Are there a lot of members with Japanese Yamaha?

[sho305]

I don't know, a new cart is what around $5K for a gas? Something like that, which is comparable to other non road vehicles/toys if not cheaper. In fact you can't hardly buy a crappy Chinese UTV for less now. But carts are made to be simple, extremely reliable (thus the simple part), and over built to last a long time with little care. People complained back when yamaha built the all new drive with a splash engine, yamaha said no pressure oil system to fail or to pay for and splash has shown great reliability in this application so why not use it. They are right, it fits what they are doing by using proven components to be reliable and low cost/low maintenance. The ~10hp engines would get little efficiency gains from more technology though they do have EFI now. Really a cart was a hybrid (no idle) long ago. Sure OHC EFI would be nice but more cost for little gain. Yamaha makes all kinds of engines for other things it would be easy for them. I hear you, there should be a cheap EFI for small engines.

I agree I don't understand the whole lifted cart big dollar thing, other than showing off. This all started because you could buy a used cart cheap and turn it into a play toy with a lift and big tires. With higher prices that formula was destroyed. To me it was a different idea than ATV/UTV, the cart was not to go fast and perform, it was just to play around with and do yard work, etc. I can say my cart runs way nicer with a 15hp clone than it did stock, and I still would not call it anything close to overpowered just more capable. It will go pretty fast, too fast for the suspension and no cage IMO.

Community use is a good thing, very ideal, more efficient. Although once the boomers and their big money start to shrink I don't know how good the retirement market will be. I saw a huge boom in the golf (building golf courses) market in the 90s and its so over. Now they are taking out courses and building condos there. Future retirees are going to be far more poor than the current ones with no more pensions and cheap health care current retirees enjoyed. They lived the golden age IMO. I can see casinos closing. Sure there will always be the rich but not rich masses you had/have retiring now. My outlook is pretty bleak for when I get to retirement when healthcare part D will be more than your SS a month, etc, etc, the high costs will trash everything. Nobody can save now, what you think will happen when they retire in 10-30yr. So I hope this economy changes for the better soon or it will be a mess. But yeah, I'm in MI a manufacturing based economy so my outlook is based on that. I'm sure its better in other places. Heck they are getting rid of pensions for teachers here. I mean when I was a kid it was get pensions for everyone, apparently that plan went right out the window at some point and nobody seems to care or note what future effects that will have. Unions are long gone here. With no job demand for so long it just creates a lot more poor people no matter. I see the big money in retirees vanishing little by little.

This forum is such a niche thing, very few people will work on their own cart let alone modify it. Just a few wrenchers that get into it or have a good use for a cart. Vegas seems to be doing well but they also do other things, so being a leader in cart mod kits for the whole country is not really enough for that small place. I have a special place for carts because of the fun I had at a young age with them, spoiled me for life lol. Also have a place to use them so its great fun for me to play with them.

[FluxCapacitor]

Originally Posted by sho305

Future retirees are going to be far more poor than the current ones with no more pensions and cheap health care current retirees enjoyed. They lived the golden age IMO. I can see casinos closing. Sure there will always be the rich but not rich masses you had/have retiring now. My outlook is pretty bleak for when I get to retirement when healthcare part D will be more than your SS a month, etc, etc, the high costs will trash everything. Nobody can save now, what you think will happen when they retire in 10-30yr

Sadly, I totally agree. I think we are going to see a dramatic change in retirement age and retirement wealth over the next 10-30yrs. People are simply not going to be able to retire while in their 50's or 60's anymore.

[sho305]

They are not going to be buying carts and condos and all that either. I have a family member telling me now at one the largest companies in the world (top 50) that none of the old guys will leave, so nobody can move up. They wont give pay raises only cola, so everyone sits there waiting for a pink slip or something to change. When that is the state of one of the largest and successful companies around, you have to wonder.

[TopherAndTick]

Lifted over priced carts?
Welcome to my world. A stock height cart will more than likely not sell here because it's not "cool". But, we have as many miles of dirt roads as paved in my county. We use our carts for Saturday evening rides. Last time I went on one, I did close 15 miles +.
I drove over two hours to buy a stock cart (back flip seat installed) so that I could add a lift kit and some wheels/tires I already had.
I have a 2011 drive. Bought two years ago for $3,000. Then add big wheels and tires and you are how close to a new cart price? A cart I could still ask $3800 for here now.




Retirement is so far out of the question for many in the future. A new truck costs 50-75 grand. And people are lined up to get their arse in the seats.....

[TopherAndTick]

Oh, and I got a cart instead of a UTV because I can ride it in campgrounds when we leave home. Campgrounds here won't allow UTVs

[sho305]

But if you bought a FOUR year old cart for $3K, you got a very new cart for well under new price, I don't think a bad deal at all. Compare that to a 10yr old cart, or 20, its crazy. New is new and that is worth something, not like new carts have lower quality or something, they are all fairly the same and newer tend to be nicer.

We have the same thing with cars here right now, used prices are high. There is a car lot on every corner because they are making so much. I mean you have a budget but a 10yr old car just isn't worth that much and some want half of sticker. You look up bluebook and some are double retail as trade in, its a joke. Good times for car dealers until it crashes. There are tons of used cars on lots here all over the place. They are doing everything they can to keep prices up.