THINK SMALL

In various pockets around the world, the process of constructing ‘Mini Bikes’ using engines from things like lawns mowers, crammed into cut down bicycle frames with small wheels sourced from many sources, even humble wheelbarrows, was becoming more prevalent. Australia had one of the first, the Deckson, manufactured by John Deck & Sons using a Kirby 125cc engine with a centrifugal clutch. In USA, the Go-Kart Manufacturing Company had what they called a Go-Kart Cycle prior to 1960, which, when tested by Hot Rod magazine, was dubbed the Mini Bike. The name stuck and became the category moniker ever since.

In 1963, the Steen’s Chemical Company, which had a healthy business supplying lubricants for, among other things, two-stroke Go Karts, included in their catalogue a product they called the Taco Mini Bike, which was a kit with various engines, wheels and suspension options available. Honda took a close look, and