| An off road go kart is a four-wheeled vehicle meant | | | | discontinued production in 1990. Though these aging |
| for off road use unlike the longer established go | | | | units still have an enthusiasts' following, their basic |
| karts meant for smooth circuits. Over the last few | | | | achievement was being able to create a team of |
| years off road karting has risen to being popular | | | | enthusiasts and alerting the racing world of the |
| activity featuring an ever-increasing array of vehicles. | | | | immense possibilities of the off road vehicles. |
| The off road scene is amidst an evolutionary change, | | | | Present Generation: The present generation of the |
| much like the general automobile sector. The origins | | | | off road go karts are all primarily of Chinese |
| of off road go kart is still a widely speculated one as | | | | production, these garnered a lot of following who are |
| the vehicle went through development stages. Over | | | | willing to overlook the reliability factor in favour of |
| the years there have been so many claimants for | | | | their cheap and appealing nature. There exists a thin |
| the invention that it becomes difficult to a specifically | | | | line when it comes to differentiating off road karts |
| pinpoint one. Nevertheless, it is widely agreed that | | | | and off road buggies. The manufacturers themselves |
| Honda instigated the trend with the release of the | | | | are perplexed about the usage of the term "buggy" |
| 'Odyssey' in 1977. It was a single seater off road go | | | | and "go kart" that they have been often |
| kart powered by a 250cc two stroke engine | | | | interchanged. The major difference between the two |
| featuring a CVT automatic transmission. The primary | | | | is that go karts are built from scratch and does not |
| differences between a conventional go kart vehicle | | | | involve modifying an aged vehicle like the buggy. |
| and the off road counterpart is the roll and larger | | | | Moreover, the go karts are not really intended for |
| tyres which allows a greater ground clearance and | | | | road use and are crafted sans a differential. In the |
| improved traction. | | | | US, the term "buggy" is however used to describe a |
| Decline: The Odyssey proved to be a popular vehicle | | | | vehicle which may be referred to as a "go kart" in |
| and soon Honda released an upgraded version, FL350 | | | | other parts of the world. Buggies are constructed by |
| in 1985. Honda improved the roll cage, threw in a 350 | | | | modifying an existing vehicle, usually the Volkswagen |
| cc engine featuring an electric starter and front and | | | | Bug. They are used for both off road and on road |
| back suspension. Then in 1989, Honda came up with | | | | purposes; the off road mentioned refers mainly to |
| the FL400 in two versions, one with a dual seats, it | | | | deserts and beaches. Just as the off road go karts |
| featured a liquid cooled 400cc engine and also came | | | | are evolved cousin of their on road counterparts, |
| with increased suspension to handle the greater load. | | | | there are breeds of buggies which are being |
| However, the increased expense was too much for | | | | increasingly used for traversing through difficult |
| kart enthusiasts to digest and Honda finally | | | | terrains and trails. |