Historically, the first go-cart, was built by Art Ingels in 1956. It was a simple affair with a two stroke cycle engine. Go karting has since then, come a long way, from a popular sport for airmen in the heyday’s to the current speed demons or superkarts, some of which are reported to cross 160 mph (260 Km/h) on asphalt!

The racing go kart is slightly modified compared to children’s go carts, since they are built for more speed and more endurance over various terrain. The more noticeable changes are in the wheels, which are much bigger, to offer better traction and stability and in the engines which are more powerful, with most Off road go carts having 150-250cc engines. Besides the horse power, there are other fundamental differences in the design of these carts with

· Higher clearance, to clear more ground based obstacles

· The adult models, have both rear as well as front shock absorbers, since enthusiasts will definitely try it out, on rough terrain

· A reverse gear

· Unique styling features, sometimes it’s tough to tell if the carts a dune buggy or vice versa

Racing go carts are basically open wheeled vehicles with no suspension. The basic components of an off road go cart, are the chassis, transmission, motor, seating for 1-2 people and 4 tires. Since, there is no suspension, the chassis itself must provide enough strength and flexibility to allow the cart to maintain its grip on the road, whether its going straight or taking a sharp left.

An underlying aspect of off road go carting, is the focus on safety. Since these race go carts can easily reach the speeds of a normal car, accidents, when they occur can be deadly, so a few safety provisions are always included such as seat belts and padding with helmets, gloves, shoes and thermal suits is recommended. With carts on the racing track, roll bars and caged chassis provide protection to the driver, in the event of the car rolling over. However extreme racing go carts your dealing with rough terrain and also go kart races that can be very dangerous as well.

Go karting is considered to be a stepping-stone to the world of high-speed racing. Racing greats like Sarah Fisher, Darrell Waltrip, Kyle Petty, Tony Stewart and Michael Schumacher were all Go carters, before they ventured into Indy or Formula One. Talent scouts often pick up the best talents from the go carting tracks and hone them into professionals. In fact, if you’re good enough to reach the top classes in go carting (and mind you, there are many classes), you should seriously consider professional kart racing.

There are many places to find racing cheap go karts for sale depending on what kind of driving level you are going to be classified in. Some are built bigger and faster than others. However, if you’re just in it for the fun, forget the competition. Remember what it was like to be kids, and just have fun!

If you have a yard big enough and don’t mind having a dirt track burned into it from all of the go kart riding, then you are the perfect candidate for purchasing your children a new yard kart. However, if you don’t have the yard space, or you don’t want your lawn having go kart tracks worn down into it, then you are going to want to make sure that you have parking lots available for your children to ride. Before you take the kids out to the parking lots though, you are going to want to make sure that you have adequate written permission from the land owner to keep yourself out of hot water should the police show up, which they often do.

Finding racing go karts for sale is a great way to get into a very competitive sport that can teach your children a lot about themselves, but also a lot about life in general. They will learn traits of good sportsmanship and conduct, competitiveness, friendliness, as well as being able to learn a new mechanical skill. Repairing racing go carts can often be expensive, so it is highly suggested that you take the time to learn how they work, as well as the smaller two or four stroke engines, so that you can in turn teach your children.

Spending the time fixing the go karts and preparing for either your next race, or the next weekend that they get to ride is serious quality time that cannot be replaced by anything. These are memories that your kids are going to come back to you with for years to come, and the principals and values that you are able to teach them through this method of competitive sports is going to provide them an incredible foundation. These types of traits and qualities, as long as nurtured mean that finding used go karts for sale is more than just giving your kids something to do, but instead a chance to spend a lot of quality time with them.

As you can see, it is a very wise decision to invest in your family when it comes to finding cheap go karts for sale. What you will learn over the course of a few short months is something that you and your family will not soon forget.

This is serious quality family time that doesn’t cost you much money for the initial investment and by getting into the sport, you are going to be creating memories that will last with your children forever. I guarantee you that they will be talking to you about these memories when you are both a lot older, possibly even while your grandchildren are getting into the sport, it is that powerful.

Go kart racing has grown a lot as a sport over the last few years, and is quickly becoming recognized, causing more and more organizations to setup point based tournaments and kart racing schedules. This is great to teach your kids the ins and outs of the go carts racing system, but as well as help them learn self sufficiency, organization, keeping up with deadlines, and a lot more useful skills that will greatly benefit them throughout their lives.

With the rate that the sport has began growing you are probably going to be able to find a go kart racing track near you, usually within an hour or less of a drive. The total cost to get back and forth to the go kart track as well as the cost of racing go kart parts is easily recovered by eating at the house a few more nights each week. If you have to, and have the ability, maybe consider adding an hour or two of overtime each week at the job for your children’s sake. This will easily allow you the ability to cover the costs incurred from racing go karts and spending a lot of quality time with your children.

It’s not usually that difficult finding racing go karts for sale, just when you begin to start making calls, think about the questions you want to ask up front, and maybe even put them on paper to ensure that you don’t forget to cover any aspects. Some things that you are going to want to know are the condition of the engine, how many hours it has been raced with, the structure of the frame, body work, the condition of the tires, axles, chain, sprocket, and if there are any accessories included.

Make sure that the owner doesn’t seem to be hiding any thing from you, and you can easily find a used racing go kart for you and your family to begin enjoying. Just remember that used go karts can be found all over the internet and racing one is illegal on the street. So if you intend to test one, keep a super quiet muffler on the exhaust, and stay near your home.