Mini Bike Advertising Looking for 1960s, 1970s Minibike Catalogs.

Michigan Collector Mini Bikes and Minibike Catalogs, Brochures, Ads!

When I was a kid in 1971, I managed to save enough money from cutting lawns and shoveling snow to buy a new minibike. My dad took me to Kelly's Minibikes in Rochester NY, and we bought an orange Broncco Marauder Tx2 (which I later upgraded to a green Broncco Tx1.) I didn't know anything about mini bikes, just that I wanted one! Why a Broncco? I have no idea (frankly I was wanting one from the local Naum Brothers department store catalog.) But it put in motion a love for small engines, and learning how they worked and how to repair them.

Fast forward many years, and I'm living in Southeast Michigan. Little did I know SE Michigan was a hot bed for mini bikes! Ruttman, Little Indian, Harrison Research were all based in the Detroit area in the 1960s and 1970s. And minibikes are quite popular here, with people trading, riding, fixing and racing these minibikes. (It certainly helps that three major mini bike makers were located in the area.)

I also became interested in original advertising, catalogs, brochures, etc for vintage mini bikes. In 1969 there were about 150 different minibike brands available in the U.S. By 1975 there were only ten! (This is largely because Honda sold their new z50 and Ct70 bikes starting in 1970 below cost, and basically wiped out the traditional mini bike market.) Little did I know that in 1971 I was right in the middle of the mini bike craze! And having original catalogs and advertising help show how these minibikes looked and were equiped back in the day. This is extremely important when you're restoring a mini bike (which has become a hobby for me.) Below are links to many minibike catalogs, ads, brochures I've collected in PDF and JPG format.

If you have a mini bike or minibike advertising or catalogs, in any condition, and your located in Michigan (or Northern Ohio), please contact me at cfh@provide.net

I'm looking for basically anything 1960s and 1970s minibike related (including the bikes themselves, but also advertising, catalogs, ad, brochures related to them.) Minibike brands I like include Rupp and Speedway (Mansfield OH), Fox (Janesville WI), MTD (Cleveland OH). Looking for adversing and catalog for these brands too like Cat, Bonanza, Honda (Ct70, z50), JC Penneys, Montgomery Ward (t777), Sears, Ruttman (Dearborn MI), Lil Indian (Livonia MI), Harrison Research (Shelby MI), Manco (Ft Wayne IN), Bird (Fremont NE), Taco, Stellar (Plainview NY), Trail Horse (Omaha NE), George Barris, Charger, Gilson, Heathkit BooniBike, Heald Super Bronc, Aggie, Broncco, El Burro Sand N Sno (Lexington MI), etc.

Information on Rupp Mini Bikes
Information on Fox Mini Bikes
Information on MTD Mini Bikes
Information on Speedway Mini Bikes
Information on Heathkit GT-18 Mini Bikes
Information on Harrison Research Mini Bikes
Information on Tecumseh motor conversion to minibike format

Mini Bike Catalogs, Advertising Ads, Brochures, Paper