Honda have been making a mini four stroke engined bike with little wheels since the year dot, many of the world's best riders cut their teeth on an old Honda Z50, the four stroke engine makes them super reliable and fairly quiet too. The current Honda model is the Honda XR50,a stylish looking little bike with is looks taken from the latest generation of Honda motocross bikes. Yuo can pick up a brand new one from a Honda dealer rom as little as €1,500. The Honda XR50 is the basic building block of the ultimate fun machine, they are quite possibly the most fun you can have with your clothes on!

So why are all these adults going nuts for kids bikes you ask? Well,the little bikes have got a lot going for them, they are quiet compared to their big brothers,they dont require much room, you can build a really fun track in a little space, a crash is normally laughed off instead of you being carted off(in an ambulance),they are cheap, you don't have to pedal to make it go, expectations are low and the fun factor is so high it's off the scale. You can fit them in the boot instead off needing a van to get it where you ride, the list is endless.

The scene in the U.S has been steadily growing for a couple of decades now, originally the factory racers who grew up on these bikes were using them to get around the pit areas at the races,then someone started to tune his minibike up and the rest followed, back yard tracks started popping up at the racers' houses and an underground sport was born.These days any one who is into bikes are riding them, people like Jeremy McGrath - 7 times U.S supercross champion - he is completely hooked and is a regular at the Californian minibike races, Travis Pastrana the young Suzuki super star is a keen minibike rider, Ricky Carmichael current world supercross and motocross champion and then there's the guys who ride in other bike sports, Steve Peat is the world downhill mountainbike champion and he's hooked too - so are loads of other top riders from the two wheeled worlds of BMX, MTB, Road Racing and many more.

In 2000 the original Honda Z50 was replaced by the up to date Honda XR50, the old honda Z50 had been around for 20 years and its replacement was perfect for modifying for adult sized riders. A guy called Craig Mason in California recognised the potential for the little bikes and started a tuning company called Fast50s that made parts soley for the little Hondas, specialising in the XR50. The original product was a handle bar clamp that allowed riders more room and one that worked with any BMX bar on the market, don't forget that these bikes were originally designed for kids so with the original handlebars the riding position is way too cramped and your knees get in the way. Now in 2003 the product line Fast50s make is huge, there is not one part on bike that you can't upgrade. They have heavy duty chromoly frames built for freestyle and racing, heavy duty wheels, oversized aluminium footpegs, engine tune up kits, exhaust pipes, and even a mini version of a full size motocross fork with all the latest hydraulic workings with a disc brake. With all these parts becoming available and all the top riders running them it was no suprise that many other companies jumped on the band wagon and started making their own line of 50 parts. The only thing that limits how great your machine is your wallet, you can buy the bike for €1,500 and spend another €3,000 on turning into the ultimate play thing.

The scene in the U.S is big and getting bigger by the week as more and more people discover how much fun it is. It's early days for the rest of the world but the minibike scene is already starting up in the UK and other European countries.