Cool. I want to start racing next year and kinda wanna start to do some shifter kart racing. How much faster do you think the Zilla is than the CR250 cause I just sold mine to my neighbor and we ride together all the time and don't wanna be havin to follow him

 

Well Ausiezilla, I'm gonna get kinda off the topic here, but I too was thinking of getting into shifter kart racing. Around here we have shifter karts and sprint cars, so I'm not entirely sure what a sprint kart is, but I assume it is a kart. What size did you run and how fast did you go in a typical race? Is it as dangerous as people say it is? What kind of protection do you have? You know, basically just tell me a little bit about it, what you liked and didn't like. I know the karts aren't terribly expensive to buy, but is it expensive to race? Well any info you could give me would be appreciated, this is a sport I don't really know much about but am trying to learn about. Thanks.

 

A nice shifter kart that is race ready can cost upwards of 2000 dollars. This depends on what size you buy. I am not too sure what a Sprint Kart is though.

 

Well Sprint Karts is what Kart racing is called over in Australia. I last raced in a class called Clubman Heavy. The Clubman engine was a KT100S which is a very basic two stroke engine putting out average HP. The best bit was the class was very restricted. All the same engine, No mods allowed to the engine, same tyres and a minimum weight. This made for very close racing. Speed was very deceptive. Because your butt is literally scraping over the ground you feel as if your in a fricken rocket ship. But my the best speed I ever ran on a tight course was 112kmh down the front straight. (which is just over 60mph). Now these were definately not the fastest karts out there. I prefer racing in controlled classes - cost less, closer racing, and a little safer.

Now karts are way way more safer than quads could ever be. Ive been off the end of the main straight in my kart, just hit top speed when the engine blew, went sideways, flipped four times and landed upside down against the outside fence! Apart from almost totalling my kart I walked away with only a few scratches! Its because your so close to the ground that they rarely roll over. and if they do they dont weigh anything anyway! I loved the competition of karts but I got out of it because of the club politics that was going on in my final year. took all the fun out of it[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]. I hoped to get back into it someday.

Shifter karts come under a diferent heading in Australia. There called super karts. They dont let them compete on the tight kart tracks yet which is a huge disapointment. when they do ill be involved. at the moment they race on huge road courses which is way boring. they all spread out and there is hardly any passing.

My advice to you guys is to never try the hire karts. you will usually be disapointed. the racing karts are always way more powerful, but people drive the hire karts expecting that to be what the racing karts are like! Best bet is to approach one of the officials at a kart meeting, and ask if there's any way possible that you could organise a ride. After the meetings over here, we have 15 minutes of unlicenced practice. If you can sweet talk someone you may get a quick drive in something that will leave you with a huge [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]! just dont trash it! haha Peace[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]

 

hey Zillaman, email me and Ill send you some pics of my kart.

 

My e-mail isn't working real well but thanks anyway. Thanks also for the info. I'm searching for a track that isn't too far away. Then I think I'll go check them out and talk to some people there. I'm not real real serious right now. I just though it looked like a lot of fun. Maybe if I attend a few races I'll decide to buy a kart and race next year. We'll just have to see. Thanks again.

 

The 500 will handle the bumps, etc better than the 250, as it has a longer and wider wheel base. To improve the suspension of your 500 with out purchasing new shocks, have the stock ones rebuilt. They are quality Showa units, and perform well once set up for you and your type of riding. In the States, PEP is the place to have them rebuilt.

 

Thanks SuperJetter.

I was wonderin whether you had any experience with using wider rear axles. I noticed that the rear of my bike looks rather narrow. Would this help the handling?

 

Aussie, try some offset rims. I've got Douglas red label rims that are offset and it appears to widen the rear end by about 3 inches.

 

An axle would be much more reliable. I reccomend an RPM Dominator or a Lonestar Axcaliber. Dont buy a Durablue (a.k.a. DuraBREAK, DURABEND)