FYI…the introductory price for the KA100 is $1600 and the regular price will be $2300, so its definitely not at the same price point as the X30.
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Good price point if thats actually correct. Not knowing your market it may still be high?? I believe we are paying around $3100 for the KA and $3500 AUD for the X30. We are also getting slugged a levy from KA for it.
As far as the longevity goes most here are spinning the KA to 17000 or more so the hrs are not that great between the rebuilds… An X30 we would only spin to 16000 if needed… And it totally killed the KT as its at least a second a lap quicker. We have a lot of yamaha anchors and far less participants…
X30 is 3200 here as well.
Peter,
Here’s how you get 10-15 karts in a new class:
Hopefully it works!
I saw that, very interesting decision by both USPKS and IAME
The PR is out now, which was linked by TJ. I don’t know how long IAME will offer the introductory price, but the USPKS promo is only for the first 20. I know who several of the first 20 will be, since they have already entered, or are in the process.
This engine is currently being run at Mooresville, and a number of packages have been sold, and a bunch of testing has been done, so its not like this engine just fell off the plane.
That’s an incredible deal, and anyone running USPKS would be silly not to grab it! If that was in the cards for me, I would.
Not to be the negative Nancy, but unless the introductory price is continued for other series and clubs when they make the switch, I still think it’s too expensive. That would also be like telling everyone else that already doesn’t have the time and money to run a national series that they get the benefit of paying more for the KA.
Yes, they would need a distributor, which as far as I know they don’t currently have. Although they oddly have some of the 4 stroke TKMs here in western Canada.
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Latest news here in Aus is the timing has now been mandated to be now at 3.2mm back from 4.5mm to help with reliability and the over heating issues…
Over priced peice of crap…
Overpriced compared to what David? If it’s overpriced, what’s motivating people to run it over, say the KT. Aside from speed.
The KT class was dead here. To many variable engines from yamaha. Our KT price was around $1000 new.
The association was given a guide by its menbers to replace this motor with a CURRENT 100cc air cooled with a price point and performance level very close to the Yamaha. This was to allow the gradual phase out of the older yamaha. Options such as cnc barrels as a retro fit were considered and rejected.
What we have ended up with is a motor whose retail price should be around the $1600 price range here considering its a bittza made up from old stock not the $3100 we are paying.
I don’t know why people here are buying this. Classes has been forced onto us by the association to run that motor when that class was effectively redundant at senior level. Juniors were different and had good numbers are running the KA motors as the old kt100j was smashed by them and these are the kids now the bulk numbers of KA users.
A lot of people are leaving the sport here looking for cheaper options due to the poor decisions made by KA.
I just started to look at this engine. I used to race KT100s back 13 years ago before I had to stop. What got me to come back into racing (aside from my friend wanting to go back into racing and now I can afford it) was the LO206 engine because of it’s initial cost and long term cost. Could the KA100 be something similar? I remember having to do two rebuilds a year or so and alot of clutch work on a KT100 (mind you this is club racing). I was reading this article ( http://ekartingnews.com/2017/01/23/iame-ka100-the-future-for-grassroots-2-cycle-karting/ ) and it was giving me somewhat of an impression that the KA100 could somewhat do that, but unfortunately it seems that here in the US the engine is far too unknown to determine if this could be the “Lo206” answer to 2 cycle racing.
If this could be something that would only require a rebuild post season in preparation for the next year and be the answer for budget 100cc racing then it would be a dream. Right now it almost feels like a pipe dream considering how new it is to the US.
Gotta love the Karting Hype Train.
We might have a better picture at the end of 2017 once we see how they run at USPKS and GoPro. But based on the sentiment in Oz, I don’t think I’d earmark this thing as anything that’s going to be cheaper to run in terms of ongoing costs vs the KT.
For any point that’s made regarding better longevity for the KA, it’s offset by cost of the parts. Reeds will need checking for sure on the KA, that’s one thing you don’t have to deal with on the KT. Clutch advantage goes to the KA, if it’s a durable low-stall clutch.
The (potential) advantage for the KA over the KT at this point is parity from what I can tell. Everything else is kind of a wash in the absence of anything other than hype.
I still don’t understand why this is needed when we have x30?
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I think a big point i’s that it’s cheaper than the X30. Lots of people have been getting tired of paying so much for the X30, and while the KA is not cheaper compared to a Yamaha, it’s less expensive than the TaG stuff. I’m definitely intrigued with how the reception will be this year
First thing I think of on price is how does a good used x30 compare on price vs a new KA.
IMO if anything should be getting a shot in the arm it should be the HPV/KPV3. Simple piston port motor with a well known history, decent parity and reasonable performance. But that’s probably not fashionable enough, which is a real shame.
I’ve heard phenomenal things of the KPV, it’s a shame it died out.
As far as price I think the key was more maintenance than initial cost. With the radiator and all that fun stuff I believe it added up pretty quickly, while the KA will last longer and doesn’t have as much stuff. This is all a lot of guesswork though.
Seems that there’s a lot of speculation going on and not a lot of solid facts to work with at the moment. I hear lots of different things from a lot of different people.
So should we never introduce new engines ever again since the new price is higher than a used engine of another brand? Give it a year and you will see used KA packages for half off retail.
Also, X30 is too much for some people. There’s a reason my dad got the Leopard and then decided to get rid of it and go to an LO206 for his first kart. The Leopard was too much for him, for a completely green newcomer to racing. The LO206 will probably be too slow for him after a season. You gotta remember James, not everyone has been driving for 20 years and grew up around FA engines!
There needs to be a middle-ground from LO206 to X30. This WAS Yamaha at the national level. But Yamaha died out at the national level. So there needs to be a replacement. Komet would’ve served that purpose well but that already failed for a number of reasons as well (not all related to the engine package itself). This thing is basically a Komet with a starter on it and reeds, so I’m not sure why people are so sure of the Komet but so unsure of the KA.
You also have to keep in mind the competitive environment of X30 vs. KA. I guarantee you, even if both fields had the same amount of drivers, the carnage of KA will be lower than X30. You’re going to see a different style of racing in KA because it’s serving a slightly different market of drivers.
The potential advantages are engine longevity, parity, and ease of operating. We will see how the longevity plays out in the real world.
I will be sure to write an on-going full review of the engine and track my maintenance schedule as the season goes on.
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I would love to see a real breakdown of running costs for the KA over a season.
As for price point, I think where the KA is right now with the discount is perfect. Without the discount, it’s a tough proposition for a grassroots guy when (as someone said earlier) you can get a used TaG motor for cheaper. But I 100% agree that there needs to be a step between 206 and TaG and I really hope KA can be that step.
The KPV or HPV or Komet (lack of brand identity was one of the problems it had) is a great engine, but like most things that aren’t marketed well, and suffer technical setbacks, it failed. Still a great engine, and they can be had for $500 ready to go, but the cost of replacement parts, uncertainty with clutches, desire to push the engine beyond its limits with big pipes, and the fickle karting public are all reasons its hardly raced anymore.
What does the cost of a used X30 have to do with a new KA? Compare a used X30 to a used KA if there is a need for some type of comparison. The cost to operate will probably be the real discussion. Not just engine life, rebuilds, etc, but also the classes. The x30 is undisputedly, the most aggressive, and roughest class out there. I expect the KA people to have slightly better manners. Factor in bent kart thingys too when you compare costs.
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