I got one when I was about 8, I was a terror on it. For a couple years, I rode it around my stepfather's shop, terrorizing people. Then after we moved, I rode it all over, around where we lived.
The go-kart I had, was made by a company that made racing go-karts. The dang thing was pretty fast. My favorite trick that liked to do, was driving on two wheels. A couple of times, I tried to to a 180 and wound up putting it up on two wheels. Scared the crap out of me the first two times. But I saved it both times. This was back in the late 70s early 80s, back when The Dukes of Hazard was on TV. So once, I learned I could get the go-kart on two wheels, I started trying to get it up on two wheels and then keep it there. I had already learned to ride wheelies on my bicycle, and was getting better and better at that. So I spent quite a bit of time, trying to master getting the go-kart up on two wheels and riding it as far as possible. The neighbors would look at me, like I was crazy. Pretty sure I was the neighborhood entertainment for some of the older people in the neighborhood. Some of them, I know hated me.
I had a blast on that thing, till a buddy managed to get his fat foot stuck between the frame and the gas pedal. Like I said, it was pretty fast. Fast enough, I was able to keep up with traffic on a highway one day after a parade in Sinton. Nobody in our group, knew before hand. That at the end of the parade, you had to get on the highway and drive out to the fair grounds. I had a dang Mack cab over truck, right behind me going down the highway, then the gooseneck trailer, that was used as a float, in front of me. I kept running up under the back of the trailer trying to get some distance between me and the dang cab over. That was a scary ride.
So when my buddy got the throttle stuck wide open, he got a lot of speed going. He got very scared, panicked, jumped a 10' wide ditch into the neighbor's yard, cleared the ditch and then some. I was standing there watching, thinking "Dang, I wish I would have thought of that." Would have been something fun to do, when I knew that neighbor was not home. The ditch was a dividing line between our yard and the neighbor's yard, the neighbor that hated me the most. Then he ran across the neighbor's yard, still wide open and drove about 8' up a leaning live oak tree. I ran over and shut the engine off. The go-kart actually went about 8' up the tree, then slid back down, with the engine still wide open. It cleaned off the bark, on that side of the tree. When I looked at my buddy, he had a huge goose egg on his forehead and was bleeding. Then the neighbor came out, all types of POed, that his tree got tore up. Then he saw the ruts across his yard and really got mad. Did not matter that my buddy had a huge knot on his forehead and was bleeding, I think from his nose. My buddy was panicking, with his foot still stuck between the gas pedal and the frame. I realized he had never had anything happen to him before. His mother was very over protective, she sheltered him. Was not a good choice of a friend to hang out with me.
I never could figure out how he he got his foot stuck where he did, I could not duplicate the situation.
The neighbor wanted my parents to pay for damages to his tree and yard. I had to go fix his yard. My buddy's mother flipped out, when she showed up, to pick him up. She was screaming her head off. That was the end of us being friends. It bent the frame on the go-kart, were it sticks out to mount the right steering knuckle. It busted the right front wheel. So my go-kart was down for a long time. Finally figured out a way to get the frame mostly straight, finally found a plastic wheel, the right size to replace the cast aluminum or magnesium wheel, that was broken. The go-kart was never the same. Before that one incident, I loved that kart, it was a blast.
It was not long after I got the go-kart running again, that I got a Honda Big Red three wheeler, then really did dumb things. I had a lot of fun on the three wheeler. Then dirt bikes, cars and trucks. I was a very "experienced" driver, by the time I actually had a driver's license.
Many years later, a guy I knew, had a Yerf Dog two seater go-kart, that he and his son rode around the neighborhood where they lived to the police told them the could not anymore. So it had very few hours on it, just sat in his garage. This was one of the ones that looks like a small dune buggy, with front and rea suspension. So I bought it for my nephews, figured they could have a lot of fun on it. I had to rebuild the carb and fix a few other minor things, before giving it to them. So I got it working very well, but I had to drive it to make sure it worked properly. My daughter wanted to ride it.
This thing has a roll cage and seat belts and I was sure, I had not lost any of my driving skills. So I would get it going about as fast as it would go, then try a 180 with it. With the weight and tires, it had a lot of traction. So it lifted the inside tires and acted like it wanted to flip. So I made another attempt and got it up on two wheels. I very quickly was able to drive all over the place on two wheels. My daughter would be screaming, the whole time, she would keep getting back on for another ride. She is not afraid of much of anything. After a couple weeks of testing out the go-kart, I finally decided to give it to my nephews, before I wore it out or broke it. I know they had a blast on it, up until they finally ran it to death.
Go-karts are a great way for kids to learn to really drive and not just ride between the lines. I am sure the people who did not have go-karts, dirt bikes, four wheelers or three wheels as kids, are the ones who can't drive in the rain or on ice.
The go-kart I had, was made by a company that made racing go-karts. The dang thing was pretty fast. My favorite trick that liked to do, was driving on two wheels. A couple of times, I tried to to a 180 and wound up putting it up on two wheels. Scared the crap out of me the first two times. But I saved it both times. This was back in the late 70s early 80s, back when The Dukes of Hazard was on TV. So once, I learned I could get the go-kart on two wheels, I started trying to get it up on two wheels and then keep it there. I had already learned to ride wheelies on my bicycle, and was getting better and better at that. So I spent quite a bit of time, trying to master getting the go-kart up on two wheels and riding it as far as possible. The neighbors would look at me, like I was crazy. Pretty sure I was the neighborhood entertainment for some of the older people in the neighborhood. Some of them, I know hated me.
I had a blast on that thing, till a buddy managed to get his fat foot stuck between the frame and the gas pedal. Like I said, it was pretty fast. Fast enough, I was able to keep up with traffic on a highway one day after a parade in Sinton. Nobody in our group, knew before hand. That at the end of the parade, you had to get on the highway and drive out to the fair grounds. I had a dang Mack cab over truck, right behind me going down the highway, then the gooseneck trailer, that was used as a float, in front of me. I kept running up under the back of the trailer trying to get some distance between me and the dang cab over. That was a scary ride.
So when my buddy got the throttle stuck wide open, he got a lot of speed going. He got very scared, panicked, jumped a 10' wide ditch into the neighbor's yard, cleared the ditch and then some. I was standing there watching, thinking "Dang, I wish I would have thought of that." Would have been something fun to do, when I knew that neighbor was not home. The ditch was a dividing line between our yard and the neighbor's yard, the neighbor that hated me the most. Then he ran across the neighbor's yard, still wide open and drove about 8' up a leaning live oak tree. I ran over and shut the engine off. The go-kart actually went about 8' up the tree, then slid back down, with the engine still wide open. It cleaned off the bark, on that side of the tree. When I looked at my buddy, he had a huge goose egg on his forehead and was bleeding. Then the neighbor came out, all types of POed, that his tree got tore up. Then he saw the ruts across his yard and really got mad. Did not matter that my buddy had a huge knot on his forehead and was bleeding, I think from his nose. My buddy was panicking, with his foot still stuck between the gas pedal and the frame. I realized he had never had anything happen to him before. His mother was very over protective, she sheltered him. Was not a good choice of a friend to hang out with me.
I never could figure out how he he got his foot stuck where he did, I could not duplicate the situation.
The neighbor wanted my parents to pay for damages to his tree and yard. I had to go fix his yard. My buddy's mother flipped out, when she showed up, to pick him up. She was screaming her head off. That was the end of us being friends. It bent the frame on the go-kart, were it sticks out to mount the right steering knuckle. It busted the right front wheel. So my go-kart was down for a long time. Finally figured out a way to get the frame mostly straight, finally found a plastic wheel, the right size to replace the cast aluminum or magnesium wheel, that was broken. The go-kart was never the same. Before that one incident, I loved that kart, it was a blast.
It was not long after I got the go-kart running again, that I got a Honda Big Red three wheeler, then really did dumb things. I had a lot of fun on the three wheeler. Then dirt bikes, cars and trucks. I was a very "experienced" driver, by the time I actually had a driver's license.
Many years later, a guy I knew, had a Yerf Dog two seater go-kart, that he and his son rode around the neighborhood where they lived to the police told them the could not anymore. So it had very few hours on it, just sat in his garage. This was one of the ones that looks like a small dune buggy, with front and rea suspension. So I bought it for my nephews, figured they could have a lot of fun on it. I had to rebuild the carb and fix a few other minor things, before giving it to them. So I got it working very well, but I had to drive it to make sure it worked properly. My daughter wanted to ride it.
This thing has a roll cage and seat belts and I was sure, I had not lost any of my driving skills. So I would get it going about as fast as it would go, then try a 180 with it. With the weight and tires, it had a lot of traction. So it lifted the inside tires and acted like it wanted to flip. So I made another attempt and got it up on two wheels. I very quickly was able to drive all over the place on two wheels. My daughter would be screaming, the whole time, she would keep getting back on for another ride. She is not afraid of much of anything. After a couple weeks of testing out the go-kart, I finally decided to give it to my nephews, before I wore it out or broke it. I know they had a blast on it, up until they finally ran it to death.
Go-karts are a great way for kids to learn to really drive and not just ride between the lines. I am sure the people who did not have go-karts, dirt bikes, four wheelers or three wheels as kids, are the ones who can't drive in the rain or on ice.
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