Birel vs. Monza

[aballen]

Are these karts actually completely different companies or just different lines of karts by the same company?

I'm wondering if they are similar karts, what the differentiators are etc?

[Garry Lobaugh]

Birel produces the Monza and Birel lines.

[Chuck McCue]

Birel also manufacturers RK (Robert Kubica) kart, Spirit Kart (Beggio), EasyKart.

I think the Monza is a price point kart based on older Birel designs/homologations.

[Marc Miller]

Are these karts actually completely different companies or just different lines of karts by the same company?

I'm wondering if they are similar karts, what the differentiators are etc?

Good question.

Birel manufacturers multiple karting lines with the Birel being their main brand. The Monza line of chassis is a secondary brand named after the nearby racetrack/town that the Birel factory borders (Monza, Italy). The chassis are blue but come standard with Freeline components. Usually the Monza comes with previous revision Freeline components. When the Birel models came out with the new Blue HQ hubs, the Monzas were still coming with the standard hubs. They are slightly behind in the component upgrades, however all the Freeline accessories are top quality and offer a wide range of tuning characteristics.

At the end of the day, the Monza chassis line is every bit as competitive as any other brand on the market. In fact, the ZY32 has several wins in the WKA Manufacturer's Cup championship in HPV and Yamaha classes and was the 2008 US Rotax Max Championship winning kart in RMasters.

If you are looking for a premium quality kart with great parts and technical support, while trying to save a few bucks over the premium price of the Birel (and several other premium priced chassis lines like Tony, Kosmic, CRG, Maranello, etc) then the Monza is a great choice.

Best of luck.

[mworley]

Another question along the same line.

What disadvantages would I have going with a Monza instead of a Birel?

I understand that Monza is slightly behind with regards to components. Are the differences that drastic?

Are the chassis not as tunable as the Birel line?

I maybe too new to understand what the specs translate to on the track so some more insight would be most welcome.

-M

[Marc Miller]

Hi M,

The pricepoint is different on the Monza, so the components are usually the earlier revision, however they are interchangeable. Example, you can run the HiTech hubs and wheels on the Monza with the same affect.

As far as performance, you are not sacrificing anything. The Monza has proven to be successful in Rotax ('08 Rotax Grand National Champion) as well as WKA (100cc and HPV Championships and wins).

To this day, I dust off my ZY32A and go win races at the track in Rotax Masters. I would dare to say there is no disadvantage whatsoever.

[Evan Batt]

Having driven both Birel karts and Monza karts, I would have to agree with Marc in saying that there is no performance disadvantage for the Monza.

The only shifter race I have competed in I ran on a Monza Z32. I assembled the kart and put a baseline setup on the day before, then took the pole and won the race the next day with ZERO setup changes throughout the day (other than air pressure).

The point is, it takes a quality product to be fast out of the box, and I found that the Monza did just that.

[Shannon Schmidt]

Let me add my 2 cents of support for Monza!

I have owened 3 Monza Z32s in the past 5 years. I won the Miller Motorsports Park Utah State Championship in Rotax Masters in 2006. For 07, I switched to an Arrow and hated it. I acquired a used Z32 from The Karting Zone and finished 9th and 12th at the SKUSA Supernats in TaG Master (07 and 08) with a Rotax and this past season, I raced an 06 Monza Z32 to the MMP Super Sportsman (F200) Championship with 4 wins and the track lap record, beating CRG, Birel, First Kart, Arrow, and Intrepid.

Bottom line, Monza Rocks!

[Garry Lobaugh]

Great report Shannon and thanks for sharing. All of us are glad you are back on board the Monza. We value you as a long time customer who is re-energized with success!

[skyrone]

Let me add my 2 cents of support for Monza!

I have owened 3 Monza Z32s in the past 5 years. I won the Miller Motorsports Park Utah State Championship in Rotax Masters in 2006. For 07, I switched to an Arrow and hated it. I acquired a used Z32 from The Karting Zone and finished 9th and 12th at the SKUSA Supernats in TaG Master (07 and 08) with a Rotax and this past season, I raced an 06 Monza Z32 to the MMP Super Sportsman (F200) Championship with 4 wins and the track lap record, beating CRG, Birel, First Kart, Arrow, and Intrepid.

Bottom line, Monza Rocks!
we rented a monza at the uskgp at miller motorsports park with a rotax on the enduro track with no adjustments all weekend and had fast time in tag senior and rotax it worked great. i think it might have been your old kart

Ty

[Shannon Schmidt]

we rented a monza at the uskgp at miller motorsports park with a rotax on the enduro track with no adjustments all weekend and had fast time in tag senior and rotax it worked great. i think it might have been your old kart

Ty

Yep! That was it. Its been a great kart. Glad it served you well. I hope to do the USKGP next year in Rotax or a stock Honda.