[John Matthews]

My best driver was 15 when he started in a shifter.

 

But….

He was super mature and laser focused on everything it took to be the best driver he could be. He actually won the money to buy the kart from winning the F1 Sim Championships the year before so he had a very clear idea of what he was getting into. He also had the confidence to approach me on his own and ask to drive for me because I was running a series he wanted to be involved with.

 

Now if it was my kid….

No way. Even though she’s smart and confident I would want her to spend a bunch more years getting good at clutch karts before moving up (quick disclaimer: my 15-year-old plays volleyball, she likes driving karts but doesn’t race). Bad habits with driving are easy to form and hard to get rid of. Learning how to drive smooth is just plain hard when you have to make 50 shifts in a minute and a half lap and you’ll never be truly fast if you’re not smooth as baby do-do. Also, like any sport karting requires a bunch of practice if you want to be good. I don’t have any idea what your finances are, but I bet if you’re asking this question you’re not on the path where your kid will be running  Indy Lights like these two.

http://www.indycar.com/News/2013/10/10-15-Teammates-Karam-and-Chaves-vie-for-title

Unfortunately being a dad sometimes means holding your kid back so they can get the experience they’ll need for the future. If your son is determined to race shifters he’ll find a way to do it regardless of what you say. But, be aware that running with the “fast guys” at your local track on a practice day and being competitive anywhere it counts are two different things.

I’m sure you’ll make the right decision but I would discourage moving him up after only one season in junior karts unless he has the motivation to not only drive a shifter but also wrench and help pay for it.

 

JMHO,

[John Matthews]

Motorcycle shops have a much bigger market than kart shops will ever have. That’s because the average consumer can walk into a bike shop and finance a bike that they can ride to work, or on a whole series of FREE trails close to their home.

There’s an order of magnitude difference between the gross revenue of a motorcycle dealer and a kart dealer. They also are required to FLOOR PLAN much of that eye candy you are looking at….

There are two distinct groups on this forum, those who have run a karting business and those who haven’t. Of course the perspectives are going to be very different between them, but most of us who have run shops or built karts started out as racers so we know a little about that.

Karting in the US IMHO can only grow from good local programs. If you have a bunch of good local racers they will create the demand for regional and national programs. There just isn’t a good way to do it from the top down in this country.

As for trade shows, I’m someone who wrote the checks to exhibit so I can only imagine what it costs to actually put one one…..

I wouldn’t hold my breath :-(

 

Cheers,

[John Matthews]

Man….

And they said it would never happen.

 

Thanks Curtis for letting me know, wish I could be there.

 

Cheers,

[John Matthews]

Hi Bob,

 

I’ve never been to Europe so I can’t say anything about what they do there.

As for a trade show being a good place to pick a new chassis brand as a driver I think it would be just as easy to ask on here what the “best” chassis is. :^)  Anyone who’s been around long enough knows that the a great driver will win in a shopping cart, there’s just not enough difference between most of the chassis out there to make a difference for the average club racer. That’s why local support is cited as the most important factor so much, someone at your track can look at your setup and the track conditions and help you get to where you want to be….

For a retailer trade shows ARE all about networking and getting to know some of the people in the industry (I think I first met Rob Howden at KMI). It’s good to be able to meet top management and support people from brands you are thinking about representing. Buying into any brand is a considerable investment and as a retailer I always try to get to at least one trade show in my industry. But…. I don’t need to go every year just to see the same stuff over and over again.

 

Why is sprint kart stuff mainly built in Italy? Subsidies maybe…. But more likely it’s because they are world leaders in CNC machine manufacturing and the guys who run those shops are nuts about racing. I suspect (and this is just speculation) that kart parts are built with excess capacity in shops where there are much more profitable parts being built, probably for the aerospace industry. The Italians have had huge momentum in karting for a very long time (like way before I started in 1977). Others have done a great job but there’s just something about being where the action is. Just go to North Carolina and see how something like auto racing which is a hobby in the rest of our country is an INDUSTRY there.

Tim was pretty clear about the challenges of trade shows for karting companies. I think going to Kartfest the first time cost me  close to $10k, and I don’t even want to think about the issues we had the following year when we tried partnering with another manufacturer to do both Kartfest and KMI. The payoff just wasn’t there for us and I’m sure other exhibitors felt the same way.

All the players do have their stuff on display at the big races, just not in a trade show format where they give away t-shirts and calendars. And swap meets are probably much better for the average racer because they can talk to folks who have actually used the product as opposed to a pretty girl who doesn’t know a tie rod from a bow tie :^)

IMHO, if KMI had been able to provide things like group insurance plans for retailers, or lobbying efforts to help clubs build new tracks we might have a US karting industry that was big enough to justify big trade shows. It’s not that I don’t appreciate what Darrell did with the organization, I just think that karting in the US is challenged by the fact that we only operate on closed circuits and there aren’t enough of them to attract serious investment from major  powersports manufacturers. Until that happens, or the Italians just want to travel to Chicago in January I can’t see another major trade show coming up….

 

JMHO,

[John Matthews]

I’ve attended KMI as well as displayed there, also Kartfest down in NC.

Additionally I used to be in the business setting up booths, AV, etc. for many other shows, conferences and the like.

KMI was great when it was doing well and I really enjoyed it back then, very international….

Kartfest was a whole different (still good) experience, especially with Mike Clements who everyone wanted to talk with.

Maybe I’ll pull it together and try this winter kart show since I have a bunch of used and NOS stuff I would like to unload. As it stands right now karting really is more of a “swap meet” proposition as opposed to a big, glamorous trade show kind of industry. Try CES if you really want to see what a trade show is like ;^)

The point about shows with races has been covered with the obvious exception that the race really is a show. Since everyone agrees that support is king for kart products seeing how manufacturers/importers work under pressure will tell you a lot more than kicking tires at a trade show.

Karting is a diverse sport so it will always be hard to come up with any event that covers the entire industry. Trade shows are expensive…. For the promoters, exhibitors, and attendees they represent a significant outlay of cash that might not justify itself in the Internet age. Also, not a whole lot changes fundamentally in karting from year to year. It doesn’t take racers long in the sport to figure that out so unless we start seeing some serious innovation in karting I’m willing to say that trade shows without a big swap meet attached are probably dead.

 

JMHO,

[John Matthews]

Cool :)

Wish I could make it down. Maybe next year….

[John Matthews]

Looks like racing to me….

Personally I’m amazed that Rotax offers a warranty on their motors, I haven’t heard of an IAME clutch warranty but if you can get it that would be nice. You should also buy a spare since you’re planning on spinning that thing at 15k.

I’ve seen ’em break like this before, don’t believe it’s really a defect, just in the nature of how the part works. Be happy you’re not maintaining a disk clutch, or one of the old BURCO style units we had back in the day ;)

 

Cheers,

[John Matthews]

Same here….

[John Matthews]

I currently run an outdoor power equipment shop where I constantly have to tell people their equipment isn’t worth repairing. They rarely want to hear it but spending 2/3 of the price of a new piece of equipment on repairs is a bad investment since a new one will be new and under warranty.

Of course racing motors are different but a stock World Formula is pretty close to a riding mower in this respect. Now, if the OP wanted to build a modified motor and already had a bunch of parts it would be a different story but since the stated goal is to have a reliable (RELIABLE) recreational motor I’m pretty confident saying his best bet is replacement, not repair.

The process of doing the rebuild is definitely worthwhile from a learning perspective but doing it right could easily require several tries. I learned a whole lot working with Mike Clements, and it’s possible that this particular engine just needs a new piston, rings, rod, crank, and the valves lapped but without experience it’s gonna be tough to know what can be reused and what should be trashed.

The best solution of course would be to get another kart with a WF already on it and rebuild this one so he has two packages….

Would be interested in knowing what he decides, it helps everyone on here when the OP reports back on what they learned in the real world.

 

Cheers,

[John Matthews]

Hi Alan,

The biggest thing about any rebuild is going to be measuring, the most critical being cylinder and crank journal. If your cylinder is worn you’ll need to have the new piston fitted, if I remember correctly Briggs starts oversize at .020 over so you’ll need to find a machine shop capable of honing small cylinders (try your local motorcycle shop). If the crank journal is worn it’s best to replace it since the WF rod doesn’t have replaceable bearing shells. On the other forum Jamie Webb has a very nice article about building a stock Animal that will give you details on rebuilding including the admonition to “clean everything like it’s going on the Space Shuttle”.

But, given your usage and desire for a trouble free experience I’m gonna suggest you consider the option of just buying a new engine. Over the years I’ve seen plenty of engines like yours where just about everything is worn beyond spec. All those parts add up and having one piece with a hairline crack you didn’t find can compromise the engine in a very serious way. Not to be discouraging but the chance of your first rebuild being

” a solid-performing reliable track-day power plant, one that will again happily run 100 laps with no issues, then do it again another time.  And another, etc.”

are fairly small. A much more likely result will be either an under-performing engine or a bucket of parts when something lets go. With the amount of effort it will take to rebuild an engine of this age and usage back to stock specs you’ll be much better off replacing it and having all new stuff IMHO.

Honestly, it sounds like your goal is to have fun with the kart and the best way to have your reliable powerplant back will be to open another box from Briggs and bolt it on. As somebody once said, it’s not so much a matter of CAN you do  it but SHOULD you do it when it comes to rebuilding something with a ton of hours on it.

Either way feel free to drop me a PM or give me call at 231-264-8707 if you have questions.

 

Cheers,

 

[John Matthews]

[quote quote=5075]Gino, I would love to run an Animal or WF with your group. I have a RH engine laydown kart and that would be about the right speed for me. I have an LO-206 that I’m going to run with Bernies group at PKRA. Obviously in the “Really Heavy” class. :-( ?? What is COTA ? What gears do I need for Firebird ? Will chain drive last the entire race ? Alcohol or gas ? Thanks, Mike @ 480-704-4087 [/quote]

 

Hi Mike,

COTA is Circuit of the Americas, home of the US Grand Prix in Austin TX. Benn should be able to answer the rest….

John

[John Matthews]

I wish….

Scroll down to the bottom of my page and you’ll see why my racing is on hold right now. Once I get the new building making money it should be a different story but right now it’s consuming all available cash flow. If I’m lucky Ill make it to ELKT or maybe up to Marquette.

John

[John Matthews]

Hi Gino,

Let us know when you find the rules…. That’s definitely something I could shoot for since this year is being consumed by my business expansion.

Hope all is well in AZ.

Cheers,

John

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