Righetti Ridolfi Extreme Chassis advice

[Dan Brown]

We are currently running Margay Brava’s in Yamaha Jr. Sportsman and Yamaha Sr. Pipe classes. Considering in switching to Righetti Ridolfi Extreme’s for next season. Anyone have any real world experience racing one with a Yamaha or with a TaG setup? Thanks.

[TJ Koyen]

I don’t have personal experience with them, but haven’t seen them become to popular or generate any real results of note.

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[Charlie Nano]

Im curious about these karts also.

[Jason Trower]

I’m also curios about how this chassis performs. How can it be so inexpensive?

[Dan Brown]

I can only guess on the low price, but best I can figure is many of the European karts use Righetti Ridolfi components. They have to buy these from RR at a markup, so putting the same parts on your own brand karts would come at a significant cost savings for RR. They also aren’t offering a bunch of different models like the other manufacturers. Any time a new model is introduced there is a huge cost involved from designing, engineering, manufacturing, marketing etc. The Extreme karts are basically 2 frames, and the only difference in them is the tubing size, either 30 or 32 mm. Every other difference is a bolt on component to change them from class to class, and all those components are ones that RR already mass produces for other manufacturers or the aftermarket. They also use the dealer network that sells their parts to sell the karts too. All this keeps costs down. I just would like to hear some real world experience as to how they drive, and how easily they adjust and react to chassis tuning. I guess I may just have to order one and find out for myself.

[Walt Gifford]

Who’s the dealer?

FAA certified jet engine and aircraft technician,
Nicholson Speedway class champion 2001,
Yamaha KT100 Service Center,
41 years karting experience

[Dan Brown]

MM Racing karts has them for $2165 right now plus shipping. Acceleration and Fastech also carry them. There are no local dealers, but them there isn’t a whole lot of choice for local dealers anyways, only one that  am aware of and he handles Swiss Hutless. He’s a good guy and I do buy parts off him and have considered the Hutless karts, but I am curious about the Extreme karts too. It’s always nice to hear opinions of customers who have bought and used a product, I have always felt there is no substitute for real world experience.

[Walt Gifford]

http://www.kartwarehouseusa.com/go-kart-chassis-s/1670.htm

I went shopping on the sites you mentioned and the link above. There seems to be some confusion to the ads. They all say front torsion bar but I don’t see it in the pics of the 30mm frame.

I think fasttech is selling a 32mm frame configured with 17mm spindles/8mm king pins and aluminum wheels and that’s why the price is the same as the 30mm frame kart? If I’m wrong that’s a great price, maybe worth a phone call.

The kart on MM racing is 30mm with 40mm axle 17mm spindles which I think is ok for world formula but not legal for LO206. I’ve raced a chassis that light in yamaha sportsman just to make weight and it wasn’t fun to drive on a tight track. Can’t imagine a TAG motor on it.

If I were going for Yamaha pipe or tag I would make sure I was getting the 25mm spindles/10mm king pins and a 32mm frame with the front torsion bar and 50mm axle. Looks like Acceleration has the best deal on that plus they say it comes with mag wheels.

I don’t think you could go wrong with this brand. A big plus, when you want cheap RR parts you don’t have to retrofit, they bolt right on there. Anyway, at that price I’m going to get one, just can’t decide which one for LO206 and my big torso lol.

Gif

FAA certified jet engine and aircraft technician,
Nicholson Speedway class champion 2001,
Yamaha KT100 Service Center,
41 years karting experience

[Dan Brown]

Walt, when I emailed RR and asked if there was a local dealer near me in NY they told me the closest dealer was Kartwarehouse USA. When I spoke with them about frame/axle size and pricing they stated the price is the same ( at that time) for either a 30 or 32mm frame and a 40 or 50 mm axle. Upgrading spindle size, wheel type, front hubs etc all came at a small price increase. And all of them are supposed to have the removable front torsion bar. Some of the sites do not have updated pics of them. Its funny how you said the 30/40mm combo is too light for Yamaha class, my local track is a tight, twisty, bumpy layout and the fastest Yamaha karts in SR pipe are all 28mm frame 40mm axle setups with 17mm spindle mount wheels. I ran a 32/50 last year with hub mount 25mm spindles with poor results, although I blame a portion of that on my driving skills lol.  I just bought a  2008 Margay Limo 28/40 to run this season in Sr. Pipe.

I spoke with Kartwarehouse and they suggested I buy a 30/50 setup for my 13 year old to race Jr. Tag with and a 32/50 for me to race Sr.Tag. His thought was this way the only difference was frame size, all other parts were interchangeable. This would help keep the price down on parts inventory.

If you get one could you let me know what you think of it and how it works out? Ted Hamilton had one a while back and set the quality was very good, but he never raced it so he had no experience as to how it drove.

[Rob Kozakowski]

I believe that the less expensive versions of the RR Extreme Kart line are a non-homologated chassis, designed on a “global” scale for the World Formula / 4-cycle concept.

I know that Mac Minarelli had a (assumed to be identical, just re-badged with a different decal kit, given that RR builds karts for Mac Minarelli) kart that a few people in Canada were running with the LO206.

They’re a pretty basic kart, base components, aluminum wheels, etc., but there isn’t really anything wrong with that in 4-cycle.  But they do have some adjustability, and yes, they do have a front torsion bar – I think most of the pictures in the ads are of a different Extreme Kart frame!

The kart  could also probably be just fine with a Yamaha can or some other lower powered 2-cycle classes.

It wouldn’t be my chassis of choice if I was going TAG racing though.

[Dan Brown]

I agree that the pic in some of the ads is just a generic picture. Every description of the chassis states it has a removable front torsion bar. Some of the companies selling it show that bar in the pics, others do not. I would think that a 32/50 setup with the larger front spindles and hubs and the magnesium wheels would be fine for TaG. That complete setup sells for about $2700, still a great price for a new chassis. On the kart warehouse site under specs it does list a homologation number after the brake description, but is that just for the brakes or the whole kart? It also states on several sites CIK certified chassis, not sure what that means either.

The honest truth is we ( my sons and I ) are like a lot of families that race, we do it for fun. We are competitive, we want to win, we fantasize about being the best in the world but the bottom line is we have a limited budget, and we spend weekends together having fun. So far some decent used karts have gotten us pretty far, but if I can swing it financially I want to upgrade to a couple new karts for the 2016 season, maybe even later this year. These RR Extremes seem to offer a lot of bang for the buck, but without seeing results in person or talking to owners who will give me an honest opinion of them how do I really know if they are worth purchasing? If it was a kart being offered by an unknown or sketchy company I would stay away from them, but since Righetti Ridolfi is a proven company that has been around forever, and makes great kart parts, I would tend to think that these karts are of very good quality. I guess time will tell.

[Walt Gifford]

Well, horses for courses I suppose. I’m tall with a big upper body. When you see a pic of me racing in a pack you say look at dad racing with all those little kids but, we’re all the same age. Yes, it’s “funny” how a little extra vertical CG changes so much in chassis flex. Also not all tubing is created equal. I’ve driven a 30mm topkart that felt really stiff and a 32mm CRG that was a limp noodle. Even if you find someone on the same chassis there are so many variables you just never know how close to the point you can climb until you try it yourself.

Gif

FAA certified jet engine and aircraft technician,
Nicholson Speedway class champion 2001,
Yamaha KT100 Service Center,
41 years karting experience

[Finch Guenther]

I’ve seen a couple people at our local club run them with no real success. For $2700 you could pretty much have your pick of any brand chassis with probably 5 or less races on it. In my opinion that’s a better route.

Finch Guenther

#51 CRG KPV

[Walt Gifford]

What kind of problems did they have, did those same people have success with any other kart brand?

FAA certified jet engine and aircraft technician,
Nicholson Speedway class champion 2001,
Yamaha KT100 Service Center,
41 years karting experience

[Finch Guenther]

One of the individual’s has won several track championship’s and even had some good runs in the stars series back in the day on other chassis. I believe his complaints were that the chassis was just to soft. Also this was the 32/50mm chassis.

Finch Guenther

#51 CRG KPV

[Dan Brown]

What class was he running in that the chassis felt too soft? Also, what type of track were you on, such as short and twisty, high speed sweeping corners, etc.

[Finch Guenther]

The class was World Formula and I’d say the track is on the twisty side.

Finch Guenther

#51 CRG KPV

[Dan Brown]

Thanks Finch, I appreciate the info. Every bit helps with making an educated decision. I see Acceleration Kart Racing put a new Rotax Evo on one and raced it at Las Vegas and won with it on its one and only race. I am starting to think that a lot of how a kart races for an individual is based on “feel”. Some drivers like a stiff kart, some a loose flexible kart. Some like them with a little understeer, some with oversteer. I have talked to drivers who love Tony Karts and swear by them, others who swear at them. I guess the secret is once you find something that works, stick with it. And when it stops working, don’t be afraid of change.

[Anthony Upjohn]

I have seen this chassis in person and the quality looks very good.  I suspect you would not see a real performance problem unless you were racing at a national level.  The used chassis currently listed on Acceleration’s website recently dominated a LVKC club race (TAG driven by national champ driver).

http://www.accelerationkarting.com/2015rotaxmaxevoextremekart.aspx

 

[Dan Brown]

Well, to be honest I am no where near being ready to race at a National level yet. I am, however, going to let my son race a larger National event this year using an arrive and drive program being offered from a large dealer. We are going to use it as a gauge to see how well he does against the best of the best. I received a private message letting me know of a local kart promoter/guru who races one of the Extreme karts. We are going to go take a look at it hopefully this weekend and hear his opinion of it.

[Rob Kozakowski]

There are really 2 versions of the Extreme Kart, as far as I can tell…

There’s the World Formula – non-homologated; and the Viper – homologated.  The Viper carries a higher price tag.

Homologation really doesn’t have to mean a lot, but generally non-homologated Euro karts are either older (expired homologation) designs that they continue to manufacture and often sell with basic componentry to offer an affordable kart, or they are designed as 4-cycle / World Formula karts, that don’t require homologation, and being designed for 4-cycle, may not be best suited for higher HP.

I agree with Finch that if I was looking at a budget of $2000-3000 for a chassis for TAG, you’re probably better off going with a 5-10 race old, “big-name”, well proven model.

And if you decide to quit racing after a season, your 15 race old Tony / CRG / etc. will be worth a lot more than your 10 race old Extreme… something that the less serious racer might want to consider.

[Curtis Cooksey]

These are great chassis for the money! I recently put a Rotax EVO 125 on a 32mm Premier model and was pleasantly surprised. It is a great alternative to the high priced chassis and is just as fast! I can’t wait to drive it again, it was easy to set-up and well balanced.

Here is a link with pricing: http://www.accelerationkarting.com/extremeindykartchassis.aspx

 

[Dan Brown]

The version I am considering is the Extreme Indy, which appears to be homologated and starts at the lower price. The price does go up few hundred dollars if the spindle are changed to the 25mm with larger kingpins and the wheels are upgraded to magnesium over the base aluminum. I am looking to set up one for Jr. Tag for my son, and may buy a pair and set up the other one for Sr. Rotax for me. As far as resale value goes, it seems most chassis that are a season old bring about half price what a new one does, give or take. Resale price is something to consider, but I was also looking at the parts availability and parts price, quality, adjustability etc. I have located several of the locally, including a brand new in the crate 2010 model, and have the opportunity to drive one when the weather cooperates. I figure that is the best way to tell if its anything I want to spend my money on or not.

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