*** Pocket Bikes Spell Fun for Youths, Worry for Adults ***

Philadelphia, News Wire -- 12/30/2004
To many adults, so-called pocket bikes sound like chainsaws
on steroids, and couldn't survive a collision with a Geo Metro.

To many young riders, the tiny motorized two wheelers are
not only faster than that old Huffy bicycle, but just plain fun.

Most agree that pocket bikes are one of the hottest
-- and most controversial -- "toys" of the season.

An electric-powered bike from Los Angeles-based Toy Quest
topped the list in recent voting by kids for Yahoo's annual toy
Wish List. Toy Quest says on its Web site that the $200 Honda
Minimoto Maxii, a miniature racing motorcycle replica, "has
tapped into the pre-teen demographic which is currently not
being addressed in the toy market today."

Others have seen the bikes add zip to their financial performance. "
We were quickly able to discern sales success," when models were
first introduced in late 2003, said Chuck Rigby, assistant vice
president
of merchandising for Philadelphia-based The Pep Boys -- Manny, Moe
& Jack.

In October, Pep Boys, best known for selling auto parts, acquiesced
to a ban on sales of pocket bikes in Philadelphia. But the company
maintains prominent sales displays of the bikes -- along with warnings
about safety and legal implications -- in its suburban stores.

Gasoline-powered pocket bikes typically sell for $300 or more,
and into the thousands of dollars for higher-end Italian models
that have been tweaked for competitive racing.

Accurate industry sales data are hard to come by, because the
industry is fragmented. Anita Campbell, editor of Small Business
Trends, a newsletter for small and mid-size business owners, said
she has heard estimates that 500,000 to 2 million have been sold in
the U.S. since the category began taking off two years ago.

By comparison, there are about 4.9 million
registered motorcycles in the United States.

Complicating the picture is the fact that there is no standard
definition
for the pocket bike category -- the designs can be as simple as scooters

with a seat and motor bolted on, to the 1/4 scale mini-motorcycles,
whose
designs mimic those of street-legal choppers and racing-style sport
bikes.

Many parents and consumer advocates see pocket bikes as one of
the most dangerous vehicles to come down the street in years. Because
they can't be registered, the bikes are illegal on public streets, but
that
hasn't stopped some riders.

Consumer Reports magazine savaged the bikes in a recent review,
saying they are difficult for car drivers to see, have brakes that work
poorly and sub-par handling. "Even if riders kept off the streets, the
inherent shortcomings associated with pocket bikes make them
exceedingly dangerous," the magazine concluded.

Such concerns haven't done much to dent sales,
or the number of companies pushing sales.

The wheeled contraptions began as "pit bikes"
-- personal transports for racers and their crews at racetracks,
becoming popular within the U.S. racing subculture in the 1990s.
They were an alternative to conventional scooters, which had
been used at tracks for decades.

Soon, a sub-culture of pocket bike racers, with souped-up bikes
costing in the low thousands of dollars, emerged. It was a cheap
way for speed junkies to get their fix.

With prices of mass-produced pocket bikes in the low hundreds
of dollars, sales took off. Makers now include Czech, Italian,
Chinese and other Asian manufacturers. Power tools maker
Nikota, and Razor -- whose foot-powered scooters were all
the rage a few years back -- have also gotten into the act.

Online, wholesalers in the U.S. and abroad promise potential
retailers profit margins of 50 to 75 percent on quantities of 10
or more.

It's not clear how long the bikes' popularity will last. While Pep
Boys expects the category to do well for some time, others think
it could go the way of hot toys of holidays past.

"I think as fast as it comes, it will go," said Campbell,
the editor of Small Business Trends.

Gene`s BMX Applauds To The Crack Downs On Motorized Scooters
http://www.genesbmx.com/scooters.html
( concerns, laws & news ) "Motorized Scooters are NOT bicycles",

Geneb...Wenatchee,Washington-USA
All Things Northwest in BMX!
***** Gene`s BMX *****
http://www.genesbmx.com