[Robert Lawson]

Anyone????

 

I’ve searched around everywhere I can think to look……can not find 25mm o-ring type piston seals for brake calipers!!!!!!!!!!

 

With many smaller sizes available there has to be something out there.

 

Little help here guys????

 

 

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

 

The Track phone has the answering service running, they do tend to spend some time in S. Fla in the Winter.

Its a safe bet that date is sitting there waiting for 20-25 karts to rent it! ;)

Guys,

Sam called back yesterday, the 11th and 12th of April are still available.

Still need a bunch more karts though.

(12 so far)

Mark, its a single day test. Saturday the 11th with Sunday as a rain date. Overnight camping is available Friday.

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

Alan, your bro John called, already had your Fam in the mix.

Dennis, is that 1 or 2? More……??? Hee, hee :)

I’m keepin score over here….

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

Freddy,

Its an old Tony kart. I’d guess early to mid 90’s. The calipers are cast, the fronts are piston/anvil type.

Finding the cups has been easy but these o-ring style lipped seals in 25mm not so much.

Checked that link, I’ve been there though, thanks!

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

I know Kerry well enough to know what he’s getting at.

These tests have brought a good number of new participants to local road racing here in our region. It certianly does not hurt the race programs up here.

Most all of these guys race, plenty of these guys race competitively in their class here as well.

Some are new or have little experience. To them $200 is the best money they can spend to get access to a big track without the pressure of a daily competition schedule. Some just have no interest in “racing” per sey but love to drive.

Clubs and individuals who really want to grow the road racing arm of karting should also be doing these “test days”. Its the perfect atmosphere for new participants to get involved and get tons of feed back in real time. You always have time to talk and help a new guy at a test. Other than lunch it is non stop open track time, more than most could take advantage of anyway.

The Track phone has the answering service running, they do tend to spend some time in S. Fla in the Winter.

Its a safe bet that date is sitting there waiting for 20-25 karts to rent it! ;)

Need a BUNCH more names here first though……..

(7 so far)

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

Hey Guys,

I spoke with JW this week and took a few calls from some of you as well.

After last October I’m a little hesitant to get involved. I’ll look into what is going on at the track and post my findings.

A long list of names/responses here, 100% ready to participate, will help make my decision to get involved or not a bit easier.

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

Patty,

Damn, that was awesome!!! :)

Many good points, enthusiastic, non partial, and some ugly but necessary truths.

Partial to the Clubs but that needs to be understood. Without the Clubs there is nothing beyond that!!!!!

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

Johnny,

These karts have been entering and running in the F-125 class for countless years now. Local, regional or national…..doesn’t matter. I have yet to see at any event a “125 SK” be disallowed in pre tech or disqualified in post tech.

We have miles of VHS tape covering many many years of these karts racing with us.

F-125 was also known as: 80/125 enduro, B-Ltd., 125 gearbox, and at one point was included in WKA’s “Open” class.

Dimentionally, your right.

I mentioned a similar problem in the 250 forum before Daytona. IF there is ever an issuse reguarding “legality” of any kind with a driver or kart it is never addressed or caught until AFTER a race has been run. Once you get to that point no one wants to make an issue or hurt feelings….”whats done, is done!” Unfortunately this is how things get lost in the process and people just look the otherway out of habit.

Didn’t mean to turn this into a history class but sometimes things are not what they seem from a rule book standpoint. These karts should be written in to all the rule books so there is no question in the future.

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

Jeff,

A Superkart chassis with a 125 is absolutely legal per WKA rules for F-125.

You do not need to remove the wing or change the kart at all from the 250 configuration if you do not wish to.

Thought you ran off out of the Country???? If so, glad your back!

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

At this point, it looks like the core group of individuals (DKC and Mr. Gilder) that actually did the work and took some financial risk (track rentals, etc) of making the WKA NRRS have simply left for the AKRA.

If the few remaining Clubs that supported the WKA NRSS remain, they will have a lot of work and responsibility. If not, the WKA may just loose road racing altogether.

Most were not around when WKA was formed. I can assure you, much of the same things that will be said here about this AKRA was said then about WKA.

Its just History repeating itself.

Personally, it doesn’t matter. DKC has always done a very good job with their events and I do not see that changing along side a new logo.

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

JW,

You might want to correct your address!!!!

;)

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

I’ve been looking and reading over at Bobs. Until something of substance is offered it makes no sense to take sides on a statement that has no direction yet.

Bummer that these things are “released” as news before any real info we can use is supplied. Now, guys will start picking teams and throwing each other under the bus……poo-pooing what no one knows for sure will even take place.

I know this much, RR needs a kick in the nuts and a big wake-up call. Don’t care who does it or what logo they use. It certainly is time someone said enough, and made some changes.

Gonna wait and see…….

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

Guys,

I can understand and appreciate both opinions/points.

At Daytona, for a 125 laydown or B-Stk/Open, it really doesn’t matter. The laydown will make more MPH to offset the grunt & midrange speed of the GG on a SK. Now, take that to a Summit, Grattan, even M-O it becomes a “horsepower of a different color”! The CR250 will suffer at Daytona on the SK chassis but may be able to draft with a GG.

There are all types of different kart packages at different levels of performance and tune in Unltd. That’s what makes it so attractive. The “type” of Circuit then plays a crucial part into which package is best suited for each.

Personally, I’ve been WAXED by some CR 250’s when I was sure they had no business running that well!!!

One point I completely agree with is attention to prep. Many do not finish these races and if they did it might be far tougher to argue letting everything go.

Not knocking anyone here, but the best GG guys do run with the 250 Twins in a LO class. If they ran in Unltd it really wouldn’t be much of a race for them. Those guys want a challenging competitive race and the Twins provide that for them. Bobby might be able to comment here but I think the FE guys would agree with that.

For the most part, I think the average GG owner doesn’t realize it belongs in the FE/LO class. Unfortunately, the way things are set up, it would not or does not get policed until the fuel is spent…..does it? At that point it is viewed as sour grapes instead of the inquisition it is meant to be.

I’ll be watchin via Race Monitor. Good Luck fellas!!!!

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

CR,

He did say allowed….but not “legal”. (nice job Brian! :) )

Legal is the word of strength! ;)

You are correct, the GG is not….to letter of the classification, legal in Unltd.

With that said, Jeff and I had an epic tug-o-war last year. Good fun and without that my race would have been quite boring.

As for the twin 250’s, I think they did run in their own class as a LO. I believe Bobby had a 3 digit number on his kart (last year), we Unltds. all had double digits. Although…..I remember them actually being scored as Unltds a few years back.

Not going to make it this time, ya’ll have a safe week down there.

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

Hey Randy,

Not sure what year it is, I was told when he orders parts he orders for a 99′ model.

The cylinder has been stripped and recoated MANY times so I’m sure the plugs have been removed. I was going to glue them in with Devcon and move on but wanted some input into the chance this was a common issue with a simple repair.

Timing, CCV and squish were all way off. All or any combination of these can cause the seizures but it always melts the piston just at the area where the leaking plug is at.

Thanks for the info!

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

Sorry for not being specific, yes…..it is a “power valve” plug. I have not removed it so I’m not certain if it has an o-ring or not.

The leak is excessive, no pressure can be built up at all. Plenty of exhaust “juice” under that cover and evidence of it being blown all around in there too. Best guess is there are no o-rings on it.

What concerns me is the fact that it will also “draw in” air from that same leak. This can cause a few different possible issues, fuel pump function being one and of course a lean condition as well.

I could be wrong about this…. but this engine blows up every time it is run, and with very little running time needed to do so.

There where other issues as well but correcting these are easily done. I like to pressure check the entire set-up before handing an engine back with a clean bill of health.

[Robert Lawson]

Here is the video.

The 2GB cards just don’t do it for time. They are left overs from the Original non HD GoPro I have. Somehow forgot the 16GB cards which is why I couldn’t film with the VIO cam.

The trees looks sweet!

Enjoy,

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

Once again we were last to leave yesterday and didn’t get home until after 9pm.

I have an early run uploading to You Tube now and should be up in just a bit.

The “Bungalow” in the scoring room of the Tower was just fabulous! Toasty warm up there and made changing into driving gear super comfy too! Thanks to the Management at Grattan for hooking us up with that!!!!!

Got started a little late because of some moisture in a few corners. Curt ran the blower and I was out there with a broom trying to help the breeze dry things out. Especially on that dreaded sealer.

We did a rolling start play race at the end of the day that got me hustling the kart pretty good. I was trying to stay with and eventually run down Tommy Barth in his TM CIK shifter which produced some super laps times for the weather and conditions. We ran 8-10 laps or so then pulled off. Unfortunately my inexperience with the Go Pro (I prefer the VIO cam) had me select the wrong filming format and the race video started and stopped before I ever got into the kart. Think I held the record button down too long and it shot a short???

I must thank all the guys that participated, and a spectator or 2!!! We were a few guys short of the number we wanted and they came through and helped me soften the loss. Thanks to all of you!!!

The Management went over and above with Lunch. I supplied the Dogs and Chips. THEY cooked it for us so it would be ready at the break, provided an entire spread to go with it, all in a heated garage + set up tables and chairs for us all to relax and eat together! I appreciate them renting us their “backyard” for the day and being good hosts to boot!!!!!

The video will be up soon.

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

Well it’s certainly not going to be a scorcher on Saturday but I’m confident we’ll get this thing in.

Latest forecast is AM clouds/PM Sun, Precip @ 20%, Chance of a morning shower and a high of 48.

The last time we did an October test it was so cold at 6:30 am that when I came out of the trailer and that air hit me I almost wet my pants! Crystal clear and 36 that morning, it took until 10 am before I bothered to take any runs but it went well that day. It was forecast to be 45 and with the sun it got into the mid 50’s.

I love Grattan, it truly is a living organism! History has proven that the local forecast means very little on those grounds. It will be slick, the natural spring may be pumping water up through the track at T10, and with the wind the jump will be a test of balls. Should make for some great video!!!!

Looking forward to the JW handicap race at the end of the day too.

Rich and I will be there by 7PM Friday and the gate will be open until 11pm or so. Not chancing it in the trailer this time, the 2nd floor of the tower is heated and will make a sweet bungalow for comfy sleeping. Plenty of space up there if anyone wants to crash.

Safe trip fellas, see ya’ll Saturday!

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

Good to see the interest picked back up, I was getting worried it was going to crash out!

I went through the motions of R&R on the kart in hope of us still getting this in. Just a gear change and mounting fronts and I’m ready to go.

Sam called today, he mentioned someone contacting him about race fuel. He is having the tanks pumped out this week but did say he would hold a couple cans of 110. If you’ll need race gas I suggest calling the office and letting him know. They have a machine, leave a message to be sure he holds it for you.

Sam: 616-691-7221

[Robert Lawson]

Belding MI. weather as of right now, for 10-18-14:

Sun and Clouds, Highs in the mid 50’s. Chance of R: 20%

[Robert Lawson]

Noah,

I had the exact same issue with the Vortex.

Oh I could get the OEM clutch plates alright, but they were going to come from Italy (through the new dealer) and cost a small fortune!

So, in true Lawson form…..I set out to do it myself.

Do yourself a favor, send a note here: info@barnettclutches.com

Tell Mike what you have, what you need, and they will do their best to match it up & help you out.

Mine works great and is outlasting the OEM stuff anyway.

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

After speaking with one of the guys it was brought to my attention that I made a bit of a mistake.

*To those waiting/watching the weather*

Accepting entry at the track will only be possible if we are actually there! In a nut shell, if we don’t get the minimum number required to pay the rental before 10-16-14 I’ll cancel and there will be no test day to take part in.

If we were within 2 entries I’d take that chance and take it upon myself to be responsible to pay the bit we are short.

The weather in the past week or so must have had some effect as this thing just went backward from the initial requests. But, were a full 5 short now and that is far more than I want to spend to test for Daytona.

I’ll wait until Thursday (10-16) to make a call.

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

Hey Bobby,

Yeah were getting to that point in the year where all you can think about is the Beach……and rebuild parts!!!!

My Kid has a condo down there now so no need to book rooms!!!!! That’s a bonus, she’s close to the Speedway and Krispy Kreme is on the route too. :)

I dig the Unltd class, more guys to race with and a better chance to run with someone. That 2nd day race was good fun, looking forward to it again!

RPM

[Robert Lawson]

Still looking for a few more…….

I tried to cut a deal for just a 1/2 day but Sam was not interested.

We have 2 more weeks to go so I’m not giving up just yet.

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