Canada West Coast
Legend LoL
9.5
Full size car autocross racing
ID’ng used Kart stuff
This forum layout is unlike any other. I am having trouble navigating it.
How can we help? Admittedly the search function is not great.
From the info you provided. Assuming Canada West Coast means Vancouver Lower Mainland area.
You have three track choices:
There’s some further afield, Kartplex (Oliver, BC) or PSGKA (Tacoma, WA).
As you’re looking for used, start with the rules for the track you want to race at. I think all three have TAG Heavy/Masters and LO206 Heavy/Masters. These classes typically have an age (30 or 35) or weight (usually 200lb) driver requirement.
For ID’ing used karts, may ppl post the link here and ask for advice. Alternatively you can try purchasing a used kart from one of the vendors at those local tracks. SIMA has a full service shop (Italian Motors), the others have regularly attending vendors, some are linked on WCKC’s site for example.
I’m in Maple Ridge, I find the local facebook listings are often rubbish karts that either require a lot of work and are old (likely uncompetitive) or don’t fit any current class structure. Occasionally you get a gem.
The getting started “template” seemed to cause more headaches that it solved, this was a good reminder to remove it…
Thanks for the replies.
I am not looking to get into actual Kart class racing. I want a Kart to run on tight autocross track events that are run here regularly. I have run a number of these events but my old car is seems not suited for it. By that I mean I am usually near the bottom in track time.
I had been keeping my eye open for a Kart roller. I found one recently and , Another impulse buy, It came home with me. Its rubbish and old lol !. When I got it home and looked closer, It looks like a bunch of parts someone threw together to sell to an unsuspecting buyer/sucker.
It was advertised as a “CRG Road Rebel”. But I am unsure what year it is. Brake caliper does not seem to match the rotor either. Any thoughts on what this thing is are appreciated.
I am good at building/machining/welding. That usually means I dont limit myself to project scopes like i should.
Yes I am Metro Vancouver area.
The CRG Road Rebel name has been around for decades now. Just from that picture it’s pre-2002 but probably post 2000. It has the old style pod mounts, which came in 2002. But it has a 50mm axle which really popped everywhere in 1999/2000 (but could of be retrofitted).
It’s definitely a CRG, if its a Road Rebel it’ll say so on the little metal tag on the rail that goes crossways behind the seat and infront of the axle.
What sort of engine are you hoping to mount on it? Its not setup for a shifter (front brakes, place to mount the shifter leaver) but it could be made to i guess.
Thanks again. Yes it does say “CRG Road Rebel” on that ID tag. Along with a bunch of other letters/numbers/slashes that sorta look like date codes but dont make sense.
I Plan to put a 250 4 stroke dirtbike engine on it, When I can find one thats not too trashed or made of gold in its owners eyes.
I am plotting how i can add front discs. Seems one can spend a lot of money on these things !
You’ll probably struggle to find period accurate front brakes. But front brakes for a kart are definitely available and if you are comfortable fabbing stuff then you could make it work.
The other numbers on the tag indicate the homologation, which can indicate the period of time the kart was manufactured (usually a 3 year period).
The 250 engine might be bit tight, you might have to move the seat support, but again if you’re comfortable fabbing then its not a problem.
So heres one of the problems. The brake rotor is 15mm thick, but theres a good 5mm gap to the pad. This type of caliper is a bit strange to me ; I am used to automotive type stuff. It has a spring return, There doesnt appear to be any adjustment for rotor width ? Or are the pads waaaaaay worn ?
Hey @gjestico,
There should be an adjustment for moving the caliper in, usually by adding/removing shims/spacers. Can’t tell from the pic, but is your axle in and connected to the rotor carrier? Either your rotor carrier has moved on the axle and needs to be re-centered, or your axle has moved in their bearings/cassettes, and needs to be re-centered.
Oh well that’s not the right brake caliper. That an old Birel (Freeline is Birel’s component brand) caliper that someone has mounted on a CRG.
That doesn’t mean it won’t work, but as already said, usually there are shim that can be bought (or manufactured) to shim the pads closer to the disc. Then the disc is centered between the pads.
Also if its the original brake disc it should be a floating disc (which it looks like it is based on the bolts i can see). When new the brake disc is surprisingly loose (wobbles and rattles on the hub). When they get old the mounting bolts and washers can break and you have no brakes.
By the way here’s the shims:
Yeah that’s the old style Birel “banana” caliper. As long as the master cylinder isn’t self adjusting you might be able to get away with spacing it with shims, or in this case you’ll or need a plate.
This is where the fun starts with cheap karts. Start with shimming because a new caliper and or rotor can get expensive if you’re not able to source something used.
Good news is that those Birel (Freeline) brakes were pretty good.
Thanks for the replies. It keeps getting better with this 'FrankenKart" . That bracket at the far left of the caliper pic looks like hand fabbed 1/4" steel.
Heres the rotor and hub. Im pretty sure the rotor is not floating. What would the original brake have looked like for this machine ?
What other details are on that tag behind the seat? If we can narrow down the model it might be easier to find parts for it
Yeah the bracket for the CRG brakes and Birel are likely different.
A system like CRG’s Ven04 would probably match the kart. If that’s the case you could try to find a used set with master, lines, caliper and rotor. The rotor in the Ven04 system is pretty thin, probably 5mm thick
So the Chassis tag read like this :
C R G ROAD REBEL
ICA 072/02 - 01/01/ET
ICAJ 066/O2-01/01/ET
FMK/FIA N. O747
Im def going to need a new seat !! no way can my hips even come close to fitting. I see that seat sizing is somewhat complex 
It is also critical to get CG (height-wise and fore/aft location) pretty dead on if you want it to handle worth anything. Make sure to plan the seat location around the motor. Adding a heavy motor and a heavy driver means you are not going to have the luxury of band-aiding with ballast.
