Talk:Minibike

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Rupp was not the first minibike manufacturers. Rupp begain in 59 with Go karts, 62 with minibikes and 66 with snowmobiles. See RuppParts.com for tons of information on Rupp

This article needs to pared down significanlty. Most of the detailed info on local jurisdictions is not encyclopedic, and easily goes out of date. WP should not be giving legal advice that you should instead go directly to local agencies for what you need to know. Instead this article should give a general outline of the regulatory issues.

The lists of manufacturers are a terrible idea. When you say "such as..." then everybody and their brother thinks they need to add their name to the list. Just rely on DMOZ at the bottom of the article.--Dbratland (talk) 20:43, 21 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

"you don't need to have insurance for a minibike but you do for a normal sized bike" Removed, as this is incorrect. If this is correct please give refrences as this is dangorous infomation to be giving out. As far as I am aware any bike producing over .25kW, with a top speed of over 15.5 MPH and that is not classed as a "power assisted bicycle" (i.e. has peddals) requiers insurence and a licence.—Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.63.239.14 (talk • contribs)

Perhaps a picture of a Masai minibike can be added to article ? 91.182.203.233 (talk) 11:41, 24 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Layout is poor - grammar, refs in main body text, disambig, dead links etc. I have fixed these and removed the most glaring errors:

...minibikes are rarely street-legal but are legal on all grassed non privately owned areas

and

In the UK ...for dirt bikes fields and tracks are fine

First para is nonsense: internationally, in most jurisdictions it is not the two-stroke engine that makes mini-bikes illegal on public roads, nor the noise or smoke emitted by these engines, it is the lack of Vehicle Type Approval and vehicle tax according to the relevant country, registration, insurance and normal road safety equipment (horn, mirrors, turn indicators, brake lights etc). Small size of minibikes has no direct connection with their street-legal status. In most countries, two-stroke vehicle engines are still common and legal to use.

Other likely factual errors await an expert on the subject.

I think Rupps and the original minibikes of the late '60s, early '70s were considerably bigger than the current machines, more the size of 'midimotos'. Can anyone confirm?

Types of minibike
The term 'pocketbike' is popularly used interchangeably with 'minibike', and not confined to the sport bike type as indicated under 'Pocketbike/Minimoto' para. The term minimoto is currently not mentioned in the para at all, excepting the para heading.

Pit bikes
The term 'mini moto' is used here for pit bike racing, contradicting the previous para, as pit bikes are described here as looking like motocross motorcycles. Centrepull (talk) 10:40, 21 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Actually the small size of a minibike can be a deciding factor in street legality. For example Canada has seat and handlebar height requirements. [23] Since minibikes are often considered "mopeds" (as they fit with the definitions with one)[24] they can have the same moped requirements for street legality. Obviously this is varied from state to state and country to country, but you see a lot of similarities in the laws. 71.127.0.232 (talk) 06:41, 6 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

i need someone who knows about auto mechanics to help me out here i want to have a fun summer project and i love auto mechanics so i'm considering building myself a pocket bike but i need a list of the parts i'll need to buy because i've never done this before if anybody can help at all i'll be delighted

                                                       thank you,
                                                            anonymous help-seeker  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.48.202.75 (talk) 01:32, 23 June 2010 (UTC)[reply] 

As explained at the top of the page, this is not a forum for discussing minibikes. This page is for discussing how to improve the article. --Dbratland (talk) 01:36, 23 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Category:Minibikes needs to exist, under this article's present category, for this article, all four see-also items, and Rupp Industries, surely among other articles that can be categorized there. — SMcCandlish Talk⇒ ʕ(^Õل^ō)ˀ Contribs. 08:55, 24 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Are all these types of bikes/motorcycles really minibikes? The only photo of a minibike that I see is what is listed as "old style", and even that is a deluxe model with suspension. To me, a minibike has to have a basic frame a horizontal shaft lawnmower type engine and centrifugal or torque-a-verter clutch. A pocket bike is a pocket bike, a minimoto is a minimoto, they are NOT minibikes! It's a stretch to call something like a Honda Z50 a minibike, but I would possibly let that slide. If you tell someone you got a minibike, they should have a vision of the basic lawnmower engine type. If you have a pocket bike, call it a pocket bike, not a minibike, or you will confuse people. This article says most engines are 2 stroke, and this IS wrong. Most are 4 stroke, and until recently were all flathead, in-block valves. DO a SEARCH on EBAY and see what a MINIBIKE is!!! You can call everything else a small bike, teeny bike, puny bike, or similar, but don't call it a minibike! Aaaarrgh!Flight Risk (talk) 00:44, 2 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The terminology that's popular on eBay at the moment isn't a reliable guide. Sources going back 40 years used the term as a catch-all for the whole class of small bikes.[25][26]. You of course see a lot of product differentiation where they make up or pick out a special term like pocket bike and try to say that their bike is different from a generic minibike, but that's marketing for you.

All types of motorcycles are confusing, and it's misleading to pretend there are firm lines between them. The best thing to do is to accurately report what you read in quality sources, like reputable books, magazines, or (some) web sites. If a good authority gives you a clear definition of what a minibike is, then report what they said. The rest is mere opinion. --Dennis Bratland (talk) 01:07, 2 February 2013 (UTC)[reply]

The terminology on ebay can be reliable as it shows the common understanding of what a minibike is, and has been for 50 years to a majority of people. The term minibike is not a catch-all term, nor should it be. A minibike is a minibike. A minibike will never be thought of as a mini-moto, or pocket bike. Why does someone whant to call their pocket bike or mini-moto a minibike? It's not. it's a pocket bike or mini-moto. I imagine it is because there are fewer true minibikes out there these days, and if you go into a motorcycle store, the unknowledgeable young staff call all smaller bikes, minibikes. This quote from the article is laughable: "Pit bikes- Pit bikes are true to the original concept of a small scooter used to quickly move around the pit areas of motor racing tracks and events. They look like motocross motorcycles". The original concept was NEVER a mini-motorcross motorcycle! The first of the mini-moto bikes I recall was the Yamaha Mini Enduro from about 1970. These were never called minibikes. Why would the owner want to equate their Mini Enduro to a lawnmower engine minibike? I'm really intent on giving this article a major overhaul. I at least need to get a photo of a true minibike and post it here. Check out the site oldminibikes.com and see what they are all about. Briggs and Stratton, Tecumseh, Rupp, Bonanza. Arrrgh.Flight Risk (talk) 21:58, 7 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

You are welcome to give the article a major overhaul with reliable supporting references. --Biker Biker (talk) 22:04, 7 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

To me, these are minibikes. [27] 198.53.137.96 (talk) 00:11, 15 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I have no idea when the first minibikes were designed and made, but this link should help to push the origins back into the 1940s.

Doodle Bug

I was pleased to find that there is a Wikipedia article taking shape. Thanks for the work so far.Joel Russ (talk) 14:43, 24 April 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

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• Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20061017065514/http://www.rospa.com/waterandleisuresafety/info/moto_safety.pdf to http://www.rospa.com/waterandleisuresafety/info/moto_safety.pdf

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How would you classify the Welbike used by British paratroopers during WW2 and the Brockhouse Corgi sold during the 40s in England and as the Papoose by Indian in the US? I don’t accept the off road classification although the Welbike was

(this was originally posted by 81.38.156.79 (talk), not myself, wasn't a complete message, and was posted directly on the article, not the Talk page, so I'm just moving it here) Bhtooefr (talk) 11:26, 22 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Hello, I want to add more insight into the laws of owning or transporting a minibike in Canada. Sense there's not much their right now I want to take a chance to add to it to better the article of minibikes as a whole. ANTQ47 (talk) 03:35, 21 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]