mini bikes as a conversation piece?

[joshua. c.]

iv recently noticed that when iv got mini bikes loaded in my truck on the way to or from an event and stop at a gas station or convenience store I routinely get approached by curios people who want to look at and chat about my bikes. this is becoming a regular occurrence I like talking about my bikes so I don't mind it. dose anyone have any interesting stories about this type of thing and how often dose this happen to you? also from personal experience which of your bikes draw the most attention and why?

 

[lostinbaja]

I have a 1969 Honda Trail 70 that I regularly drive into town to pick up groceries ( it has a factory luggage rack). A 10 minute stop is always at least 45 minutes. Everybody had one when they were young and nobody can believe it's street legal. It's always enjoyable.

 

[bilbo]

I don't have a mini bike so I can't speak to that, but I can tell you my trike generates a lot of "What is that?"s from younger people and "I haven't seen one of those in years" from older folks. My favorite though is the stink-eye I get from some of the more affluent locals.

 

[capguncowboy]

My wife wanted to do a yard sale in September. We have a large carport that almost always has a bike or two sitting out, and my garage was a little messy, so I wasn't able to get them all put away before we had our sale and ended up leaving my BearKat out in plain site.

I spent all morning standing next to it answering questions about it and talking to guys that had minis as kids. It wasn't "officially" for sale, but I would have sold it if someone really wanted it. It's funny how many people crawl out of the woodwork with claims they had one, but there aren't a lot of bikes around here. I guess the rain and humidity is hard on them and I'd say most of them ended up in a scrap heap

 

[Havasu Dave]

Everyone around here is too old to have had these as kids. And there are few kids living in this town, and they're into pit bikes and Chinese quads.

No, around here for conversation pieces, you need a carefully surfaced 1500 foot garage, brand new, unused tools lining the walls, a lift with a vintage hot rod on it, and another hot rod next to it, a flat screen TV, shelves of collectable guy stuff, etc.

A $3000 restored vintage mini bike is invisible. Upside is that I can ride them anywhere, and I'm still invisible.

 

[capguncowboy]

Everyone around here is too old to have had these as kids. And there are few kids living in this town, and they're into pit bikes and Chinese quads.

No, around here for conversation pieces, you need a carefully surfaced 1500 foot garage, brand new, unused tools lining the walls, a lift with a vintage hot rod on it, and another hot rod next to it, a flat screen TV, shelves of collectable guy stuff, etc.

A $3000 restored vintage mini bike is invisible. Upside is that I can ride them anywhere, and I'm still invisible.

That makes me sad

 

[ZR9B]

Every time I go for a ride I get the thumbs up...and the pull over can we talk...

 

[Havasu Dave]

That makes me sad

Don't be. It's a retirement community/snow bird destination. Right now, the town is populated by mostly folks-retired folks, from places to the north. Most of the full and part time inhabitants were in their 30's in the early 70's. They were the Moms and Dads not buying mini bikes for kids my age. :laugh:

 

[buckeye]

Every time I have a bike or five in the truck, someone always asks.
Neighborhood riding always gets a thumbs up.

Mini Bikes are back in a big way!!

 

[2SlickNick]

When I am out riding through town, I get a lot of thumbs up, people saying " how cool " , people asking about my bikes.
They mostly ask or take pictures of my not do normal bikes ( mudbug 3wheeler, sidecar, and my homemade db30 trike).

I too don't mind and kind of like the attention.
Maybe one day I will run into a fellow mini biker.

 

[CarPlayLB]

When I was younger I would welcome the conversation...today? Not so much!

I have a '69 Camaro that I show, not so much anymore, but used to be at least twice a month. Regardless if I am at a gas station or a car show, some "expert" will come up and strike a conversation about how his sister's boyfriend's uncle's girlfriend's nephew had one JUST LIKE THIS back in '65! (Camaro's first year was '67!) ...and then I get to hear about how it was so fast nobody could grab the $100 bill off the dash 'cause it would set you back in the seat so hard...and on T/A radials it would pull wheelies...even when shifting into second gear! Then I get to hear about this is wrong and that is wrong with my car. I politely ask to see their car..."Oh, I don't have one!". I get the same conversation with my mini bikes. I appear to be shy these days....don't need to hear it!
The only time I will entertain conversations of this nature today is when kids come up and want to talk. I love to see their eyes light up when I ask them if they want to sit in the car or on a minibike...I am all about that...the older experts? "Ain't nobody got time fo' dat'!"