Date: Tue, 13 Feb 2001 08:46:19 -0800 From: Patrick Sarne Subject: [uuc] Sex and karting I know I'm a little late to this post, but I wanted to share my recent experiences with the group... I had done it before, but this was my first REAL experience (karting, not sex). I'd tried electric karts as well as Dromo One (just north of San Diego in Orange County) which I think is similar to Speedring, but recently, I was invited to a lapping day in a 125cc shifter kart at the Willow Spring kart track. OH MY FRIGGIN' GAWD!! THIS is for real. I'd heard all the stories of how fast karts could be, but if you are a serious gearhead/speedfreak/adrelaline-enthausiast, you are missing something BIG TIME if you don't try this. Forty horsepower from 125cc may not seem like much (320hp/liter!), but with a 0-60 of 3.5s and lateral acceleration of close to 2.0g, this bad-boy will make you scream for mommy! The rocket-sled acceleration paled in comparison to the cornering forces. Since it was only a manhood-shrinking 40 degrees out, I was told that grip would be much higher in normal temperatures. Six-speed sequential shifter, LCD data read-out with lap times, RPM, water temp, on the wheel, these things rank high on the stiffy-meter. Even after close to 4 hours (not non-stop) in this mini-torture device, you couldn't stop me from grinning. My suggestion...get a rib protector! The seat in my kart was not fitted for my narrow arse so I slammed around in the seat. Bad enough that I bruised a rib!! Doc says I'll be A-OK in 3 weeks and then I'm heading right back. Thanks to John DeMartino for putting it together and to the boys at www.shifterkarts.usa for putting on the show. Where does 'sex' come into all of this? Well, I also bruised a rib during sex once. Yeah, right... Patrick Sarne 1995 M3 125cc Birel Shifter Kart <-- shopping