mikelowe@pop.c-com.net wrote:
> Yes they are. I rented a kart at the Ft. Worth Nat'l Tour. I
> had a blast and I'll probably do it again next year. But they do
> require tinkering for optimal performance. If you melt down your
> motor, you are out four digits of $$$. Visit a kart track or attend
> a kart club meeting and ask about real-world use and costs. See if
> you can locate a kart renter.
I wouldn't get too carried away with the tinkering. I ran my first year
in a kart on a built Honda motor, then went to a bone stock Yamaha for
the second year. I felt the factory got it right and the tinkering hurt
the performance characteristics for our sport. I would suggest having a
shop help you with seat placement and ballast placement if required.
Having your kart corner weighted properly was way more valuable than I
expected it to be. BTW, seat placement on a kart is a chassis/handling
thing, not a comfort thing.
The only way you can put more than $1000 into a repair on a kart motor
is if you do as you say, literally. If you melt it down into a molten
mass of aluminum and start over from there, yep, you'll spend about
$2200-2800 for a brand new motor and transmission.
However, if you stick it, that is sieze the motor, your repair cost will
be between $150 and $750, with the vast majority being in the lower
category. Stuck kart motors are regularly repaired with a bit of
muratic acid, a new piston and ring, and some gaskets. It's about $150
total. If you somehow stick it and kill the cylinder at the same time,
add about $400-600 for a new jug. But again, that's not the usual case.
Kart costs are exceedingly inexpensive in Solo. My tire budget, running
the softest gumballs known to man, was about $600 for the entire year
last year. In my 99 Miata I've already purchased 4 sets of tires at
$600 per set this year. And it's time to buy tires again...
Karts are clearly the fastest you can go and be nationally competitive
on a shoestring. Not to be overlooked are the costs of towing, which
are also way lower.
--Byron
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