New to forum and karting...

J par

Member
Hello all and thank you for having me here on your forum.. First I'll say I use my phone and voice command and I try my very best to go back and check everything out so it sounds coherent. But bear with me at times when it doesn't LOL.. I've been on the FABO car forum for several years now (under the same username) so I'm familiar with forums..
I had been missing my YZ250 for some time now but yet even if I had another one I would have no one to ride with and riding out in the woods is dangerous by yourself... I recently picked up an old Bonanza mini bike that I restored not in original condition but in nice running nice painted condition and got myself into small engines and stuff again. Back in high school a prerequisite for auto shop was small engines and I went to State finals for that so I'm aware of how things work inside the engine..
Anyways fast forward to a couple months ago and I'm starting to think about a go kart. So much so that I actually jumped in and bought one. Now here I am trying to figure it all out and I absolutely love learning..
I bought what I believe is a 2017 ckr kart. 30 mm sg2?.. I bought it from a guy who bought it to teach his son how to drive. I don't think it was ever raced and I definitely had to get a new seat. It has the orange lo206 animal engine...
He didn't put oil in the new engine and blew it up instantly and had another engine put in it. I have the original seized engine with all its accommodating parts. I have another rear axle that was probably the original so I'm assuming the one in it is thinner wall? Also the bearing nearest the sprocket has been removed again assuming for more flexibility.
I've took it out once so far just to ride it around our local track (Pat's acres)..
I started at 12 lb in the tires and ended up at 14 and 15 hot which I believe is a little too much? It came with a mychron 4 and I quickly learned that I need a beacon and bought one for next time. I noticed at the end of the longest straight away I was only at about 5,500 RPMs. I'm not sure of the front sprocket but I'm assuming 17 as I have a 59 in rear. I bought a 61 and a 62 to give them a try and get the RPMs more near the red line at the end of the straight away?.. I'm going to try and start off with 10 pounds of pressure in the tires next time as well?..
Not meaning to be so terribly long-winded but I need to give an idea of where I'm at...
thank you as I will probably be asking a lot of questions to try and learn and if there's anything anybody can tell me I would be very thankful..
IMG_20201003_172948.jpg
 
Welcome to Bobs, and welcome to our disease, or addiction. LOL.
Most here will feel your pain about just starting out.

The LO206 forum contains some great information about the engine you have. Spend some time going back thru the threads. There is a good chance someone has asked the same questions, even if not in the title of the thread. If you do not have the time, or patience to wade thru all the information, go ahead and ask. Someone on here will try to get you the answer you need.

Good luck, and enjoy that nice looking ride.
 
Nice ride . It's a sprint kart if you did not know .
Lo206 can have 2 different coils with rev limiters in them .
The serial number on the tag should indicate which .
Not 100% but I think the adult version is 6100-6200 .
Coil color is a determining factor also if you can see it .
Does the carb go full open when you look inside with the air filter off as some have longer slides as well .
 
Welcome to Bobs, and welcome to our disease, or addiction. LOL.
Most here will feel your pain about just starting out.

The LO206 forum contains some great information about the engine you have. Spend some time going back thru the threads. There is a good chance someone has asked the same questions, even if not in the title of the thread. If you do not have the time, or patience to wade thru all the information, go ahead and ask. Someone on here will try to get you the answer you need.

Good luck, and enjoy that nice looking ride.
Thank you for your response! I'll start digging into the lo206 part of the forum...
 
Nice ride . It's a sprint kart if you did not know .
Lo206 can have 2 different coils with rev limiters in them .
The serial number on the tag should indicate which .
Not 100% but I think the adult version is 6100-6200 .
Coil color is a determining factor also if you can see it .
Does the carb go full open when you look inside with the air filter off as some have longer slides as well .
I didn't know that about the coils. I have tried to do a little research on things but I'm glad I have lots to learn..
And definitely the next time I take the air filter off I'm going to look and check to see the slider opens all of the way..
 
If the stars lineup which would be whether and if I have to work I would like to go out to McMinnville Oregon which they call the Mac track and see some real competitive style racing..
 
Welcome and here's my advice for you starting out.

1. Before you even start to worry about rpm and as you said the kart you bought was for a kid, with the info in post #3 you need to first make sure you have an adult coil on it which will allow for what I figure is a higher rpm.
2. As suggested in post #3 make sure the carb opens all the way.
3. If 1 and 2 are ok being your new at it don't worry at all for now about rpm and get SEAT TIME.
4. The three main things in karting are SEAT TIME, SEAT TIME AND SEAT TIME.
5. You also have a clutch on it and especially starting out you MUST make sure it engages quick enough that instead of burning it up it lugs when getting going.
6. That all leads up to RPM again. Starting out no matter if you have the best of the best equipment if your setup and your driving skills are not up to it you may NOT and probably WILL NOT get the TOP rpm's you expect. You can only get the RPM's up to where they need to be if you can get around the track well enough to do it and if your setup lets you do it.
7. That being said just throw gear at it if your rpm's are not up where they should be per what your told. When your driving skill gets better and your ability to set it up gets better assuming everything is ok you WILL reach your desired RPM. At that time you will be amazed at how you will be able to start taking gear off and still maintain your rpm's, which will mean YOUR GOING FASTER.
8. If your screwing up totally other racers will help you out.

9. That's about it starting out get SEAT TIME, SEAT TIME AND MORE SEAT TIME, don't burn up your clutch and if your not getting around well enough and/or not getting your RPM's up don't worry about it throw gear at it and forget about it until you get around better and then you can start taking gearing off.

10. Lastly, if you don't think you have the right air in it go with more rather then less and learn not to spin out with more for starters, only reducing the air as a last resort to keep yer butt on the track. ... :)
11. Then same with gearing you'll eventually get around just fine using more and more air, up to a point.
12. So your goal is get seat time, don't burn up the clutch, throw gear at it eventually learning to use less gear, run on the high side with air knowing you may end up bring it down then same as gearing and when your over all skills improve your start to use more air to the limit.

paul
 
ps... the above post will be the same for no matter what you race asphalt, asphalt oval, road course, dirt road course or dirt oval.
 
Like mentioned above. Check the color of the slide in the carb. If it anything but black ( there are 2 black but the kid one barley opens at wide open throttle) Different slides are cheap.
what tires do you have and what is the air/ track temp? We run 14-16 psi in our kids kart but each kart and tire are different.
what size tires are in the rear?
 
Welcome and here's my advice for you starting out.

1. Before you even start to worry about rpm and as you said the kart you bought was for a kid, with the info in post #3 you need to first make sure you have an adult coil on it which will allow for what I figure is a higher rpm.
2. As suggested in post #3 make sure the carb opens all the way.
3. If 1 and 2 are ok being your new at it don't worry at all for now about rpm and get SEAT TIME.
4. The three main things in karting are SEAT TIME, SEAT TIME AND SEAT TIME.
5. You also have a clutch on it and especially starting out you MUST make sure it engages quick enough that instead of burning it up it lugs when getting going.
6. That all leads up to RPM again. Starting out no matter if you have the best of the best equipment if your setup and your driving skills are not up to it you may NOT and probably WILL NOT get the TOP rpm's you expect. You can only get the RPM's up to where they need to be if you can get around the track well enough to do it and if your setup lets you do it.
7. That being said just throw gear at it if your rpm's are not up where they should be per what your told. When your driving skill gets better and your ability to set it up gets better assuming everything is ok you WILL reach your desired RPM. At that time you will be amazed at how you will be able to start taking gear off and still maintain your rpm's, which will mean YOUR GOING FASTER.
8. If your screwing up totally other racers will help you out.

9. That's about it starting out get SEAT TIME, SEAT TIME AND MORE SEAT TIME, don't burn up your clutch and if your not getting around well enough and/or not getting your RPM's up don't worry about it throw gear at it and forget about it until you get around better and then you can start taking gearing off.

10. Lastly, if you don't think you have the right air in it go with more rather then less and learn not to spin out with more for starters, only reducing the air as a last resort to keep yer butt on the track. ... :)
11. Then same with gearing you'll eventually get around just fine using more and more air, up to a point.
12. So your goal is get seat time, don't burn up the clutch, throw gear at it eventually learning to use less gear, run on the high side with air knowing you may end up bring it down then same as gearing and when your over all skills improve your start to use more air to the limit.

paul
Thank you! I am not trying to get too caught up in too much technical stuff yet, but I have a thirst for knowledge for the future. I'm a 53-year old and 235 lb. At my current weight and age I don't see any way I'm going to be super competitive. Right now I'm going to take your advice and just try and get as much seat time as possible. Making small tweaks here and there as I can afford them. Right now I got my kart.
Also I forgot to say the first thing I did was change the fuel. The orange goo that was in there the kart couldn't even hold an idol. I just put 91 non-ethanol which is what I run and everything except for my daily driver... Gave the carburetor a quick shot of carburetor cleaner and a new fuel filter.. also an oil change with the proper oil at 14 oz..
I bought the seat, new helmet, gloves, and my son gave me some over the ankle shoes. I would still like some rib protectors and a neck protector and a decent jacket..
Again also I purchased the beacon for the mychron 4 and two sprockets..
Also with the kart came a brand new 20 link chain..
So far I have under my belt to 13 lap sessions on the rental karts and about I would say three 8 lap sessions in this kart..
So my experience with RPM and gearing come from drag racing my car. Generally a rule of thumb as you want to be at Max RPM going through the finish line. But I've noticed with my car that whether I shift at 5800 RPMs or 6800 RPMs I'm going no faster at the end of the track. So with that said loading and unloading around corners I'm not sure if getting more torque or more RPM is beneficial or not. One reason why I would really like the mychron 4 to be telling me what I'm doing..
 
Like mentioned above. Check the color of the slide in the carb. If it anything but black ( there are 2 black but the kid one barley opens at wide open throttle) Different slides are cheap.
what tires do you have and what is the air/ track temp? We run 14-16 psi in our kids kart but each kart and tire are different.
what size tires are in the rear?
Okay you're going to make me go out into the garage LOL... Stay tuned for answers...
 
I have friends in that area and I almost bought that track in 1976. I still have pictures of the whole track, beautiful area. Glad to see it's still open. It's a challenging track.

My best advice, find a kart shop in the area and let them look at your kart. I know little or nothing about the L0206 but it's my understanding they me come with a restrictor to hold the RPM down, yours could have one of those restrictors. Find out what you have before you change anything. They may have a LO restricted class there. Great place to hide while you're learning.

Remember; kart shops are there to make money.

I don't know if there's still racing there at Pats (close to winter you know) but I'm sure there's a lot of helpful people there who will be more than willing to give you advice and help.

I started karting in 1966, one thing I've learned, there are many many ways to go fast and almost nobody learned how to do it in less than a year, maybe more, like me, 3 years before I started winning.

If you have Excel, I have a, what I call, nine sheets, with over 40 pages of helpful karting related stuff. It's free. Contact me at; alvinnunley62@Gmail.com
 
The orange goop is in the window washer jug compared to the non ethanol that is now in the tank..
I knew something was amiss when I bought it and put it in my garage and the next morning I went out there in the whole entire garage smelled like rotten gas...
IMG_20201002_131923.jpg
 
Like mentioned above. Check the color of the slide in the carb. If it anything but black ( there are 2 black but the kid one barley opens at wide open throttle) Different slides are cheap.
what tires do you have and what is the air/ track temp? We run 14-16 psi in our kids kart but each kart and tire are different.
what size tires are in the rear?
The slide is black and I didn't a little ninja type kick and was able to verify it does open all the way. The tires are MGs and the rear is 11 × 6.00 - 5 and the fronts are 10 × 4.60 - 5..
 
I have friends in that area and I almost bought that track in 1976. I still have pictures of the whole track, beautiful area. Glad to see it's still open. It's a challenging track.

My best advice, find a kart shop in the area and let them look at your kart. I know little or nothing about the L0206 but it's my understanding they me come with a restrictor to hold the RPM down, yours could have one of those restrictors. Find out what you have before you change anything. They may have a LO restricted class there. Great place to hide while you're learning.

Remember; kart shops are there to make money.

I don't know if there's still racing there at Pats (close to winter you know) but I'm sure there's a lot of helpful people there who will be more than willing to give you advice and help.

I started karting in 1966, one thing I've learned, there are many many ways to go fast and almost nobody learned how to do it in less than a year, maybe more, like me, 3 years before I started winning.

If you have Excel, I have a, what I call, nine sheets, with over 40 pages of helpful karting related stuff. It's free. Contact me at; alvinnunley62@Gmail.com
Yes Pat's is a beautiful place to go visit and race.. very out in the country. They have a dirt bike track on the back side of the go-kart track and now are doing once a month it looks like car import drifting on the kart track which I believe is very popular... They have about 25 rental karts that are pretty fun to drive especially with a bunch of friends you can kind of play bumper cars a little bit... They're closed on Monday but Tuesday through Friday noon till dark you can rent the track for practice for $40. Very relaxed and not all rules.. the way they do it is run the rentals for 15 minutes and then open track for 15 minutes for people who paid their 40. And of course if there's no rentals game on.. on the weekend they open at 9 till dusk and it's $50 but probably more busy with rentals.. I guess Wednesday's is the popular day as they run 20 minute sessions for each. So that's great for the rentals and great for the people renting track time...
 
Nice ride . It's a sprint kart if you did not know .
Lo206 can have 2 different coils with rev limiters in them .
The serial number on the tag should indicate which .
Not 100% but I think the adult version is 6100-6200 .
Coil color is a determining factor also if you can see it .
Does the carb go full open when you look inside with the air filter off as some have longer slides as well .
I looked in there and the coil I think is green on the outside?...
 
So my experience with RPM and gearing come from drag racing my car. Generally a rule of thumb as you want to be at Max RPM going through the finish line. But I've noticed with my car that whether I shift at 5800 RPMs or 6800 RPMs I'm going no faster at the end of the track.
Drag racing you setup everything to be "best" at the finish line where you "pass your competition".
Your now sprint racing and you now have many finish lines all around the track where you might "pass your competition".
You will fine how you setup your gearing and rpm's because of the differences around the track will likely involve the place where you best are able to "pass your competition".

Slip ratio's are all important drag racing.
There equally important sprint racing and more complex. Butt save that for later and for now it's all about:

SEAT TIME, SEAT TIME AND MORE SEAT TIME ! ... :)
 
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So here's where I'm at and what I would like to do preparing for my next seat time which I hope will be tomorrow...
First tire pressure. I was going to start at 10 hoping to get 12-13... but the last time I took it out it was a much warmer day and they're looking for colder temperatures tomorrow so I'm thinking I'm going to start at 11...
I did count my sprocket on the front and it is a 16. It has a 59 on the back now and I feel I should have more RPMs and I bought a 61 and a 62 and I have a new chain.. the problem is my engine is all the way to the back right now so I plan on bagging up the chain and the 59 sprocket and keeping them together. I'll try putting the new chain on with the 62 sprocket... I will collect up all the tools I need to make the change back if needed or I might even try changing it back to see what changes happen during the day.
I do need to change my throttle side foot pedal position a little bit as I was having to roll my foot too far forward to be comfortable giving it acceleration.
I felt when I was coming out of the last corner which is a left hand I was scraping the right side a little bit. when I got home I noticed my brand new seat was scraped up on the right side of the bottom. But then again I did remember I went up over one of those curb barriers right towards the end of my day. Again I have about three 8 lap sessions so far.
I want to put some tape on the bottom of the seat where it's scratched and take some laps and see if it's bottoming out on the track or if it was just because I went over that barrier...
I did notice I have some up and down adjustment on the axle...
I noticed my frame on the left side is almost touching my axle at the bearing and I need to make an adjustment there as on the right side it's at least a quarter inch of the axle..?? I would assume these measurements need to be the same?
Also I need to get that beacon set up so I know where I'm starting out at as far as lap time and that way I can also see if I'm getting any better or smoother LOL...
Also the goal of the day will be to get more seat time as I've been told and I already kind of figured...
My plan is to get more short sessions in like 8 laps or so and I rest in between while the rental carts go. My first time I only went three runs because I didn't want to over fatigue myself whether it be my hands or my ribs and have a bad first experience. I don't want to push it too far tomorrow but I do want to get like said seat time seat time seat time...
 
You may need a chain breaker to add or subtract links .
The axle , I would agree should be even on both sides though I am not at all familiar with that chassis . That is essentially a big change . With out scales you may or may not be ok . Still I think of the cuff I would change it .
You definitely do not want to be dragging the seat , or running over rumble strips .
 
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