When I was 12, my parents got me a Carter Bros kart. My life was from then on changed. Drove it for years, then bought a simple clutch to wheel kart and keep it going deep into the college years. Had to cut it in half to make it longer just so I could fit into it. The most fun I have had in any vehicle (and I have owned some nice vehicles).

Now, seems like the old karts are gone. It would appear that sub 200 lb karts are all but gone. Some will say the lack of a role cage was the reason, but I rolled my old karts more than once, and with only 100 pounds to roll over with you, a few bruises is all I suffered.

The buggies are great, but starting around 400 lbs, they have to be transported by trailer and require your whole garage to store. Then there is the price. The old stuff had 5HP engines that worked great and were easy to work on. Everything was simple and cheap. Now, we are dealing with modified motorcycle engines and complex drives.

So what really killed the classic kart, because I think it comes down to profit margin, and simple karts just don't have enough of it.

New Member (so I may have missed this discussion)
Russ Barrow

Welcome aboard, and good points Russ!

Personally, I think there's a few factors. I think standards have changed.. in the old days, if it had a motor and wheels, regardless of speed, you were the coolest kid on the block and no one cared about getting a 'nicer" one. As long as they got a ride! Today, people are going for broke right off the bat... cuz it's easy. No torches, welders, mechanical aptitudes, just a wallet and an urge to keep childhood alive.

Then again, the world seems a lot more safety concisous today. As a kid, I had a go-kart built out of a 5hp grain auger engine, bicycle tires, no brakes, no speed control, and a helmet? What's that?

That would't be acceptable today. Yet for some reason, we didn't see the harm back then.

I think safety and litigation has killed the classic karts. It is no longer acceptable to ride them on neighborhood streets and sidewalks and any injury or damage results in an automatic lawsuit regardless of fault. You never hear people telling someone anymore that they are too stupid or reckless and deserved the situation they created...

No one is ever responsible for their actions, karting is no exception. This is an epidemic in the US.

The role cage does show the intent to try to make the vehicle safer, but also created much heavier vehicle trickling down to engine, brakes, suspension, ect. This does make the vehicle a bit more dangerous however (more time to stop, crushing, high center of gravity). But, GoPed has done well with light vehicles with minimal safety (Quad trail ripper as an example).

Now, you do dring up a good point; street use. This killed the pocket bike. So, perhaps keeping the vehicle off the street is a big part of the equation.

Russ Barrow

Kids now days don't want go-karts, they want play station 3 and stuff like that, kids aren't like we were back then, they rather be texting somebody at the mall.
LOL. It's a whole diff. generation out there now.

i heard that eggyhed, don't forget about the big baggy pants hanging down with the crack of there showing.
i grew up with tonka trucks, match box cars and motor bikes the best life a young boy could live ,what happened to those days........................
pud

What Happended?

Those kids that played with the little 3hp/5hp go karts are now older, adult kids who purchase larger toys.

We've got one of the old 5hp carts, an early carter and our four (4) buggies. I like driving that ol' kart around, but it doesn't handle the trails...

Kids aren't allowed to be kids...

But what if a lightweight off road go kart existed....... Assuming the power to weight ratio could match these new karts, could it sell?

Russ Barrow

They already exists...
You can get a 70cc or 90cc buggy...

pud and eggy are right when i was younger(i am only 14 now) but when i was younger we used to have a couple acres and my bro and i would be out in our yard all day playing with tonka trucks in the sand since then we moved and have like a quarter of an acre looking in the neighbors windows at night i mean what the heck but i have to say i would not have rc cars or found buggy news if we had not moved cause i would have been out side

oh and another thing about the old carts i have a manco with a five horse tesmacal engine it was fun but supention is a good thing:D

hear os a pic of my first kart