Why did mini bikes die?

[nightgrider]

I am truly surprised nobody mentioned the fact that even the tiny Honda bikes had multiple gears.
Their little tiny engines never would have kept up without those three speeds.

Yes, a real transmission is the main advantage. Always thought it would be cool for a bolt transmission for small engines. CVTs are pretty close though, at least for the application. Most of these mini bike aren't designed for adults or to really go over 25 mph (though we all want and modify them to do more). It comes down to manufacturers cost verse demand. The demand is pretty low for a bolt on transmission. I have seen people connect small engines to old motorcycle engines to use as a stand alone transmission. I know as a kid I wanted a motorcycle, a Honda mini would have fit that, but my dad wouldn't buy me one. So I settled for go karts and mini bikes. I still had a lot of fun.

 

[ruppking]

It was a combination of things. Yes, the Japan invasion of products at cheaper prices was a factor.
But the US was in a major recession. We had the Arab oil embargo, no gas or long lines at the gas stations.
Inflation was so high our government put price freezes on many products. Interest rates soared to 23 percent.
This put the demand for non essential products to dry up and many of these companies went out of business.

 

[Minimichael]

I just figured the boomers shut it down because they never wanted us to have any fun.

 

[Thepaetsguy]

I just figured the boomers shut it down because they never wanted us to have any fun.

It was canned due to 170k tall 5hp Briggs and stratton fuel tank caps. they were a special ‘tall’ cap that leaked gas when the kart flipped over. 7 people were burned and sued Briggs. out of 170k funkarts could you believe the massive change 7 kids made by accident? it ended fun karts completely. actually for Briggs it ended all but equipment engine sales. besides like the raptor stuff.

 

[Mr. Pink]

It was canned due to 170k tall 5hp Briggs and stratton fuel tank caps. they were a special ‘tall’ cap that leaked gas when the kart flipped over. 7 people were burned and sued Briggs. out of 170k funkarts could you believe the massive change 7 kids made by accident? it ended fun karts completely. actually for Briggs it ended all but equipment engine sales. besides like the raptor stuff.

Consumer Product Safety Commission recall
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2002/c...all-of-engines-used-on-fun-kart-type-go-karts

 

[superflea]

I just figured the boomers shut it down because they never wanted us to have any fun.

That's why they call us BOOmERS. Ya know,"Here comes the BOOM."

 

[joshua. c.]

Mini bike manufacturing back in the hayday may have died but there are currently allot of new mini bike options and if you have ever been to a mini bike meat or event recently the sport is very much alive and growing.

 

[GustoGuy]

Mini bike manufacturing back in the hayday may have died but there are currently allot of new mini bike options and if you have ever been to a mini bike meat or event recently the sport is very much alive and growing.

As to growing sport I think not. I have 3 bikes and live on 5.5 acres. I enjoy my bikes but I seldom see other minibikes enthusiasts riding because there are not too many people today who have them. Also my wife was riding in the car with some of our neighbors and they seen a family riding minibikes and one of the neighbors complained about how dangerous that was especially for child who was riding who was about 10 years old or so as my wife believes. Last year I made the mistake of letting my wife's nephew ride my Resto-mod Rupp Roadster 2 and despite warning him to take off easy and not to gunn it he wheelied it over and smashed the rear fender bent up the seat pan and pushed it over to the left about 1/2 inch. Now it sits in the shed. I have to fix it and go riding again.

 

[Thepaetsguy]

As to growing sport I think not. I have 3 bikes and live on 5.5 acres. I enjoy my bikes but I seldom see other minibikes enthusiasts riding because there are not too many people today who have them. Also my wife was riding in the car with some of our neighbors and they seen a family riding minibikes and one of the neighbors complained about how dangerous that was especially for child who was riding who was about 10 years old or so as my wife believes. Last year I made the mistake of letting my wife's nephew ride my Resto-mod Rupp Roadster 2 and despite warning him to take off easy and not to gunn it he wheelied it over and smashed the rear fender bent up the seat pan and pushed it over to the left about 1/2 inch. Now it sits in the shed. I have to fix it and go riding again.

My grandfather was 90 and when he was a kid he would grab the biggest bag of carbide available and let it simmer in a storm drain till he thought it was ready for a match. I guess they never could figure out what was rocking the town all the time. at least kids stopped playing with fire and started on mini bikes..

 

[sparkwizard]

As designed, they were about 15-25 MPH kid toys. It only became possible to flip one after go kart racers made an industry of modifying the engines to go faster.

 

[Thepaetsguy]

or when he was 15yo with a pocket full of strIke anywheres playing football.. he said his hole body went up Like a strike anywhere... leave the kids have the mini bike. be over protective and they will start hiding there tomfoolery from you.

 

[Minimichael]

As to growing sport I think not. I have 3 bikes and live on 5.5 acres. I enjoy my bikes but I seldom see other minibikes enthusiasts riding because there are not too many people today who have them. Also my wife was riding in the car with some of our neighbors and they seen a family riding minibikes and one of the neighbors complained about how dangerous that was especially for child who was riding who was about 10 years old or so as my wife believes. Last year I made the mistake of letting my wife's nephew ride my Resto-mod Rupp Roadster 2 and despite warning him to take off easy and not to gunn it he wheelied it over and smashed the rear fender bent up the seat pan and pushed it over to the left about 1/2 inch. Now it sits in the shed. I have to fix it and go riding again.

Sounds familiar. I don't think I'd let any guest ride a bike that wheelies. It's enough just watching one tip over on the driveway.

 

[sparkwizard]

My grandfather was 90 and when he was a kid he would grab the biggest bag of carbide available and let it simmer in a storm drain till he thought it was ready for a match. I guess they never could figure out what was rocking the town all the time. at least kids stopped playing with fire and started on mini bikes..

That reminds me! We had a problem with kids smoking in the bathrooms in my high school. School staff threatened to ban smoking on campus if we didn't make it stop. We started putting carbide crystals in the toilets. When the derelicts threw their cigarette butts in the bowl...BOOM!
Problem solved.

 

[GustoGuy]

Sounds familiar. I don't think I'd let any guest ride a bike that wheelies. It's enough just watching one tip over on the driveway.

The bike is pretty easy to ride if you respect that it has a built Predator 212cc and take off easy. The bike will only wheelie if you twist the throttle nearly wide open on taking off on asphalt or cement. On a dirt road it would spin the rear tire and not wheelie. I will be replacing the 11 tooth sprocket with a 12 tooth jackshaft sprocket and hopefully that will reduce the risk of unintended wheelies.

 

[Jim Donovan]

What killed mini-bike production in the United States--LAWYERS. Plain and simple, same thing killed go kart production in 2005. Product liability got TOO expensive. Briggs in the 70's would not sell engines to any 2 wheel vehicle producer and then in 1999 they did the same to the go kart producers. Briggs was self insured and they just got fed up with all the law suits. This is America blame someone else for your own stupidity and sue. There are more lawyers around than sand on the beach. Look at the number of billboards around the highway just offering their service.

 

[Minimichael]

Honda's no less exposed to injury claims than Briggs, tho. And if Briggs really didn't carry product liability insurance then that'd be a whole new level of stupid. Lawyers are only vendors for their craft. Their customers are the complainers. And I still say it was the boomers. Too busy taking. No time for making.

 

[FunWithStuff]

What killed mini-bike production in the United States--LAWYERS. Plain and simple, same thing killed go kart production in 2005. Product liability got TOO expensive. Briggs in the 70's would not sell engines to any 2 wheel vehicle producer and then in 1999 they did the same to the go kart producers. Briggs was self insured and they just got fed up with all the law suits. This is America blame someone else for your own stupidity and sue. There are more lawyers around than sand on the beach. Look at the number of billboards around the highway just offering their service.

The same thing happened with three wheelers in the 1980's all it took was the deaths on them that were highlighted in 1987 (I think that was the year it became big news) and boom suddenly probably about 95% of companies that made them no longer made them. Apparently being a responsible rider is not a thing in some people's minds they think they are just entitled to not be blamed for anything.

If you apply the same logic to car crashes (one of the leading causes of death for people in the U.S.) why do people not see the cars as the fault of the crash and sue the automobile makers? It's silly to think when a bike or trike you've probably ridden dozens or hundreds of times with no problems and then you suddenly decide to do something irresponsible with it and end up hurt or worse somehow it ends up being the maker's fault and not your own. People are crazy.

 

[Thepaetsguy]

What killed mini-bike production in the United States--LAWYERS. Plain and simple, same thing killed go kart production in 2005. Product liability got TOO expensive. Briggs in the 70's would not sell engines to any 2 wheel vehicle producer and then in 1999 they did the same to the go kart producers. Briggs was self insured and they just got fed up with all the law suits. This is America blame someone else for your own stupidity and sue. There are more lawyers around than sand on the beach. Look at the number of billboards around the highway just offering their service.

It's silly to think when a bike or trike you've probably ridden dozens or hundreds of times with no problems and then you suddenly decide to do something irresponsible with it and end up hurt or worse somehow it ends up being the maker's fault and not your own. People are crazy.

step:1 build it
step:2 crash it
step:3 crash it???
step:4 sue myself for a cool million +5
step:6 easy profit

 

[Harquebus]

A combination of factors killed the minibike (and go kart) craze in the 60s-70s-80s. The simple ones that small American cottage industries made. Could be just a simple tool and die maker that made other items but offered a minibike (because they could) and advertised it in Popular Mechanics and the like...

- The Japanese minibike craze
- Americans' crazy appetite for larger engines and more speed (made them not so mini anymore)
- Lawsuits / people blaming manufacturers instead of personal responsibility
- Helicopter parents
- _______________

There is a small resurgence in these small, simple vehicles (or it is on life support all these years) but it is nothing like it was.

They used kids, in later years, to market the minibikes to but kids are fickle and follow trends. Now they all play video games and stay indoors.

Consumer Product Safety Commission recall
https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2002/c...all-of-engines-used-on-fun-kart-type-go-karts

Wow! BAM!

That later turn and twist gas cap design is not my favorite, it leaks maddeningly at any angle off-level. They leak especially well if you really top it off, start the engine and just let it vibrate at idle speed; splish-splosh.

Thanks for the link. Have seen a few of these but yeah, Briggs got out of that business right quick.

 

[Jim Donovan]

Minimichael -- Briggs was its own insurance company, they were self insured and just like any insurance company when you have too many claims you drop the company you insure or like Briggs drop the industry you are selling to. Briggs had just as many lawyers as the insurance company and when those claims added up you make the decision lets get out, there are just too many people that don't accept the fact that shit happens.

The insurance companies did the very same thing to the go kart manufacturers they left the base premium at $159,000 if you made 100 go karts of 60,000 go karts like Manco but the kick in the ass for 2005 was you are responsible for the first $5,000 of every claim. It doesn't take a math major to figure out if you sell a kart to a dealer for $400 and now you have a potential liability for $5,000 it is time to lock the door. There were just to many nuisance suits and when a kid is involved you have loss from the get go. Those 12 people on the jury always side with the family. I was an expert witness in several suits and even when it was a stolen go kart the manufacturer still lost. I could write several books on how dumb the judicial system is and the truth means nothing --the best bullshiters win if he can tell a better story than your lawyer. The truth does NOT win out. God help us all, just think how many lawyers are in Washington, DC.