Go Kart Thread

Bruce Jibboo

TCG Elite Member
Apr 18, 2008
19,791
155
Elgin
Tell me why I shouldn't buy something like this next spring and make it street legal to cruise around empty streets in the subdivision.. I "think" this is the law in IL. The HOA would have no say in something like this but I can check the rules.

"The law says golf carts, four-wheeled ATVs and similar “non-highway vehicles” may operate only on streets with a posted speed limit of 35 mph or less.

The drivers must have valid Illinois drivers’ licenses, and the vehicles must have brakes, steering, a rear-view mirror, headlights, taillights, brake lights, turn signals, reflectors on the front and back and “slow-moving vehicle” signs in the rear. Seat belts aren’t required. "

s-l1600.jpg
 

bikrboy128

Some say.....
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Jul 15, 2007
12,878
11,502
Wheaton
depending on what type of kart you want, $3k is a minimum. you want a decent shifter kart you're looking at $5-6k (for a used one). if you've got eagle stacks i say go for it, but to buy a kart just to rip around your neighborhood until the cops come (and probably piss all the neighbors off) is kinda silly.

check out concept haulers motor speedway in norway il. you can rent a kart that will do close to 60 mph, the track is a blast, and the rental rates are reasonable. it's an outdoor track, so no good for winter time shenanigans.

it's way the fuck out in the middle of nowhere, and i found it by accident while on a motorcycle ride.
 

sickmint79

I Drink Your Milkshake
Mar 2, 2008
26,895
16,603
grayslake
fyi what is claimed to be the biggest street kart race in the world is held over near moline.

even the slowest rental karts will get over 40 on a straight. plus these aren't that quiet so i'd think you'd really annoy your neighbors dicking around in the sub.

i don't have a kart but i have friends that have in the past or currently race rotax karts. these go over 70 and handle over 1.2g. if you have the balls to go over 1.2g at least. the last rotax i drove was a rental in thailand. the guy told me my times were comparable to the children's division an engine class down, lol. i don't mind trying to find the limits of a 45mph kart but rotax accelerates past that like a joke.

i'm setting up a monday 17th chi-town 86 kart race for addison at k1. going tomorrow with a fast group that i think is planning on doing monthly things.

you can rent rotax in indiana at michiana raceway park but they are real shitty at actually organizing and selling the event. we did it a couple years ago but my buddy and i both reached out this year and they were real shitty at giving us any useful information. if you chase them for it and budget around 300/person you can get some rotax races there though, maybe 2 pre-qualifiers, 1 qualifier, 1 final race?

i'm slow/learning this track here but you can see how quickly i get even to 50 just leaving pit like a total joke. the rotax karts are serious business. i can't imagine being on a kart that goes 100, 120, 140 etc. that shit would be scary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaS1o4YbrJg
 

sickmint79

I Drink Your Milkshake
Mar 2, 2008
26,895
16,603
grayslake
depending on what type of kart you want, $3k is a minimum. you want a decent shifter kart you're looking at $5-6k (for a used one). if you've got eagle stacks i say go for it, but to buy a kart just to rip around your neighborhood until the cops come (and probably piss all the neighbors off) is kinda silly.

check out concept haulers motor speedway in norway il. you can rent a kart that will do close to 60 mph, the track is a blast, and the rental rates are reasonable. it's an outdoor track, so no good for winter time shenanigans.

it's way the fuck out in the middle of nowhere, and i found it by accident while on a motorcycle ride.

these guys used to rent rotax but i think it's the same group that moved out to michiana? i did outdoor rentals here at a friend's bachelor party once but i think they were more like 45 peak karts. i heard they got rid of that far banked turn? first time i drove a rotax ever was on my buddy's there

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzrqxiQPOKo
 

Eagle

Nemo me impune lacessit
Moderator
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Mar 1, 2008
63,904
4,732
Woodsticks, IL
depending on what type of kart you want, $3k is a minimum. you want a decent shifter kart you're looking at $5-6k (for a used one). if you've got eagle stacks i say go for it, but to buy a kart just to rip around your neighborhood until the cops come (and probably piss all the neighbors off) is kinda silly.

check out concept haulers motor speedway in norway il. you can rent a kart that will do close to 60 mph, the track is a blast, and the rental rates are reasonable. it's an outdoor track, so no good for winter time shenanigans.

it's way the fuck out in the middle of nowhere, and i found it by accident while on a motorcycle ride.

First, :squint:

Second, this dude makes my "stacks" look like little dust bunnies rolling around on his hardwood floors! You guys are so silly.
 

Bru

Moderator
Staff member
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May 24, 2007
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these guys used to rent rotax but i think it's the same group that moved out to michiana? i did outdoor rentals here at a friend's bachelor party once but i think they were more like 45 peak karts. i heard they got rid of that far banked turn? first time i drove a rotax ever was on my buddy's there



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzrqxiQPOKo


Where in Michiana?
 

sickmint79

I Drink Your Milkshake
Mar 2, 2008
26,895
16,603
grayslake
[MENTION=341]sickmint79[/MENTION] .... I've been trying to find a place that rents shifter karts locally. I haven't found one.

i don't think you will find them. even just a rotax is pretty rare. michiana does it. i got hooked up with a mechanic and rented one of his from his race team in thailand. in abu dhabi i found a place that will rent you one, but only after you earn it with good lap times on their normal karts and then their stage 2 karts. most places simply don't have them available to rent.

i think the base shifter is actually just a rotax with a shifter too, ie. same engine and i think they go the same speed. the actual race class is not as full as the rotax race class, and i think the regular rotax guys put down faster times because they are not playing with shifting.

probably the only way you're really going to get on one is if you find someone who already owns one, then go out and meet with them to try it out in a test and tune session like some open lapping time you can purchase at that concept haulers speedway in sheridan, il. there's a chitown karting group on facebook and you may be able to find someone who owns one there.
 

sickmint79

I Drink Your Milkshake
Mar 2, 2008
26,895
16,603
grayslake
i wouldn't buy one unless i was racing it, and even then i think a fair amount of races involve traveling out to other places.

lot simpler for some occasional fun to just go out and rent something. i'm sure the rotax is enough to test your limits and guts - 70+ inches off the ground with turns flying at you is definitely not slow. i don't even want to dick with a shifter.
 

jason05gt

TCG Elite Member
Jan 17, 2007
15,307
7,195
Naperville
i wouldn't buy one unless i was racing it, and even then i think a fair amount of races involve traveling out to other places.

lot simpler for some occasional fun to just go out and rent something. i'm sure the rotax is enough to test your limits and guts - 70+ inches off the ground with turns flying at you is definitely not slow. i don't even want to dick with a shifter.

Rotax is still 125CC, but with a single speed drive? I spent a few hours in a 125cc shifter and it was hard for me to keep up with the upshifts/downshifts due to the lack of gauges. The shifter didn't have any gauges or shift lights, so you had to listen to the motor getting into the powerband. It was still brutally fast.
 
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