Mini bikes are a great way to get kids into the world of motorcycling, and, let’s be honest, adults can have a lot of fun with them too. The only trouble is, for our heavier bodies, the original engines aren’t going to get you around all that quickly. Allow this YouTube channel, then, to present a solution.
Having blown up the 199cc engine in a Coleman CT200U mini bike, this intrepid team decided to take it out, and lob in something considerably larger and more powerful: the 999cc inline-four from a Honda Fireblade. Oh yes.
Except ‘lobbed in’ is rather under-selling the scale of the job, which was massive. The Coleman’s frame had to be drastically modified to fit the CBR1000RR engine, with the two top tubes removed and new sections welded back in their place. Some of the frame sections that were retained had to be widened (using a car floor jack, of all things), reinforced to cope with the extra weight of the engine and its forces, and littered with new engine mounts. The best bit of all has to be the fuel tank, which in an old metal jerry can sitting just behind the rider.
They didn’t bother putting an exhaust on the thing, so it’s… quite loud. Plus, the low-speed handling looks to be a bit challenging, as evidenced by the bike getting dropped at one point. But hey, get it going, and it works brilliantly, for something built by a handful of people in a small garage.
All of this has us in mind of the Fireblade-engined Honda Ruckus scooter we featured last year, built in a similar ‘backyard’ fashion. It also looks similarly sketchy to ride - we’re not sure we’re brave enough for either…
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