page_title: Pit bike
section_title: Pit bike racing
hierarchical_section_title: Pit bike / Pit bike racing
caption_attribution_description: Participants in a pitbike race at the New England motocross track in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
context_page_description: A Pit Bike is a small recreation, stunt or motocross racing motorcycle, that evolved from the use of custom-built motorized two wheeled machines that began appearing during Post-war 1940s and 50s pits of racing events. Initially, the term also applied to the use of bicycles or motorcycles used to navigate event staging areas. These hand-built machines were directly responsible for the creation of the Minibike Market. The fairly cheap price and the mobility of Minibikes made them easy to use at racing events. As the minibike market boomed in the 1960s, Honda introduced their own line, and the Honda Z series became popular for filling the role. With the popularity of off-road motorcycles increasing through the 1980s, inexpensive introductory-model Motocross and Dual-sport bikes also began to fill this role.
  While determining the catalyst for Pit Bike popularity cannot be solidified to a single factor, major influences likely include the X Games, televised on ESPN, and promotional Direct-to-video Power Sport and stunt films in the 1990s. Series such as the Crusty Demons of Dirt, have been credited by fans for inspiring people to race or attempt stunts using undersized Motorcycles.
context_section_description: Many Pit Bike race series have appeared across the United States. Series include the 2-Up Minis and Masters of Minis race series, both located in the North East, the Sho-Me series in Missouri, and the annual MiniMoto Supercross race held the day before the final round of the AMA Pro Supercross series in Las Vegas, NV. In Northamptonshire, United Kingdom, Whilton Mills facility offers Pit Bike Racing.
  Pit Bike racing is a competition sport similar to Motocross. It is especially popular with younger riders, as the machines are initially more affordable, less intimidating and easier to maintain than standard motocross bikes. The shorter wheel base, lower center of gravity and linear power delivery simplifies handling aspects for novice competitors, resulting in fewer accidents and injuries.
  A typical Pit Bike event consists of numerous classes designated by bike types racing for a set number of laps on a track during two or more legs.  The winner is determined by the highest average position at the end of the event. Pit Bike Motocross, often referred to as Minimotos (and not to be confused with MiniMoto Pocketbike racing) is the most common discipline of Pit Bike racing. Extreme Sports influences have also made Mini FMX popular. This is a version of Freestyle motocross, with a focus on trick riding. Freestyle Motocross riders are known to use Pit Bikes to learn certain tricks, in an attempt to limit injury if not performed correctly.
  Pit Bikes are also used for stunt riding. For Serious stunting, it is recommended by practitioners that modifications, including pegs and an additional lever above the clutch for the rear brake (for when your right foot is not covering the brake pedal) be utilized. A 12 bar can also be added to the subframe which is designed to prevent a bike from flipping.
caption: Typical pit bike race
exif: {"Image Make": "Panasonic", "Image Model": "DMC-LZ5", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Ver.1.0", "Image DateTime": "2006:12:02 10:55:58", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image ExifOffset": "418", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 50, 53, 48, 0, 0, 14, 0, 1, 0, 22, 0, ... ]", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "7060", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "8041", "Thumbnail YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/500", "EXIF FNumber": "17/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2006:12:02 10:55:58", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2006:12:02 10:55:58", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "-33/100", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "29/2", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2816", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2112", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "6908", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "88", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal"}