Types of bike

Here are the main types of small capacity motorcycle:

Minimoto: Normal engine size for a minimoto bike is 37cc two-strokem which requires unleaded fuel premixed with two-stroke oil. Styling to mimic full-size road bikes, or off road bikes. There are several different power ranges, for different classes of racing.

The lowest power is 2.5hp which is normally used for playing around. The 4.2hp machine is probably the cheapest to race, and there are classes for either junior or adult racers. The 6.2hp bikes are the quickest of the toy, and can then be modified for true racing. Production racing is the most popular racing class with bikes producing 7.5-8hp and requiring carb and clutch adjustments. And finally the fastest class is ‘Supers’

Midimoto: Slightly larger versions of minimotos to allow bigger riders.

Pit Bike: Off-road style mini-bikes, available from major full-size manufacturers, or from specialised companies such as X-Sports, White Knuckle and Thumpstar. Able to race off-road, or in tarmac Supermoto championships.

Pocket Bike: American term for mini/midi motos

Monkey Bike: Small capacity bikes aimed at road use rather than racing. Hugely popular in Japan with an immense range of tuning products available.

Mini Quads: 3.7hp mini quads are now available.

Mini sidecars: Shrunken versions of the World Sidecar machines, again with two-stroke race engines.

The main brands of minimotos in the UK are Balata, Polini, GRC, DM, Pasini, GEM and Slao. Polini is the largest manufacturer and provides engines for use by every firm named above except Blata. You can except to pay £500 and above for a bike capable of racing, although you can pay a lot less for a machine to use just for fun.