[Dan Brown]

If you had a lot of failed starts, my guess is the engine was flooded badly. The gas evaporates, leaving an excessive amount of oil that is now blowing out the exhaust. The oil won’t damage the exhaust pipe.

[Dan Brown]

Yes, less oil in the fuel can cause serious problems . The extremely rich fuel/oil ratio these engines run is to protect them at high rpm’s where heat and friction can destroy an engine quickly. If you aren’t comfortable  with pulling the head of your engine yourself , pull off the exhaust pipe and header , look in thru the exhaust port and inspect the cylinder visually and see if there is any scoring, galling etc. Also pull the spark plug out so there is no compression and turn the engine over while looking thru the exhaust port. Look closely at the piston as it travels by, usually the first signs of damage show up on the exhaust side of the piston and cylinder as that is the hotter side. Hopefully everything is ok. The higher octane in fuel prevents detonation in an engine , also called spark knock. It usually shows up under high load, high rpm conditions just like you have when racing wide open. Detonation can destroy an engine. If your engine seemed to run ok except at high rpm you could have been experiencing detonation, and switching back to 110 octane race fuel should stop that. Hopefully you have no engine damage.

[Dan Brown]

When you say it still won’t crank, what exactly does it do now? If the starter, battery and harness are all good the starter should spin when you try to start it. The bendix has a gear on it that engages the ring gear on the clutch when it is spun by the starter, and it has a small spring in the end that pushes that gear back. That is basically all that is in them, a pair of gears and a spring. See if the teeth are good on both ends of it and see if the spring still is intact and the end moves in an out freely.

[Dan Brown]

We too looked into possibly running 4 cycles this season as one local track uses them almost exclusively. We found out the same thing that you did, if the chassis isn’t specifically designed for a 4 cycle/inboard clutch arrangement , it isn’t going to fit properly. My Tony Kart Racer was a no go, our Margay Bravas are the same way. I thought it would be an inexpensive alternative to running kt100’s, but if I have to buy everything new then it just made no sense to me, so we are racing the 2 cycles again. Sorry about your expensive lesson, hopefully by posting it here others will learn from it.

Dan

[Dan Brown]

Joe, is the 219  chain new or used? If its new I want it, shipping would be to 13316, I have Paypal.

Dan

[Dan Brown]

Will, not sure if you plan on racing that kart or if you are just gonna play with it for fun,  but that bent crank is an expensive fix. Just for a decent crank half, new bearings, bottom end seals and labor to press and true the crank you are probably going to spend somewhere around $300-$400. I am guessing your clutch is ruined now too after the chain took out the crankshaft, a new clutch  for a kt runs around $350.  If its an older kart, or you just plan on playing around at a local track, you would probably be money ahead to but a complete running used kt with a clutch from a local shop or off a member here. Basic used engine packages can be bought for usually around $500 or so, and you could sell yours off for parts . Might even be cheaper to pick up another inexpensive kart with a running kt, I see them around here pretty cheap from time to time. Trashing a crank is a tough lesson, they are expensive to fix. I had a clutch come loose on a kt  and tear up the crank badly. I stuck it on the shelf and plan on keeping it for parts in case one of our others has a problem.

[Dan Brown]

You need to really consider taking it to a shop. You can’t press the crank apart and back together unless you have the proper jigs to align the crank perfectly, and the crank width needs to be set for endplay , so they will need your cases for that anyways. Its not a job for beginners.

[Dan Brown]

Get ahold of Ted Hamilton at Hamilton Helmets. He is a kart racer and a great guy, he paints helmets, not sure if they have to be new or not.

http://hamiltonhelmets.com/

Dan

[Dan Brown]

I just installed an xxl seat in my CRG and one in my Margay. I used my hydraulic porta-power to push the left side seat post out far enough. I figured a nice smooth controlled bending was better then a cracked seat post by rushing it or forcing it too fast. You really can’t move the right side post very much and still have adequate engine clearance .

[Dan Brown]

Dave, I got your PM and replied, did you get my response?

Dan

[Dan Brown]

Rick, that is a great example of why he really needs to look a chassis over close before buying it. A 93 tooth sprocket is great, can’t get much bigger before the sprocket could possible hit the track under tire deflection. I measured my sons ’06 Brava last night in the shop when we were getting it ready for this weekend and it appears the largest sprocket that would fit on his mounted inboard would be about 60 tooth. The rear crossmember on the Brava is at a really pronounced angle, and isn’t far from the rear axle at all. I will be in the shop later this evening and most of the day tomorrow finishing setting up and scaling 4 karts for Sunday, I will measure my Brava, our CRG and OTK Racer and see how big would fit on them.

[Dan Brown]

Sprocket diameter is one of the bigger issues with a kart not designed for a 4 cycle. They can be made to fit, sometimes. I know the 3  Margay Brava’s  and the Tony Kart Racer I have will not take a 4 cycle without modifying the seat post/ rear crossmember unless a tiny rear sprocket was used. Maybe with a jackshaft they would work , I never tried that setup before. Margay offers a 4 cycle conversion that moves the rear crossmember straight across the frame to gain clearance . I think it would be much easier and cheaper for someone starting out to purchase a kart set up correctly than to have to mess with something trying to get an engine it wasn’t designed for to fit.

[Dan Brown]

 

Many of the karts on the market, both new and used, will not take a 4 cycle engine. The difference between the 4 cycles and most 2 cycles is that the 2 cycles have the clutch on the right side of the engine ( as you are sitting in the kart). The 4 cycles have an inboard clutch , meaning the chain is located between the engine and the seat. Many chassis have a seat mounting strut welded to the frame rail next to the engine on the inboard side, or a rear frame crossmember that wont allow for the clearance needed to run a 4 cycle engine. You need to be aware of the differences as you are looking at used karts because what appears to be a good deal at first might turn out to be the wrong purchase entirely. 4 cycle engines are becoming more popular and some manufacturers are now building a chassis designed for the low hp 4 cycles. Margay offers one called the Ignite. Some of the Margay Brava karts will accept a 4 cycle, but not many. The standard Margay Brava will not, but the Margay Brava 4.15 will. Your best bet is to buy a complete kart with the correct motor from a respectable dealer. It may cost you slightly more to start with, but in the long run it will probably be cheaper. Any kart you buy will have to be set up for you specifically. It needs the correct frame rail and axle diameters for your body weight/engine package/ track that you plan on racing. It will need the correct baseline gearing and clutch slip for you and your track. It will need the correct seat mounted in the correct location for your body size ( one of the most important adjustments on the kart is seat mounting). And it will need to be scaled so you and the kart weigh the legal amount for the class you plan on running, and the weight percentages are adjusted correctly. A good dealer will do all of this for you, so that you can show up to the track and concentrate on learning the racing line and how to get around the course, and not worry about a poorly handling kart. I got this same advice when I started, and didn’t listen. I bought several used karts off Craigslist that were the proper chassis for our requirements, and we struggled horribly the whole first season. It was expensive and frustrating. Talk to a local dealer that races at your home track. It will be well worth it, in my opinion.

[Dan Brown]

Actually, leave the ground wire on the starter hooked up when you test it with the jumper wires. Just add the extra ground wire to the same place to touch to the external battery. That starter ground may be the main or only ground on your kart, if its unhooked it may not let the ignition function properly.

[Dan Brown]

Start with the basics. Charge your new battery fully. Since it is not turning over properly and has no spark, you need to determine if it is two separate problems or both being caused by the same problem. I would disconnect the wires from the starter. Make 2 pieces of wire a couple feet long with the correct ends to bolt onto the starter. Touch these to the terminals of a good charged battery and see if your starter will spin the kart over. If it doesn’t, your starter is bad. If it spins properly, then you have an issue with either your wiring harness or starter relay. Not sure if you have the key type on/off switch like mine does or the two push button style. If you are able to make the starter spin the engine using a battery and jumper wires, then turn the key to the Run position and spin the engine over. If you have spark it should start. If no spark then its either a wiring problem or your stator problem isn’t fixed yet.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Dan Brown]

I am interested in one of them, can you take a couple measurements of them like height, width at narrowest point and widest points, etc. I need to know I fit in one, my seat now is a xxl and fits nicely. My previous seat was a carpeted xl Freeline and it was too narrow and hurt horribly. Thanks.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[Dan Brown]

Thanks Gary. I agree its probably more than 6 years old. Most oval karts do have the heim front end, but most  are an offset chassis though so it did seem a little odd to me that it was built this way new. I searched but couldn’t find a straight rail kid kart built for ovals. Guess it really doesn’t matter though, I will set it up for sprint racing and turn him loose on it when the snow melts. Thanks for your help.

Dan

[Dan Brown]

http://s950.photobucket.com/user/hotshothauling/library/El%20Diablo%20Racing?sort=3&page=1

Pics here of the kid kart. The yellow bodied and red bodied kid kart are the same, I just installed a new red body last weekend. You can clearly see the heim joints on the front end in the pics. I believe this was built this way and not an aftermarket add-on kit, as the welds and paint on the frame all look original. Any ideas?

Dan

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