Back to basics: 125 Stock

In the early days of shifter karts people would buy a complete new bike, remove the motor, cobble up a mount, then fit a radiator along with everything else on a chassis with front brakes.  These Moto motors were simply bulletproof, provided really exciting racing, and had a special appeal.  They only had one problem;  Kart shops weren't making much money on the motors.

"Speed costs money, how fast do ya wanna go?"

Given the high volume production, shifters were the racer's bargain of the century.  Bike manufacturers knew that the products they built had to endure mud bogs, sand, bouncing, jouncing, riders-taking-tumbles, sustained high revs, missed shifts, and worse of all - riders that had no time or money for maintenance.  Of course the MotoX market had the usual suspects out there creating custom pipes, porting and every other bit of wizardry that could be applied.  In other words Moto technology was based on designing for the worst possible conditions possible in production volumes far greater then all the 2 stroke kart motors combined.

"Economy of Scale"

Moto based shifters weren't exactly welcomed by IKF and WKA in the early days.  The Janowski family launched SKUSA, and the rest as they say is history.  Due to the ultra high reliability of Motos, the rules were more or less "open".  In the following years over a million dollars was spent to find the breaking point, and by 2003 that point was found.  20:1 compression, exotic porting, hand made reed cages, countless generations of pipe development, and Programmable Ignition took the 33 HP Motos to the edge of self destruction producing 40+ HP.  Costly to say the least.

ICC's first began to gain popularity in 2002 given a promise of "no blueprinting required".  That was quickly proven false, but no matter, ICC was here to stay.  And they certainly offered no lower cost then a Moto.  They were just a tad faster.

By 2002 the economy had taken a turn and few people had the money to move up to shifters so TAG became the next logical step.  TAG is a great class, but it too has it's problems.  Worse, some people just want a shifter, but the current 125 structure is just too expensive to consider.

"The Solution"

In 2004, SKUSA announced the new 125 Stock class.  Considering the roots of shifter kart racing in America, this new class has offers more speed then TAG at the operating cost of a Rotax or less.  It didn't take off in 2004, but you can be sure it will in 2005.  A complete CR125 package ready to bolt on runs anywhere between $2500 and $3000 depending on supplier.  Here are some of the benefits of Stock 125;

Low peak RPM - in the stock configuration with the spec pipe shift points of 11,600 with peak overrev just under 12,000 RPM.  Piston ring and skirt wear are typically increased with RPM.  Stock Pistons & Rings see no loss of power after 10 hours of use in a stock configuration.  In fact, measurable losses may take 12-15 hours, or a full season of racing.

Satisfactory Power Levels - at 33 HP and 6-speeds Stock Motos deliver an average of 42% more torque to the rear wheels then a TAG does.  Despite weighing in about 10% more then a TAG a Stock Moto is capable of faster Lap Times.

Assured equality - Current SKUSA rules allow both the CR125 and YZ125.  Plans for 2005 are to restrict this to the CR125 although there may be a few YZ125's that may be "Grandfathered" in.  While both the Honda and Yamaha produce the same power, there has been some concern among organizations and racers that there may be some challenges with running multiple motor packages in this class.  See the Sidebar for more details on the proposed changes by Martin Casey with SKUSA.

Logical progression - Even in stock form, a shifter takes quite a bit of talent to master.  There is more then enough power to get sideways in just about any turn.  Having the power a stocker has to offer along with front brakes puts far more emphasis in chassis set-up then most people realize.  Then there is always jetting.....Generally it takes at least a year to master these skills IF you're practicing every weekend.  Longer if you're not.  Unlike TAG, once you feel confident you've achieved this level of skill you can always move up to S1.  S1 adds another 20% power with a real kick-in-the-pants bottom end increase in torque.

Affordable racing - Most of the "big dogs" in shifter karts already have full blown Motos or ICC's.  Few if any are willing to step down to a Stock 125.  Generally the most expensive consumables on Stock Motos are tires - generally a new set will last 5-6 Club Races although at Regionals and Nationals you will want a new set.  Moreover shifters use a hefty chain and sprockets that often lasts beyond a full season of racing every weekend.  Clutches last years even with grueling standing starts.  Simply put there is no other class in racing that can be run as inexpensively over a season of maybe 20 races as a Stock Moto.  When needed, replacement parts are very inexpensive relative to other types of motors.

If you're looking to move up to a new class consider the value 125 Stock offers.  It just plain makes sense.