The Mini Bike of Yesteryears and Today

There is a huge difference between the mini bikes before and mini bikes today. These bikes were only used for maneuvering about in the pit area of the racetrack. The first inventor of the mini bike was a company called The Go-Kart Manufacturing Company under the Steen Chemical Company. They were the company who as you can guess by the name manufactures and sells Go-Karts and Go-Kart parts and accessories. They came up with a new type of vehicle that they called the Go-Kart cycle. They came up with two models the Enduro and the Scrambler. This was truly the first mini bike to ever be produced. Although they were not called mini bikes yet they were truly the first mini bikes to be made and sold.

In 1963 the Steen chemical company introduced their series 1 Taco mini bike. Only 1 original frame to choose from but you can select the rims, engines and shocks you wish installed. Japanese companies who were intrigued by the rising demand for these mini bikes copied some of the later models that the Steen Company manufactured. The Japanese companies went to mass produce these bikes and sold them overseas and all over the

Unfortunately the Steen Company who were the first to come up with these mini bikes became bankrupt during the 70’s as more companies were copying and mass producing their mini bikes as well as more companies that were also manufacturing Go-Karts. Thus ending the era of the Go-Karts and mini bikes, but once again after a few years these mini bikes and Go-Karts gained back its popularity. Kids would want to own one and some adults were using these minis for weekend races in their private lands and their home made mini bike tracks.

This is the era that mini bike racing slowly became popular among kids, teens, and adults. Fathers would buy their kids mini bikes and let them ride around specially built tracks to practice for a mini race that a group of bike enthusiasts are organizing. There would also be events where adults also raced in the competition. Until some motocross racers who were also racing in their backyard came up with the idea of setting up professional races using these mini motor bikes. As time passed these Professional motocross racers were also participating in these mini bike competitions. They do it for the challenge of riding and doing stunts off these mini bikes.