Saw this post in a Facebook Group, should i buy it as my first kart if i want to compete locally and possibly internationally?
The Tony Kart is obviously a good chassis, but it’s odd that it comes with a Birel sticker kit that won’t fit the bodywork. Impossible to say what condition the kart is in and difficult to judge it’s history given it was brought from Dubai for some reason. Are you located here in the States? Ideally you want to buy a kart locally so you can get support and parts from a kart shop.
What are your intentions with your karting hobby? That’ll help determine what direction to point you.
I’m not from the states, and yes the birel kit thing is weird, but while it did come from dubai for some reason, there are a lot of otk parts from where i’m from. Also, i do want to race locally but hopefully go international down the line.
In the absence of knowing how old the chassis and engine are, and not being able to tell, it seems a bit older. Not sure that engine could still be used in races, where you are.
If you get into karting, you will want to have something that’s useable where you will be racing/driving. Best way to ensure that is to get familiar with the tracks around you and use what’s used there, in whatever series they have that you might eventually participate in.
I’d probably pass on this unless I knew it was an engine that I could race, if I wanted to.
If you want to do it right the first time, ask for help at whatever track you’d be interested driving in. See if they sell stuff or can point you to someone who does. Back when I was doing tag, (pre-pandemic) a race ready used setup was around 4-6k usd.
This might be good for doing laps, but if it’s not also raceable locally, you’ll replace it.
it is a Tony Kart 401s, those things last i checked were introduced in 2017, so i guess they are 4-5 years old?
If it’s 2017 that’s not too old. Spares should be available. Is the engine current? (I think k the current is EVO models) Iirc rotax switched something up and the older version isn’t used for racing anymore. Is there someone that you can go to for parts locally? Trackside.
Your also want to know how many hours are on the engine. Rotax are very durable amongst the 125 tag group, but they still have a rebuild schedule that you need to follow. Depending upon hours, you might need a top end or a full rebuild which will add considerably to your cost. “Reconditioned” may mean it’s had a rebuild but not sure.
