Shifter kart info (separated from the picture thread)

Sami
Sami Posts: 4,634
edited August 2007 in The Clubhouse
It's a 2 stroke 125cc 6 speed shifter kart. With the right straight and gears it will go 120mph+. ~40hp Honda dirt bike engine. I got two of those yesterday, one complete and the other one is missing an engine.

These are all the pix I have so far but I will get some more there soon:
http://flickr.com/photos/sami_kallio/sets/72157601219525509/

It's basically like this one (although they are not street legal to drive):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwYXabC_8wM

This is the track close to us that we'll mainly be riding at. You might have to "right click - save as" this one:
http://ntkarters.com/multimedia/125cc_768.wmv
BaggedLancer wrote: »
good lord that looks like fun. So your saying something like a 750 or 900cc motorcycle engine would be no good on one of those? I don't think ill be racing it, i just wanna buzz around the neighborhood, maybe go to the convienence store and get some milk or something with it.

EDIT: I gotta be able to light up the tires.... :D

Well, one of those would be a nice toy but they would have a lot of problems associated with them, one big one would be safety. Too much speed, too much power for the chassis and brakes etc. If you want to get one, get a 125cc kart and if that's not fast enough (I doubt that) then try a 250cc. After those, if you're not satisfied yet, I would research something more powerful but I really don't think you'll need one right away. Even the 125cc might be too fast at first, there aren't many drivers that could take it to full speed at track on their first session unless they are experienced race car drivers.

And don't get one to drive on the public roads, take a look at the tracks available in area near to you, that's where they belong and that's where you will have most fun with them.
Post edited by Sami on
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Comments

  • michael_w
    michael_w Posts: 2,813
    edited August 2007
    Do they run off an alcohol mix? What kind of maintenance do they require (like how two cycle bikes require a rebuild every **** hours)?
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited August 2007
    110 octane + 2 stroke oil mix. These 125cc engines are fairly low maintenance, until you start modifying them for maximum power. You spend most of your money on tires and gas.

    Right now I'm just running them for fun, if my son gets serious about racing them when he grows older then we'll look into more seriously into this hobby.
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  • Mazeroth
    Mazeroth Posts: 1,585
    edited August 2007
    I was looking into starting up racing karts a year ago but decided I should wait until we bought a house and had more money. Well, we move into our house at the end of the month so who knows when I'll get my first kart! :D

    I remember being shocked to find out the headquarters for the organization is located 2 miles from where I live. Sami, do you have the name of the organization as I kind of lost it! Also, can you recommend a good starter kart?
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  • michael_w
    michael_w Posts: 2,813
    edited August 2007
    That looks ridiculously fun. I've been in just normal slo-poke go carts and they're really fun but I can't imagine that extra speed you'd get with a shifter cart. Are track fees usually pretty reasonable?
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited August 2007
    Mazeroth, any of these?

    http://ntkarters.com/links.php

    Michael, our local track charges $300 for annual membership, it's "drive all you want" type of deal (excluding races which are extra).
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  • BaggedLancer
    BaggedLancer Posts: 6,371
    edited August 2007
    seems like this would make a great winter project. I hate buying things like toys all assembled and always like adding a little twist on things myself.

    I'd really be interested in doing a motorcycle engine, key start ignition, chain driven, something I can really burn the rubber on the street with. I wonder if there is anyway to make these street legal like with mopeds? Just add some turn signals, brake lights, headlights, etc.

    I know for a fact I wouldn't want to compete, just need a toy to go for a quick spin on.
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited August 2007
    Mazeroth wrote: »
    Also, can you recommend a good starter kart?

    KT100 perhaps?

    This should be fairly close to you:
    http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Margay-Brava-1-chassis-with-Yamaha-KT100-Can_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ46105QQihZ010QQitemZ200135571334QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW
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  • Mazeroth
    Mazeroth Posts: 1,585
    edited August 2007
    I found it:

    http://www.tsracing.com/newkarter/organizations.htm

    It's Stars of Karting in Hilliard, OH, which is the city I live in. I thought it was a large organization but I could be wrong :p
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited August 2007
    It's probably a local organization, just like North Texas Karters is for me. They seem to have good info on difference classes. If you're new to racing I would definitely check out the KT100 I posted link to (it ends in 3 hours or so and is currently a little over $1000) in Indy. If you're more experienced than simple go-cart at your local game hall, go with a 125cc shifter. I think those TaG karts are pretty new thing and hard to find at reasonable used prices.

    http://www.tsracing.com/newkarter/costs.htm
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited August 2007
    Daaaaaang, that would be a BLAST!

    What's the tranny like? A 6-speed? That's sweet! Do you have a clutch you have to operate? Paddle shift?

    Just as a general ballpark, what does maintenance usually cost for a year (for tires and gas)?

    Man, that is insane! I would love to have one of those! Don't know if there's a track around here or not, though.
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited August 2007
    Clutch only when on 1st gear and sitting at start line, otherwise it's clutchless action (sequential gearbox like motorcycles have). The gold colour knob is the shifter, although you can built paddle shifters easily, just need a motor for the action.

    Tires and gas, that depends on how much you run them. I don't really have any estimate on current costs as I just got the karts. $200-300 for a set of tires and maybe 3-4 sets per year, plus 110 octane gas. Considering that even 15 min session is a lot of physical exercise, you don't run these hours and hours at times so it's not really that much money. When you start touring the races seriously then it gets much more expensive but as a hobby it's relatively cheap.

    Concord, NC: http://www.karttv.com/track-concord.html

    http://www.na-motorsports.com/Tracks/NC/index.html#OutdoorKartTracks
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited August 2007
    Hey, Mazeroth, did you end up getting the KT100? :)

    Winning bid: US $1,050.01
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  • Mazeroth
    Mazeroth Posts: 1,585
    edited August 2007
    Sami wrote: »
    Hey, Mazeroth, did you end up getting the KT100? :)

    Winning bid: US $1,050.01

    Nah, I couldn't bid on it. We're closing on our house at the end of the month and made an oath to each other that we'd cut back on spending and try to save save save. No way I could justify $1000 to her.

    Maybe next year!
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited August 2007
    Is the silver lever on the left side of the steering wheel the clutch? At first glance I assumed it was a paddle for paddle shifting; didn't notice it didn't have one on the other side, too.

    Thanks for the info and the link, sami.
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
    In Use
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    Klipsch RF-82ii, RC-62ii, RS-42ii, RW-10d
    Epson 8700UB
    In Storage
    [Home Audio]
    Rotel RCD-02, Yamaha KX-W900U, Sony ST-S500ES, Denon DP-7F
    Pro-Ject Phono Box MKII, Parasound P/HP-850, ASL Wave 20 monoblocks
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  • PolkThug
    PolkThug Posts: 7,532
    edited August 2007
    Kart Vader is my hero.

    Kart Vader Vids
    Never Forget
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited August 2007
    audiobliss wrote: »
    Is the silver lever on the left side of the steering wheel the clutch?
    Yes, it is.
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited August 2007
    Here's a short video of last night, not quite KartVader style but it's was our first outing. I'm the guy with the white shirt, I start driving around halfway on the video.

    http://www.koutelo.net/GoGoKartti.avi
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  • michael_w
    michael_w Posts: 2,813
    edited August 2007
    Just me or is the link dead? Comes up as a 1kb movie.
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  • Sami
    Sami Posts: 4,634
    edited August 2007
    michael_w wrote: »
    Just me or is the link dead? Comes up as a 1kb movie.

    Seems to be working for me. Lousy compression though, it's 3min and 80MB. I'll get it to better format once I get home and post somewhere else.
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  • michael_w
    michael_w Posts: 2,813
    edited August 2007
    Maybe just firefox? If I go to http://www.koutelo.net/ I can get it from there. Look forward to seeing this :)

    Is the mp4 version the same thing / better compression?
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  • michael_w
    michael_w Posts: 2,813
    edited August 2007
    Cool video. This might just open up another money pit hobby for me :p . I think I'm going to check out the local tracks and see what they have to offer.
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