Took the "Beast" to the track for the 1st time

[dutchmasterflex]

As some of you know I recently have got into Karting. I lucked out and pretty much was handed the "keys" to a 1999 125cc KGB Spy Shifter Kart.
(http://www.motorworld.net/forum/showthread.php?t=38397)

After 5 years of this kart sitting in my friend(5 time open wheel national champion, Tom Davey)'s garage we made plans to get her running again and back on the track.

Arriving at the track early in the morning (we tried to beat out all of the little richie rich kiddies and their psycho fathers, but they were still there in full effect) we immediately started getting the kart ready.

Sadly we were not able to get the kart started up.. but luckily(after bout an hour or so of trying to start the two stroke) the guy next to use helped us out. He pointed out that the first thing he would check after having the kart sit for 5 years was the carburator.

So, we crack open the carburator to find tons of light-green (weird that it was green) gunk. We cleaned out the carb and jet with some gasoline and WD40 and tightened up the bolts.

It fires right up.

Tom takes it out for the first time to make sure everything works and the wheels/brakes dont fall off when I'm flying down the straight at 100mph.

After a couple of slow laps to help the engine warm up and run smoothly I hop in.

Boy was I nervous.. the pressure was on. At first the engine was still pretty unhappy. It was still not idling properly and would be rough at the lower end of the rev range. But as soon as you hit the power curve it just wants to take off. The RPM's jump up so quickly you dont even have time to rest on the straightaways.

I brought my camera with me but only took a few quick shots of other people goin around the track. I was focused on my kart and my driving.

To my suprise, the track's website had a few shots of us on and off the track. They had some guy with a D70s walking around but I didnt notice him taking any pics of us..

Not the best photography, but its something!

http://www.putanginaka.net/images/OVA_05-06-06_001.jpg
That's me in the black racing suit and brown hat putting on my shoes. I actually got 2 black sparco suits and racing pumas second hand from a friend of Tom's who is a national karting champion.. and is exactly my size! The suits fit perfectly.. coincidence? I think not.


http://www.putanginaka.net/images/OVA_05-06-06_075.jpg
I'm not to sure if this was before or after we got it running..

http://www.putanginaka.net/images/OVA_05-06-06_106.jpg
Tom taking it easy around the track

http://www.putanginaka.net/images/OVA_05-06-06_122.jpg
Me! Don't I look like the stigg?! :D

The following day I went over to Tom's house to do some repair work on the Kart and to wash it. Tightened up some bolts but most importantly cleaned out the carburator completely. (Carb cleaner has fucking god-like powers) My baby runs nice and smooth now and idles beautifuly at 2200rpm.

http://www.putanginaka.net/kgbsm.jpg
The new improved and clean 125cc beast ;)


Hopefully next time I can have some time to take better photos... but I doubt I'll have time to..

My plan next time I'm at the track is to set some benchmark times for the kart and improve from there.

Going to start off with a set of Medium compound Bridgestones and tweak the chassis from there. Hopefully the laptimes will go down instead of up ;)

[ARMAN]

:P man this have to be a BLAST! :twisted: Its time to change the sponsors btw(i mean theres no KGB anymore) :mrgreen: :wink:

[Erez]

^ yeah looks like LOOTs of fun 8) damn nice kart.. 8)
i went karting like 2 weeks ago.. SO made me want to buy one.. :lol:

keep us updated on those lap times :)

[black_magician]

(Carb cleaner has fucking god-like powers)

lol, try cleaning your bathroom with it :lol:

karting looks like tons of fun, hope I can try it someday!

[dutchmasterflex]

That day was absolutely amazing.. Sucks that there wont be another practice ssession for the next cuople of weeks.

I borrowed that helmet from Tom. It's his old motorcyle helmet, you got a good eye ;)

I'm planning on buying a helmet.. still not to sure what kind but I definitely want the lightest possible helmet for the money. It makes a BIG difference in a kart.

A non-shifter kart would be a blast to have just for run.. Definitely A LOT cheaper to maintain than a race car.

Being so close to the ground and having such an amazing power to weight ratio is what it is all about. It's really nothing like driving a car. The feeling is totally different.. When I hopped into my toyota driving home from the track I almost fell asleep.. (mostly because I was so tired but it was also extremely relaxing compared to driving the kart)

In the shifter you have so much going on you cannot relax one bit.. a non shifter would be a blast and you can really focus on your driving techniques..

When you reach 8000rpm and beyond in one of these things you better hold on.. You wont find that kind of rush for this amount of money, anywhere.

[sameerrao]

Looking good dutchie 8)

So many gears does it have? And is there a hand clutch or something - how do you prevent the kart jerking when you downshift?

BTW - one of the tombstone's on your sig can be removed - the news of RC's demise was greatly exaggerated ;)

[dutchmasterflex]

The kart has a 125cc honda motorcross engine.. everything including the transmission is straight out of the motorbike.. 6 speed sequential with a clutch only used for launches. Onces you get going you never need to touch the clutch (which is mounted behind the steering wheel)

The gear changes are actually pretty smooth, even when downshifting.. no need to rev match or anything.. Shifting up you just have to remember to not use your left foot on the brake (from driving a manual car, clutch with the left foot) and to lift off on the throttle. If you dont lift off while shifting it will not change gears..

But man.. hitting the straight away is a blast! grabbing those gears every split second you just want to keep shifting up.. but as soon as you hit 6 gear you have to slam on the brakes for the hairpin.

here's a pic of the track, you can see the straight away on the left.. the track is half a mile long
http://www.ovrpweb.com/images/headerpic350.jpg

[dutchmasterflex]

Like I've said before, I really lucked out.. big time. The kart I drive retailed for about $10-11k USD.

You can pick up a used kart for around $3-5k USD. This guy Tom knows is selling 2 karts.. a 80cc shifter kart and a 100cc yamaha non shifter, BOTH for $5k.

They are easy to work on because there's so little of everything, and you dont need garage like you do when working on a car.

Gas at the track was $9 bucks a gallon (110 octane racing fuel) which you mix with oil (its a two stroke engine.)

The tires I'm going to buy for the kart when I get a chance to run some test go for about $175 for a set (2 rears 2 fronts).

A shifter kart is the fastest class, but not necessarily the most competative. These days the non shifter TAG (Touch and Go) karts are the popular classes where there's lots of competition.

the TAG's are great because they have onboard starters.. you press a button on the steering wheel and drive off.. This really pissed me off because we were trying so hard just to get our kart started.

To start our kart we need to get the engine rotating. You can either push start it on the ground or set it up on a stand and wrap a rope around the rear tire to give it a "pull start."