Everybody wants to save the earth, nobody wants to help mom do the dishes.  --P.J. O'Rourke

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Mini Bikes - Sears Catalogue Throwback

In the 1970's, the arrival of the new Sears catalogue was an eagerly anticipated event and was met with a level of enthusiasm virtually unheard of today (I must confess, to this day, I remember what the catalogue smelled like).  The phonebook sized, full color, "Dream Book" was the key to a full year's worth of childhood fantasy.  Looking through the catalogue you could piece together in your mind the room that would eventually be expressed as so many adult "Man Caves".  The Briggs & Stratton powered "minibike" was a staple of those catalogues and enjoyed a brief period of popularity more or less concurrent with Banana Splits reruns.  All in all, a pretty crappy little vehicle, the minbike's short reign as the object of boyhood lust was ended with the introduction of 80cc Japanese Motocross bikes, three wheelers and BMX Bicycles.

1 comment:

  1. Damn, you couldn't have said it better. I used to foam at the mouth over Sears Bikes in the catalog. But when my friend got a Yamaha YZ-80, I forgot once and for all about Sears bikes. If I remember correctly, they had tons of vehicles in Sears Catalog. 3 wheelers, 4 wheel buggy things. It was awesome at the time.

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