How I Got Into Pocket Bikes

We've just had a fantastic birthday party today for my 2 year old. Both sets of grandparents were here along with great aunts, his 3 brothers and sister plus his nephew (yes he's 2 and an uncle already!). It reminded me of how I got into pocket bikes.

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6 years ago, I went to my cousins 30th birthday (hence the link) at his house on the outskirts of London. There were lots of family there plus his work mates, who are all tough soldier types (he's a squaddie too), some had been to Afghanistan and the gulf on tours of duty.

When the time got to about 10pm, a couple of his mates said they were off to get the toy. I had no idea what they were up to as they snook away with great big smiles on their faces. About 20 minutes later they were back, and this time they had this tiny little motorbike. I had never seen one before, and assumed it was just a model of a full sized bike.

So, you can imagine my surprise when they pulled the starter and the little 2 stroke engine fired up and breathed life in the pocket bike. I would never have believed that an engine would fit inside such a small frame, and was then completely blow away when a 6 foot tall man threw his leg over the bike, sat down, twisted the throttle and drove away, swaying down the street (as we’d all had several drinks by then).

He got to the top of the street (without incident thankfully), turned around and drove back so that the next lad could have a turn. As each man rode this little miracle up the road and back we jeered them on, laughing, drinking, talking and all the while each tried to do the run faster and faster than the preceding man. I looked around at these fighter, these battle hardened guys who’ve seen real war, first had, and I couldn’t believe that these small bikes could bring grown me to tears of laughter and joy. I was hooked.

Next day, my cousin took me to a huge market on a disused airport. As we looked around I spotted a stall with a crowd of young people around it and Ohhs and Ahhs being said. As we got closer we could see what the commotion was all about. There were two Pocket Bikes and a table, a red one and a yellow one, and the kids were clamouring to try them. Well, that was twice in 2 days I’d seen a mini moto pocket bike.

Anyhow, later that day I was driving home, around 300 miles from London to North East England, Near Newcastle. On the way back, we stopped at a road side stop, rest stop I guess my American friends would say, and after availing myself of the facilities we went into the small shop. Looking for a magazine on classic cars (another passion of mine) my eyes took me straight to a picture of a blue pocket bike on the cover of a motoring mag. Call that kismet, chance or luck, but I’d now come across these little bikes 3 times in 3 separate places in 24 hours, and I’d never even seen or heard of one before. This proved to be life changing.

Next day, I found someone who could sell me pocket bikes wholesale and I bought two. I started by taking them apart, along with my son, to understand them, how they work and the parts making them up. We then started selling them on to clients and created a track night at a local karting track. When someone had a problem, I fixed it and wrote down the solution, which over time has become The Pocket Bike Manual.

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