Pocket bikes (aka mini bikes) are not legal for riding on the street in many if not all US states. Certainly not in Oregon. Still, they can be legally sold (for off road use only) and they are cheap ($300+ new, $100-up used) so people buy them for their children who all too often ride them on streets.

I imagine that sales are brisk this time of the year as parents do their Christmas shopping. I wonder how many of those parents will come to regret that purchase. Pocket bikes are even more dangerous than their larger distant cousins, motorcycles and scooters. They can maim and kill their rider just as easily as a real motorcycle. Think twice and then again before buying one for your child or yourself.

If you buy one, please don’t let your child ride it on sidewalks or on the street. It is accepted wisdom that motorycles on city streets are nearly invisible to many automobile drivers. That invisibility is the cause of many accidents, injuries and deaths. A rider on a pocket bike is far below a driver’s line of vision and will be much harder to see. Drivers just aren’t expecting them and do not look for them.

They should be ridden only off-road on go kart tracks or other areas where larger vehicles will not be encountered. Proper safety apparel is also important: a DOT approved motorcycle helmet (not a bicycle helmet), rugged jacket and pants, gloves and over the ankle boots.

Other countries, as noted in a recent Mecury News (Tasmania, Australia) article are not as lenient as the US.

Update 12/20/05: A related article on InsideBikes.com in the UK.

After reading this Bikes in the Fast Lane article I decided to review my website logs to see what oddball web searches had brought users to my site. Here are some that left me scratching my head until I repeated the searches to see what pages they pointed to and why. Then, seeing the search engine results page, I wondered why they went ahead and clicked on the link to my site. My conclusion is that many people have no clue as to how to construct searches to get good results.

abs pothole damage
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hayabusa leather riding jacket 2004
how a motorcycle doesnt fall over
kangaroo skin motorcycle jackets
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motorcycles turned into ice bike
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the life of sylvester howard roper
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nude womman

The last one really startled me. I have no nude womman (nor any nude women) on my site but it seems one of my humor pages had a typo (”womman” in the page title) that I never noticed. So thank you Mr random searcher for allowing me to correct that mistake.

Have you discovered Craigslist? It is a regional community bulletin board and free classified advertising web site. There are city specific boards for many cities in the US and other countries. If your city or a nearby city has an active Craiglist board it will be an excellent venue for buying and selling used motorcycles and motorcycle gear. (Another good source is the Cycle Trader magazine which is generally found on the magazine rack in convenience stores.)

In addition to classified ads there are some discussion forums in which you can waste some time in often heated and nonsensical discussions.

Are you in need of a good chuckle? Check out the “best-of-craigslist” (link in the left column of the front page) that will take you to a list of reader nominated posts. The best-of posts are usually very well written and witty.

An interesting article in the Portland Tribune about the Sang-Froid Riding Club which is comprised of a small number of local riders. Though I do wish the Trib used an easier on the eyes font for their web articles.

Beware the stealthy motocops in Tigard, Oregon. Since changing from a Kawasaki to a Honda ST1300, one motor officer observes that “it’s not as noticeable. People are driving their worst and making violations and driving as if there wasn’t a cop there.” The Oregonian.

Don’t think this is what Teddy Roosevelt had in mind when he coined the name Rough Riders.

Only 239 more trips and he will be all moved into his new house.

Bikes in the Fast Lane has an annotated list of funny search terms that landed visitors on their site. It’s a fun read.

What the hell does it take to get these people off the road. HELENA, MT - A man with 20 drunken driving convictions was found guilty in federal court of smashing into a man on a motorcycle while drunk. Billings Gazette

The Long Way Around a documentary of actors actors Ewan McGregor’s and Charley Boorman’s around the world motorcycle trip is now available on DVD.