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@jack tracy wrote:
….. I thought you had one of the first Leary motors???
I did send my original box of parts to Paul for assembly. But after I found out what he was doing (nothing), I decided to go a different route. The engine thats on our kart now is just a simple stocker. You’re right about snagging a ring. We lost one last year that took out the cylinder. It was our fault, just tried to get too many hours out of it. That was back when you couldn’t get a ’99 cylinder so I put a ’97 on it. Didn’t seem to make a bit of difference. Last year when the ’99 became available again, I put a ’99 back on it. Then late this year, I put a new crank in it as a precaution as the old one had almost 2 years on it.
The only thing that has been done to it is basically a very careful assembly. The crank has been slip fitted and trued of course, but everything up top, cylinder, piston, reed cage, head and all the gaskets are OEM Honda. We do use Carbon Tech reeds, but reeds are open and the Carbon Tech hold up longer than the stockers. I did switch from the RCE to the RLV pipe, but I really can’t tell the difference. I expect that we will run until mid summer as it sits, then replace a piston about mid way through the year. Just before the SuperNats, we’ll crack it open just to check it out and make sure nothing needs replacing.
I did have couple of other small problems, all were our fault. We lost a bearing on the counter shaft drive, and the bushing under the shift arm below the clutch disintegrated. Parts of the bushing got into the shift drum and it wouldn’t shift. I guess you do need to change the oil more than once a year. The other was not tightening the chain when it was needed. It got too loose and whacked the case by the clutch input shaft. It broke the case. But Barry welded it up, we didn’t’ even disassemble it, and it works great.
So the bottom line of these things is simple, change the oil in the tranny once and a while and go run the heck out of it. Check the top end twice a year and the thing should give you hours of fun in the sun.
We have always been shifter guys at heart. We got our first shifter just over ten years ago. We raced just about all of them, from 60cc through 80cc, built 125cc moto and built ICC. We got our first stocker 2 years ago and it by far is the cheapest shifter we’ve run. In two years of running, I’ve had only one failure, and we run ours hard.
You can spend a bunch of money on them if you want but you won’t get anymore power than just a good basic engine. They are a bit more of a hassle to put together because you have to get the parts (pipe, carb, mount, etc, ) from different sources but the end result is fast, dependable and relatively cheap.
Rick, you’re right we have seen the shifter classes dwindle over the past few years. I think it is directly related to the high cost of running one. Either built moto or ICC, they both cost way too much for the average karter. The stocker on the other hand goes almost as quick, with far less brain damage. In two years, I replaced the crank once, the piston twice. I also wore out a clutch. My motor does not have a big name on it ( Barry did the crank, I do the top) but at the recent SuperNats, there were certainly a bunch of big name motors behind us. We certainly felt that we had as much power as anyone. Like any engine, learn to tune the carb.
We have a couple of customers moving to spec Honda, it only makes sense. We’ve also sold a couple of DD2, another great choice for those looking to go faster than a Tag but can’t spend an arm and a leg to maintain it.
Adding a heavy spec Honda along with the masters DD2 were very wise moves.
I like the idea of a two race weekend. The positives I see are.
1. Fewer weekends at the track. This means I could do something other than race. I also think that overall, it would save the racer money in less fuel needed to attend the races, less nights ina motel for those who have to travel.
2. The potential to draw more out of state racers. We have drawn well from Utah. With the two race weekend, they would only have to come over 3 or 4 times instead of 6 or 8 times. We may get more.
3. The races should be bigger. More entrants means more $$ for the race promoters with little in increased expenses.
4. It leaves more room and available racers for club events. The club races should be bigger.
The negatives.
1. The track owner will lose 1 day of practice money and one weekend of pit spot fess. However, hopefully that losses are more than offset with reduced expenses for staff and the additional rentals they now can get from the weekend they would normally be closed to rentals. I hope the bottom line is a more profitable weekend compared to the profit (or lose) of running two weekends.
I have raced at with Andy in his Gatorz series. I can tell you it was one of the best, if not the best regional series that I’ve been to. It was every bit as good as many national races I’ve been to. The competition is VERY strong, tech is outstanding and it is run on the clock.
I use a 1-2 amp trickle charger. Once a month is enough. Bring it in the house so that it does not freeze. Everything should be fine.
I like Rick’s and Mikey’s idea. Just like the PMT of old and Stars of new. Three race weekends, one complete day each day. Go ahead and allow one drop. It means in actuality each event becomes a 3 day as Friday will be practice. But all 3 events could be in the summer so as to minimize kids missing school.
It just might be the ticket to make the CSC events huge again.
@Angie MacEwen wrote:
Nothing for next season is set in stone. No schedule has been set, no classes have been decided on.
I’m not picking on you Angie so please don’t take it that way. But in a way, I think this is a sad commentary on the state of our sport in Colorado. Most of us have already stated our opinion at various times on this forum and directly to the track owners this fall. I know I have and I know that many others have. By this time the track owners should be announcing the results, not asking for more input. They should already know what we want. Another meeting of table pounding and someone getting PO’ed and walking out is not what we need.
There are many karters who what to know what we are doing next year. There are many customers who know there will be price increases after the first of the year and they want to get their purchasing decisions made before then. Besides, what better present than a new kart under the tree this year. CRG has informed all of its dealers that prices will be going up on 1/02/07 and any karts ordered after that time will see increases up to 15%. All of the other major brands will be doing likewise.
I have an idea. Since all the track owners will be in town this weekend. What say they get together in a closed door meeting and hammer some things out. I know that a schedule may not be possible (both Brad and Stacey have to get their respective AMA SuperX schedules) but they can certainly get the classes and the basic outline of the CSC and club series done and published on Monday. We don’t need more fact finding, we need decisions.
Dave
Some will be dressed in evening gowns, some in jeans and a T shirt. My wife will be dressy casual with a holiday theme.
While there are some parts we just can’t get on this side of the pond (such as fuel tanks), there is a movement of production back to the US. The problem with the Euro is not going away. We are certainly looking to bring the frames back to this country. Right now, we have more domestic content than just about any current sprint kart supposedly made in this country. It will be more very soon.
I was just in Florida for the PRI show. While nothing is finalized, rumors were flying of double digit percentage increases. I talked with all the top importers and they all said the same thing. Big increases. The manufacturers are going up a modest amount (5-7%) but the dollar has lost almost 20% of its value this year. What all this means is that for new current year product, they have to raise prices significantly. I heard numbers in the 10 to 18% range. We will see if that’s true.
We are under no pressure to raise the prices on our products that we make here. Our raw materials have not moved upwards at all. Unfortunately as I’m sure it is true for most of you, wages have not moved upwards significantly either. We do not anticipate a price increase for our products next year. For the stuff I have to import, that is a different story.
It is getting to be a very good time to buy American.
What Rick brings up is the way its supposed to work. They start at the top of the list and work down as drivers are unable to attend. Its actually can and is very expensive to attend. First off, you need a mechanic and his/her/its costs is not included for any one. You have to rent lead or BYO. Both are expensive. You have to bring your own tools and they are heavy, that costs. Any damage to the kart and I mean any damage (in the past, many have questioned if damage was real or imagined), you are responsible for it. In Portugal, they were putting the kart in a chassis jig after the race (or at your request) and if they were out more than what they thought was “normal”, you got charged for a new frame. I heard stories (unconfirmed) that some guys were getting charged for new frames on karts that had yet to be on track or had only completed minimal amounts of practice.
The bottom line on all this is that the “free” trip can cost you plenty. On the other hand, the opportunity to go and do one of these things is truly a once in a lifetime sort of thing. I would love to had the opportunity to spend the money. It would have been well worth it.
