Safe Speed Forums

This was on page 6 of the Daily Express.



I’ve always thought you cannot be in proper control one of these things.

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Useless laws weaken necessary laws.

Having ridden one on a track I have to say that they are perfectly easy to control. No different than a road legal monkey bike. The small wheels do make it twitchy though and I would argue that the the avg. parent might not see the difference between one of these and a tradition childs offroad bike. The fact is that you do need basic training before riding any motorbike even if it's a scooter. the same applies here - they're not childs toys.

its easy to blame the machine for the riders mistake.

Had this been a cyclist I doubt it would have made the press.

Is that not a contradiction in terms?

What proportion of "monkey bikes" used on roads and other public places do you believe are "road legal", in terms of both vehicle and rider?


The fact that monkey bikes are illegal for road use and pedal cycles aren't does have something to do with that, of course.

We have had a plague of these things in our neighbourhood recently, invariably ridden by the most obnoxious, antisocial, couldn't give a f*ck yobboes. As far as I'm concerned the police could crush every one of them on sight if used in a public place.

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"Show me someone who says that they have never exceeded a speed limit, and I'll show you a liar, or a menace." (Austin Williams - Director, Transport Research Group)

Any views expressed in this post are personal opinions and may not represent the views of Safe Speed

Hear! Hear!

[quote="PeterEit would have made the press.[/quote]
The fact that monkey bikes are illegal for road use and pedal cycles aren't does have something to do with that, of course.

We have had a plague of these things in our neighbourhood recently, invariably ridden by the most obnoxious, antisocial, couldn't give a f*ck yobboes. As far as I'm concerned the police could crush every one of them on sight if used in a public place.[/quote]

Strange co -incidence , so have we, just after notices in both local and national press warning about giving these as presents.

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lets bring sanity back to speed limits.
Drivers are like donkeys -they respond best to a carrot, not a stick .Road safety experts are like Asses - best kept covered up ,or sat on

We can and we do!

These bikes are not suitable presents for young kids (under say 14) and the only safe place to use them is on a specific track where the child can be taught to ride it safely and responsibly.

My own kids and Ted's brood (not to mention all those other Swiss kids) learned to drive/steer for fun on the dodgems at the fair ground and we progressed to go-karting at a supervised centre where they learned skid and other handling "feels."

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Take with a chuckle or a grain of salt
Drive without COAST and it's all your own fault!

A SMILE is a curve that sets everything straight (P Diller).

A Smiley Per post
FINES USfor our COAST!

Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon - but driving with a smile and a COAST calm mind.

I agree with everything posted here. Most of these cheap (£150) bikes are copies of Italian racing bikes , such as Polini, which start at £850. These expensive machines are sold by reputable dealers. It is the flood of cheap chinese imports that is the real problem. To ride and race these requires the correct training and safety equipment, which is exactly the same as for racing a full size motorcycle. Of course they should only be ridden on a suitable track, usually kart tracks have evening(s) dedicated to minimotos: (Video clip)

My two sons race minimotos and throughly enjoy it.

Monkey bikes are a road legal machine which are sold taxed and registered, they are normally 50cc and are excellent machines.




Mini motos are not monkey bikes will never be road legal as they are not type approved and are designed for track use by experienced riders.



At the NEC 2 years ago three of my mates, all who have full licenses and are experienced riders of superbikes broke their wrists on the mini-moto track.

Parents need to understand that these are not suitable for their kids and most definately not suitable for road use.

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Former Military Police Officer and accident investigator

Hmmm. Interesting observation.

Last year a mate of mine broke his wrist and collar bone skiing in France. He was a regular skier of some 15 years experience. Parents need to understand that skiing is not suitable for their kids.....

Also I have just come back from skiing in Austria, my son broke his thumb. It hasn't put him off - he wants to go skiing again and I will be taking him.





Come on let's get a sense of reality here, because an activity involves a petrol engine means it can't be suitable for kids??? I can't agree with that. Life itself is dangerous, with the proper training, environment and kit, Minimoto is a cheap form of motorsport. Valentino Rossi and Marco Melandri both started out as kids in Minimoto racing. We can reduce but never eliminate the risks, would we want to?

Quote: "I don't want to tiptoe through life only to arrive safely at death"

Kids ain't got a proper sense of danger. That's why they'll dash into the road.

(Presume you mean little kids, not teenagers?)

That doesn’t mean they can’t ride motorbikes. I’ve seen kid’s riding scramblers, and riding them really well. I feel the point here is that they should be driven at the appropriate places, not driven on public roads. They’re not only dangerous (if you haven’t had the training). they’re a dam nuisance as well.

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Useless laws weaken necessary laws.

Actually Rossi raced Go Karts and was a champion at that as a kid, he moved to mini moto racing at the age of 12.

The point is that Mini-Motos are racing machines designed for track use, they are not toys that young kids should be given for Christmas. They most definatly should not be then sent out onto the street to play on them.

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Former Military Police Officer and accident investigator

Indeed he did start in go-karts, and as you correctly state he moved to minimoto which was the path he took to MotoGP, rather than "usual" motocross (UK) or dirt-track (US). Which led him to 7 world championship titles. Minimoto is a great way to learn racecraft and bike control.



No they are not toys and parents need to understand the commitment required when purchasing one for a child. With proper training and supervision a child can enjoy the thrill of riding one. I would not want to see that taken away.

What is needed is proper tracks for them to ride on. These are few and far between (and they know how charge for the privilege). It would help if local councils weren't so anti anything with an engine in it. I think the police could help by rather than crushing some kid's Christmas present (alienating people still further), they could encourage and support councils to provide suitable venues.

I used to marshal the things at a go-kart track some years ago and that was definatly the best place for them. Novices fell off quite a bit, and even the regulars and proffessionals came off now and again. The kids loved them though, and there seemed no reason why they couldn't use them provided they taught and supervised properly.

Put the same bikes in the hands of inexpirenced yobs on uncontrolled residential streets and you have a recipe for a serious accident, let alone the misery of anti-social behavoir. It would be wrong to target the responsible users who use the bikes as they were intended but I'm all for clamping down on the nuisance riders.