If you arnt into minibikes - you are paying too much!!! *kickass trackday video*

[SpeedyCorky]

Well well folks; thought I'd do you all the grand favor of introducing the general motorcycle masses - to minibkes!... specifically Minibike trackdays where you race around on go-cart sized tracks... Most people dont know about minibikes - they are for sure a very overlooked genre of bike here in the USA. They are smaller than your regular sized bike, usually about 7/8th scale, sometimes a bit smaller. 50cc to 150cc, two and four strokes may apply..... weight of these machines is usually around 200lbs, sometimes 250ish, but thats starting to get heavy... generally have 12inch rims, up to full size 17inch rims. top speeds usually around 60mph to 100mph... Not all minibikes are street legal, but most of them are... so aside from being great, cheap trackbikes, they also double as scooters and/or just errands-around-town kinda bikes.

So what does your regular "big bike" trackday cost ya? $200+ just to get in the doors, plus at least $100 in tyres you'll burn that day, at least $50 in fuel... and if you wreck, your sexy "big bike" will likely be trashed or totaled, which will cost you a few grand at least - and thats all assuming you dont get hurt. so yeah, standard non-crashing "big bike" trackday is gonna run you at least $350... those of us that have actually done these trackdays know its usually a bit more, easily north of the $500/day mark....

Minibikes! Aaahhhhh yeah....get in the doors for $40!!! the bikes dont make enough power to really rip up the tyres, so your rubber will last infinitely longer, so tyre costs are honestly close to free; same goes for fuel costs. You can EASILY get yer ass out there on a minibike trackday for less than $100 all told - including lunch........ sound good? oh yeah, and if you crash, you are likely going under 35mph anyway, so your bike is gonna be mostly OK, and so are you. i've crashed on virtually EVERY minibike trackday i've gone to - and most every time the bike has been ridable afterward, and i have come out virtually unscratched.... because of these facts, you can REALLY push your limits on a minibike, cuz the consiquences for failure are so low, compared to that of riding your big bike....

So where do you do it?
* Sonoma/Infineon/Sears Point Raceway has a go cart sized track: http://pdc.simraceway.com/programs/karting/calendar
* Stockton Little 99 Speedway http://www.stockton99.com/little99.html
or search the FaceBook for "Stockton Little 99 kart & supermoto track"
...and there are a couple other mini tracks near Sacramento....


OK so lets see some minibike examples...
keep in mind most of the 50cc bikes, can be upgraded to 75cc fairly easily, giving big jumps in power


Honda NSR50
50cc two stroke motor, 6 gears, 8hp, top speed ~65mph, 12inch rims, about 200lbs. about 5/8 scale to a full size bike. $1500 will get you a track only version, street legal versions are MUCH more rare and usually run about $3k



Honda RS125
125cc two stroke motor, 6 gears, ~25hp, top speed 100+mph, 17rims, about 185lbs. about 7/8 scale, so almost a full sized bike. sells for $2k to $8k+ depending on year and condition. not street legal. these bikes are much closer to a regular sized bike than the NSR50, and have better suspension and rims.



Derbi GPR50R and/or Aprilia RS50
50cc two stroke, 6 gears, 8hp, 65mph tops, 17 rims, about 260lbs. about 7/8 scale, same size as the Honda RS125 most all of these are street legal, and sell for $1500 to $3k. These bikes are basically a happy medium between the above two.



Honda CRF150R motard (or whatever dirtbike you wanna motard out; all engine cc's welcome on the minibike track!)
150cc four stroke, 5 gears, 23hp, 70mph tops, 12 or 17inch rims, about 220lbs (?), about 5/8 or 6/8 scale depending on the rim size. Dirtbike can be bought for $1000, then the cost of rims. Most people use RS125 rims.



Oh but any motorcycle that doesnt got 150+mph is for girls right? No way could a big manly man like yourself ever settle for a bike that makes less power than a Ninja250.... and theres for SURE no way any such bike could teach you anything at the track, right? and its not like you'd want to ride it on the track anyway, cuz that would be no fun on such a "slow" bike - RIGHT? wrong. I assure you, the racing is JUST as competitive and adrenaline pumping, and intense as big bike racing... if not more so...and Rossi himself said "the less horsepower a bike makes, the more it can teach you" and gawd DAMN is that true

I've made a lil' video for you disbelievers; hopefully it will cause some of you turds to go out and explore this awesome area of the sport.... so get out there and plunk a couple grand down on the best motorcycle investment you'll ever make. It will not only make you a better rider than you can imagine, but as i've said many times: "my minibike is by far the most fun motorcycle I own"


VIDEOS:
Go to YouTube and watch in full HD


youtu.be/MxyS2XVsPos


youtu.be/Ej9bXlJRhaE


feel free to thank me later

[dooodon9]

So which do you have?

[Sparks]

Can someone 6'2 230lb fit on one of these? Also, where do you buy one?

[Wheelgarage]

I miss mini-bike racing.....:|

It was fun watching all the kids grow into awesome professional racers.

[SpeedyCorky]

My girl has a stock NSR50; I enjoy riding it just as much as my minibike.
I used to have a stock NSR50, but eventually *at great expense* I fabbed in a CRF150R motor into my NSR50; hence my "NSCRF150R"

yeah, there is a bit of a height and weight limit when it comes to minibikes. i'm 6 feet tall, 180lbs in full gear, soaking wet.... i'd say i'm on the edge of what I would recommend for minibikes. if i was 10lbs heavier, or 1 inch taller, i likely might not be in the minibike game. but then again, i have a NSR50, which is a super small bike. someone 6'2" 230lbs could get away with riding a RS125 or RS50 or GPR50, but would likely be too uncomfortable on a NSR50

you can find them for sale on Ebay, or Craigslist. Just gotta know what to search for: "NSR50" "RS125" "Derbi" etc

[i_am_the_koi]

Is that a quad?


Cool stuff, definitely something to look at doing one day

[SpeedyCorky]

yeah it was this custom, street raced out quad, with a 350cc 2stroke motor IIRC. it was just us 4 on the track, otherwise that kinda 4wheel VS 2wheel action wouldnt happen

[atomicOp]

Nice video!

I have a few questions:

How many tracks are around the bay area?

How often are races?

How easy is it to get non-race day track time?

How easy is it to find bikes? - I've been looking off and on for a derbi for a little while and I haven't see that many listed locally and the ones I have seen seem rather expensive.

Thanks

[Lazerus]

Looks like it's done wonders for your BP Corky My first ever track mentor was a minibike advocate, so they get a default thumbup from me

[horsepower]

Thanks Charlie! I'll see you on the 8th at SR !! Oh and fack you in advance if I end up with a new money sucking addition.

[Ironbutt]

Originally Posted by Sparks

Can someone 6'2 230lb fit on one of these? Also, where do you buy one?

When someone is that size; what they do is attach the motorcycle to your belly using a harness......

When you're ready to ride you just lean over and put your feet up on the pegs..

[SpeedyCorky]

Originally Posted by atomicOp

Nice video!

I have a few questions:

How many tracks are around the bay area?

How often are races?

How easy is it to get non-race day track time?

How easy is it to find bikes? - I've been looking off and on for a derbi for a little while and I haven't see that many listed locally and the ones I have seen seem rather expensive.

Thanks

Currently, there is on at Infineon, and I think the one up in Sacramento is still open. there is a track in Stockton, but its having legal BS issues now, so its closed until they work that out

Races, i dont know how often, maybe monthly? but each track has about 2 or 3 trackdays open per month. so very easy to get practice track days

finding bikes is a bit harder than big bikes, there simply arnt as many minibikes out there. Ebay always has a few options and you'll find them on Craigslist too. they pop up often enough. Derbis are fairly popular as far as minibikes go, i wouldnt pay more than $2000 for one tho


yeah minibikes will for sure excentuate any body positioning (BP) issues a rider might have. you MUST lean your body off the bike, hard and low if you expect to be able to have the ground clearance to keep up good cornering speed. i've for sure gotten better at it since you last saw me.

[horsepower]

Originally Posted by SpeedyCorky

yeah minibikes for sure excentuate any body positioning (BP) issues a rider might have.

Yet they do nothing for proper spelling.

[SpeedyCorky]

nope, not a damn thing for spelling


accentuate
ac·cen·tu·ate/akˈsenCHo͞oˌāt/
Verb: Make more noticeable or prominent.
Synonyms: accent - emphasize - stress - underline - punctuate

ahhh, its a derivative of accent. to accent. who'd a thought, aye?




just for that, Dani, during 1 session on Oct 8th, i'm gonna not just pass, but lap you!

[horsepower]

Originally Posted by SpeedyCorky

nope, not a damn thing for spelling


accentuate
ac·cen·tu·ate/akˈsenCHo͞oˌāt/
Verb: Make more noticeable or prominent.
Synonyms: accent - emphasize - stress - underline - punctuate

ahhh, its a derivative of accent. to accent. who'd a thought, aye?




just for that, Dani, during 1 session on Oct 8th, i'm gonna not just pass, but lap you!

On the little track maybe.