braking performance was entirely
dependent on the still-developing
leg muscles of the rider.
The lawn mower-style engine
on a minibike also spared the
beginning rider the angst of
mastering the clutch/gearshift/
throttle trifecta. It was simply
twist 'n go, which is how Tom
Drezwiecki, the self-proclaimed
"Minibike Maniac" began his
shiftless life.
"I really wanted a go cart when
I was a kid," Drezwiecki recalls
from his home in Muskego,
Wisconsin. "But my dad brought
home a Benelli minicycle in
-
stead. I couldn't figure out how
to shift the gears and work the
clutch, so he wound up selling
it and getting me a minibike
instead."
Purchasing a minibike in the
1960's was almost as conve
-
nient as picking up a dozen eggs
for the family. At the peak of the
craze, there were more than 150
companies across the country
supplying two-wheeled fun to lo-
cal hardware shops, farm imple-
ment dealers and even depart-
ment stores. Montgomery Ward,
JC Penney's and Sears touted
a full lineup of minis that were
sourced from various manu
-
facturers like Bird Engineering
VOLUME ISSUE JUNE , P129
Remember these? Tom
Drezwiecki of Muskego,
Wisconsin, does. He's collected
more than 60 of these babies.
If you were born in the
1960s, you probably got your
motorcycling start on one.
