From what I heard is the WF is just not as reliable as 206.
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The WF didn’t catch on imo because it is not locked and, at least around here, the clone was doing ok and no one wanted to switch wholesale. They got those clones going pretty fast. If the engine isnt locked you have endless amounts of money being dumped into them and might as well run 2 cycle. Imo the 206 is successful primarily because of low cost and parity and this is because it’s locked. Personally I would never run a 4 cycle if I had to get it blueprinted and/or rebuilt all the time.
That blue 4 cycle engine was probably a tillotson. I saw it run at NCMP last year or maybe 2019… tillotsen was letting people run it as I assume they were hoping it would catch on. It was fast! Really fast. And I remember it being somewhere around the size of a 206… maybe like a 225 or something. I don’t remember if it was X30 fast, but certainly it was way faster than any 4 stroke I’d seen.
There are two different 4 strokes ran in at our Local Track.
206spec from Kid Kart to Masters Age classes which is by far the more popular class.
There is also a class called OVKA 420 which is a Predator 420cc based engine that produces about 25hp/32lbs of TQ with very tight rules controlling what you can/cannot do and it is a builders class no 2 motors are the same just built to the same specifications. They run same times as Yamaha with Pipe at most tracks when they weight in @460lbs but at 400lbs they will run with KA 100 class no problem.
Dyno at the Rear Wheels (TQ is higher before clutch hits)
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I believe that’s pretty much a wf engine. I think I confused the tillotson with the powerful one. It’s called the vortex 4 stroke, weighs 16.4 kg, and makes 38hp. Impressive stuff
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Why so heavy? Never heard of a class over 420lb
I tried to run a Kawasaki 300ex for road racing. At 29 kW (39 hp) @ 11,000 rpm and a slipper clutch I thought it would be a reliable good fit for an open class, but our karting organization is closed minded and wouldn’t allow it because it was more than 250cc.
I’m surprised you weren’t able to run the Ninja in an unlimited group where CRF450’s are permitted with superkarts.
Ron, I saw that OVKA 420 class run… I’ve been to G&J probably 7 or 8 times in the past few years. Those things are CRAZY fast. It looked intimidating to me because they are so big and fit looks challenging but for a Harbour Freight engine they are great for cheap speed and a good option for really heavy guys that have no chance racing anything else. I loved the fact that OVKA had an option for guys that otherwise couldn’t race competitively because of weight. Do you have difficulties with getting high performance parts for this engine? Are various builders still achieving engine parity? Does the rule set successfully keep costs down? How is reliability? How hard is teching these engines to keep people honest? (OVKA always had the most thorough tech for local races imo!). Do you think if an engine like this could be locked similar to 206 it would be even better? Sorry for so many questions but I’m super interested in this because it really is a good case study to learn from for a faster 4 cycle class. It’s the only one I’m aware of in the Midwest US. Thanks!!
Made for drivers who are to heavy to run in other classes you can make weight at 265lbs.
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There are three/four dominant builders but 0retty much everyone builds there own, infact one of the best motors is for sale right now. The average cost to buy and build your own is about $1200 to have one built I imagine around $2000. You can expect a season out of a motor before needing rebuilt. They are usually pretty reliable but we do see failures from time to time mostly rod issues and previously piston skirt issues but the rules have changed to eliminate that issue.
Between the top 4-5 motors there is very little difference even all being built differently but all legally.
That’s an interesting story about that motor at your home track. It seems to me that there’s a bunch of sink cost fallacy happening there, happens to most/all of us. With the money and increasing scarcity wrapped around these motors it seems like ka100 would be a better package starting sometime in the next year or so.
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A few years ago (2014) there was a four stroke shifter package developed by Marcos Ambrose. It didnt seem to take off at the time, not sure why… But it looks like the general concept is re-emerging.
Here’s the skinny on the one developed by Ambrose…
Marcos Ambrose has designed, developed, and built a new karting engine. It is a 4 speed shifter, 4 cycle, 200 cc, electric start motor called Thumper X. Check it out on his website. This motor package is complete and sets on karts with only butterflies, fuel, and throttle to hook up.
It has mid 20’s HP and runs lap times comparable to TAG. It also has 4 gears, is cooled with oil, burns pump gas, and has a HUGE amount of torch.
Complete engines cost $2170.00 (intro price), soon to be about $3000. Marcos will sponsor the class if we get 8 motor sales. This means FREE ENTRIES FOR SEASON!
What if we put together a class that is similar in concept to the highly successful L0206 idea. Let’s use MG IR Tires for long life and this allows a selection of $1000. priced chassis. Total budget estimate is $4000. This would be an economical way to achieve speed. Stop by to see one or visit THUMPERX.Com for a video ride.
Here’s a video of the Thumper X (Some onboards included)
Lately I’ve noticed an uptick of interest in scooter based four stroke engines again. Here’s one project that looks like it will be an actual thing…
Here’s a link to the engine running in the vid: Explore Daytona Anima 190cc Motorcycle Engines — for PitBike
The great advantage of these scooter based packages is that they generally have an integrated shift lever and clutch, with speeds around that of a TAG, they don’t need front brakes either. So you get to bolt-on shifter thrills to your 206/100cc/TaG. The low profile of the laydown cylinder is very nice too.
If reliability, parity and marketing/promotion and incentives are done right. these could have legs
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I’d drive it. Sounds good and reasonably powerful. Seems economical.
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GPX Is another possible vendor. Base package as low as $400 or so for a 90cc.
https://pitsterpro.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=10
I’ve been eyeing up the larger cc models for my rentals, not gonna lie.
https://pitsterpro.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=10&product_id=83
/frustrated their website doesn’t have featured images defined on their pages 
We have something like this in the UK at Strubby. They use 125cc Lifan engines
Nice! Any idea what kind of challenges they have on reliability or parity?
When I did a quick google on the class I found this…
Infinite loop LOL
Also, I was discussing getting karting going in Pakistan and the concept of running CG125s as a class was at the forefront purely because the ubiquitous nature of the engine really.
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Yeah I was thinking if I ever decided to move up into the 2-stroke world, I’d probably go KA-100. My understanding is I can run one of those on my S55 chassis but not X30. I’m just not hot on the idea of constant engine rebuilds; so I’m happy with 4-stroke for the time being.
You should be able to run an X30 on the same chassis?
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