Supermoto vs shifter kart

By

motokart

Shifter karts are pretty insane little things. Light like a motorcycle, but grippy like a car. Perhaps logically, they’re impossibly fast around kart tracks. But then, so are supermotos. Especially WR450s piloted by AMA Pro racer Josh Herrin.

  • vic06

    I don’t even mind the ride, I wanna play!

    • rndholesqpeg

      The Herrin’s are great about letting you use the track. You can race your 100 there with CMMRA, or just about any day you can rent it out to go play. I took my girlfriend down there to let her learn to ride a motorcycle using that track and my flat track xr100. Its a nice little track in the middle of nowhere Georgia.

  • Sean Smith

    Lol @ the dude driving the kart. Every time he gets on the pipe, he lifts off and short-shifts.

  • Your_Mom

    Great to watch. The only valid way to see who’s faster would be timed laps as the only vehicle on the track. The kart has an obvious advantage in corner speed; the bike accelerates more quickly. Nice vid.

  • Scott-jay

    What’s kart engine size, 125cc?

    I FFwd thru mostly after two laps.

  • http://twitter.com/metabomber Jesse

    That looks like stupid amounts of fun.

  • Plotts

    I’m pretty sure someone as good on a shifter cart as Josh is on that bike would smoke the hell out of that bike. Those things are ridiculously fast (not that Josh isn’t ridiculously fast too).

  • Barry

    Sounds a lot like a CR80′d shifter kart, which is really common. And commenter is correct, he needs to ring it out a lot farther to get any power out of it. Pretty unfair to run it with the motard though. About the only time that 4 wheels < 2 wheels when it comes to safety on a track.

  • oldblue

    I’m with Plotts.

    Nice vid, but it just proves how good the shifter kart is…it’s obviously not being driven to full effect, but hangs with Josh nonetheless. Fast, fun little gadgets.

  • http://www.postpixel.com.au mugget

    Makes me wonder what a shifter kart would be like to drive…

    That’s some trust right there (from both sides), close riding/driving.

    • Sean Smith

      Acceleration more brutal than a liter bike, brakes that are only slightly more effective, 2+ lateral gs if you stay smooth and load the tires right. Wicked powerslides on corner exit if you screw up. The fast way to drive one is basically to brake in a straight line, take big, arcing smooth lines to exploit the cornering grip and balance the kart on the outside rear wheel while sliding ever so slightly. If you’ve got a long enough straight, it’ll hook up all the way. If you’re in a sweeper, it’s almost always faster to be sliding just a little bit. Most fun I’ve ever had on wheels. (and just to say it again, WAY faster than a supermoto)