# What's that mini motorcycle? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 12, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-mini-motorcycle/316762 "2005-08-12T18:44:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-mini-motorcycle/316762/1 "2005-08-12T18:44:42Z")
I was just outside a little while ago and saw two guys on what looked like miniature motorcycles. They were big enough to carry an adult, but they had small wheels (maybe 8 inches in diameter?) and the seat was just a few inches off the ground. These guys’ knees were practically next to their ears. It was rather comical looking. What are these things? ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-mini-motorcycle/316762/2 "2005-08-12T18:53:39Z")
Pocket bikes. It started in Japan and they have become so ubiquitous that you can buy a pocket bike at automotive supply places like Pep Boys and Checker. ---
**Author:** ![TheInterruptingCow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9c0ed/32.png) [@TheInterruptingCow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheInterruptingCow)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-mini-motorcycle/316762/3 "2005-08-12T18:58:36Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I was just outside a little while ago and saw two guys on what looked like miniature motorcycles. They were big enough to carry an adult, but they had small wheels (maybe 8 inches in diameter?) and the seat was just a few inches off the ground. These guys’ knees were practically next to their ears. It was rather comical looking. > > What are these things? “Pocket bikes”…[http://www.pocket-bike-racing.com.au/](http://www.pocket-bike-racing.com.au/) The ones that you see on the site above are serious little pieces of equipment…high-tech and well-made, and not really meant to be toys. Most of the ones you’ll see on the street these days are cheap Chinese knock-offs…poorly constructed out of cheap materials and sold for $300-$400 US. Not only are they fairly unsafe, they’re not street legal, and some communities have banned them. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-mini-motorcycle/316762/4 "2005-08-12T19:08:12Z")
> [@TheInterruptingCow](#): > > “Pocket bikes”…[http://www.pocket-bike-racing.com.au/](http://www.pocket-bike-racing.com.au/) That sounded right, until I looked at the pictures. The pictures had the seat fairly well off the ground. What I saw was much more minimal, just a frame really. These guys’ butts were literally 1 or 2 inches away from pavement. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-mini-motorcycle/316762/5 "2005-08-12T19:08:31Z")
They do look like a blast and maybe they are out in “the unobstructed” but as mentioned many communities are banning them because, low as they are, drivers of cars and steamrollers can’t see them above normal traffic until it’s too late. My town had done this for anyone not having a valid driver’s license but adults are still free to risk life and limb at will. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-mini-motorcycle/316762/6 "2005-08-12T19:18:03Z")
They can be a great way to get kids into roadracing! [http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/okuchanwinds/others/race/pocketbike9haruna.html](http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/okuchanwinds/others/race/pocketbike9haruna.html) ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-mini-motorcycle/316762/7 "2005-08-12T19:23:58Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > That sounded right, until I looked at the pictures. The pictures had the seat fairly well off the ground. What I saw was much more minimal, just a frame really. These guys’ butts were literally 1 or 2 inches away from pavement. [Like this](http://www.startribune.com/stonline/images/news18/braley22003.l.jpg)? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-mini-motorcycle/316762/8 "2005-08-12T19:26:59Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > [Like this](http://www.startribune.com/stonline/images/news18/braley22003.l.jpg)? Extremely unlike that. When I said their butts were inches from the ground, I didn’t mean twelve. I meant two. Think Bigwheels. Or razor scooters with lower handlebars. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-mini-motorcycle/316762/9 "2005-08-12T19:40:55Z")
It sounds like you stumped the band **tdn**. Where are you located? Can you carry a digital camera in case you see them again? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-mini-motorcycle/316762/10 "2005-08-12T19:44:07Z")
> [@Padeye](#): > > It sounds like you stumped the band **tdn**. Where are you located? Can you carry a digital camera in case you see them again? I’m located in Boston. We get the latest trends just like you do. No digital camera, but maybe like what happened with laser scooters, within a week nobody here will _not_ know what these things are. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-mini-motorcycle/316762/11 "2005-08-12T19:49:46Z")
I’m guessing what you saw doesn’t exist anywhere else, except perhaps in a circus. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-mini-motorcycle/316762/12 "2005-08-12T20:02:31Z")
My guess it might be a one off thing. Not difficult for a reasonably skilled welder. A circus welder. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-mini-motorcycle/316762/13 "2005-08-12T20:07:08Z")
> [@Padeye](#): > > My guess it might be a one off thing. Not difficult for a reasonably skilled welder. A circus welder. 😛 My guess is it’s not. There were two of them, and they were identical. I suppose it’s not impossible that they came custom made from some tinkerer’s workshop. Or worktent. But the riders, as well as being bereft of orange wigs, looked to be young, like college students. That says “store bought toys” to me for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2005, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-mini-motorcycle/316762/14 "2005-08-12T20:33:00Z")
Okay, what you saw must have been a [mini chopper](http://www.westcoasthogs.com/). If that’s not it then they’re not available on the Internet, whatever they are. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-that-mini-motorcycle/316762/15 "2005-08-13T01:07:44Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > Okay, what you saw must have been a [mini chopper](http://www.westcoasthogs.com/). If that’s not it then they’re not available on the Internet, whatever they are. That’s what they looked like. Except not as, you know, sexy.