Ok here is the best review I can come up with at the moment due to some CV joint issues that need to be corrected prior to climb tests and high-speed tests.

Length 92-1/2 inches
Width in the front 63 inches
Width in the back 64-3/4 inches
Height 60-1/4 inches
Wheel base 68 inches
Ground clearance lowest point under the chain guard 5-3/8 inches
Steering wheel turns from center to stop, 3/8 turn pretty responsive.
Speedometer does not work
Turning radius is 40 feet
Passenger compartment width near shins 27-1/8 inches width at chest 41-1/2 inches
Length to the pedals from seat all the way forward 18-1/2 inches
Length to the pedals from seat all of the way back 22-1/2 inches
Fuel capacity is 4 gallons
The controls on the dash are the same as the twister still
The rims are very nice they do not say ITP on them anywhere. I have ITP wheels on other karts and they definitely say ITP on those.

The tires are ok they are your basic Chinese knock off tires they are ok for now

Axles and shafts seem ok but they are sloppy at the joint. I hope this is not another 800cc misery in the making

The suspension is nice the A-arms are very heavy duty.
The throttle response is great this thing really has some torque

Frame quality is OK at best. It has a lot of very sloppy welds on it. But it feels very tight and strong.

The ride is bouncy. There is a lot of bump steer.
The seat belts are a 4PT type setup definitely better than Twisters and the like.

The muffler is pretty good it has a removable baffle so you can irritate your neighbors not to mention get better performance.

The drive components are pretty tough. The chain is 520 and has a large 54T center sprocket. The center dive is pretty tough and looks very easy to change parts on.

All of the lighting and switches are very similar to the Twister.
The ABS panels are a nice feature they do help to keep debris out.
The front fenders are great they move with the strut and keep the dirt out of the kart.
Front shocks are 12-3/4 inches from eye to eye.
Rear shocks are 19-7/8 inches with the weight of the kart on them there is a good deal of preload with the weight of the kart. I will relieve the weight from the suspension and measure that rear shock later.

Maximum RPM looks to be around 14000 according to the Tachometer I am not interested in pushing it yet.

The engine idles at 1700 RPMS
The rear storage is very large and could easily hold a full size cooler.

The overall appearance is Ok it has a lot of scratches and primer showing. There are many ugly welds and a good deal of tubing that is not notched. The welds are complete but they are bulky and use the weld material to fill where the notching should have been.

The emergency brake and shifters are nice looking they seems very sturdy as well. They function fine but need some adjusting.

The seat is 15 inches off the ground

The little bit of climbing I was able to do was great. I went up a small hill of asphalt that we are going to use at PAL. I would say it was about 50 degrees I stopped at the bottom and slowly started to go up the hill. I got near the top and gave it some gas and the front wheels came off the ground while spinning the rear wheels.

We are all aware that Carter Brothers is offering a canopy, a bumper, gearing and a few other upgrades that are still not on their site. It also looks like it would be fairly easy to incorporate a winch bracket to the existing boltholes for the bumper if you wanted it over the bumper.

My overall opinion is this kart is pretty nice. I like the engine the most. I think it has huge potential. The CV’s are still on the fence. I have to hear from Carter first and get another set before I can really make a judgment on those.

I did get it up to 28.8 MPH using GPS but that was a very short distance and I am sure there is more on an open stretch.

More to come after the repairs..

a short video so you can hear the exhaust.

Looks longer--is that measured F/R center-to-center?

From the front edge of the lower cushion? How deep is the seat?

Holy dirty diaper can that be right?? Wow!

Looks and sounds awesome! To bad about the CV though

That is too bad about the CVs. CVs have been a sore spot on many lines of chinese imports. Hopefully they get it straightened out soon for you!

That's great newst that it has good low end. I'll bet it loosens up more for you with time and an oil change. It sounds awesome! We know you'll be a great person for massaging whatever you can out of it.

I'll tell ya though, that is a wide bugger!

No need for all that width on a 250. It would be cool if they would take that in a bit. I think their market share would open up a lot with this model if they were more narrow so it could fit on more ATV trails. It's pretty astonishing that the Carter is over 8 inches wider than a Twister 250.

Imagine that engine in a buggy the same size as the Twister 250. In a sense they watered down some of their performance potential by making it so large. That 250 is being asked to do a lot of work there.


-Steve

Don't worry about the c.v. just yet....A little play is a good thing....Just means it isn't binding anywhere....If it were tight, it would be against something.....
63" wide!! Wow!!! I didn't realize they were that wide...
Hoodlum

63? heck the rear is almost 65! Thats pretty close to 800 width.

I didn't even see that!!! If I was going to get a kart with that wide of a stance, it will have more than a 250cc...I am only 60" wide with my long travel pilot, and it has 14" of travel!!! The whole idea behind these "mini" buggies is to have a narrow track, and go places others can't....For the $$$ these cost, you could have been well on your way to having your hiney in a good pilot.....
Hoodlum

Damm! I'm out of town on business but my local dealer got the Carter 250 in yesterday. I called him tonight and asked him his opinion. He is really conservative with no hype. He has been refusing to take a down payment before he got the cart. He also sells TJ Powersports so is a little more objective than some others. Here's what he said:

Great motor with good power. Definitely better than TJ 250 (he doesn't have the 2 speed yet).

Hard to turn and wide turning radius.

A big cart but with no more passenger room than the TJ. He really emphasized this point.

The hardest cart to put together than he has ever had. (he sells TJ, Carter, and Kymco scooters)

Interestingly based on above - he said the speedo doesn't work. He figured out why and has ordered the part.

Wow! This is a tough decision. The Carter will cost 44 or 4500. The TJ with a 2 speed around 4 or maybe a little less.

Which is better? Comments?

With TJ having two speeds now it's a hard decission for me. It's really going to have to do with the amount of width your trails can handle. If you can't handle 64+ inches, and if you trails have lots of tight twists then you may already have your answer. You may get frustrated with a wide turning 5.3 foot wide kart in tight twisties.

The SYM engine looks like a work of art and has been proven for a long time in other countries.

Tough choices!

Carter could have done a few things to make it an easier choice... but that's not the case at the moment.


-Steve