why 250cc??

Mike LaHood · Joined: 17 Jul 2004 Posts: 12

I was wondering the other day.......
why is the displacement limit set at 250cc??
i know of alot of 2 stroke bikes that are larger displacement, and might find a good home on a kart, would they just be too fast??

Charlie Tackett · Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2004 7:55 am Post subject:

I'd have to agree in a way Mike. Limit the size to a 250, primarily talking ICE, but have essentially no rules other than that and you got $8-10,000 ICE engines.....and short life spans.

Take an engine such as a CR500 and you got 65hp +/- and mid-50's ft/lb stock and you got a reasonbly priced and comparitively reliable engine. Same could go for a number of the 250+ katooms, etc.

Gary Kozuma · Posted: Mon Dec 20, 2004 1:09 pm Post subject:

So Charlie are you saying that by not limiting the size of the motor that it would come down to stuff like tire management and the ability to drive?

I guess it would all workout except at the end of the straight, where guys would still spend money to go faster and still blow stuff up.

Mike LaHood · Joined: 17 Jul 2004 Posts: 12

well, i know that polaris makes a 700cc two stroke twin.
I saw one mounted on a gand prix bike, its extremely compact.
they were claiming 150-160 horse.
i dont know about you guys but i get all tingly when i think about 460lbs and 160 hps.
and the motor was in almost stock tune, they estimated 210+ with port mods and different carbs. this stuff just makes me drool.
would all this horse be drivable???

id like to mount one up to my anderson just to see how stupid fast it would be.

Marc Miller · Advertiser Joined: 18 Jul 2001 Posts: 1834

Mike-

It would definitely make you drool - after hitting an embankment at 160 mph in a kart with 200hp in it.. you will be drooling the rest of your life! Wink

I think the idea of opening up larger displacements is a catch 22. If you think like Charlie - it's a good idea.. open it up to larger displacement - but leave it stock, that way you get reliability and comparable, if not a tiny bit more hp..... but then every wahoo in the world will tweak and tweak until you have unlimited, unsafe 165hp karts that only a small majority could even handle in the first few gears, much less on a racetrack.

The tires aren't rated for that type of weight, or hp... which means you have to convince a tire manufacturer to create tires for 30 guys... that won't happen. Then you need a way to govern the safety of these radical machines - with no real insurance or organization that will touch their insurance policy to that type of deal - don't expect to get much support.

I like the way the classes are shaping up... if you want to hit 200 mph for under $10K.. I would suggest someone buy a GP bike. Don't take away the kart's ability to out-handle a car by shoe-horning a heavier and more powerful engine in it.

mm
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John Odell · Joined: 28 Aug 2001 Posts: 46

Wanted to Lease----Honda NSR 500cc GP engine---will return
on July 15th or thereabouts

seriously, I saw this twin cylinder 500 that is as small as a
tz or rs---only draw back is cost! Twisted Evil

ps----also saw Marc Miller on speed driving cascar stock car
at Mosport---very cool!!!

Chad Stapleton · Joined: 19 Jul 2001 Posts: 4403

If you have the need for that much cc's, just move into the 500 mini sprint cars.
They run the Ex GP 500 motors , but with the safety of a full harness and cage etc.
_________________
Chad
"Those of you who think you know everything are annoying to those of us who do !!"

German Tabor · Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2005 10:51 am Post subject: 2

yes, there is a limit for karts, I wouldn't go past 70 horses in a kart. But I like the idea of instead of spending 8k on an extremely modified 250, buy a 500 or 400cc and leave it stock for a much cheaper price. But then there's the weight issue. Superkarts are called superkarts because they are not karts any more, they are the transition between a kart and a formula kart, so I don't think they should be any bigger or powerful than 70hp, then they would be considered formula kart.
_________________

Gary Kozuma · Posted: Sun Jan 16, 2005 12:17 pm Post subject: Re: 2

Jim Comeaux · Joined: 17 Jan 2005 Posts: 8

History repeating itself???? Eveytime someone comes up with an inexpensive, fun, thrilling, easy, safe way to go racing, it seems that it develops into something that is expensive, dangerous, and out of reach of the people that were targeted to do this in the first place. Think about it. would you want your sixteen year old daughter to be ripping around a track on a kart at 200+ MPH with tires that were not rated over 100MPH? Or do you weant to spend $250+ per tire for your kart? And that's just the start! How about the clutch? Lets make it a shifter too! Heck, why not add suspension? Wait a minute, isn't that formula racing? Hmmmmmm...... The object of karting is to keep it within the realm of the guy next door, not to see how far you can push a 150 lb chasis.

Chris Reinhardt · Posted: Tue Jan 25, 2005 7:02 pm Post subject:

Charlie, ever road race a CR500? I did on a NT650 motorcycle chassis I built. Hope you bring a welder to the track with you and a Dentist to put your fillings back in. There's no way a kart chassis could withstand the vibration of a CR500 on it, the CR250's shake them to pieces now.
There's no way a fast motor in these chassis will be cheap, too small a package for the power, period.

Chris R.