I am wanting to get an offroad kart for the family . I would like it to be big enough for old dad or mom plus one kid. I would like it to be tame enough for the kids but enough poer for dad to "kick it" if I want to. Is this possible ? We have a large pasture that also includes some pretty good hills.
Just wondering what you guys are finding out about the chinese market and if any of these would fit the bill for a 2 seater "family" kart ?
Thanks,
D.

 

I have a Twister Hammerhead 150. I bought it as an alternative to a quad so I could take my sons for rides. I would of really liked to buy a Rhino but can't afford to spend $10k on a toy. The Twister has been great. It has plenty of room for me (5'11" 220lbs) and my 5 year old, with two adults it gets a little tight. It's not a powerhouse but is plenty fast enough (top speed of about 45) to have fun with. The only time I lack power is on really steep hills. I've also found it to be very reliable. I've had it for 7 months and about 1,000 miles and the only thing that has broke is the bracket that holds the muffler on wich was covered under warranty.

There is also a Twister 250 that is basically the same cart with a 250 and IRS (the 150 is solid axl rear). That machine is really nice and will give you a little more kick for hill climbing and such. I also really like the new Joyner 250 Sand Spider. It has IRS as well as a high/low gear box so it would be great for hill climbing. It also appears to have more room than the Twister (I've never seen the Joyner in person). Carter is also releasing a 250 in September and that looks like a really nice machine. Blade also has a really nice 250xt and they can't be beat for customer service.

Any of the larger "karts" (650 and 800's) are the size of a small car and might be too much for kids to handle depending on how old they are.

If you really want to buy a chinese kart make sure you due a lot of research first. There are lots of shady companies out there selling total junk with no parts availability or after sale service (SunL and Roketa to name a couple). There are also some really good companies (Twister, Blade, Joyner, Carter and Dazon).

Check out Buggynews dot com for all the information you'd ever want to know about these machines. It's a great forum and many of the top manufacturers participate in it.

hope this helps

Jamie