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It's Karting Time

6/17/25

I've had the need for speed all of my life. My first real taste of it was back when I was somewhere around ten or so. My cousin Rick came across a used, fairly worn out Margay Racing go kart frame that someone had stuck a five horse Briggs and Stratton engine on. Rick brought it over to me and said "If you can get it running, it's yours." Didn't take me long to have the entire thing spread all over the garage so I could breath life back into it.

After a couple of weeks of work, I had a running kart. WOO HOO!!!

McAllen, TX, where I grew up, had alleys between probably 90% of the streets in the neighborhoods so I had a full course to go play on. What was even better that the hundred acres or so directly next to our neighborhood were being developed by US Homes. They put in, dirt at first, roads that were PERFECT for flying around. Once they paved the roads it got even better. Funny, now that I think back, I never had any issues with anyone out there. The cops stopped a couple of times checking on me but they never chased me off or said anything negative.

I drove the thing into the ground and finally the engine gave up. I found out later that I'd over tightened the head and warped it, causing lack of compression and lack of go vroom, vroom. The man I sold it to (after I found dirt bikes) contacted me a bit later and told me what I'd done. Lesson learned by a 12-13 year old.

Over the years I've continued to put my butt into a kart seat on and off. I raced a few six hour endurance races with a couple of friends probably thirty to thirty five years or so ago and the last few years I lived in Cincinnati I league raced at a local indoor karting track. Of course these were rental karts so they're fairly tame but we all had the same equipment so it made for some good racing. I was generally a top 20% finisher.

Here in Phoenix there's a karting track that's been around for years called Phoenix Kart Racing Association (PKRA). I got to drive on it probably twenty years ago in a spec class kart and as I recall it was a blast. The time to head back has come.

A good friend of mine, Jonny, who I met the day I first came to Phoenix, asked me a few months back if I'd be interested in going to PKRA with him and playing in one of his 125cc shifter karts. His son raced (trying to get that back to being 'races') and he has a few karts in his shed. Sure, I'm in. Been a while and I've always enjoyed them, so why not?

My need for speed lives. We've lost Arizona Motorsports Park (sold to developers), I can't stand the Wild Horse track and Wilcox is a 4 hr drive. I'm thinking my instructing days are on the wane. Plus my shoulders are so so unhappy that the bike is hard to ride for the moment.

Unfortunately we've not had a chance to get to the track but Jon keeps mentioning that we need to go play. I chatted with him a couple of weeks ago and he brought up karting again and said that I just need to go snag one and come play. Hmmm... I need to drive one first. I've never driven a shifter, which is a whole different beastie than the rentals and single speed karts I've been in.

Last week I stopped by a friend of my friend Jay's place to pick up some RC airplane stuff and there are five or six karts in his garage and his trailer. He said something about stepping around them and I said I'd rather sit in one. Immediately Bryce says "You need one, I'll make you a deal." Not what I needed to hear. Got the gears in me brain turning. I got the RC part I needed and just before leaving said "Make me a deal on the running 125." Bryce stood there for a moment then turned and said "$1,200 and it's yours." Hell of a deal! He then went on to tell me the history of the thing - a Tony Kart with a Honda 125. It's about twenty years old, though.

On the way home I called Jon and told him what I'd found. At first he said "Get it! That's a killer deal." Then as we chatted, he started changing his mind - "You need a newer kart and not the Honda, you'll be disappointed with the power. I know a guy who has a newer Praga with a 125cc IAME engine and it has an electric starter on it." Oooohhhh, a magic button. My last couple of dirt bikes have had the magic button on them and I'll never own another bike that doesn't have one. I'm old, I'm short, kick starting a bike is a bitch but pushing a magic button is just that, magic. Push, vroooommm. This one's a bit of a unicorn too, with the magic button. The engine is designed as a 175cc so the manufacturer set it up as electric start instead of push or external starter. It's set up as a 125cc right now but MO POWA (like I need it...) is literally a bolt on cylinder, piston and head w/o any other mods. Very rare that one can say "it's bolt on" and mean that is exactly what it is. More conversation with Jon and it turns out that this kart is a very modern ride that his friend's kid raced. The kid's top ranked here in AZ so they change out karts often. It's also his practice kart. Phone numbers were exchanged and a deal was made. It's a bit more than the $1,200 old Tony Kart but all the research I've done this past week says it's a banger of a deal. The owner had to take out the pedal box and put the pedals back into the "adult" position as the kid who races it is only fourteen or so. I got this teaser picture of the front end last night. I pick it up tonight.

I had to laugh at one of my good friends from the off road world's response when I told him I was snagging a new ride. Jesse (who we went to Australia this past year) has raced all sorts of stuff, from winning the Baja 1000 in a Class 1 car to motorcycles, to RC cars, to boats and, of course, go karts. I mentioned the new ride and this is what I got in return:

We've lost him to Karting Krack, Mike.
Bikes will be for sale. The dirt is going to become too dirty. He's going to be sending us laser temp gun pictures of track temps and tire changes. The F-250 will get a permanent kart rack in the bed.
Then he's going to need a spare kart. His kart suits are going to become his everyday wear and sleep wear. Robyn is going to have to feed him through a feeding tube because the helmet will become his natural state of being.
In the final stages he's going to lose the ability to communicate unless speaking in Braps and tings. It's been good man.
We'll always love you Richard.
Karting Krack addiction is a terrible disease and takes the best of us.

6/18/25

Today's the day I'm going to get to try my new ride. I got to work replacing the seat with the one that Jon gave me and I went to the karting shop. There I picked up a few things like a neck brace, rib protection, some spare parts, fuel and oil. The guy behind the counter, Curtis, knows Jon and Alex and actually another old friend from the ATV Racing days, Neil who used to race shifters way back in the day.

Seat replace, kart gone over, a few attention to detail items gone over - had to weld the air box mount back on in the correct place instead of using zip ties to hold it in. I replaced a few zip ties and also made a new clutch cable stay that held the end of the cable in the proper position. Made the clutch much easier to pull although it's still really quite hard.

Unfortunately we had a storm front come through right about the same time we were supposed to be headed to the track so the evening's events got pushed back twenty four hours. It's all good.

6/19/25

The day is absolutely beautiful. This will be ideal for my first run. I meet Jon at PKRA at a bit after 5:30 and start getting unloaded and set up.

6/20/25

Drive report on last night's first time in a shifter kart. Videos to come. Holy CHIT!!!

Got 4 sessions in.

First one was just seeing what was what - and "what" was fairly terrifying. Talk about a violent, twitchy, scary thing. Makes the Radical seem quite tame. When that genie comes outta the expansion chamber* things go sideways, especially on cold tires. Had to get used to up shifting is pull back on the shifter, not forward. Took a couple of doing it wrong to get it right in my pea brain.

* this engine is like old school dirt bikes - two stroke. The exhaust isn't just a tube, it's what makes the engine's tune. Two strokes have a power band where the genie inside comes out and makes power. This thing is a light switch. No power, no power then the genie pops outta his bottle and you go from 5 hp to 30 in an instant. bbbrrrrrrRAAAAAAAAP!

I kept trying to lug the engine/drive it easy. Nope, it doesn't like that at all. It wants to sing.

Also the brakes are amazing with warm tires. I went for a shift and my left foot automatically went for a quick stab of the non existent clutch pedal and I squirted myself out of the seat and against the steering wheel with an (accidental) over zealous stab of the stoppy pedal. Oops.

I had to make a couple of throttle pedal adjustments and put the heel rest in a different position after the first run.

Second session I was starting to get the track layout memorized. I kept trying to drive it like I would a car. Nope, it wants to be driven point and squirt style and doesn't like lugging. I forgot to hit the record button on the GoPro. I was too busy making little adjustments.

Third session I was a lot more comfy - had track layout memorized and was starting to keep the engine singing. It's much happier there and I didn't have to deal with the genie being released. It likes him being out and on song. I was also starting to get a feeling for when it wanted to slide and how to catch it. Everything happens so very quickly.

I did spin it in a slower corner while trying to keep him happy and out of his bottle. He ducked back in just a tad going into the corner and when he popped back out at the apex I was suddenly looking at where I'd just come from and backing into the dirt.

I went for the clutch but it's a tad far away from the wheel and it's at the end of my grip range. Adjustment to be made. Thank goodness for a magic button! Fired it up, found first gear and away I went. Maybe 15 seconds of stand still.

The fourth session was much more comfy. I was watching the guys who passed me (that would be everyone on the track) lines and starting to keep the engine on song and it made it much easier, and faster, to drive. It's got incredible traction when you do things right.

Was feeling much better about controlling it. Had gone from being reactive to starting to be in control of it (somewhat).

I'll make some mods to the controls (just move to more comfy positions) change the oil and piston and I'm ready to go back and scare myself some more.

This thing is a BLAST!