Hi all, new member here and has been reading this forum for a long time and always have one question not answered. Everyone is always debating the best class for power and economics and reliability for adults…why no one is talking or pushing more DD2 rotax? I run one and I find it so simple, economical and reliable…direct drive is insane and no chain and sprocket is awesome. The clutch is in the transmission and oiled all the time…am I missing something? There is even area where they don’t run DD2 at all. I don’t get it. Compared to OK sr or x30 or even shifter…it seems to me that DD2 rotax has it all. I probably missing something…
The dd2 is largely unpopular as there is just almost no competition for it in most areas. It’s a fantastic package to drive and being a rotax it’s fairly reliable. But the lack of high level competition and support stateside has all but killed it. Rotax does push it for their grand finals events however.
2 Likes
I think the lack of competition is kinda what he’s alluding to though.
The DD2 is a bit of an odd duck in terms of the chassis, axle setup etc. Also from what I remember the initial purchase cost was pretty steep. When you put those two things together, I think people just either went TaG or KZ.
They are a lot of kart for the money used when you come across them, so from that standpoint, I guess it is surprising that there isn’t more at the local tracks pounding laps.
They seem to be raced in South Africa. There are places where it’s got fields. It’s really cool, too!
Firstly it must be remembered DD2 is a compromise. The whole project started with the RM1 which was a disaster and Rotax demonstrated they didn’t really understand the karting marketing as much as they thought. This damaged the idea a bit from the get-go.
What market is DD2 actually targeting? The KZ guys are way more wedded to the principles of of multi-make motorsport than the direct drive lads. This is partially because it’s a smaller, yet more dedicated market of drivers. 125 Gearbox has been so stable for years, and the DD2 doesn’t really solve problems people had. A lot of the drivers happen to like having a close-relationship with their engine tuner and baulk at the idea of sealed engines etc…
These are important factors for these kind of competitors. KZ is a very different beast and DD2 is a bit lifeless in comparison. I find it a bit depressing. It’s offensive to some. On paper it might sound great, but the market it is targeting isn’t the ‘on-paper’ types. There’s a lot of ‘on-paper’ classes they never take off. This is because the correlation between what people say and what they do isn’t always linear.
IN addition the specific chassis also means the s/h market is confusing and less dynamic. The market for these classes is so small it’s very difficult to get any kind of foothold, the fact DD2 has in some places is quite remarkable. The engine itself is a bit weird too. two-gears is not to my tastes. Either bang gears of have one.
3 Likes
Here in Canada in the masters DD2 have a pretty big class. I thing people are dropping from KZ tired of all the tuning and maintenance, but still wanting the power and physical aspect of KZ to a point. I was just curious why it is not that big around the world. Loads of power, reliable, simple, 2 gears, no chain.
2 Likes
It’s buying a dedicated chassis for me mostly. It has to be a completely dedicated setup. No pulling off an engine and going to race something else.
I would say Rotax support is better in Canada too. Especially after the EVO.
Compared to an X30, they’re more expensive to buy, less expensive to run, about as fast, and have softer throttle response in a less nimble kart that needs front brakes.
1 Like
In my zone there aren’t enough drivers to support DD2. Add to the fact that it requires an special chassis hard to resell because the class is always on the verge of disappearing locally.
At least you can convert a KZ chassis to a standard one while the DD2 you have to do more things.
X30 compares to rotax max no? The dd2 is faster then the max…
DD2 in Sweden are pretty much totally dead. On paper it is a good class. But in reality boring, heavy machines and slower than a regular senior max on most of our tracks.
Mini60 and X30 is the biggest field, we have 2 classes that is called Junior125 and Senior125 where you are free to run either X30, Rotax or Vortex Gp engines. But X30 is the absolute biggest
What is your type of tracks? I am curious to know how the max could be faster then the dd2?
The gap is usually around .5-.8 on a normal kart circuit. Something relatively tight and the normal MAX could expect to be as fast.
I don’t think pace is the be and end all by the way. It’s a bit of a red-herring. Class success is a weird alchemy of things. But the DD2 is a lot of hassle to not go much quicker than a MAX.
I think the DD2’s problem is something feels ‘off’ about it. To KZers it’s a bit offensive. No other product I know elicits the response it gets.
2 Likes
Medium speed tracks, on tracks with longer straights the DD2 is faster. But not on our usual tracks 
But it isn’t a fair comparison because the regular senior does run LeCont tires.
For me as a Kz driver the DD2 package is pretty dull to drive. No fun despite the 2 gears, but for guys who just wants to drive laps it is a great choice. But with a very limited second hand market
For the weight issue it is true that dd2 is super heavy. My 2024 birel is 204 pounds with fuel almost empty. Do you guys know how much is a rotax max?
Around 92-93kgs with fuel😄
Lecont tires? are they sticker the. the D5?
Rotax is always better for karting. If there was only Rotax I think karting would be way bigger than it is. But for all the reasons listed above sadly it will probably never reach it’s potential.
1 Like
Better performing yes, also better longevity