In early November we had pretty much finished Crash Team Racing except for the Japanese version and so the boss, Jason, treated us all to a day of shift karts. It was pretty damn cool.
Here is Eric Iwasaki fitting into his kart.
The karts normally go up to 120 miles per hour. These are not children’s toy go-karts. You can get seriously hurt if you goof around. As we were all new to this we were told the karts had be geared down so they would only go about 70.
The gang watching from the side lines
There were only 5 karts allowed on the track at once and we were not allowed to pass each other. The point being that if two karts touch wheels one of them could flip. So, we were all going for lap time. Each day there were around 15 of us and so we rotated in 5 people at a time.
Evan showing how it’s done.
The karts have a clutch but it is only used when the kart is completely still. It takes a little getting used to as it’s a hand clutch. Nearly everybody stalled a couple of times. The karts have six gears. The gear shift is a little knob next to the steering wheel. To shift you let off the gas and then pull back to go up a gear or push forward to go down a gear (I may have that backward) It’s important to remember which gear your in as there is no indicator.
The karts have no rev-limiter. That means you must not use the "downshifting", shifting to a lower gear, to slow down or you could blow the engine. Instead when you come into a corner you need to really step on the break hard and then once the engine has slowed down quickly shift down a few gears.
Hey, it’s me
It’s a little scary. If you look closely at the picture above you can see that the gas tank is between my legs and the engine is right under my right arm. If you’re not careful you could get burnt if you lean over on the engine.
Malcom ready to go
There is no seatbelt either. The seats are rather deep so that you are not going to come out of the car on the left or right. The cars are nearly as wide as they are long so unless you go offroad or touch another car they are not likely to flip.
Somebody has stalled
On the final rotation we were each timed for our best laps. The boss was the best as he had done it once before and so he knew how best to take the turns etc. It’s amazing just how fast these cars accelerate. I’m not sure of the 0 to 60 rating but it sure feels fast. Of course these pictures give you no idea of how fast they go. If you want to see try downloading this video. Note: it is about 1meg so it may take a few minutes if you’re on a slow connection. If your computer won’t play it try downloading the latest version of the Windows Media Player from Microsoft.
The place we did this is in the California Mojave about 80 minutes outside of Los Angeles at a place called Willow Springs. I believe the cost is around $400 per person and racing is from 9am to about 1pm. That’s pretty expensive. As we took 30 people over 2 days I think there was some kind of group discount but still. On the other hand the karts are not cheap. I think they generally run between $8000 and $14000 and as they are pushed so hard they often need service and repairs. Of course they also need tires quite often. There are of course leagues and competitions.
If you get the chance I highly recommend it.
your site is really cool i have always wanted one of these shifter carts but mine would not have the lower gears and i have never been able to afford one so when i get older i am going to buy one so i thought i would just let you know your karts are bad!
Hey, I have raced karts for a few years. Kart racing is the most badass sport that exists, and I reccommend it to everyone who has the patience/money. Heres my web site http://www.gaddyracing.com/
Hey I have been racing kart for 12 years now. I started when I was 3! I was in a little comer 50cc. But now I am racing in the ICC class (125cc) and I am selling my kart if anyone wants to buy it for about $6500. And thats pretty cheap. I have a birel chassis and a 125 ICC VM engine. It is a shifter and it can win races without a problem. Plus I am located right here in Cali! I’m in Riverside. It has a fast ass engine and it pulls well. It has about 48 horse and the entire thing weighs about 210 lbs. It comes with everything on there except for the MYCHRON 3 GOLD, the Stewart seat(will come with a tillet seat), and the Magnesium wheels(will put on douglass wheels) I need a newer kart because a am advancing in classes. Im hoping to get into F1 someday and this is deffinately where to start out. Also I am ONLY ACCEPTING AMERICAN CASH IN HAND!!!!!!!!!! NO EXCEPTIONS!!!!!!!!!
Only serious buyers please. Here is my email to contact me: slowbenz@gmail.com
Thanx and please buy it. It runs great and hasnt been in a crash!
how fast will ur cart go and wat state do u live in.
greg krueger
hey guys how soes someone get into the sport of kart racing and where can i get parts to build a cart
hi slowbenz im wondering about buying ur cart but i still need alittle bit mor info so contact me at matix196@aim.com
need some info on were i can find a used shift cart / parts
Hi guys, i need to know about what size shift kart i should buy. I am 15 years old, i weigh 165, but im not knew to speed. I have a 2001 RM 125cc which very fast and is for sale by the way. contact me at xlboy92@msn.com the dirt bike that is for sale is $1,800 o.b.o.
thanx
hey i decided to get this 125cc kart but i dont no how to change the gearing to make it faster??? It was clocked going just over 65 mph, however i want it to run like 100 mph…am i expecting to much or can i make it happen. If i can plz plz plz tell me how…i have a need for SPEED!!
u wona go fast im only 14 and i no this sh&%t what r u 2?? just get the smallest back sprocket u can dumbASS try thezze guyz they got it all
hey, im thinking about purchasing a used shifter, cause it seems like alot of fun, but their arnt any tracks or clubs where i could race it near me. still i think it would be so much fun to just zip around my neighborhood. do you think this is a good idea?