Going great guns

The sweep of the dirt track. The roar of the engine and the wind singing in your ear. Adrenaline coursing through the veins and the sheer...

The sweep of the dirt track. The roar of the engine and the wind singing in your ear. Adrenaline coursing through the veins and the sheer thrill of speed as you hit a straight 40 km in seven seconds flat. All that it takes is a spin in a go-kart to experience that thrill. A thrill that stayed with entrepreneur Shrikant Shah. Already fascinated with motor-racing, go-karts have become something of a passion with him.

In fact, so strongly did Shah feel about it that when his business of manufacturing hospital equipment wound up, he thought about starting a go-kart manufacturing unit. 8220;I was interested in motor-racing and have been involved in tuning and modification of cars and two-wheelers for a long time,8221;says Shah. With some trepidation but lots of hope Shah started to scan the automobile market. 8220;I thought the market would be a small one. I had to travel all over the country to find out what kind of a response go-karts would elicit,8221; says Shah.

Shah had first tried his hand at making a go-kart way back in 1988. 8220;There were too many import restrictions at the time so that one could not import rims, tyres or engines. So the kart had to be built with scooter tyres and a Rajdoot 175 cc engine.8221; In May last year he began work on the go-kart manufacturing unit.8220;When the first frame was manufactured we could not keep it from veering to the left which was finally traced to a variation in steering geometry on the left hand side of the kart,8221; says Shah.

Today, at Sagitta Karts, his manufacturing unit at MIDC, his first batch of twenty gleaming bright yellow karts have already hit the market. 8220;To minimise the weight of the kart, critical components are made from a special grade of heat-treated anodised aluminium alloy,8221; says Shah. A peripheral bumper protects the vehicle and the driver. Shah believes in getting components that are mass-produced as this makes it easier for the kart track-operator to get the spares.

Which explains why the Thundercat the model is powered by a single-cylinder two-stroke Kinetic Pride engine and why the tank is actually a modified Genset tank. Although he acknowledges that the concept of the go-kart as a part of the amusement industry is a relatively new one he explains why this is an idea whose time has come. 8220;Taking a ride in a go-kart is more than just a joy ride. It gives you the thrill of driving fast but safely and being in control of a concept that has caught on in a big way in the West.8221; But Shah believes that rental track-operators in the country are gradually becoming aware of its potential.

If you thought that the demand for these snazzy vehicles would be more in the metros here8217;s some surprising news. 8220;I found that smaller cities like Nashik and Kolhapur seemed more interested in go-karts specially because of the lower price and easy availability of space,8221; says Shah. His next project is a kart for off road/on road use.

This will be a fun- thing to drive in and is mainly meant for leisurely drives on beach houses or farm houses.8221; Meanwhile Shah already has plans to address a larger audience 8212; a go-kart designed specially for children is already in the pipeline. Here8217;s one enterprise that8217;s certainly off the beaten track.