George LaiRemember PowerWheels by Fisher Price? Those cars you could actually sit in at age three and drive? Now an adult version exists, a motorcycle that fulfills those childhood dreams of great speed at the same diminutive size.
Pocket bikes, as they are generally called, are part of a fairly new trend that has already overtaken California and has reached Wash U via seniors Brian Berman and Alan Pruce. The bikes look like real motorcycles and can go as fast as 40 miles per hour, but are only 21 inches tall. They weigh around 40 pounds, yet they can hold up to 250 pounds.
“It takes a secure man to ride a motorbike that’s only three inches off the ground,” said Pruce.
The original pocket bikes were created and ridden in Japan. The sport spread to Europe, where the Italians developed the bikes into high caliber racing mini motorcycles. These bikes were not available to the public sector because of their high price: up to $4000. Now, there are cheaper knockoffs available from Chinese and other manufacturers, which only cost about $300.
Pruce and Berman, who would like to be referred to as, “The Shmog Gang,” bought their pocket bikes off eBay. The bikes are not really for transportation-they are not even street legal. As Berman said so eloquently, the bikes are just “something fun to screw around with.”
The allure of the pocket bike is that it has the biggest engine available without needing a license plate or other tags. Plus, they are just cool.
And so are the riders.
“The guys who ride motorcycles are the ones you want to date; guys who ride [pocket bikes] are the ones you want to take home,” said Berman.
The bikes are not only for “secure men,” they are also quite popular with the younger sect, since one doesn’t need a drivers’ license. Berman said the bikes are popular among 14- and 15-year-olds, especially in the beach areas.
“You don’t have to be a badass [to ride a pocket bike],” says Pruce.
Pocket bikes are not meant for rough terrain. Even pavement can be a little dangerous. Berman warned that since the tiny bikes are fast, little potholes could send a rider flying. The bikes also have to be handled like motorcycles, tilting on turns, which can be a little perilous since the rider is so close to the ground in the first place.