I don’t have any costs of my own, even though I bought an ICC last fall. Just not racing yet. I can attest to what Marc said above regarding extra jets – just spent approx $100 for 7 main jets, 3 pilot jets, 3 needles and 6 clips.
The following quote from Tom Barth (Dellorto guru), Green Flag Motorsports @ http://www.greenflag.net found in his Dellorto tuning series at Ekartingnews at http://www.ekartingnews.com/news_info.php?n=2770
“Much has been written about the ?high cost? of the ICC. I don?t subscribe to this. From what I see, most damaged ICC?s are the result of improper carburetor settings, i.e. too lean! Burned crank big ends and scored cylinder walls are significant warnings that in the quest for power, the trade off is expensive rebuilds. That mentality pretty much destroyed the high performance moto market. Let?s not do it to the ICC too. With proper carburetor adjustment the ICC will perform at maximum until the required rebuild time.”
A California spin on things, the following from JM Racing newbie page http://www.jmracing.com/pages/newbie.html
ICC: Water-cooled 125cc motors, usually from Italy, especially built for kart racing. The carburetor size, ignition, electronics, pipes and internal gearbox ratios are homologated to certain spec and prohibit modifications, which keeps costs down. The engine is quite reliable, has around 40 horsepower and is fast right out of the box. In The Golden State My-Chron 3 Cup, we have a spec-ICC class, which prohibits porting. Therefore, keeping costs down. The Star?s of Tomorrow or SKUSA ICC class allow engine modification to the limit of the CIK. The weight for this class is 375lbs. The easy way to tell the difference between an ICC and a Moto motor is that the ICC the carb is at the front of the motor and that the water-pump is a separate entity, and runs by belts attached to the rear axel. The ICC class is the most popular shifter kart class in Europe and is quickly gaining speed in the states as well. JM Racing runs a factory ICC team in the extremely competitive Cart?s Stars of Tomorrow Series.
Motocross: Was the most popular class in shifter kart racing in America. The motors are motocross based, usually Honda, but also Yamaha, Kawasaki, Suzuki, Moto TM, Gilera and KTM. The motors are water-cooled 125cc with 5 or 6 speeds. There are two distinctive classes to the motocross shifter kart class, the open class and the spec class. The open class allows virtually anything as long as the motor is 125cc, is motocross based and has the water pump run internally. The spec class allows for blue printing but no porting, limits the size of the carburetor, uses stock ignition and has a spec-racing pipe. The horsepower of a stock Honda 125cc is around 32, 33, the horsepower of a spec Honda 125 is around 38, and the HP of a built Honda with all the bells and whistles is more then 46. This includes; an RS motorcycle GP roadracing piston, heavy modification to the casings, head and cylinder, a programmable ignition, 38 or 39mm carb, dual fuel pumps, racing pipe, etc. Now for that extra 13 plus horsepower, be prepared to spend well over $5,000 in modifications and parts. Also, be prepared to change pistons every few hours. The reliability factor in a built motocross motor is much less then an ICC, but the stock or virtually stock motocross motor is better. Again, it depends on what you want to do and how much you are prepared to spend. I.E. ?Speed costs money, how fast do you want to go??
If you want to race competitively in a growing class with rules that make sense without spending a fortune on mods and getting beat by a guy who spends the most money, we recommend the Spec-ICC class. For $3,295 you get a race ready TM package with pipe and carb. If you want to race at the national level, we recommend the Star?s ICC series. Because of the strict CIK regulations; such as, spec ignition and 30mm carb, the ICC class limits the advantages a ?tuner? modified ICC motor has versus a factory tuned motor; therefore it brings the driver back into the equation, not the engine builder.
If you want to play around on the weekend and like the idea of shifting gears and driving a little Indycar, get a stock moto package. Add carbon fiber reeds, a racing pipe, get some light porting and blue print to the motor and you?ll have a reliable 36 to 38 hp beast! With this package you might win club races, but you won?t win any national moto race. Or, you can race the many Spec Moto classes around. Be sure to contact your racing organizations for a set of rules. The Golden State My-Chron 3 Cup has a Spec-Honda class. Each motor must be built by Alex Sanner racing, uses a spec carb, pipe and the stock ignition.