Pit bike

A Pitster Pro X2 Pit bike with a YX140cc Engine

A pit bike is a small off-road/on-road motorcycle originally used for riding around the pits or staging area of a motocross race. Since the early 2000s pit bike racing, a sport similar to motocross, has become popular in the United States, especially in Southern California. The term has also been applied to the use of bicycles in similar venues.

History

The name pit bike originated from the use of a Honda Z50 to ride around the pit areas of dirt bike races and race events across the United States. The fairly cheap price and the mobility of these bikes made them easy to use at racing events. Popular dirt bike movies like the 2001 Crusty Demons of Dirt 3 show how these small motorcycles can be used to do things other than just riding back and forth in the pits. A part of this movie shows people taking huge bicycle jumps on a Z50 in someone’s back yard. This movie and movies like it made people realize what these little bikes were capable of. It did not take long for the pit bike trend to catch on.

By the time the trend caught, Honda had changed the name from Z50 to XR50 in 1999 and made great changes to the bike. A few of these changes include a plastic gas tank, single rear shock, spoke wheels, seat, plastics, total redesign of the frame, and the total appearance of the bike. As teenagers and young adults began to show interest in The Z50, upgraded aftermarket parts for pit bikes became available to make them more powerful and comfortable for bigger riders. Some of these parts include heavy duty suspension, tall handle bars, tall seats, and big bore kits. As more and more people put these upgraded parts on their Z50s, their popularity grew and led to pit bike races across the United States.

In 2002 Kawasaki came out with the KLX110. This bike, as with Honda’s XR50, was designed for smaller riders. The 110 is faster and larger than an XR50, so it needs fewer modifications to make it comfortable for bigger riders. Pit bike riders realized this and started moving to the KLX110.

Due to the popularity of the sport, many pit bike race series have appeared in various parts of the United States. Some examples of such series are the 2-Up Minis and Masters of Minis race series, both located in the North East, the Sho-Me series in Missouri, and the annual Mini Moto Supercross race held the day before the final round of the AMA Pro Supercross series in Las Vegas, NV.

Types of pit bikes

Japanese children's mini-cycles

Some riders choose to purchase a stock Japanese mini-cycle intended for a young child's use and perform various upgrades. These upgrades usually cost several thousand US Dollars, and can be very time consuming.

Production pit bikes

Since 2003, starting with the SDG Speed Mini, an alternative to upgraded kids' bikes became available. In 2003 Xtreme Motor Corp, a company founded by ex-motocross champ Guy Cooper, and SDG began producing fully upgraded Chinese pit bikes. These pit bikes were designed around the Honda CRF-50's frame and used larger displacement engines, as well as tall handle bars, stronger suspension, and various other upgrades. The demand for these production minis was not quite as great as these companies had anticipated. SDG struck a deal with Tucker Rocky Distributing and their Speed Mini became instantly available to Tucker Rocky Dealers throughout the US. These bikes sold slower than expected, and some remain in dealerships around the US.

In late 2004, a small Utah based minbike importer called USA Motortoys began importing a pit bike bearing many striking similarities to the SDG Speed Mini. They called this bike the Pitster Pro. Over time many more pit bike companies introduced bikes into the market. Currently available production pit bikes include Pitster Pro, SSR Motorsports, Piranha, G2 Moto, and Pit Pro. Companies like OGM, Thumpstar, and Sikk MX, either no longer have any pit bikes for sale, or no longer have any pit bikes available that are competitive with modern offerings.

Pit bike racing

Pit bike racing is a competition sport similar to Motocross. A typical pit bike event consists of numerous classes designated by bike types racing for a set amount of laps on a track during two or more "motos" or outings. The winner is determined by the highest average position at the end of the event. Trophies are often awarded.

Disciplines

Motocross

Motocross is the most common discipline of pit bikes. Before someone begins racing their pit bike, they need to upgrade their suspension from stock. With jumps putting you 10+ feet in the air, motocross has a very high chance of injury. Knobby tires are a must for any dirt racing.

Supermoto

Supermoto is slowly being taken over by pocket bikes. that generally have speeds up to 60 miles per hour. Slick tires are an absolute must for any avid supermoto racer. Being the fastest paced discipline with speeds up to 60 miles per hour, Supermoto generally has the most serious injuries.

Pit Park

Pit park is perhaps the newest discipline for pit bikes. Pit park originally started with people taking a pit bike to skateparks and riding around like BMXers. Most skateparks do not allow pit bikes because the torque can tear up the wood. Metal and concrete parks are the best for pit park. Slick tires are preferred but knobby tires can still be used. The dangers are similar to the injuries of BMX.

Street

Street riding involves being able to maneuver any obstacle that is thrown at you. In certain countries pit street is illegal on sidewalks. Most police will take pit bikes more seriously than a skateboarder skating an illegal area, because it is motorized. Obstacles can include stairs, ledges, curbs, walls, and anything else not meant to be ridden on with bikes. Pegs are a huge plus for bunny hops and grinding. It can be very dangerous, as pit bikes are more energetic than a human powered BMX bicycle.

Stunt

Main article: Motorcycle stunt riding

Stunt riding generally consists of wheelies, stoppies, and other variations on wheelies. Pit bikes can be used for stunting. Serious stunting requires many modifications including pegs and other optional mods such as foot throttles.