Wanting to get into the sport.

[rvanslycke]

 Looking to get into the sport any tips ideas/sale items/karts. 33 Year old Male just looking for any ideas/classes I should get into or look at.

[bdlucas21]

As long as people are active on the forum, you should get a lot of input. I have been karting for 20 years now (turning 33 in December) and have run both 2 Cycle and 4 Cycle classes locally, regionally, or nationally. I currently race LO206 and World Formula mainly at the occasional club and region race, but tend to try and race nationals. I have ran Shifter, Yamaha, and Rotax through the years.  From my experience I have seen people who are just starting out spend thousands of dollars (5-10) up front on brand new top of the line stuff and get burnt out after a few races because they expect to win. I will give you my take on how I would recommend someone new approaching the sport. Hopefully others will chime in their thoughts too.

I recommend starting out with the LO206 4 cycle platform. There are lots of reasons for entering with that package: 1) budget budge budget. It is by far the cheapest engine out there. It is sealed by Briggs so that no one gets beat by engine builders and better engines. It has a rev limiter that brings long life to the engine. In your case, you'd be wanting to practice a lot and race = lots of run time on the motor. I know people who have 2 seasons of races and practice on their motor and haven't seen much of a drop, if at all. I change the oil and clean up the clutch for every race. 2) Learning to drive. 4 cycle racing, especially LO206, is all driver and kart handling.  It will help you become a better driver, understanding how driving in to a corner will help or hurt or momentum. It will also help you with understanding how the kart is handling, what its doing vs what you want it to do. It will help teach consistency with your lines and lap times 3) The racing is closer. As long as the class keeps growing from the 13 they had at the last club race, you will have someone to race with. In 2 cycles, the classes tend to get spread out and you end up racing by yourself at times. Now that can and will happen in 4 cycle too, but more often than not, there will be someone for you to race with in LO206. 4) 4 cycle will make you a better 2 cycle driver if you ever decided to jump up to that level. From what I have seen, it hasn't been hard for a guy to sell their LO206 kart and move on if desired.

It is important for you figure out your expectations, what you want to accomplish, and how much you want to spend. Being competitive is about track time, not how much you can spend. If it is about speed right now, then 2 cycle will be your best bet. If it is about learning and developing, then 4 cycle is the place to start. You can always move up.

An LO206 engine ready to run will cost you less than a $1,000. 2 Cycle engines like Rotax ($3,000) and PRD (1,500) are a little more expensive. Karts can vary from around $500 to $5000.

I believe the next club race is April 22, you can double check the schedule on the web page.

I have a couple karts from $500 to $2500 (no engine, but could for more), I know that Chris & Rickey Worley at Midnight Motorsports LLC have some too, they are active on their Facebook page. There are some on the classifieds last I saw. Used karts are out there!

That's my 2cents. Post if you have any other questions.

Brett Lucas
[e-mail]

[rvanslycke]

Thank You very much I will apporach into the L0206. 

[Ricky Worley]

Thanks for the shoutout Brett! I'm part of Midnight Motorsports Duo, and I would definitely recommend LO206 to get started. Simple to maintain, pull the cord and go. Get lots of seat time and a little line coaching, and just watching people helps. I do always have karts for sale for sure. Unfortunately, Chris and I will be unavailable this weekend. Best thing to do is to go try it on a practice day. We will be at the next race, and practice is Friday night. You could come out and drive if you're available.

Sent from my 0PJA2 using proboards

[rvanslycke]

Would like more info on some karts and meeting up to practice.  [e-mail] or text 509-948-1965