als ik het mij alemaal mooi herinner maakt de biland zelfs minder geluid de moderne vt 's ( allesinds veel mooier :d )

Op dit moment de volgende inschrijvingen:

390cc: 18 rijders
Open/VT250: 6
Junioren/RK1: 6

Voor de schakelkarts geen inschrijvingen ontvangen.
Junioren en RK1 wordt gecombineerd.

Deze klasses gaan dus sowieso van start. Mailing volgt nog deze week.

Hi Everyone..

I'm new here and Ik spreek a kleine beetje in het Nederlandse, dus.. I would do it in english

I'm just moving to Hengelo (From Amersfoort) and I decided to start with karting.. as an old dream of mine. (I'm 37). At the moment I am looking for my first kart to buy and a good place to start. Before doing that.. I would like to get some tips/hints from you guys.
I'm not asking about which is the best to start, 4 vs 2 strokes, 5pk vs 50.. I did my homework and read existing stuff on this.
What I am interested in is which is the most common types and track around (Hengelo)? I'm not sure about the tracks yet, I see Emmen, Eefde and Oldenzaal as good options.. and some in Germany.

2-takt not options for me (however I would defenetly love it, but keep it for later)
I see Honda 390 the "most" common category and perfect for a start point (for me), so racing against of others would not be a problem with these one. Not that sure on RK1, I actually like the engine a lot more then the Honda. The one I like the most from 4-stroke is VT250. This might sounds a bit to strong for a beginner but I like to push it hard and there is no point for me to buy a slow fun kart. The 390 looks pretty much the slowest I would pay for, but I might be wrong. Bit early speaking here..

I wrote here, because I see people having problems with finding other racers in the same category, but I would like to be part of this winter cup.. if I can get my kart in time. So which category would you recommend for me?

Also any help, tips, links would be well appreciated.

Jij kan ook in Nederlandse schrijfen, dat kan ik goed lezen.

Bedankt!!

Welkom in de mooiste sportwereld die Karten heet.
wij hebben de wintercup ook verreden (al waren en na afloop wat onduidelijkheden,) toch hebben wij genoten en doen zekers weer mee.
als ik jou verhaal zo lees zou ik (persoonlijk) kiezen voor een vt250.
Waarom;
met een 4 takt kan je op vrijwel alle banen rijden, een 2 takt word niet overal toegestaan.
gezien jou leeftijd zit je al snel aan een gewicht van min. 165kg voor wedstrijden en k begrijp dat jij niet graag door iedereen word voorbij gereden.
wie wel trouwens
een 390 is een betrouwbare motor die bijna geen onderhoud nodig heeft, echter op een baan zal een junior rk1 rijden je alleen zn achterbumper laten zien want dan is 165kg toch zwaar voor 13pk.
een rk1 heeft 15pk dus voor de senioren een te zwaar belaste motor dan voor rijders tot 15jr, ook dan gaan die junioren je voorbij.
je zou dan nog kunnen kiezen voor de rk1 big bore rk1 - 18pk maar daar rijden er niet veel mee.
De vt250 lijkt mij de juiste keuze.
die heeft power genoeg om anderen jou achterbumper te laten zien, onderhoud valt wel mee.
en t is een 4t dus kan je ook nog eens op andere banen rijden, en een gewicht van min.165kg neemd ie mee als of je een junior rk1 bent.
en de snelheid je hebt toch zelf het pedaal onder je voet dus !

doe er je voordeel mee zou ik zeggen, en pas op wat je koopt !
koop niet meteen impulsief, dat komt je vaak duur te staan.
Er staan soms wel karts te koop die mooi glimmen maar achteraf schroot blijken te zijn.

@timskart: Thanks for the info. I have the same feelings, that is why I choosed this page, I saw all 3 "obvious" options here in one page: 390cc/rk1/vt250
I know about RK1 BB, - designed for lazy old fat bustards like me- but I did not see it in any race here.. is it also allowed / running anywhere at all?

If I am right I could get a kart with 390cc, then get a VT250 engine and change it. Howerver, I am not sure what the frame can support and designed for.
I can see big differencies in design side to support 13hp or 30hp engines.. Is there a big difference in body/frame or is it easy to do a transfer like this and keep the kart in balance?
I did RC racing with cars which goes above 120km/h.. I know how different is two body, which was desinged for different power. I'm not sure how is this with karting. And ofcourse, it is ALWAYS possible, but might not worth for the effor. So my question is, can I use 1 frame and upgrade it later with stronger engine, without rebuilding the all kart or is it better/cheaper to have two

one more thing, not sure about racing categories, what is limited or allowed, so could a Vampire or vortex or others similar (~34hp) run in the VT250 series? or are they really different?
IS every engine has it's own race category or could you mix them? (open)
The big question, that VT250 seems to be my class, but which engine would fit into this cat. I know Honda VT250, Swissauto (but bilang is not everywhere excepted), vampire, vortex.. I don't want to pay all my money to get my first kart, so it does not have to be the best, but good enough to learn and race with it.
I see some around marktplaats and so, but there are huge diff in prices. So I would start with some cheap but good.. hehe.. who dont?

Thanks!

Usually there is not a big difference in chassis layout for 2t, 4t, automatic or shifters. Yes, there are differences in details - also depending on what brand chassis you have.

The biggest difference is, for shifters and VT250 engines you need front brakes ! And then you can have feet operated front brakes or hand operated front brakes for automatic engines (shifter engines have feet operated front brakes). So if I may advise you, if you want to have a VT250 engine (now or later switching from 390 to VT250), than I would say search for a chassis with front brakes, so you don't have to buy these later (= more expensive). Concerning the design differences for the drivechain, the main difference between 390 and VT250 is that the 390 has the drivechain inside the chassis and the VT250 on the outside. Therefor a 390 engine does not fit properly on any chassis. Last: there are many differences between each brand of chassis; a Energy will drive different from a CRG and so on. But this is also related to personal preferences and driving style.

And reading you story, I think VT250 is the best option for you (390 is way slower) and there are more oppertunities for races with VT250 than for 390's.

Goodluck with your choice and we would like to hear what you decide to go for.

Vampire, Swissauto, Oral and so on are VT250 engines (4t only); Vortex is 2t and they do not mix in races - not in official races anyhow, maybe in clubraces but I am not totally into that matter.

Honda has no VT250 engine, to compete in an offical VT250 race, the engine has to be homologated and as far as I know only Vampire, Swissauto, Oral, Tech F1, GM and Biland engines are homologated for VT250 so far (I may forget a brand, but these are the most common).

Regarding your budget, if you have enough money: I would suggest to buy a brand new engine (regardles what a previous owner says: you will never be sure whether a second hand engine is treated well and how many hours it has been running, unless you know the owner !) and buy a second hand chassis from 2010-2011. This will save you a lot of money and it is easier to check a second hand chassis than a second hand engine.

Good luck

Thanks Wilfred, was very usefull!!

You're welcome and if you have any questions, feel free....

Just f.y.i.: I bought a new Swissauto SA250 VT250 engine, which I can surely recommend you. My chassis is second hand and this seems to be a good combination; for me anyway.

Welkom Attila, ik ben met grote regelmaat te vinden op de baan in Oldenzaal.
we zien elkaar vast op korte termijn, mocht je vragen hebben dan helpen we je graag.

Bedankt MrBean!!

Ik woon nu in Amersfoort, mar ben ik naar Hengelo op deze mand verhuizen. Daarna..... KARTING!

We zien elkaar...

I understand -and totaly agree with- the point of Wilfred about the new engine, but it's just not fit for me atm. I don't want to spend that much for the very first day and kart
So I would recommend to get a used kart with engine, then upgrade the engine with a new next year. This way I could start sooner and I can have some experience before buying The Engine. I really don't belive I could get into the first few pos within this year even with the fastes kart on track.. And I would be ok to experience with something which is not that new or fast.. let's say ~30 hp from 34hp would still be good for me

BTW, I found a used kart with a VT250 bilang (2 cyl) which would be interesting for a start to me (used engine). If I am right this is not allowed in this winter cup?! Why? Noisy or just different?
If I could ride with this one, then I found my first kart.. in other words, if I would not read this post and that bilang not allowed to run in vt250, then I would probably already bought it..
Is it allowed at all to drive a bilang on the track in Oldenzaal?

Could you help me with some link where should I look around for a used kart? (other then marktpl) I found a few shops around, but don't know anything about them..
(http://www.heidemulder.nl/ http://www.tktkart.nl/ ...)

kart searching in progress...

@Atilla,

I was ussuming you already have some kart experience, is this true ? If not, than I would strongly advise you to buy a second hand kart complete with an engine (like RK1 or 390). So that you can get used to karting and - more importantly - get to know what it means to have and maintain an own kart. There is more than buying and driving it; you have to service it and invest in all kind of parts and tools. So if you do it like this, then your budget can be very low for the first year and after that you can decide if karting is THE sport for you without having to conclude that you spent a lot of money and than finding out it is not your cup of tea....

If you have experience, than you can go for something like a Biland, but still I would suggest you to invest in a good second hand chassis which can be used for newer VT250 engines in future (with hand operated frontbrakes). By the way, what is your budget - including all costs such as buying kart/engine, tools, transport to track, maintainance, fuel, spare parts, tires etc. ?

Good luck again.

Dear Atilla,
You could also get in touch with KK karts (http://www.kenkkarts.nl/).
This is a professional and very successful kartteam in the 4 stroke world.
If not the most successful!
They drive with different types of 4-stroke engines (rk1, swissauto, and so on).
They can also assist you in purchasing, perhaps with a test drive.