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FACTORY RIDE/READERS RIDE / HERITAGE / ACTION / OAS / BUYERS GUIDE
THE BASICS
THE PIT BIKE craze was a
bandwagon jumped on by many
importers to make a quick
dollar. It shone brightly and
briefl y before a mass return to
common sense. Most were
made in China although
Yamaha, Honda and Kawasaki
had models that fi tted the niche
market. The whole scene pretty
much started off with a few
people tarting up Honda XR50s
for a laugh and some attention
and, as the fashion spread,
aftermarket suppliers got on
board as did importers with
cheaper Chinese models and
the inevitable competition
spawned further growth
and sales.
In this feature, nine makes
were listed, each with a single
model except Thumpstar which
had three, the Junior 90,
Hunge 10 and Hunge 25 for
$2200 $3000 and $4000
respectively. The others were
Pro50Z, SDG USA, Desert Mini,
Pitboss, Yamaha TTR90/E,
Honda CRF50, Kawasaki
KLX110 and CMG. With the
exception of the Yam, Honda
and Kwaka all of them were
Chinese built and sported 107cc
four-stroke engines. At 64kg
the green machine was the
heaviest as well as having the
biggest motor, the Honda was
the lightest at 47kg and the
Yammy offered two weights of
60/63kg due to the option of
electric start. The Pro50Z and
Desert Mini also had the button
for lazy buggers who found
107cc too much effort to kick
over. All the others weighed
60kg except for the Pro50Z
which was 62.5kg.
Gearboxes were either three
or four speed and a mixture of
manual and automatic clutches
were spread over the range.
Warranties were interesting
reading, with the Yamaha
having six months parts and
labour along with the CMG,
Honda and Kawasaki offered
three months parts and labour
along with Pro50Z, but the
Desert Mini 3 and Thumpstar
had three months parts only. it
was the Pitboss that took the
cake in this department. “If it
doesn’t work straight out of the
box it’s under warranty.
Otherwise it’s void”. Just thinkof the discussions that must
have occurred between owners
and dealers over that when a
fault was discovered.
Of course nobody who had
one of these was going to ride it
for long before deciding to race
it and many were bought or
built up with just that purpose
in mind. The build quality and
reliability of the Japanese bikes
was much better of course (well
duhhh) but the Chinese mounts
came already set up with some
of the things required for
adult riders.
We listed six things that were
known weaknesses and
suggested cures. The chain
adjusters were known to bend
and strip but could be replaced
with Honda ones, although they
had to be installed back to front
as the Chinese bikes had them
fi tted the wrong way round.
Muffl er clamps were another
area of concern because they
stretched and worked loose.
Bikes that were jumped needed
their frames checked for cracks
and stress fractures, stripped
footpeg bolts and sagged-out
springs but, as a bonus, somebrands gave you extra neutrals
in the gearbox, often between
all gears. This is what happens
when you make things from
recycled wheelbarrows.
The fi ve suggested “must
haves” for anyone planning on
getting a pit bike, especially to
race, were a high-rise
handlebar kit to improve the
turning circle. The standard
bars hit an adult rider’s knees
not far off the straight ahead
position. Next on the list was
modifi cations to the fork,
including stiffer springs, and a
taller seat to get your knees out
of your ears. Brake, clutch and
gearlevers as well as foot pegs
needed replacing sooner rather
than later as they were weak
and often too small for a full-
sized rider. The fi nal suggestion
was a new rear shock and
longer swingarm to prevent
mid-race prostate examinations
and to increase stability at
speed, but it was noted that for
the “stock” racing class the
swingarm could not be longer
than one inch more than
standard.
Heritage Editor Warren JackMINI ME PIT BITCHES
WHAT
Pit bikes
WHEN
January 2005 Issue 304
PURPOSE
Tricked up mini bikes for posing in
the pits.
HOW MUCH
$2200 (Thumpstar Junior 90) to
$3850 (SDG USA)BIKES FROM THE DAYS WHEN DINOSAURS ROAMED THE PITS
REAR GUARD
H
ER
ITAGE
RIDE
PIT
BIKES
ABOVE. Long socks and sneakers
were thought to provide easier
movement and reduced weight