OT - Go-Kart

[Ford Man]

I am going to get my son a go-kart for Christmas this year. He is 11-1/2 years old. He does not ask for much and has been a really good kid.

I am looking at a max of $ 2000 but would like to spend less of course.

We have been looking at 2 seaters so I can ride and drive with him. No sense in him having all the fun !

We looked at a Manco at Tractor Supply. I don"t have the model but it was around $ 1600 and looked pretty well built.It was electric start with reverse but had no lights.

We also looked at an Ace Sports model at Northern Tool.It was also electric start but had lights and fenders.It was on sale at $ 1999.

Do any of you guys have any experience with either of these carts ?

I want to get him something that does not have to be worked on all of the time but I do have a budget also.

I am in central North Carolina and Tractor Supply and Northern Tool are the only places I can find that sell go karts.

Any thoughts would be helpful.

Thanks !!!

Ford Man

 

[Anonymous-0]

don't know what you want to do with it but save your money and get your self a 4 wheeler find a good used one they are a lot better built and of more use. go-karts or for hard surface only and the little Briggs engines don't last

 

[IH2444]

Sears has Go Carts here in KY.

I believe the TSC ones have Robin engines on them, the Sears as well I think.

 

[balatonm]

I agree with you on that, four-wheerers are more fun to. but if you go with the go-cart,I'd go with the maco, you then put the light on your self. you can get light kits (lights, wires,and conections)for $20.00 at napa

 

[Bob - MI]

I bought a used Yerf Dog when I bought my new house. We have 1//4 mile of asphalt driveway and sit next to 60 acres of woods and fields. It was a 2-seater and it had a 6hp Tecumseh on it. We kept it for about 3 years and had a lot of fun with it. Kids got into trouble with the neighbor by running through his alfalfa field. Great way to meet the neighbors! It didn't have much suspension and that made it not take to the trails well. It was a Sam's Club model that was about a year old and I gave $600.00 for it. I sold it for $500.00 and felt that I made out pretty well.

If you are sold on a go-cart instead of a quad look for one with the biggest tires and best suspension. This will give you rough terrain capability and an overall better ride. Having reverse would be nice.

Get him a good helmet too.

So far as having to work on it, I had mini bikes when I was a kid and I did all the repairs myself. It's a great way to teach a kid mechanics and responsibility (working to earn parts money).


Thought about a small dirt bike? You are in the $$$ range for a XR100 Honda.

 

[Matt L]

Can always try craigslist.com and look for a go cart there.

I seems to always find stuff I dont need to buy.... Tractors lol

 

[T_Bone]

Hi FM,

For what your willing to spend, what you might consider doing is buying the parts and building a custom ride plus you get that personal one on one time that is more important than the ride it's self.

My Grandkids, 13 and 11yo's, both got the nerf karts, about $900eh and they were a piece of junk. The frames quickly broke in the motor area, clutchs/belts didn't last long and were expensive to replace, and the "kids" refused to help grandpa work on them so they let them sit broke down rather than get off there dead a$$.

Besure to pick Karts with a wide wheel track as this helps the karts not flip over and a roll bar is a must have, and not a option.

We each have 3.3a side by side, so it gave the kids a huge dirt track to ride on with knobie tires. This kept the neighbors complaints down even tho the kids rode on the dirt roads without premission.

Dad riding along with little Johnnie??? That should be a big ego buster!!! Get your own kart Dad as it's more fun with two karts

T_Bone

 

[Kelly C]

We have a Carter Talon that we got from Northern Tool. About $1900 I think. Best WOW for the money you can get.
Uses a cheap 4 stroke Chinese motor. Ours has broke down a few times and parts are avalible on the net.
If you are looking for the same quality as say a Polaris or any of the better brands. That sell for $6000+. Stay away, But if you can live with the ride a bit then fix a bit. They are a whole lot of fun.
I am looking for another one. I will buy one off Ebay. Can get basicly the same cart that sells for $2000 at Northern for $800 with free delivery.
Warantee? HAHAHAHA you very funny. Dont worry about that. I blew the clutch out on mine after 3 weeks. It was under warrantee. I delivered it back to Northern. Then waited 2 mos for them to get the parts.
Found a place on the net can get that part for $50 next day air for $18. So I just fix it my self now.
Like I said as long as your expectations are in line they are a hoot.

 

[Kelly C]

Here is a link to one offered on Ebay. Same thing as the Talon I paid $1900 for.

They have from 50cc to 250cc carts.
150cc is plenty fast for the kids. I am after one of the 250cc for me to ride. I know I am a big kid.
GoKart on Ebay

 

[shannon from ohio]

Stay away from the ones that have the tecumseh(JUNK)engines!! Get one with the Robin-Subaru or Honda engine..........

 

[rrlund]

Reminds me,I built one one time with a 2 cylinder snowmobile engine on it. That thing was a death trap. Never got hurt on it myself,but the neighbor wanted it real bad,so I sold it to him. He ran it in to the side of a truck. He survived,but the cart didn't.

 

[dave guest]

Two wheelers are lotta fun and can go many more places. Honda, Yamaha, Kaw all make smaller bikes. We have 2 70's and a 100. Four cycle, dependable, easy start. Usually go-carts end up in parking lots with police cars following them.

 

[tractormiallis]

We used to have manco karts, had 2 of them, the 2 seater 5 hp model and then later a dingo 1 seater, both with tecumseh engines. They were good machines, never had any major mechanical issues, other than replacing the chain, sprockets and clutches that wore from dust and lots of fun. Bought them through the local ATV dealer.
Now, we bought a YERF DOG ATV dump kart from TSC. They sold us a pile of crap. The company went bankrupt, could not find parts, engine was junk chinese, couldnt find the manufacturer of the engine, and it ran terrible when it did run.

 

[MN Scott]

Hey Kelly long time no hear from ya. How did the haying go this summer? How are the Farmalls and the F250 PSD treating you? Don't be such a stranger to the board!

 

[Gene Davis (Ga.)]

One of the biggest mistakes people tend to make when buying Go-Karts is to not buy the best braking system available which is usually disk brakes on a live rear axle so that it stops with 2 wheels instead of just one. Some of the real high-end models have hydraulic disk brakes.
The warranty on kart engines was explained to me when I was a McCulloch dealer and bought some kart engines for sales purpose. The district service manager answered my questions about warranty like this: "When you mount it or pour fuel in the tank it voids the warranty, in other words the warranty is to the door, but not through the door!" Think about it. you don't see people who treat a go-kart like it was breakable do you? Having been around go-karts for about 50 years, let me make a statement. If you run a go-kart 1 hour with an adult driver you work on it for 15 minutes each hour. If you run it with a young female driver at the wheel you work on it an hour for each 30 minutes driven. If the driver is a young male; you will work on it an hour for each 15 minutes driven. I feel like I can speak with authority on this subject. Started with karts when years ago when we used old chain saw engines in the mid 50's. Raced them on asphalt and dirt tracks from early 60's to late 70's then have had children and grand children with 4 cycle yard karts regularly since then. I worked in the saw & mower business for years and was a Homelite & McCulloch,Poulan,Briggs,Tecumseh repairman for a living for a number of years. I beg to disagree with the guy's comment on the Tecumseh engine. They are just as good as your Briggs when you treat them correctly. True,they are a little more difficult to work on and they take a little more understanding.. The beauty of the Briggs is that everybody can tinker with it and it will still run. The GX series of Honda engines are expensive to buy, but are unequalled for durability and dependability. They have been so sucessful that the Chinese and Tiawan clones are as close to them as a copy can be made. The clones are cheap and you just pitch it when it blows and get another.

 

[Ford Man]

Thanks for all of the input !

You are right about 4 wheelers being a better choice but the budget won"t allow that.

I am going to take a good look at all of them before we buy one.

Thanks !!

Ford Man

 

[Kelly C]

Hey Scott.
Haying went ok I guess. That tedder I got last spring worked real well. Cut at least a day off the drying time. That saved a few 100 bales from the rain. Plus the little I did get rain on it kept them in usable condition for the cows.
All in all the tedder was a A+ purchase.
Did not get a 2nd cutting as it dryed up real fast after July 4th. Too bad too, I could have sold all I could get.
Thats the way it goes. Next year I will have hay hanging out the barn doors but then so will every one else.

I tell ya if I was a big time hay farmer instead of just playing. I would invest in irrigation for the dry years.
On the normal years I would just go with the flow, then on the dry years just clean clock.

Went to a hay sale thinking I could maybe find a bargin. HA crap hay was selling $4 a bale.

As for the Farmall's they are ok. The 400 started to act up. Sputtering and dying wile using her.Had to pull the choke out to keep her running. I think she has a fuel problem or if thats all good it maybe a burnt valve.

I am going to pull the tank and clean, rebuild and replace as needed to the intake manafold.
Then pull the head and see what the valves look like.

My NH850 imploded on me this summer. The whole pick up assembly including the chains just went.
Time to find another beater baler and use it till it breaks.
Maybe I should just suck it up and buy the Vermeer 504G I want any way and be done with it.

Cows are good, getting fat just like they are suppose to.

I am still in love with my F250 Power Stroke and I am not afarid to admit it.

Not much else going on. Had been working my butt off and hammering the OT for a wile. Now Qwest has me laid off till spring so now I have loads of time.
Will see if I can get some stuff done.