Welcome to karting!
There are four 6-speed shifter classes in Colorado:
125 Shifter – ICC and built moto engines, age 16+
125 Shifter Masters – ICC and built moto, age 35+
Stock Honda – stock Honda engines only, age 16+
Stock Honda Masters – stock Honda engines only, age 35+
If you’re dead set on getting a shifter, I would strongly recommend the Stock Honda class. This is for two main reasons: 1) the reliability, cost, and performance are very good and 2) it is a very rapidly growing class, whereas ICC shifter classes are shrinking. ICC is your other main option for a 6-speed shifter (there are also some older built moto engines out there, but they aren’t competitive against the ICCs). These engines require substantially more maintenance than a stock Honda and are therefore generally more expensive to run.
Another option you should definitely consider is the Rotax DD2. It is a 125cc, 2-speed engine package, and depending on the track, is either slightly slower than or slightly faster than a stock Honda package. Cost is similar. However, the DD2 requires much less maintenance than pretty much any other engine package currently used in karting (and we mostly use pretty reliable engines these days). It has all the long life characteristics of the Rotax TaG engine but does not have a chain (the axle runs through the engine and is driven using a splined hub), which is the primary maintenance point on a TaG. The other big difference is in a full-fledged 6-speed shifter, the ride is fairly brutal because of the ridiculous amount of torque. In a DD2, the power goes down very smoothly, which translates to a lot less abuse on your body. I’m not kidding when I say I’ve come off the track in my shifter with half a dozen severe bruises. That won’t happen in a DD2. Other positives to the DD2 include a sealed engine that can only be worked on by authorized service centers, which prevents people from cheating, and a 1 year warranty on the engine. Rotax engines are the only engines in karting that have a warranty!
And then, of course, there’s TaG. If you want to truly learn how to drive, get a TaG. A shifter can mask a lot of bad habits. If you slide sideways a little in a shifter, you can simply drop a gear and get most of it back. Maybe one guy will pass you. If you slide it in a TaG, five guys will pass you. The ability to drive smoothly is certainly important in a shifter as well (and all the fastest guys in shifters are very smooth drivers), but it’s much more difficult to learn when you have all that torque at your disposal to mask driving mistakes. TaG karts are less expensive than a shifter and quite reliable, so they’re always a solid option.
Please feel free to give us a call at the shop at 303-781-7829. We’re more than happy to answer any questions you have.
(My family owns Shockwave Karting. We’re the largest American manufacturer of karting components, have our own chassis line, and are one of the Rotax service centers for Colorado.)