[John Matthews]

We did….

It was hot and stinky, modern suits are much better IMHO.

 

John

[John Matthews]

Chassis should have a CIK homologation number that will give you a range. Be aware that owners often have poor memories of when they bought stuff, your best bet will be to find out results from the last time the kart was raced.

The KT100 is a good beginner motor, I started with one in 1977;-) But, unless it’s been freshened recently the value could be suspect. I sold one to Walt that came with the kart on my website, they really need to be taken care of so if you plan to race it and can’t talk to the last builder who worked on it you will be dollars ahead to have it freshened by a pro before running it. Also the clutches can be quite spendy so make sure you have something decent that will suit your weight before heading out on track.

If you’re close to the track have the seller meet you there on an open practice day so you can test it out. If it hasn’t been on track for a while and the seller isn’t interested in doing this the price should be a lot lower. Just driving it down their street won’t tell you much, going out on a practice day will help you find out if the kart is legal for the class you want to run and if the seller is asking a fair price. Talk to others in your potential class about the package for an understanding of what it will take to actually race in terms of tires, equipment, etc.

Remember, the cost of racing is much more than just buying the equipment. If you go into it knowing what rebuilds will cost, how often you need new tires, transportation costs, practice fees, race entry fees, and miscellaneous things like pizza and beer afterwards you’ll have a much better time of it. Post a couple of pictures of the kart if you can, also let us know where you plan on racing since there might be someone on here that knows the kart in question and can give you an honest assessment. We all want you to stay in the hobby and be successful with it and getting started right is critical to that happening…..

Cheers,

John

 

 

[John Matthews]

A common problem is side cover bolts loosening up, you can check with a torque wrench but sometimes one or two will be just finger tight.

I would plan on going through the engine if possible, a new set of rings and a gasket kit will run about $50 if you can do the work yourself. If not, having a builder go through it will be money well spent if it keeps you from throwing a rod.

John

[John Matthews]

Great fun, I knew it would happen….

John

[John Matthews]

Paul Hir wrote:

-snip_. I have a 206 and seem that people are buying in, but when the next generation 206 hits the market (next year?), will it be a clone/flathead situation all over again-snip-

Not gonna happen, Briggs doesn’t have the motivation that those other guys (aftermarket suppliers) have to keep you buying more/different stuff. IMHO it was the LACK of legal aftermarket stuff in Briggs Animal that made those other guys want the clone.

WKA Stock Animal rules have been very stable for a long time, the biggest change was allowing aftermarket con-rods and you can figure out why that happened pretty easy. With the exception of the PVL flywheel different Animal generations have only added reliability, not performance.

Briggs has been very clear from the start about why the build the LO206, the point is to have as equal a platform as possible to help build the sport. True, most racers won’t go on to regional or national competition. There are many different reasons for this and I bet money isn’t the main one for the majority.

 

John

[John Matthews]

Good points by all.

When my wife and I moved up to NW Lower Michigan in 2009 I had hoped to do some racing and support 4 cycle racers here in the midwest. Having watched from the sidelines now for 4 years my business is finally in a place where I could get away for a weekend or two but where to run. I agree that tracks where the owner tries to keep everything to themselves are just plain dumb, the only way to grow is keeping rules the same among all clubs. I’ve been told I will be welcome at ELKT with my LO206 (won’t race a clone for a bunch of reasons) but it would be great if they would put it on their class list so others could see it’s an option.

IMHO, every club should offer LO206 as an entry level/sportsman class. Racers should also boycott anyone that tries to change the rules around to suit their own desires, we need a stable platform that will let you travel anywhere without the hassle of needing to run different engines, weights, or tires. We also need a few people with money to step up and build new tracks to replace ones that have shut down but that’s another story.

While I would like to see more/better regional series it’s never gonna happen without strong local programs that encourage new participants.

Briggs has stepped up in a very real way with the LO206, now it’s up to the clubs, track owners, and organizers to work together to build participation.

JMHO,

John Matthews
Heartbeat Power

[John Matthews]

Hi Shannon,

Welcome to karting, sorry about the Maxjet, they are probably out of business like you suspect, the 2008 downturn was pretty tough on a lot of karting related businesses.

As far as tuning goes you already have the most important tool for getting a 2-stroke mixture right (as long as your ears are working). Try to get with some of the other Rotax guys at your track, they should be willing to share good starting set-ups and teach you how to tune from there. Remember, the most important tuning tool you have is the stopwatch ;)

There are other density/altitude gauges out there if you want to get more technical but until you’re fighting for that extra 10th that you can’t get any other way (ie. driving) you probably won’t need to be changing jets in the middle of the day.

If you’re curious about how the weather effects your engine you can get density/altitude numbers from your nearest airport, pilots use them to calculate fuel loads it think….

Finally, if there’s someone at your track that does driver coaching consider hiring them for a few sessions. They’re usually knowledgeable about engine and kart set-up and can get you started in the right direction (and keep you from buying stuff that won’t help). As a new driver there are few products you can buy besides tires and fuel that will make you any faster, it’s all about seat time.

JOhn

[John Matthews]

Boy, it’s been a while since I’ve heard about them.

I used to be a dealer, if you want another one let me know. I probably have a disk around here somewhere but it would surprise me if it’s still usable.

John

[John Matthews]

Looks interesting, how many 4 cycle racers do you have????

John

[John Matthews]

The drill blocks are great but you can buy an awful lot of drill bits for $26….

I’ve done both methods more times than I can count, they both work fine but you’ll break just as many bits either way if you don’t drill straight and keep them lubricated.

I really like the way Walt trims the cotter pins and bends them back, that’s slick for things like brake calipers that don’t get moved around much. I’ve found that high quality stainless safety wire with the special pliers makes a quick and neat job as well but there again you’re spending money that could be used for tires ;)

This would make a great sticky too, I can’t count how many times I’ve seen folks get turned away from the track because things aren’t secured properly. Good work Gif!!!!

John

[John Matthews]

Hi Berkeley,

Glad you got the hub fixed to your satisfaction. There are many items that can be fixed on karts but some that you are better off replacing. Experience and help from others at your track will teach you which is which but there is a “bible” as it were for race car fastener application. Get this book and read it, then you will know for yourself.

 

http://www.carrollsmith.com/books/nutsbolts.html

As for your other questions you should make an appointment with the tech steward at your local track on a practice night and go over your son’s kart with them. Rules vary from club to club so a few minutes spent with the person responsible for tech will save you headaches and heartaches come race day.

I am assuming you’re new to the sport, if not then I apologize but hopefully the info will be useful for someone else.

John

 

 

[John Matthews]

Hubs are a tuning tool, I would take the opportunity to buy a couple of different lengths for different track conditions.

Yes, a well installed threaded insert will work fine but you have to ask yourself why did the old one strip out. Hubs are one of the most highly stressed components on a race kart, do you really want to be wondering about it when your kid hits the apex at the end of the straight while pulling off a dive-bomb pass????

JMHO,

John

[John Matthews]

Portable air tank, much easier than a compressor for topping off tires.

Then get a small 110v compressor that you can hook up at the hot dog stand to fill it on the odd chance that you use all the air from your tank.

[John Matthews]

The LO206 should be a great start for this. The WKA rules are here, hopefully the IKF rules aren’t too different but if they are let me know:

http://worldkarting.com/downloads/Section_705%20Pro%20Gas%20Gold%20Cup.pdf

Of course you will have to change the coil. I would go with a billet rod since the rules allow, and you have to run the spec cam. Other than that it should be a fairly straightforward rebuild.

Just inspect everything else and replace what you have to. It’s supposed to be an economical class I think so I wouldn’t go overboard trying to get the last little bit from the engine.

Good luck and let us know how it works out.

 

John

[John Matthews]

Drivers win races.

John

[John Matthews]

Not even a question. If he refuses to make it right contact your local post office about filing a mail fraud claim. If you’re going to mess with people you really shouldn’t use the government to help you with it.

John

[John Matthews]

Try LAD Specialties.

[John Matthews]

Walt Gifford wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>John Matthews wrote:</div>
http://evkc.org/2701.html

You realize the Yamaha you took off that kart in the link is the same one in my SA Yamaha thread. I guess LO206 means local option 206cc, a sealed animal short block with a mild cam? I did some reading and it seems the LO206 is slightly faster than a box stock project 196cc clone. Probably what you’d have to do is run one in the RWYB unlimited class at E’Town and hope people see what fun it is and want to build a second kart. If you get 5 guys they’ll make a new class for you. Gif

 

Hi Gif.

Great to see that old Yami have a new life!!!! Are they running stock appearing piston ports on a sprint track near you or is it just for fun? I can remember when we had open  and SA at most races, it was a blast wondering what the builders would come up with for the next race….

As far as running the LO206 I’ve found many clubs are happy to run them with the clones. Yes they are a little faster but it’s pretty easy to score the groups separately and more racers on track = more fun ;)

I think as time goes along you’ll see more clone programs switching to LO206 because it really offers what the original intention of BSP was, just take it out of the box and run it. I wish there were more folks like us out there who were willing to take the time to build engines up but for many folks it seems like just having the time to get out to the track is about all they can muster.

Cheers,

John

[John Matthews]

Walt Gifford wrote:

Dumb question, who can reseal a LO206? Gif

Hi Walt,

Not a dumb question at all.

The short answer is NOBODY!!!!

This is what makes LO206 such a great deal, nobody gets to monkey with the inside of the engine and then have their “guy” certify it as good.

When you do wear one out you have a couple of choices:

1. Build it into a “stock animal”, or any other animal class you like except LO206.

2. Buy a new short block and install your head, ignition, carb, etc.

3. Sell it to one of us engine builders, most will give a decent price on a sealed motor.

If you have any questions on them feel free to drop me a line, I’m not on that other forum any longer but I still love the LO206.

http://evkc.org/2701.html

Cheers,

John

 

[John Matthews]

About $5 at the hardware store, right next to the kerosene heaters. I go through maybe 2 a year running a full time power equipment shop.

Cheers,

John

[John Matthews]

Wish I could be there….

I moved up to Northern Michigan just in time for my old club PKRA to start running World Formula. I’ve been a big fan of the LO206 since it came out, even had my hands slapped a few times for sharing my thoughts on the whole clone thing.  You’ll have a blast with it but don’t forget to keep it fun. Winning is great, beating them with old equipment and a small budget is even better ;)

Cheers,

John

[John Matthews]

Hi Ron,

I’m gonna bet it’s just as reliable as the Leopard starter ;)

Reality is,  in sprint racing IMHO once you stall there’s very little reason to restart during a race. If you, or your kid is having trouble with spinning and stalling all you really need to do is turn up the throttle stop so your idle is higher. Pretty soon the smoothness will kick in and you’ll turn it back down and just blip the throttle like you see everyone else doing on the grid.

Of course none of this addresses starting the thing when you’re by yourself at the track. I’ve seen guys with starters on little stands that line up with the starter nut so they can reach around and start themselves.

The real solution though is to switch to World Formula if you want a good sportsman class engine with electric start and you’re not going to move up to TaG. The lap times are about the same and costs are comparable or less.

 

Cheers,

John

[John Matthews]

Lynn Haddock wrote-

More overpriced non-sense from Europe. Racing was better and the drivers were better when we only used four number panels and small tubular bumpers + nerf bars. All this plastic crap that has been sold in the name of safety and making the karts look more like race cars is a huge load of  S —  Follow the money for the real truth.

 

+1

Karting in the US has gone steadily downhill since we started letting folks in other countries make our rules for us. These so called “safety features” just make things more dangerous by giving reckless drivers a false sense of security. This new proposal is a clear admission that full width rear bumpers are wrong for karting and adding more stuff to combat bad driving is just plain stupid.

I challenge anyone to show that karting was any more dangerous back when we just had number panels attached to a thin bar in front of our tennis shoes. If CIK had any interest in training drivers to compete in open wheel race cars they would drop all this nonsense and remove the full width rear bumpers all together. Sadly it seems to be an organization designed to serve manufacturers, not racers….

John

[John Matthews]

There isn’t any more power to be made with lighter/less oil (at least on my dyno). I would definitely stick with heavier weight and don’t change it around.

Also, unless the engine is really fresh you will be money ahead to go through it sooner rather than later.

John

[John Matthews]

Hi Thomas,

Without more info on you it’s hard to give more info on the kart you’re looking at.

If you’re a beginner who just wants to get on track and the Gold kart is available for a good price it might be great. Kart parts are not nearly as model specific as some would have you think and older Gold karts probably came with Righetti-Ridolfi parts anyway so there should be tons of used spares available (I know I have plenty in my trailer).

You don’t say where you’re planning on racing, or what class but if you’re anywhere near a track that runs Briggs LO206 the Gold kart might be just the ticket if you can buy it for less than $350. Take a look at my website for info on converting older 2 cycle chassis for LO206.

http://evkc.org/2701.html

 

If you’re a hot shoe looking to get into a competitive 2 cycle package your best bet will be to check with the local shops where you are going to race, but if not you should consider something like the project above.

There are tons of usable kart chassis out there that deserve a second life. Winning is mostly about what you do with what you have anyway, and for many of us just getting out there is the prize.

Cheers,

John

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