Hello again, Nick. The thing surely is, though, that the Rotax isn’t actually so crappy; my experience with my son’s Junior is certainly one of very good reliability (apart from the old-generation clutch). So when you put that together with the power of the only truly large company involved in karting – I don’t see Honda’s involvement as direct – behind it and very attractive relative pricing, it’s no wonder that the MAX predominates. Other players in the market, including the ones we’re talking about above, might as well accept their niche position and play by different rules to genuinely set themselves apart. Hence I included KZ2 in my ‘price comparison’, but not Rotax. Aixro (oops, I’ve said it) has gone a long way to achieve that: not only is the engine itself as different as can be, but it also comes with a great club atmosphere. The Dutch/Belgians have that combined with VT250; a very good match, I would have thought. But I’ll know a lot more about that after this weekend. One thing is for sure: insisting on playing by rules that the anti-4-stroke establishment has written is a road to nowhere; it’s playing into their hands. Nor should or need all products in the market be ‘cheap’: there is a rightful place for ‘premium’ products.
|
|