Tuck everything in and race your mates at minimoto. It’s bonkers!
Small in size but big on fun, minimotos are a great way to settle a score
Remember the days when you used to laugh at drunk blokes trying out minimotos at the NEC? It was comedy gold but ever since the early 2000s the minimoto scene has declined, mainly due to the influx of cheap Chinese bikes.
Instead of going to dedicated minimoto tracks, many mini thrill-seekers bought these bikes for as little as £99 and took them, illegally, to local car parks to ride. Remarkably the decline has been so severe that there are only two places in the UK, M4 Karting and Swindon Karting, where you can hire a minimoto to ride. Is this a trend that needs reversing? If you want a hysterical day out, then the answer is a resounding ‘yes’ because minimotos are brilliant fun. Just a touch small. MCN’s Dan Sutherland and my previous experience with minimotos hadn’t been great. About 20 years ago I rode a British championshipwinning minimoto and within the space of half-an-hour I’d crashed it in every conceivable fashion.
Dan, on the other hand, was introduced to bikes at the NEC on a minimoto when he was 13. It was an introduction that resulted in him firing himself over the bars, digging a clip-on into his ribs in the process. I know the clue is in the name, but minimotos really are tiny. Being over 6ft tall I am instantly at a decided disadvantage to 5ft 6in (optimistically) Dan and even getting my feet on the pegs requires unnatural frog-like contortions. Dan seems far more at home and even manages to get his feet at 90 degrees to the bike, which is the ideal position to allow for easy kneedown. I’m just happy my hip joints haven’t popped out as I wobble down the pit lane with my elbows touching my knees.
The GRC AC40 minimotos we are riding may only be 40cc with 7bhp on tap, but when your arse is 30cm off the ground and even moving an eyelid makes the bike turn like a MotoGP missile. My first few laps are a battle to get my feet out of the way of the ground, deal with the shocking instability and try to not get my arms trapped in my knees. And all while warding off the onset of cramp. It’s fair to say I’m not built to race these.
A quick break and after a tip to remove our jeans and ride in only
‘You control the slide like Marquez’
‘I’m just happy my hips haven’t popped’
underpants under the overalls for more flexibility (the breeze is quite refreshing) we are back out. After discovering that by briefly sitting on the tail hump I can create enough room to lock my feet in position (the instability is even worse when doing this) I start to click with the minimoto. Cornering is a case of just pushing on, dumping the bike on its side, dragging your knee and hanging on tight. The amazing thing is that you can actually feel the front moving and you start to control the slide on your knee (just call me Marquez!). After ten minutes I’m giggling like crazy… until my hip joints seize and I’m forced to pull in. Irritatingly, Dan looks like a pro and is even going for a hero elbow down. Is it bad I’m hoping for a low side? After a brief race where Dan (quite predictably) kicks my backside, we have another ten minutes blatting around the track. Despite being hideously uncomfortable, once you lock yourself in position (I reckon some extra seat padding would help taller riders) minimotos are brilliant fun. A groups of mates, minimotos and an indoor track? What could possibly go wrong?