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Midi Moto
What is a Midi Moto?
In it's simplest form the Midi Moto can be called the Mini Moto's big brother. There are many more variants of Midi Moto however. Full faring race style GP bikes, dirt bikes, customs and choppers to name just four, most of which will feature front and rear suspension, electric start, working lights, indicators etc.
To gain some idea about the size difference between a Mini and a Midi Moto, here some statistic's, A Mini Moto's typical dimensions would be; length 1020mm, width 360 mm and height 580 mm, whereas a typical Midi Moto race type bike would be, length 1360mm, width 560 mm and height 780 mm.
The riding styles of both bikes are completely different too. With a mini moto, a knees up-and-out approach is needed, and takes time and practice to perfect, whereas a midi bike is much bigger and more spacious to ride, so the rider can adopt a normal sitting stance, very similar to that of a full size bike.
The first, (and most popular), midi bikes were powered by Mitsubishi oem single cylinder 2 stoke power plant. Initial engine size being 43cc, with later bikes upgraded to a 49cc engine. The Mitsubishi engine was chosen by nearly all the varied manufacturers because of its supreme reliability and its gentle power delivery. With standard gearing most bikes will reach top speeds of approx 25-30 mph.
With limited power and top speed it was not long before the after market tuning companies started developing "go faster" performance parts. With many different engine modifications and performance enhancing parts, the gentle power delivery of the original bike can be transformed into an exciting racer. Compared to full size motorcycles the costs of these upgrades is small and affordable. For example a performance exhaust system for a full size big bike can be upwards of £700, and for a Midi?, well, a quality high performance exhaust can be bought for between £40-£100!
The racing fraternity in their quest for more power and speed then started to transplant more powerful engines into the spacious frames of the Midi. In mid 2005 the manufacturers caught on, and Midi's suddenly became available with an optional 4 stroke power plant, with engine sizes from 50cc, to a seriously powerful, 70+ mph, wheelie popping, 110cc. This is when sales of the bikes really began to mirror the sales quantities of the ever popular smaller Mini Moto.
Today Midi Motos are available with many different engine and gearbox configurations, not just for the race style bikes, but also the customs, choppers and dirt bike variants.
The Midi Moto continues to evolve to this day , and with the more powerful engines and booming sales, it's only a matter of time before a full race championship is launched.
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