[Scott Boito]

I’ve had a shipping problem in the recent past that ended up costing me some additional money, but my builder never made the shipping company’s problem my problem.  I assume he insured the motor properly and got a check from them, but I was never on the hook for anything because he took full responsibility for the shipment and took care of everything on his side.  That’s exactly how it should have gone down and what I would expect from any reputable builder.

Fortunately (for me) I can’t offer any advice on how to pursue the money from your builder because I don’t think it’s your responsibility in the first place.  While it’s a hard pill to swallow by your builder, he’s going to have to pay up sooner or later and he might as well bite the bullet now before his name is exposed and he loses his reputation and future money as a result of not doing the right thing like he should have already…

[Scott Boito]

I’ve never had the problem you’re experiencing and I’ve run a pump-around for the last 3 seasons on my Honda. You’ve taken care of the rebuild, so my only other suggestion would be to check the tank vent line to ensure you’ve got an open line. Also changing your fuel filter if you haven’t already.

You mention heavy springs in the clutch. As in heavier than stock? My Honda is the easiest of the three motors I’ve had to launch (Suzuki RM125 and TM Moto). The clutch should be smooth to engage and disengage. Maybe try a different gearbox oil? I have tried several and the Royal Purple made a huge difference mid-season this year. Of course it will take some practice to be consistent, but she should be able to get there early next season. Learning to grab the clutch and/or keep her foot in it during a spin is another area to learn to not stall.

[Scott Boito]

The chassis and motor are both legal for the junior classes.  (In fact if I were local I’d buy it and keep the chassis and sell the motor.)

For JB, you’ll need to run the small carb (Walbro WA55) which can be touchy, but can be set and forgotten once you get it in the right range.  The large carb (WB3A) is much easier to play with and tune over a much wider range.  All that said, the Briggs World Formula motor is getting favorable treatment for autocross and should be investigated if your daughter decides to continue into JA.

I can’t say anything about the pricing on it since you don’t mention how old the chassis is or how clean the package is.  That would be a good price for a very clean and pretty new and unabused kart with the supporting items.

Good luck.

[Scott Boito]

Sounds like that washer is the shield for the needle bearing piece of the assembly (officially named the thrust bearing).  Check out the exploded view here: http://www.noramclutch.com/go-kart-clutch/premier/titan-sp2.html

 

[Scott Boito]

Won’t be making it this year, either. Did Spring and Summer Nats with Kieran. School starts a month earlier here, so Fall Nats will be hard to pull off. But I’ll be driving in a 24-hr race at VIR (ChumpCar) in a few weeks, so no pity parties for me…

[Scott Boito]

Hi Kevin,

I’ll share our recent experience as it seems relevant. My son’s JB WF is essentially brand new and rebuilt (twice, unfortunately) by Eric Nelson at 7th Gear. The motor is strong, but Kieran was having exactly the issue you describe: terible launches and terrible recovery from slides and sharp turns. Gearing didn’t matter and we tried several different ones. Importantly he experienced the same things when he briefly drove a loaner motor while his was being rebuilt. The only common piece between the two motors? The brand new clutch. That’s foreshadowing.

After a few events where he wasn’t improving, I decided that a track day was in order to get us both back in the swing of driving fast. It worked wonders for two reasons: we got more seat time that one day than we’d had for the previous year combined, and his clutch finally came in. My guess is that either the shoes had to be scrubbed some or the drum needed to be heat-treated as we did at the track. The result? Kieran went out and was faster than all of the JB and JA kids at Summer Nats and finished the Champ Tour paxed 13th out of 213, his best finish in a National event ever by a long shot. His launches at the Pro were great and his clutch didn’t falter all weekend. He said it was a dramatic change for the Pro and we were able to gear him all the way down to 17/65 for the Tour.

So my hypothesis, right or wrong, is that autocross doesn’t allow the clutch drum to heat up enough for a proper break-in/coating. The answer for us was a track day to allow that to happen. Alternatives might be to sand down the clutch shoes a little to get to the good material and/or rough up the inside of the drum to make material transfer or heat-treatment to more readily take place.

I was almost ready to ditch this motor and head back to the KT100 (and would have if we’d still had them around). Kieran was not having fun until this change and constantly asked about going back. Now he’s VERY happy with the motor and we’ll work on weight-balancing the kart better now that I know we’ll have it for several more years.

Good luck!

Scott

[Scott Boito]

Nevermind I found the data for 2012 Fall Nationals: But the forum doesn’t like the Excel formatting.  I’ll work on that and post up later.

Kart # Engine Weight Class min Over min
1 Honda 390 385 5
13 ICC 464 410 54
17 ? 392 385 7
20 Honda 398 385 13
21 Honda 391 385 6
27 ? 394 385 9
30 Honda 391 385 6
31 Honda 457 410 47
35 Honda 423 410 13
45 Honda 431 410 21
56 Honda 391 385 6
66 Honda 391 385 6
79 Kawa 441 385 56
87 Honda 389 385 4
95 Honda 412 410 2
96 Honda 399 385 14
101 Honda 401 385 16
113 ICC 446 410 36
117 ? 388 385 3
120 Honda 401 385 16
121 Honda 409 385 24
130 Honda 387 385 2
131 Honda 417 410 7
150 Honda 391 385 6
195 Honda 416 410 6
196 Honda 393 385 8
Avg 15 over
Average Stock Igintion: 396
Average ICC/PI Igintion: 433

[Scott Boito]

Hey Paul,

Do you have the files for the weights from the recent Nationals?  Don’t know if you can post here, but might have some relevance.
Scott

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