Extreme Sports
Beginner adventure

Karting enthusiasts emblazon the image of the perfect chassis in their minds: lightweight, yet powerfully durable material capable of launching a kart forward without the slightest wear or tear. Rare material that comes with the likes of professionally built popular race-cars like the illustrious McLaren. What about karts that could rip through side turns at speeding bullet speeds without raising a wheel a centimeter above the ground, gliding swiftly like a falco such as the futuristic cars in I, Robot? And along with perfect frames comes perfect tires, tires “grooven” to perfection providing the finest traction and downright freakish controls when running the curve.

Let’s discuss the intricacies and place a perspective on frames for your go-kart. The chassis as it is called in professional and enthusiast circles, is by far the most important piece of this machine. The construction is paramount in maintaining a solid go-kart. What constitutes a frame? Think of a frame simply as parts holding a component together. In the case of these speedsters, the frame is welded together by torsion bars. Stiff frames are a result of shorter bars crossed together, and more flexible frames are associated with longer bars.

Stiff frames that do not provide flexibility were the backbone of earlier go-karts and broke down easily. First off, simpler go-karts do not have the specifications needed (most important, suspension and tire traction) to ease the punishment frames go through while turning, accelerating, and stopping. Running on 2 or 4 cycle engines does not help compensate the health of a frame. A lack of traction on your tires will cause uneven weight transfer and stability on your frame, ripping one or both sides loose at the same time. In essence, the frame is responsible for determining how well your vehicle moves zipping on asphalt, concrete, or dirt - dictating your performance on wide turns and shorter turns.

A sturdy, well-built frame is the key to manoeuvring well on the track, especially when turning. Wait, isn’t a frame supposed to be resistant to the rigors and demands of punishing your go-kart as it explodes forward? Of course - but the most important criteria for an excellent frame is to negotiate turns well. Frames are directly responsible for how well go-karts turn left and right. Weaker go-karts with cheap components are known to slide and drift along turns - in some instances, flipping to its side entirely with careless driving. “Side bite” is referred to keeping a go-kart planted to the track without sliding. Without the proper frame, go-karts will manoeuvre out of control, even shutting off in some cases due to over pressure to the engine.

The design of the go-kart chassis has everything to do with how well it moves on turns and maintaining side bite. If the width of the rear rails (go-kart frames constitute front rails and rear rails) is narrow, with measurements ranging from 24¨ to 25¨ - from “kingpin” to “kingpin”, the ends of the rail - it will have less side bite. Wider rails barely ever exceed 30¨ on standard go-karts. The dynamics of the front and rear rails can be effectively pictured using this example: suppose you had two bottles - a two-gallon jug and a 16 oz. Water bottle. Giving it a swift, hard poke to its side - which container has the best chance of tipping to its side? If you guessed the water bottle, you guessed right! Wider rails provide stability and “foundation” while turning, reducing the side bite overall.

Choosing the right frame for your go-kart can largely depend on the surface you are riding on. Whether it is asphalt, concrete, or dirt - different types of frames behave differently according to surface. For example, dirt track frames should consist of a short front rail and a longer back rail. Dirt tracks place a lot of stress and challenge on the front rail and stiff back rails zipping through dirt can cut power to the engine while cutting a turn. The best frame for riding dirt tracks are ones with narrow fronts and longer backs, vice versa to asphalt and concrete.

The A-1 performance of a frame largely depends on tire traction as well. Low traction tires (tires that do not “stick” well to the ground) are not grooved enough to withstand the rigors of the surface, rattling the stiff frame to oblivion. It also causes uneven weight transfer throughout the go-kart, and that is a no-no for maintaining optimum control of your money maker. Consider this scenario: you have two pairs of roller skates. One has wheels half-an-inch in width and the other has 3-inch-wide wheels. Which pair would provide better balance as you roller skate? If you love mathematics, treat traction as a formula with the equation: traction = stability. Go ahead, transform yourself into a karting aficionado with this valuable piece of knowledge!

A major issue among karting enthusiasts is the durability and longevity of flexible frames. Exposure to punishing breaks and turns, along with the gruelling hits to track walls every now and then, can distort the frame which cannot be “popped” back to its original condition. Experts recommend replacing frames every year. There are many maintenance techniques you could practice on your kart to keep flexibility intact like running your kart through a course backwards. Racing a kart using the finish line as your starting point and your starting point as the finish line will have a “reverse effect” on the frame, shaping it opposite of what it would be shaped if you were racing the course normally. It’s like turning back the hands of time on your speedster!

The question over choosing the right go-kart chassis boils down to flexibility. High traction tires and a stiff frame is a recipe for disaster, causing your machine to turn stiffly and generate strenuous effort on the curves. Low traction tires will cause uneven weight transfer and break apart your frame like bread crumbs. Options for frames mainly depend on what type of go-kart you’re riding, as each go-kart and their engine work best under certain scenarios. Stiff frames are a staple of 2-cycle and 4-cycle engines and flexible frames are found with higher horsepower engines. Remember, the more rigorous the circuit, the more flexible a chassis should be!

Go karts are fast, exciting and easy to handle, and there are tracks all over the country catering to every age range from kids to teens to adults. Gokarts are generally easy to drive, easy to control and are how you can experience the excitement of Formula One racing without as much of the danger.

Go-karts are just beginning to come into their own and are geared toward beginners in either off road or paved track go kart racing. They are built to withstand years of use and abuse and are terrific when it comes to performance, styling and low maintenance.

There are many types of vehicles that are built for fun. These include ATVs, dirt bikes, scooters, mopeds, mini bikes and go karts. If you are looking to find some excitement with 4 wheels then you have to discard the dirt bike, scooter, moped and mini bike. And the all terrain vehicles are typically made for traveling off road. That leaves the go kart. If you want to go racing like the big boys, with a mighty gasoline powered engine and relative safety, go karts are what you will want to be racing.

Whether you just want some cheap racing fun or would like to someday become a professional race car driver, the go-kart is a great way to begin. Many NASCAR drivers today got their start by racing go karts when they were as young as five years old.

Carts have been around for a lot of years, but have increased in popularity only recently. Back in the olden days, carts were only available at the neighborhood Family Fun Center or Amusement Park. And these gokarts only had two speeds, slow and slower. But were they safe? Let’s just say it wasn’t easy to get hurt traveling at just 5 mph.

But even at the slower speeds they were still loads of fun. Imagine the thrill you can experience now with the faster speeds and the bigger and better track selections. Great go-cart tracks have been sprouting up all over. But have the increased karting speeds made the go carts unsafe?

They used to be so terribly slow that no helmets were even required. But with the speeds attained today helmets are required at tracks everywhere, even the kiddie’s tracks. But don’t let that scare you, they are still extremely safe and there is never any need to go faster than your own comfort dictates.

You can control, for the most part, the amount of danger you experience in a go kart. Your decisions, from the go kart you buy, to the safety equipment you use, to your level of caution expressed on the track, determine how safe you will be. The faster you go the more chance of sustaining a substantial injury. So taking every safety precaution is always a smart idea.

Carting is generally very safe if you follow a few simple rules. The number one rule is “always wear a helmet.” In the event of a crash it can spare you from a serious head injury. Also, never forget to fasten your safety harness. This will prevent you from being tossed out during a roll. Never race at speeds that you don’t feel comfortable with. If speed is not your thing you should remain in the lesser levels of racing groups.

If you decide to race, even in a kid’s competition, you should be wearing a fire safety suit, racing shoes and protective gloves. The shoes and gloves should also be fire retardant. There is not much gas in a gocart, but if it should happen to catch on fire the fire-safe equipment you use could save you a lot of pain and discomfort.

Gocarts today all have roll bars that rise above the driver’s head. In the event that you lose control, causing your go kart to flip over, the roll bars and safety harness can keep you from harm’s way. You may think that it could not happen to you because you are such a great driver, but the other racers on the track may not be so great. This is the reason why a gokart has side bars that will protect you in the event that another racer loses control and rams your kart.

With all of these precautions how can anyone get injured? It’s possible, but the chances of experiencing a serious injury are severely limited by simply following a few safety rules. Go karts are just about as safe as you want to make them.