So as misfortune would have it, the CRG TaG we got for my wife has a bent frame. I has a slight twist where the right C is about 3/8" higher than the left. Seems like a relatively easy fix, but I don’t think there’s anyone in Utah that can straighten it and I don’t see it as being worth the expense to ship out somewhere. It’s a '99- '00 era kart as close as I can tell, and I wouldn’t feel right selling someone a bent kart, so will be looking to just sell the complete engine package and pipe when we’re done with it (probably fall time or early winter) and mothball the rest.
The engine has an '00 casting on it, so I guess it was made in 2000. It’s the older square airbox style and is unsealed. It has a fresh top end, is clean, and runs great. What would it be worth? I’m sure the age and the status of being unsealed diminishes the value greatly.
I don’t have a table big enough to clamp it down to to put some meat on the end of a pole to twist it back. The best thing I could do, which is admittedly extremely cave man, would be to strip it down to the bare frame, put it on some 2X12’s to raise it up off the ground, throw a few more boards on top and drive my truck up on it to hold it down, but I don’t think that’d be enough height off the ground to twist it back. I really don’t have a way to do it myself.
We’ve driven it and it drives straight, but it does turn better to the left than it does to the right. Even with staggering the spindle ride heights as much as possible, the right axle is 3/16" higher than the right.
Returning to the topic of the engine… after purchase, I realized that you can’t warm these Rotaxes up without driving them. Since our only use for it is autocross, we don’t have the luxury of warm up laps. As such, I’d rather send this good engine down the road to someone that can use it as intended and move on to a four stroke that can be idled without fouling the plug or revved on the stand without fear of destroying the counterbalancer. Otherwise, it’s a fantastic engine and far more linear than I thought it’d be.
I know Utah is a big state, but there are kart shops in Salt Lake City. M Squared karting could certainly do this for you, 3/8th of an inch is easily fixable.
Back when I was kid racing, we would have just put a wheel under the chassis, had a heavy person stand on one corner (the opposite corner to the high corner) and jumped on the high corner (sorry if that doesn’t create the right image).
I’m 40 minutes from MSquared, but I won’t do business with them because they never answer their phone, have a voice mailbox that isn’t set up so you can’t leave a message, haven’t replied to my last two emails, and were closed during their advertised hours the three times I stopped by. Even after I told them I was a new karter and had a few grand to spend on gear and parts. Screw 'em, then… the online retailers get my money and you wonderful people get my questions.
To consider: the guys I know who sell karts and parts, like my guy Jerry. I’m pretty sure it’s a side gig. Maybe this store is like Jerry’s shop. He’s there when wrenching but otherwise on the road or whatnot.
wouldn’t be hard to setup an automated voice message saying they’re out of the office, or a facebook, or website-based notification for travel dates. Especially if you list regular hours.
Does Jerry return your calls and emails, and is he in his shop during the hours posted on his door? Part time is one thing; bullshit business practices are another.
Really, it’s a dead issue to me. As much as I’d like to keep my money local, if I can’t even get the courtesy of an acknowledgement after I’ve made repeated attempts through various means to make contact, then that bridge is burned and they’ll never see a dime from me.
He does. Gotcha. Just trying to not torpedo a biz in an already tough environment. I am surprised there aren’t any reliable guys or gals at the track who run programs that also provide parts/chassis.
I’ve never actually seen a bricks and mortar kart store.
A simple email would suffice, even an automated “hey, we’re out racing” reply would have been enough. I can set that up with my Yahoo email, so I know they can do the same. How about a voice mail box that works or a call back to the number they see a missed call from? Maybe a sign on the door that says back in 20…? None of that takes any time or money to accomplish, and not doing so is very off-putting. I’m not torpedoing anyone, but I am going to tell it how it is, and in the past three months, I’ve only received one very brief “give us a call” reply to my first of three emails, and when you add in the dozen or so unanswered phone calls and three fruitless 40-minute-each-way trips to see if I can catch them at the shop during the hours posted on their site, my opinion of them is not unreasonable.
On the converse, Comet, Acceleration, Italian Motors, Shark Shifter, PKT, and Karts LTD have all been very pleasant to do business with and will keep getting my patronage.
It won’t hurt too much… I’ve already binned this kart in my mind. If we can straighten it, we’ll sell it as a complete setup. If not, the engine package will be sold and the rest parted out.
I appreciate the advice, guys. This really is a great place to be.
I do get your frustration, and it’s one I’ve shared myself at times. But let’s re-spin