I’ve been getting a hankering for a bit of braap lately. Maybe I’ve been watching too many mtb ‘edits’ with mini motocross sections in them. Looks like ace fun though.

I used to have an old DT175 back in the day but know nowt about modern stuff.

I’ve seen these ‘pit bikes’ pop up on eBay etc. Relatively cheap seemingly, which is good as I’m just a lowly cabinetmaker.

Anyone got one? Can they cope with a fat old biffer sturdy middle aged person or are they only really good for da yoot, fleeing the dutty Babylon on council estates?

I’ve seen ‘Stomp’ as a brand that’s prominent.

Is there places you can ride them legally? I used to take the DT to motocross practise tracks but not sure if these types of bikes are allowed.

I think I’m having a mid life crisis (43) 😀

I had a couple that I taught my boys to ride on…they were cheap chinese honda copies..they were ok, we had some land near us that the owner let us use, I wouldn’t fancy riding one on a MX track though. You could have a look at the Honda trail bikes crf or something, they do a 100 and a 125 bit more money though!

plenty of lads and forums for Supermoto Pitbike racing… They do cheap enough tryout days etc..

http://www.britishminibikes.com for tarmac racing (mostly kart tracks) – looks great fun.

http://www.minibikechamps.com looks much the same but for dirt.

Most of my friends had them had them at one point so I’ve ridden a fair mixture of them, from the highly tuned and very fast to the old, slow and shit. I have mixed feelings about them. They’re fun but some of them are quick enough to get you into big trouble, and when you arrive at trouble you’ll remember you are perched on top of something with suspension and brakes akin to a Toys R Us bicycle.

Also they break and fail, constantly. Rebuilding pit bikes is a bigger part of ownership than riding them so unless you’re very mechanically minded you’ll be throwing money away.

I think if you want something to very occiasionally make some noise around a field then maybe get one. But if you intend to use it regularly, get into a bit of motox, ride tracks or rougher places then maybe just buy a small moto x bike. It’ll be more expensive initially but cheaper in the long run and I’m inclined to say safer too.

They’re chavvy rubbish. Even the road legal ones make you look like you’re up to no good and should be arrested.

Avoid that stuff.
Get yourself a Honda MSX125 (also known as a Grom).
I love mine to bits and covered 15,000 miles on it.
Easy to mess about on, fast enough to be useful and you can fit chunky tyres and do some greenlaning. All that with the robustness of a Honda. They are really easy and cheap to work on too. I’ve done all my own maintenance (and modifications) myself. You can pick them up cheaply and they hold their value.

I fell a bit in love with the Grom the first time I saw one. But it kind of feels like not a proper mini bike, it’s too sorted.

They look like good fun but I effing hate them when they come flying UP a FoD off-piste descent when I’m tanking it down. Okay they’ve probably got just as little right to be there as me, but still it irks 😉

Nah I’d never ride it in sensitive woodland or owt.
Those msx125s look fun, but maybe a bit pricey.

I liked the look of a pit bike as they can be had for under £500 seemingly.

They do seem a bit chavvy though I agree.

Fun though I bet 😀

kayak23

I liked the look of a pit bike as they can be had for under £500 seemingly.

Just remember to budget for new forks, new shock, new brakes and a new engine.

😆

I see a guy on my commute riding one of those Groms to and from work. He’s got no clue based on yesterdays antics – still alive though just about.

Edit – Now I’ve had a proper look at them I want one badly. Would be awesome for my commute and the tyres are cheaper than Durano Plus 😕

Get yourself a Honda MSX125 (also known as a Grom).

Wanted one of those for a long time now for commute duties. Only problem is I have a choice of two routes to work, one is ridiculously hilly (not sure how a grom would cope with the hills) and the other is a very fast A road with a lot of fast moving traffic 🙁

For riding below 50mph they are awesome. Much prefer it for this riding over the MT07. Small, easy to maneuver, involving, cheap to run. You can filter with ease and then park it in tiny places that you can’t even get a scooter in.

Limitless number of mods for it too..

In thailand the KSR (110?) was very popular, some guys like them for stunts and are really good(pirouettes on the back wheel etc. makes a lot of sense to me, they are low and easy to ride/fall off, they have a semiautomatic clutch. Not many offroad though, cos theyre not so strong I suppose.I wouldve got one for “town” if….This was before the grom came out.

I’m not sure about the grom, as some hondas like crf250L were not as solid as their kawasaki counterpart, the klx250, whereas the honda wave was an unbreakable/ride anywhere kind of scooter.Sometimes when your stuck inthe mud on a hill on your dirtbike/knobblies, a Honda Wave will go by,with a couple of hilltribe folk on

Offroad, the klx 125/140/150 are most popular with those that can afford it but dontwant a full size bike,some KLX110 dirtbikes are in there too, but there’s a massive modified step-through scooter scene,like honda waves, modified with big bores(up to 200+cc),carbs, shocks, and a bar welded from headtube to seat. They are often the biggest class in mx races with their own class, Supercup.
they have a great power/weight ratio, and are easy to lift over fallen trees/rivers etc

I’d say buy an mx bike and find a local club. Trouble with pit bikes is unless you have access to private land you’ll struggle to be able to use them anywhere.

Trouble with pit bikes is unless you have access to private land you’ll struggle to be able to use them anywhere.

And that’s only an issue if you’re the sort of person who is bothered about legality and generally Not Being A Dick, which the average pit bull bike owner/TWOCer isn’t…

Teesside autodrome/kart track run a Moped Mayhem thing every year in the winter and the (unspoken) premise is that a team of 2+ people buy a sub-200cc shitter for a few hundred pounds and race it for a few hours in an Le Mans stylee. Matey boy and son turned up in a full-on converted MX race van with a couple of really trick ££££ Honda CRF150s and all the gear and obliterated the the rest of us. High fives and fist bumps all round. Yeah, well done… I hate pit bikes 😆