secondary clutch kit
primary clutch kit
exhaust
jet kit and k&n
and also shorter belt you will gain every little bit and more back with those tires , after the primary clutch kit went it when i take off it lift my front long travel up about two inches