Part of the cost comes from technology development. In the 1980s, basic club 4 cycle US karts were $1200 worth of tubing, plastic or fiberglass seat, spun aluminum wheels as a roller, and a $400 Briggs flathead. In the 2 cycle world, there were budget options in the KT-100, West Bend 820, and Comer K125, as well as K71 / HPV / KPV. You could have an all new package, completely competitive for $2000. Tires would last weeks, entry fees were $20, people raced for points and club championships. Trailers were flatbeds, or the back of your truck.
Now we have magnesium wheels, higher developed chassis with magnesium components, fancy $250 seats, single weekend tires (donāt overstress those reds!!), full suits instead of jackets and jeans, SNELL $300 helmets instead of DOT cheapies, bodywork, etc. New combos at $4500 or moreā¦
Iād say part of the solution is karting returning to simplicity.
Also, the orgs and series now cater to arrive-and-drivers instead of hobbyists/privateersā¦another topic for another dayā¦but that increases the costs because measures arenāt taken to increase value, rather to increase spendingā¦in a lot of cases.
Hi Ted, I agree with a lot of what you say but not regarding helmets. The helmet is the most important piece of safety equipment in karting. A $300 helmet is cheaper than brain surgery!
Iām not saying ALL those costs are bad, and as a helmet painter Iāve seen firsthand some of the improvements. But Ive also seen $1200 helmets that werenāt $900 better than $300 helmets. Image and branding dont mean safety. And cost isnt a reliable indicator of safety in the increasing direction. Cheap helmets generally are worse though.
I canāt argue with you Ted about the $1200 helmet being any better than the $300 helmet as far as safety goes! My personal favorite it the Bell K1 sport.
FYI I am an amateur helmet painter am and in awe of you pros!
Doesnāt the ācommon manā in America go into enough credit card debt visiting Disney World to fund an average club year?
Now, whether or not the average person should be able to afford Disney is a multifaceted and politically charged topic. But the fact remains that the common man in American has a long standing history of poor financial choices. Iām sympathetically open to thought that these choices should be more attainable, but spending money you donāt have is the American way, it seems.
Google says the bullet was in the early '60s - is that right? If so, that MSRP of $1,500 is absolutely eye-watering even in 2015 dollars. From 1965 to 2015, thatād be $15,000.
I think ted is on the right track. Is there any data to back up that insurance company would not approve? Is there any proof that breadbox is any less safe then the latest aero? Again this doesnāt make a $1200 or $2500 motor $500, but it opens the discussion of not having to change your bodywork every year to meet the Aero advantages.
Thereās a very small percentage actually buying the new karts/body work. And, that probably increases the amount of available used karts. Its a yin and yang. Let the people with large budgets continually buy new chassisās and then put them out in the market for budget racers to buy.
I would assume most peopleās reason for eliminating the body work is driving standards vs cost, although Iām still not sold that would benefit driving standards.
Pardon my 2-cycle centric knowledge, but checking with the 2025 206 Ruleset, its been confirmed that ONLY orange-sealed engines are accepted moving forward, correct?
Coyote Bullet was 1980ās. Free Roller was their other model, and there was a Bullet Enduro (laydown) also. I got all the American Power Sports (APS) catalogs and drooled often. I was unaware of the technologically superior European karts coming out in the 90ās, and thus I still have a penchant for American karting hardware even though I race an Italian chassis now. I just acquired an early 80ās Comet Mach One that will be shown in another thread on here soonā¦
As indicated in the 2024 rule set update, the hologram seal is no longer eligible for competition after January 15, 2025. This means that the entire 206 community is running with engines that can be validated in the Seal Database using the serial number on the orange seal.
Yes, if your series or club follows the Briggs ruleset a large number of engines have become obsolete. Itās unfortunate that this didnāt coincide with a new offering from them.
So if youāre looking to create an affordable engine package, there are likely a lot of available Briggs motors with the old seals seeking for next to nothing.
Vintage events have insurance for podless karts. Although they might be framed as exhibitions.
I believe the Shredway in Maine was able to find insurance for a class of those coyote karts though
For Briggs 206 I wonder if weāll see more than a handful of clubs forgo the seal change rule. When the original seal was sunsetted there was an incentive to follow the rule due to the Briggs Weekly Racing program. But I think thatās been eliminated?
