[Jim White]

It’s going to change the length of throw at the pedal. If you like a real “short” pedal (applies quickly and rapidly) put it at the bottom. If you like a “long” pedal (more travel) put it at the top. Since it’s easy to change try it both ways back to back and see what you like. I’m most comfortable with a very short pedal  but I’ve got a buddy who likes his the other way. I can’t hardly drive his kart. It just seems as though you push and push and push then they finaly grab.

Placement will effect the needed pressure but it’s very little and I’d be surprised if you’d even noticed the difference.

[Jim White]

Check the classifieds on Bobs’ 4 cycle forum’s

http://www.4cycle.com

There are always some for sale there

[Jim White]

Thank you for the info Ian. Great as always!

[Jim White]

My Anderson superkart does the same thing. I do as above, clean the calipers and flip the pads after each race day.

[Jim White]

I saw it and immediatly read it too. I agree thats its not the kind of article karting needs to help it grow at the grass roots level. Gonna chase off more than it attracts.

Although you can always say any publicity is good publicity. Just ask Mylie Cyrus!!

[Jim White]

Anybody know how if Pierre is still selling pads? Got a few guys out west here needing about 5 or 6 sets but can’t seem to get ahold of him.

[Jim White]

I just used the new post since last visit button. I had about 20 new posts. It worked great till after I looked at the first new post. After reading it I clicked the back button. When it went back it told me I had no new posts and all the ones that were there were gone.

[Jim White]

The burco clutch is going to be the first thing to change. After that widen it up a little and go run it for a while. Figure out how to get the most out of what you have. Then if you are still enjoying ityou can look at spending the money to upgrade to something else.

Just have fun on the cheap and see if karting is for you!

[Jim White]

You need the trottle open so it can pull as much air through it as possible. You will also see low readings on a brand new top end until the ring seats properly.

The biggest thing with checking compression is do it the same way everytime. Otherwise the numbers are meaningless.

[Jim White]

Pierre if you see this check your email please. I need some more!

[Jim White]

A national series won’t work on the west coast. The racers just won’t travel in the quantities needed to make it successful. I agree that a strong regional/club program has to be the basis for the future success of road racing.

Then you get the promotor who wants to run the one big race each year. It worked with the USKGP at VIR and Miller once or twice then it has to move on. COTA sounded to be the one in 2014. Not so sure now. Theres only room for one big race a year (maybe 2 if one is on each side of the country)

[Jim White]

Bill, I agree that sharing may be the way of the future if entries continue to decline. Problem is as I stated before is finding that group to work with you and share on a cost effective basis. Here in NCK land we’ve been unable to find that group yet.

May I ask you to share what the entry fees are to run one of these days?

[Jim White]

Since we are sharing some numbers here I’d be interested in what it costs to rent tracks in other parts of the country. I can tell you NCK pays close to $9K to rent Sonoma (Sears Point, Infneon or whatever you want to call it). This is on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. As we have had this date for years they are kind enough to give us the December winter rate. Now this 9K is just to rent the asphalt, no ambulance track services or other expenses are included.

[Jim White]

Very good point Lance. The problem comes when the club or promotor goes out on a limb and offers a low ball entry fee. All the promoters costs are the same. If the racers don’t respond and show up in larger numbers you have just lost a bunch of money. That money you lost is the seed money to pay deposits and such for the next race. No seed money….no next race if you know what I mean. If the club or promotor has deep pockets such a risk may be warranted. However when that nest egg is gone you have no more funds to carry on.

Like I said before, it’s a vicious circle and I think from reading threads like this one we are all fighting the same things.

[Jim White]

The last couple years NCK has had a little success with a 100 for 100 promotion. If you are an existing member and bring a new racer out you can race as many classes as you want for 100 each. Thats about 150 off a standard all you can race entry. It has cost us some money upfront but has brought us a few new racers that haved seemed to stick around.

[Jim White]

Kelly as for actually getting tracks insured NCK has to do the same thing every year to get the tracks approved. Pictures, forms, etc. It’s not bad doing an already approved track. I don’t actually do it myself but am kept informed by our board member who does do it.

The insurance itself is a secondary coverage and picks up what the injured’s regular insurance doesn’t (up to certain limits). I believe it also covers the club in case of suit.

[Jim White]

My 2 cents worth…….

I’ve been on the NCK board for about 6 years now. Regular board member, Vice President and Secretary over the years. Prior to that I spent quite a few years helping do pre tech before getting roped into the board. I’ve been involved with booking, promoting, working, scoring and paying for events for some time. I’ve been road racing for 24 years now.

We don’t run IKF sanctioned races but use their insurance through Michael Davis. We use the IKF rulebook so we can use their insurance. We have to have any local option classes approved by them in order for them to be insured. The insurance is a flat price per wristband. They have single and multi day event rates. It has worked well for us. By the way IKF does not require front brakes for TaG’s.

None of the NCK board is compensated in any way. We pay the same as anyone else running at our events. The club makes money on a couple events a year. That is used to offset the losses at some of the other events. All told if we could put away a couple grand at the end of the year for future use we’ve done well. We just try to break even and not lose year to year.

As for keeping RR going? We’ve tried many of the suggestions given. When things started going south a bit we immediately looked to cut expenses. The biggest and most obvious was trophies and awards. Aside from that there just isn’t really much non essential things to cut. If we have a small turnout we’ll cut the use of the PA, but that only saves

$100 or so. We have few if any volunteers anymore. Most of the board members have leaned on their families to help at the races. Most now are burnt out and used up and besides that we just want to race too. That being the case we have to provide some sort of benefit to those we can recruit to work at the event. That costs money too. Towing, scales, gate, tech, etc. As events grow smaller and the costs per racer go higher in order to break even something has to give. Entry fees go up, amenities and things that effect the overall day go down. Now a person is seeing less value for his money. It’s a vicious circle.

Now while track rates have somewhat stabilized during the recession here on the west coast there are still lots of groups competing to get them. As was stated earlier the tracks are not just looking at rent. It’s the whole income for the day, fuel, food, even the souvenir stand. Karters just can’t compete with the car and bike clubs. Therefore we get offered the leftover crappy dates. Take it or leave it, not much negotiation. Most racers just don’t understand this. We are constantly asked why can’t we race here or there on this day or that. It’s not that we don’t try it’s just that we aren’t given the choice. To really get a decent turnout and get people travel longer distances you need a 2 day format. At this point 2 days rental would kill us. Entry fees would be too high and we’d loose more than we would gain. Not that we aren’t looking into a way to do it. It’s just that our current model isn’t finacially strong enough to take the risk right now. Look at the loss that the PKA just took to host the IKF nationals. While it is appreciated it is just not a practical or prudent thing to do. NCK does have a class format that will allow practically every legal kart at lest 2 chances to race per day. If you are young and strong 3 or 4 classes are possible per day. That adds value to the one day format we use.

For the past couple years I have personally tried to work on sharing a day with another club. Most wouldn’t even consider it. The one extensive conversation I had with an interested party went nowhere in the end. He wanted us to pay the equivalent of 3/4ths of the total day and get 1/4 to 1/3 of the track time. He was just in it for the money. As the economy squeezes tighter maybe another group may be forced into the sharing idea.

When we look at who our new blood is that also raises some debate. I am of the opinion that the jr’s are not it. While they need to be courted they are not the savior. I feel we need to find the late 20 to 30 year olds who have been sprinting for a while. They are to the point of getting out because they can’t keep up with the kids and are tired of the bashing and crashing involved with sprint racing. They have families and jobs and can’t get hurt being punted by the local hot shoe for no reason. These are the guys with the disposable income to be road racers. It’s just getting them on the track. Most are hooked if you can just get them there. Sure our entries are much more but the amount of track time you get makes it worth it. You just have to get them there. Unfortunately most sprint clubs in our area are struggling too. They don’t want to promote road racing in fear of loosing their racers.

Sorry for the long ramblings, trying to do this at work makes it hard to keep all my thought together…or is it just an age thing

[Jim White]

Since this has gone way off course at this point I’ll add this….

I’ve got a buddy looking for an entry to mid level ICE kart on the west coast to get started. PM me if you got something.

[Jim White]

Ominous silence…….

[Jim White]

<span class=”yshortcuts” id=”lw_1380979865_2″><span style=”font-family: Arial; font-size: small;”>yellowrockracing@gmail.com</span></span>

Mark, check your email too. I need some info.

[Jim White]

<div class=”d4p-bbp-quote-title”>Chris Reinhardt wrote:</div>
I sold one to a guy n the left coast, should be out there somewhere…..I saw it at Buttonwillow a few months ago.  Unfortunately it was not completed and partially assembled in a trailer. From what I could see of it it was well made. Can’t remember the guys name, he had a 125 also. Hopefully he gets it going for next season.

[Jim White]

It is good that KART is doing well. They seem to be the only one. Aside from them road racing is dying a slow expensive death. How do we as road racers stop the trend?

 

[Jim White]

The PVP Critchley had for sale last weekend looked to be a nice piece.

[Jim White]

Only thing I’ve found is in your profile you can see new topics. I haven’t found (or really looked hard) for a new posts button. That is what I miss most about the new forums. It takes too long to navigate around looking for new replies.

[Jim White]

If this was just warming up on the stand 2 1/2 on the low is way too much and is probably the problem. On the track under load that settings fine. To just run it on the stand with no load it’s just way rich. I usually warm mine up on the stand at 1 to 1/12 on the low.

[Author]

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