Does anyone know anything about shifter karts?

I'm going to be moving from the beautiful central coast of California to the flat urban expanses of Houston, TX (for a job). I was thinking about trading/selling my '06 Honda TRX 450R for a shifter kart since there aren't any mountains. I figure there has to be a lot of people running shifter karts out there. Does anyone have any recommendations on brands/motors/reccomended engine displacement/price range etc? I know nothing about working on them or maintaining them. Anyone know how I can get into it?

 

Welcome to Houston. I know there's a track on the west side of town N of Katy. But I couldn't give you any kart recomendations.

 

Thanks for the welcome man. I'll be moving out there around June. Perfect weather for moving into a new place .

 

welcome to texas my friend and all i know about shifter karts is that i want one

 

Don't buy a shifter kart first. They are harder then he'll to control and they are some of the most competative class and if you run into someone that u are racing. They will f u up. Start with kt100 class- direct drive 100cc class weight ~350 wet with driver. That is the starting class. Most of all they have the biggest field of drivers. From 16-60 years old. Not trying to say u are a bad driver but I race karts and still can't handle a shifter. 1-6 one sec. Down shift in a turn and u spin. Use ur brakes-ur done. Anyway. If you don't want to go to the beginning class buy a 125 water cooled kart and buy a kt100 motor. Go one season ( most clubs make u do a rookie season-u start at the back of the field for 5-10 races until u get the hang of it) karts aren't cheap and repairs suck.

Just .02 from a kart racer. 3 years ex and still race kt100 and 125 liquid cooled electric start.

 

I've owned 2 modified Mustangs, 2 modified WRX's, and now I have just the truck (bought it to haul the quad and gf's Honda Aquatrax turbo ) I still have the itch for some speed and since I can't afford to buy/insure/register/maintain a 2nd car right now, I figure a shifter kart will be the next best thing. I can prop it up in a corner of the garage and learn a lot about motors and stuff which I've been trying to learn about for years. I did shifter karts at Willow Springs in CA and that was the most fun I've ever had on 4 wheels. Would be awesome to do that every weekend potentially.

 

I know nothing about the different types of karts and classes. Do you have a website or something for research? All I know is that I drove "shifter karts" during a track day once and it was amazing. Not sure what the class was but they were 125 cc liquid cooled 2 strokes that halled ass! Can you explain to me the differences? How much do you figure it would cost to get a nice kart? The kind you recommended.

 

4k at least and new tires every race day $200 race fuel 4.00/gal for cheap crap 10.00/gal for good stuff, blue-print the motor every year after you rebuild it(expensive) 500-1000. clutches dont go out cuz you dont use them alot but they are 400-700 depending on the disks and plates and oil.

classes
juniors (briggs)
kt100 100cc
125cc (no shifter)
125cc shifter (shifter class)
up and up and up

ebay for a kart, best place.
www.sokarters.org
that was our club and the boss can give you info, great guy and might not be the cheapest but he will sell you good equipment and never sells knockoffs.

 

WOW. That's all I can say. Maybe I'll wait a few years to do this. Holy crap. That's some major $$$. I could get a Miata, gut it, and auto-x for way cheaper than that. Thanks for the info man. I had a feeling it would be out of reach for me.

 

ebay you can sometime find a kt 100 kart and some harder compond tires for about 2000-2500 and stay competative in that class but the shifters they are there to win and have the money to do it.

for fun and ability to win with least amount of dollars invested kt100 is your bet, they do up to 80 MPH with the right sproket and chain setup. my best on mine is 74MPH

 

Single speed karts are a lot of fun...I've driven a friends rotax kart a few times...had lots of fun.