The world of go-karting has changed considerably over the years, as many companies have struggled to stay in business, while those that have stayed have prospered. Unfortunately, it can be hard to find replacement parts for many of the defunct brands, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of other options out there. This industry as a whole is struggling a bit, although countless highways can still be found throughout the country. Learning as much as possible about the various go-kart brands is essential for anyone looking to purchase a go-kart in the future.

American Sportsworks is a major brand in this industry that still exists today. This company not only makes go-karts, but also imports them from China for sale in the United States. This means they have a variety of different styles for you to choose from and should stay in business for the foreseeable future because of this connection to the Chinese market. Brister’s was a major go-kart brand in the past, having been founded by the Brister family in 1959. Eventually Manco bought it, and then American Sportworks bought it, adding further gloss to the Sportworks brand.

Carter Brothers was a major go-kart brand for a long time, although some people have complained that their parts are hard to find. That’s because most parts are custom, so you have to go to a Carter dealer to find them. Unfortunately, the Carter brothers’ plant burned down in July 2010, so it remains to be seen if this company will survive or simply go out of business after this setback.

Formerly called the Twister, Hammerhead Offroad is one of the leaders in this industry today, mainly because their parts are so easy to find, making them extremely popular with highway operators. The fact that you can repair your go kart in a matter of hours when you choose Hammerhead is important because it means you won’t have to search like you would with other brands. Most customers agree that you will get your money’s worth by going through Hammerhead as they produce a high quality go kart and will give you access to high quality replacement parts. Keep in mind that some parts can take a while to ship, especially when customs is involved, but overall Hammerhead is one of the best brands out there. This is a Chinese company, so the items must be shipped from abroad.

Kinroad is another Chinese company that offers great go kart products as the parts are of high quality and they have pretty good customer service. The only problem with this company, however, is that it takes some time to order parts, so if you can’t find the parts somewhere in the US, you may have to wait a few weeks. Kinroad and Hammerhead Offroad are in direct competition with each other for the US market, so take a look at these two manufacturers and see how they can serve you.

One of the more controversial go-kart companies, no longer in business, was Murray. Once upon a time, Murray was a popular go-kart company that produced go-karts and parts. When the company filed for bankruptcy in 2004, things began to change dramatically. Ultimately, a company called the Briggs and Stratton Corporation bought Murray out of bankruptcy protection. Almost immediately, Briggs and Stratton Corporation decided that it did not want to be involved in the go-kart industry and stopped selling and manufacturing this equipment. In addition, they stopped providing warranty coverage, replacement parts, and customer support for the product that Murray had sold, and it is even believed that they destroyed all the leftover parts. As a result, most buyers steer clear of Murray karts as they are very difficult to repair.

Other companies have gone bankrupt over the years as the market is not as strong as it once was. Many of these problems are associated with KINT, which bought several different manufacturers over the years but ran into problems of its own. KINT purchased Thunder Karts, USA Karts, and Straight Line in an attempt to expand their business. They then changed their name to Nitrous Go-Karts and stopped producing karts for all the companies they bought. Eventually, however, this company also went out of business, taking all the acquisitions with it and creating a significant hole in the US market. Other examples of go-kart companies that recently closed include Kartco, which was a very good manufacturer, Ken-bar, which closed in July 2010, and Yerf-Dog.

As you can see, some holes have been created in this market due to the recent economic downturn, as many of the Go Karts now being sold in the United States come from China. That said, newer companies like Nor-Am Go Karts, Electra Motorsports, Formula K Raceways and Johnson Kart are trying to stay relevant to the US market this time. While these companies are certainly not as big as the ones that come from China, they do produce high-quality karts and will send you replacement parts fairly quickly. Keep in mind that it’s always best to go with a company with a long history, as their parts are more widely available and less likely to suddenly disappear and leave you without proper technical support.