A need for speed
For most boys, the allure of a go-kart is speed. Build one, find the biggest, longest hill with a (preferably) paved road, then try to break the land speed record. It's a basic recipe, but one sure to add salt and pepper to an otherwise boring show and tell on Monday morning. But being raised on a farm created logistical problems for a budding speed freak. Firstly, there was the issue of the hill. Our farm was pretty much dead flat. Next, there was no real road. Sure there was the track that lead from the front gate to the house but it was sandy and, like the rest of the farm, flat. Not the perfect recipe for go-karting.
As in most rural communities, adults and kids alike rely on ingenuity. Take for example the cocky gate. It's a gate made almost entirely of wire with a piece of wood as a lever to stretch the gate across the opening, and a piece of timber at each end to give the wire in the middle a type of frame. It's not the flashest gate you'll ever see, but gates of this type of stopped more mongrel wethers than you and I could ever imagine.
Which brings us back to the matter of how to get a go-kart to go fast without the aid of gravity. My go-kart didn't have an engine. The ones at the Esperance Show did. They were noisy and went around in small circles before your twenty cent ride ran out. Sure they could be made to go a bit quick, but for a family who couldn't afford running hot and cold water, buying a kid a Briggs and Stratton engine for a go-kart was not an option.
My go-kart looked fast. It had pram wheels on the front and back. The back ones were a bit bigger than the front. John made it so it looked like a drag car with a seat that sat on top of a long piece of 4x2 that joined the front and back axles. It was a bit flash - it even had coil spring suspension under the seat. These springs were scavenged from the Ravensthorpe tip where we also found the pram wheels. The faster we went, the more wheels we went through, so we were at the tip as often as we could.
So here I was with a fast-looking go-kart - with suspension - ready for speed. It was almost a case of being all dressed up with no place to go. Then we found the engine. Not a four stroke engine, but a four legged engine. Our family had grown up with horses. Ever since I can remember Dad has had a horse, or two, or three, or four. I always figured that Dad's life was perfect so long as he had a dog, a gun, a horse, and a kangaroo to chase - oh, and Mum of course. So John got to thinking that instead of pushing the go-kart, why not pull it with a horse. Great idea I thought. So he drilled a hole through the 4x2, attached a rope, and away we went.
Most people are aware that horses can gallop pretty fast. Most hacks can do 40 kilometres per hour easily. Now this may not sound fast in the family sedan on a paved road, but when you're a matter of 1o feet behind four thundering hooves, just 4 inches off the ground, racing across a bumpy paddock, dodging bushes and mallet stumps it's fast. Add to the equation a horse that was an ex-galloper, no helmet, a crazy brother in total control of the 'accelerator', and a 10 year old kid that got blown away in a stiff breeze, you had the recipe for some high speeds, amazing spills, and great stories.
We had no need after that for hills, or roads, or engines. We had the most powerful 1 horse power go-kart in the world. Mine was a world of speed, exhilaration and daring. It was a world most city kids could only ever dream about.
As in most rural communities, adults and kids alike rely on ingenuity. Take for example the cocky gate. It's a gate made almost entirely of wire with a piece of wood as a lever to stretch the gate across the opening, and a piece of timber at each end to give the wire in the middle a type of frame. It's not the flashest gate you'll ever see, but gates of this type of stopped more mongrel wethers than you and I could ever imagine.
Which brings us back to the matter of how to get a go-kart to go fast without the aid of gravity. My go-kart didn't have an engine. The ones at the Esperance Show did. They were noisy and went around in small circles before your twenty cent ride ran out. Sure they could be made to go a bit quick, but for a family who couldn't afford running hot and cold water, buying a kid a Briggs and Stratton engine for a go-kart was not an option.
My go-kart looked fast. It had pram wheels on the front and back. The back ones were a bit bigger than the front. John made it so it looked like a drag car with a seat that sat on top of a long piece of 4x2 that joined the front and back axles. It was a bit flash - it even had coil spring suspension under the seat. These springs were scavenged from the Ravensthorpe tip where we also found the pram wheels. The faster we went, the more wheels we went through, so we were at the tip as often as we could.
So here I was with a fast-looking go-kart - with suspension - ready for speed. It was almost a case of being all dressed up with no place to go. Then we found the engine. Not a four stroke engine, but a four legged engine. Our family had grown up with horses. Ever since I can remember Dad has had a horse, or two, or three, or four. I always figured that Dad's life was perfect so long as he had a dog, a gun, a horse, and a kangaroo to chase - oh, and Mum of course. So John got to thinking that instead of pushing the go-kart, why not pull it with a horse. Great idea I thought. So he drilled a hole through the 4x2, attached a rope, and away we went.
Most people are aware that horses can gallop pretty fast. Most hacks can do 40 kilometres per hour easily. Now this may not sound fast in the family sedan on a paved road, but when you're a matter of 1o feet behind four thundering hooves, just 4 inches off the ground, racing across a bumpy paddock, dodging bushes and mallet stumps it's fast. Add to the equation a horse that was an ex-galloper, no helmet, a crazy brother in total control of the 'accelerator', and a 10 year old kid that got blown away in a stiff breeze, you had the recipe for some high speeds, amazing spills, and great stories.
We had no need after that for hills, or roads, or engines. We had the most powerful 1 horse power go-kart in the world. Mine was a world of speed, exhilaration and daring. It was a world most city kids could only ever dream about.
1 comment:
My brother, John, has just sent me this clarification on the go-kart story.
The go-kart was made from drift wood we found at Masons Bay which is a beach about 8 kilometres from the farm house. There was a boat that had run aground. Someone had taken the motor out so we helped ourselves to all the marine ply. Dad used some of it for gates in the shearing shed pens and is still there today.
The Go Kart was dragged behind Flicka using a 40 foot length of rope. (It didn't seem that long at the time)
Not only did Peter have to dodge the clods of dirt from the horse's hooves, but also had to shield himself from the thistles that I galloped through. He did a great job in staying on. That was until I decided to turn a corner at full gallop. There was a big rooster tail of dirt from the back wheel as we started to turn the corner until the laws of gravity kicked in a over he went, once or twice with the go kart and another couple by himself. After checking the go kart was alright and Peter telling me off for going so fast around the corner he got back on and headed for the deep drains leading down to the Caravan Corner dam. I had to take it a bit easy other wise I would not have anyone to pull around on the kart.
Those sure were fun days. How I'm still alive I'll never know.
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