Mini bikes are fun, easy to ride, and low maintenance. Sounds like the perfect recreational vehicle, right? But what exactly is a mini bike? Well, let’s take a look.
A mini bike is a small two-wheeled, motorized vehicle that is traditionally powered by a gas engine. Most mini bikes are designed for a single-passenger to use recreationally on and off pavement. Many mini bike manufacturers produce models for both children and adults.
Mini History
The first mini bikes were created by enthusiasts in the 1950’s. The first mini bikes often served as “pit bikes” for drag racing. They were used to by racers to travel around the staging areas. Then as the popularity of mini bikes grew during the the 1960’s and 1970’s, a multitude of manufacturers started producing them. Although mini bikes reached their height of their popularity in the 1970’s, they are still very popular today.
Types of Mini Bikes
Over time mini bikes have evolved and today a mini bike can fall into several different categories. Let’s take a look at why a mini bike falls into each category.
Traditional mini bike
When most people think of a mini bike they think of two small wheels attached by a small rigid steel frame with tall “ape hanger” handle bars and a gas powered lawn mower engine. A good example of a traditional mini bike is the Coleman CT200U.
Mini chopper
A mini chopper or show bike has the same look and feel of a “chopper” motorcycle, just on a much smaller scale. They mini bikes are often custom built by enthusiasts and include extreme features like “raked out” front forks, custom handlebars, and a “bobber” seat. These are also called show bikes because often they are displayed at mini bike shows.
Pit bike
The modern pit bike stays true to the original idea of mini bikes and are still often used in the pit areas during racing events. The present-day pit bikes look like a smaller version of motocross dirt bikes. In fact, pit bike racing has quite a following. Races are very similar to Motocross and often times younger riders compete in pit bike racing before moving into Motocross.
Pocket bike
Similar to the modern day pit bikes, pocket bikes resemble a common larger motorcycle, the sport bike. These mini sport bikes are designed to to be used on the race track. Pocket bikes and pocket bike racing became popular in North America with the introduction of Asian imports. Pocket bike racing or MiniMoto racing has also grown and is a professional and international sport.
Tote Gote
It is debatable if the Tote Gote actually falls into the category of a mini bike, but they have a lot of similarities so we thought we would add them in too. The Tote Gote was originally designed for carrying hunters in the back country, not racers in the pits. The other major difference is it’s size. The Tote Gote was not mini. However, it did have a rigid steel frame and included similar lawn mower style engines. If you put a Tote Gote next to a traditional mini bike, it would basically look like the mini bike’s big brother.
Mini Bikes Uses
As mini bikes have evolved, so have their uses. Mini bikes are used for everything from recreational riding to drag racing. No matter what you’re interested in, there is probably a mini bike that will work for you.
Recreational riding is probably the most common reason someone buys a mini bike. Let’s be honest, they are easy to ride and just down right fun. It doesn’t take a lot of skill to ride a mini bike, so almost anyone can ride one. Also, you don’t need a lot of space to ride or any specific surface. A mini bike can be ridden across your lawn just as easily as it can be ridden on pavement.
This versatility makes mini bikes a great option for exploring the great outdoors. There small size and maneuverability makes it easy to navigate through tight trails that other larger vehicles could never even attempt. They are an excellent option for trail riding and can easily be modified to perform even better off-road. One common mini bike enhancement for trail riding is upgrading or adding suspension.
Now if a leisurely ride in the back yard or down a meandering trail is not enough for you, mini bike racing might be right up your alley. One of the best parts about racing mini bikes is customizing the bike for optimal performance. There are a wide range of modifications that the average person can make to their mini bike with a mini price tag. The inexpensive nature of mini bikes is what lures many into mini bike racing. The only question is, what type of racing is right for you. Mini bike racing can range from a 125 foot long drag race to 100 mile team endurance race.
If you are less of the competitive type and more of an artistic type. Building custom mini bikes might be perfectly suited to your creativity. Mini choppers are a common outcome of building a custom mini bike. Parts are very accessible and comparatively inexpensive, especially if you already have the tools laying around in your garage. With a little skill, elbow grease and a vision you can create your own mini masterpiece. Once that masterpiece is complete you can take your mini bike on the road and show it off at one of the many mini bike shows around the country.
Mini Bike Engines
Mini bikes typically have an engine that resembles one commonly used in a lawn mower. Briggs and Stratton motors were very common in early mini bikes because of their simplicity and reliability. The mini bike engines usually have between 3 HP and 8 HP. This makes the size of the engines between 100cc and 300cc. Most mini bikes manufactured for children are on the lower end with around 3 HP or 100cc. Adult mini bikes are typically equipped with an engine closer to 6.5HP and 200cc. As mentioned above, one of the advantages of mini bikes are that they are easy to customize, including the motors. If you have a need for speed, swapping out the stock motor for something bigger and faster can easily be done. Just keep in mind the manufacturers designed the bikes for the specific engine size it came with. So if you decide to upgrade to something bigger, you are doing so at your own risk.
Conclusion
So what are mini bikes really? Mini bikes are historic, versatile, customizable, inexpensive, but most of all mini bikes are fun for the whole family. So if you are looking for a low maintenance, easy to ride vehicle, a mini bike might be right for you.