As I work to get my kids up to speed on their Comer 50 Emmick Kart I’ve been looking to find a kart for me. My budget is tight (just had to buy a new to me car) and essentially all I’m finding in my budget are older karts, typically with KA/KT100 or other random 2 strokes. Anything with an L0206, which I think is more appropriate for me, is 2-3x the price. But I’ve seen a few L0206 engines at reasonable price points.
Is it a viable option to buy one of these older 2 stroke karts and replace the engine? Or is that just more trouble than it’s worth?
Generally, 4 stroke chassis are softer than the 2 strokes, to help ease the lack of power and subsequent over-gripping so they are ideal in a 4T application. But if your concern is budget and you can spend 3 times less for a KA/KT older chassis complete with engine, then do that, fit a 4 stroke engine if that’s your deal (I wouldn’t) and when you feel up to it, you can fit the 2 stroke back in or sell it to right away partially fund the project (again, I wouldn’t)
My assumption is that you are buying the setup to just turn laps/occasional club race?
Cheers Andy, I appreciate the reply and insight here.
Yes, most definitely just the occasional laps and a race or two for now. Additionally, we’re about 2 hours from the nearest track so much of our Kart time has been, to date, at a local business park. I don’t plan to rip around by any means, but I’d like to lead/follow my kids a bit to help them develop. I think a 4 stroke thumping along would be less offensive to locals than a 2 stroke.
If/when the kids get more into racing and we spend more time at the track I’d upgrade, but for now I just want to have something to scratch the itch a bit.
A recent example is an older Birel kart with KA100 I found with all the extras (spares and stand, plus an extra engine) for $900. There’s a newer Trackmagic with KT100 which looks a lot cleaner for $1,600. By contrast, the cheapest L0206 I’ve found was a rough one and still $2,400.
To address your immediate situation the 4 stroke is the way to go, pump gas, little smoke, with a reasonable sound level and you can just give it a yank to make it go.
As for chassis, until you are racing competitively it likely doesn’t mater, you can put a 206 on a 2 stroke chassis, but in addition to a motor you will need a motor mount. The 2 stroke units are different.
I would be suspicious of a complete KA kart for $900. A running KA in need of a rebuild is likely worth about $1500 but sometimes people just want stuff gone. Unless your local track runs KT, this class is mostly dead, so the Yamaha KT has a very low resale.
I bunch of my local teams and fellow drivers run 2 stroke chassis with LO206s, I do it too. So far I haven’t experienced any problems from the chassis being stiffer. Only upside I see is the option to upgrade to 2 stroke later, otherwise it seems like they run the same.
Ask around the pits to see if anyone’s selling an lo206, a new one will run you about 1100 complete with a mount, clutch, air filter, etc.
Sorry about that…KT100. Clearly still getting up on the nomenclature! The guy didn’t know what engine it was (his neighbor gave it to him in exchange for helping him pack up his moving truck) so I was doing my best with photos. I just barely made out “Yamaha” on the case but looking at the head and the little can muffler, it’s definitely a KT100.
Locally there are some tracks which run the F100 class though I can’t tell if they allow KT or only KA. Some class rules list both, some only seem to be running KA? In any case, it doesn’t sound like too hot of a deal.
Chris, if you are going for a kart that you can do the occasional race or two, the older Yamaha isn’t gonna be a useful buy, most likely. I’d say figure out where you are likely to race and go with what’s current. Most places have long since moved on from that Yamaha (which once was omnipresent).
Mine was mostly just an issue when the weather got cold (<50F). There wasn’t enough grip to generate enough lateral load to unload the inside rear tire, and the kart just refused to turn. Raising rear CG height helped a ton, as would probably any of your low grip adjustments. Just felt like the stiffer chassis exacerbated things and I struggled more than the softer chassis until I got it working again.
I’m a fan of doing it right from the start, but also need to stay reasonable budget-wise. It looks like my options are:
Find an L0206 kart ready to go: $3,500+
Find a rough L0206 kart with unknown work needed: $2,500 (and not too easy to find so far)
Find a 2T kart around $1,000 and get a new L0206 engine kit for $1,200
Stop being a child and just be the pit crew while my kids race
In my mind (which often leads me astray) finding a decent chassis that is reasonably straight with good welds and brakes and then a brand new L0206 for $2,200 or so seems to be the best route? Here are some examples I am seeing, all of these are in the $1,000-1,200 range.
I would agree that option 3 is your best route. However, you might want to spend a bit more for something newer. The three options you have pictured might be okay but they are old and all have older motors that don’t have much resale. Chassis parts might become scarce and it might cost you more in the long run. You may want to visit your track and ask around if anyone is selling. If you live where racing ends for the winter, you may find more karts at the end of the season if you can wait.
Just be aware that it can be a huge pain in the ass to mount a Briggs (or any 4-stroke) on many older 2-stroke chassis. The rear cross bar location on many older 2-stroke chassis doesn’t leave room to mount the 4-stroke motors with the inside rear sprocket location.
Of the karts you pictured, I’d guess that might be the case with the Energy kart and that #45 kart, where the front sidepod bars come out at an angle (around 20 years ago that changed).
There’s also the issue with old chassis of trying to find parts for them.
@SantaCruzin
Not sure about your neck of the woods but round here there are some go-to guys for equipment, new and used. These are the fellas that run teams and are authorized sellers of certain brands. They also sell used as their drivers buy new karts and they then have old karts to sell, usually one or two seasons old.
These teams are the guys with the big trucks full of parts that take folks racing for a fee. They are callead tent programs or teams, generally.
If you ask the people running the series you are interested in (the race director) where to go for equipment, they can probably point you to the guys that service their series and bring racers.
Find the local tracks to you that run 4 stroke. Then find the FB groups associated with those tracks. That will be your best source for resale karts local to you. Also look for brands run at the track or tracks you intend to spend time at. This will aid in tuning tips and parts support.
Be patient…you can find a used LO206 package at or under 3500…
Don’t show up with a 6+ year old chassis from some brand that no one runs in your area and expect it to be easy to support.
My first kart was Covert 3.0 from Compkart.
Thing was awesome!! Definitely works. Only thing is having the axle keyed correctly on the newer 2 stroke karts from what I understand.
Let it go for $1800 just like this. And my newbie self didn’t realize it had J3 MXCs on it so there’s some lucky kid somewhere who has no idea what he’s got. (Yes I tried to get them back) karts been through multiple owners since then
Well…I guess I need to eat my socks. A 2014 Birel with an L0206 just popped up for $1,200. It is “track ready” and while I don’t know that I’ll be able to get to it first (it’s a 2 hour drive and I can’t go until the weekend) it seems to basically be exactly what I’m after.
so there’s some lucky kid somewhere who has no idea what he’s got. (Yes I tried to get them back) karts been through multiple owners since then