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Cody
The year Wyatt had pole, Greg was off pole only a few thousands back and we were running full RMax, jetting , air box and all. Bottom line, contrary to what is being posted on ekarting, the Rotax is competitive in RMax trim.
We run our Rotaxs per RMax rules in Tag. I’ve tried all the other jetting stuff but keep coming back to standard Rotax. It would be nice to be able to run a different radiator when the temp gets stupid high around here.
There have never been any studies to support the contention that neck collars are effective in at reducing injuries in karting. There have also never been any studies to show that that don’t work either. CIK in Europe has not required them for years. Stars is just following the international rules that don’t require neck collars. This year at the SuperNats, SKUSA dropped the requirement for the SP class as it was being run under international rules.
Since karting injuries are so rare, particularly when compared to other forms of motor sports, I think the improved abilities of the driver to be aware of his/hers surrounding’s out weigh the questionable value in the event of an accident. If the improved ability of the driver to see and hear avoids an incident, I think its better to make the use optional. Prevention of accidents should be our first consideration in safety.
Nick
Everybody “embellishes” their engine package a bit and everyone is very proud of their accomplishments. Trust me when I tell you, your first race win will be a high lite for weeks and you will make sure every one of your close friends knows about it. You won’t find a guy who says, “This thing is a rust bucket and runs in the back of every race so please buy my kart.” Who wants to buy a loser?
Contrary to popular belief, there is no such thing as a “blueprinted” Rotax engine. Usually what the guy is trying to say is that motor was recently serviced by ABC service center. That’s a good thing for you the purchaser. You know the engine was recently overhauled and should be in very good condition. As a buyer, you want a package with recent service over one that hasn’t be serviced in several years. No service means that it’s getting ready to give you a headache and buyers remorse.
You may find an older package for $3,000. Also, money talks and a guy asking $3,500 for his kart may let it go for $3,000 if you’re standing in front of him/her waving hundred dollar bills. A newer package, say 2006 and up is a better package than one that is 2002 or older. With a new kart costing $6,500 to $7,500, $4,000 to $4,500 for a year or two old kart is a fair price. Particularly if it is a low race time package.
Many of the packages you are seeing are newer packages being sold by the better racers. Most of the best racers replace their karts every year or so. These are winning karts so of course they are proud of their accomplishments. Also, these karts have better than average maintenance done to them and they often are in much better shape than older karts. So in the long run, they can be a better deal than an older well used kart.
One last thing, don’t be afraid to make an offer. What’s the worst that can happen, the guy says no.
Why I’m supporting this for Bob, a Bob story.
A few years back, we went to an IMI club race after an absence of several years. What happened at that race and afterwards created quite a controversy. Bob was in the thick of things. Given his passion for the sport, it’s not surprising. Many of us are very passionate about this sport and we sometimes say or do things that while at the time seemed right, later we find we couldn’t have been more wrong. Bob found himself in one of those positions.
But unlike so many of us, Bob is at the core, a most stand up guy. He not only apologized to me personally, he apologized personally to my sons and and made a public apology on these forums. This man is the most stand up of stand up guys I know. Sure Bob is a character, but more importantly, he is a man OF character. This is why I donated to the cause. Bob deserves every bit of our support.
Tomorrow you have a chance to get some certificates for our products. I ask that you pay full face value for them. Bob gets every dime and you get the full value in kart parts of your choosing. We both know that over the course of the season, you’ll spend at least a little bit with us, so why not help a fellow karter and yourself at the same time.
So what is your Bob story?
The original ones were not very good, broke a lot and were underpowered. They have been revised and supposedly much better but no one around here has taken a chance on them.
Thanks for bringing it up.
We will be attending the 2008 RMax grands. We have plenty of room in our trailer to take karts and tool boxes. This would save time and money for those guys who want to attend but who may not have the time available to drive back and forth.
Something we should consider, let us haul the equipment and as a group we set up a tent. It will give us better working conditions for the long week of racing and cut your costs when compared to doing it entirely on your own. If it rains at all, you will be very glad you are in a tent.
Smoke after the kart is at speed is NOT normal. It is possible the jetting is way too rich. Do you know what your current jetting is? You should have a main jet of 160 in it at these colder temps. If your jetting is correct, the next thing to check is the amount of oil in the mix. The Rotax should be at 33 to 1. Do you shake your fuel tank after it has been sitting? Most oils, particularly caster oils, will separate from the gas particularly at these cooler temps and you will get a heavy dose of oil at start up. Before running your kart, shake it vigorously to mix the gas/oil. If you are using a castor oil, switch to Motul 800 synthetic. It will stay in suspension better.
If it still smokes after all this, it most likely is a water leak of some sort. Have you checked your water level in the rad? Does it go down over the course of the day?
The first year of the Shootout we did run a KGB chassis with our graphics. Jeff ran Pro ICC, #22. There were some big names like Sciuto, Vorath, Moulton, Moon, Carlton, Beeny, Martin, Speed, Mandarino. We were using a CRS engine. We did good in the prefinal finishing in the top 10 if I remember right. But during the morning warm up on Sunday, we lost a water pump belt and overheated the engine. We didn’t have a spare and the motor was a bit soft in the main so we fell back. Greg didn’t run that one.
@p herrmann wrote:
… containers of 10 years old parts dwindle away. Honda isn’t keep making the old stuff for every ❓
Actually, Honda is very good about keeping parts on hand for older equipment. When they ran out of cylinders a year and a half ago Honda could have and did substitute a different model year, 1997. While not exactly the same, they were close. The reason they ran out of 1999 cylinders was the mold for making them was worn out. Karting wants the ’99 and once Honda understood the reasons for that specific year, Honda built a new mold to continue production of the cylinders.
It turns out that Honda doesn’t just take the parts left over after production ends and calls them spares and when they are gone, their gone. What Honda does is contracts with contract manufacturers to provide parts on an ongoing basis. The parts you buy today for our old engines are not old parts, they are new parts, many manufactured with in the past year. Honda’s part policy is simple, as long as the parts sell, they will continue to produce them. That is why you can go to Honda and get parts for a 20-30 year old bike.
What some don’t know is that Honda motorcycle parts do not come from Honda motorcycle company. Honda parts is a separate company.
We are in no danger of losing our parts supply for our 1999 Honda 2 cycle engines. I get guys who ask, “But how long will they make them now that Honda is making 4 cycles.” What direction Honda Motorcycles has no impact on which engines and bikes Honda Parts company supports. Honda parts supports those packages that sell, its really that simple.
