Getting into Go Karts

S

Shredden

Knows his goats
Hi all,

My old man is keen to get a go kart. He’s outsourced the effort of actually acquiring it and working out all the other stuff (trailer, license, where to go) to me, in exchange for letting me drive it :cool:

Neither of us have any experience. We’re both mechanically minded with lots of experience working on cars and motorbikes so I think the maintenance side of things will be fine. I can see some karts on marketplace that seem decent, looks like the brand has plenty of parts available, and some come with spares, trailers etc.

Does anyone have experience in this world? On the websites for different tracks I’ve looked at (we’re in Victoria, near Geelong) they mention race days but do tracks normally have just normal track days where you can go and rip around? I suppose I could call them but keen to hear general experiences from anyone on here whose done it.

Cheers team.
 
Mattyp

Mattyp

Cows go boing
If you never driven fast go karts (no not the rentals) you'll have a great time in any of them...
A good mate used to race at state and national level in TAG125 and I'd go pit for him occasionally. If you're doing it purely for fun it can be a pretty cheap form of motorsport, especially if you don't mind racing around midfield...but like with most motorsport he with most money wins...those battling for the top spot are spending crazy money on motor rebuilds, new chassis, gearing, fresh tyres, (which is great as a beginner you can pickup cheap 2nd hand tyres which will be fine for a while) some people even carry multiple brand engines (Rotax, x30, leopard etc..)and swap out depending on what track they are at as all motors have different characteristics.
There is a track in Geelong, not sure what the membership there is like, but mate was a member at Westgate and you would get a key so could go practice at any time.
I'd suggest going out to a local club meet and seeing what it's all about, ask a few questions and go from there.
 
caad9

caad9

Likes Bikes and Dirt
My old man was doing it for a little while (late 50's to early 60's)
He absolutely loved it.

Went with another mate who spent all the cash he could to get better and dad took great pride in fiddling with his cart tuning to get faster (Absolute tight arse but also a mechanic). Often besting his mate with a little time and patience over spending big bucks.

They drove and raced at Oakleigh, south east of Melbourne.
 
Brow

Brow

Big Block
Go to a track you are likely to want to race at and talk to others doing it. Best way to get good advice and learn how to get out there.
Might get onto decent gear too as others want to upgrade. I had a mate in Darwin, long time ago, got into karts (I was drag racing cars at the time) and we did just that. I was his crew and he got a second hand cart from a previous state champ who was upgrading. Got it at a good price, with support, advice etc. I had some fun in it at end of year 'Mechanics" race for crew that were trusted by the karts owner to go out and have a go. Good fun too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top