Karou 6x6 ATV

[jsg07001]

Hi,

I'm John, I have a couple 6x6's, a Max II and a Karou 225. I am hoping to find someone that knows about the Karous, I can't find anything on them elsewhere. I have been into 6x6's for the past 12 years or so and I now I am getting the Karou up and running, so I was looking to see if there is anyone can give me advise.

[jpswift1]

Hi,

I'm John, I have a couple 6x6's, a Max II and a Karou 225. I am hoping to find someone that knows about the Karous, I can't find anything on them elsewhere. I have been into 6x6's for the past 12 years or so and I now I am getting the Karou up and running, so I was looking to see if there is anyone can give me advise.

The Karou is an extremely rare machine, but it just so happens that there is a copy of the original sales brocuhure in the history of 6x6 AATVs book that was written by the late (and great) Mr. Sid Wallach, who owned Max (Recreatives Inc.). I have the book sitting right next to me and I can tell you some of the info.

It was made in Canada by Karou Inc on 535 St-Pierre St in Drummondville, Quebec. The original suggested retail price was $1,395. It came with balloon tires, it had a tubular steel framem 4.4 gallon fuel tank, 25-30mph top land speed, 4-6mph in the water. The body was made of color (green) empregnated reinforced fiberglass, with extra reinforcement in the front and in the rear so you could mount an outboard motor. The Karou 225 could carry 4 people. It had a single cylinder 225cc 2 stroke 12.5HP Canadian Curtis Wright air cooled engine. The drive chain was #35-2 and the axle chain was #40. It weighted only 395lbs, it could carry 600lbs on land and water, It is 84" long, 53" wide, and 34" tall with a wheelbase of 45".

Hope this helps. Post some pictures, we love seeing the rare old AATVs!

Here's the link to another thread of a 6x6World member that has some actual pictures of a Karou that he found:

http://www.6x6world.com/forums/other-aatvs/16040-what.html

[hydromike]

I'm just glad to see I'm not the only one with a Karou!

Really?! Let's see some pictures of your machine, jsg. It's nice to see the oddities come out of the woodwork....

[Mike]

John,

I moved several posts around to this one thread so we can discuss your Karou here. That is such a unique machine. I saw that you uploaded some photos in the gallery. Here is a thumbnail link to a few of them for anybody reading this that has not seen them yet:

[mustangwagz]

wth...its only got one drive stick?....i need to look this up. lol
howd they do that? lol

[thebuggyman1]

wth...its only got one drive stick?....i need to look this up. lol
howd they do that? lol

That wasn't the only 6 wheeler with one stick......if I remember right, LarryW had pictures of the mechanism.

COOOL looking machine

[jpswift1]

The one stick drive machine that Larry has is the Multimobile.

[jsg07001]

The one stick control was definitely hard to get used to, impossible with the 297 engine that was in it. Now I prefer the one stick to the Max's two levers because it leaves a hand free... but I still couldnt tell you which way left is!

Does anyone know if those "Fatcat" tires are still being made?

[jsg07001]

jpswift1,

Is there any chance you could post a copy of that sale brochure for the Karou? That would be a cool thing to have documenting the machine.

John

[jpswift1]

Sure thing, John. Here it is:

[jsg07001]

Out of curiosity, how much would a 6x6 like this go for in decent condition? Right now it is in good running condition, but the axel seals leak and a couple of the axels are slighly bent. I don't want to invest more in this machine than I could ever get back, and because the Max can do everything the Karou can and more, I don't really need the Karou for anything more than putting around. Is it worth it to restore this machine to like new condition or should it just be left as is?