Polini minimoto are the pocket bikes that Polini Motori of Alzano Lombardo has produced since the 1990s, alongside the tuning parts that made the company famous. They belong to a class of miniature racing motorcycle of about one metre in length.
Polini minimoto at a glance
| Maker | Polini Motori, Alzano Lombardo (BG), Italy |
|---|---|
| Production of minimoto | from the 1990s |
| Typical length | about 1 m |
| Typical height | about 60 cm |
| Seat height | a little over 40 cm |
| Weight | just over 20 kg |
| Engines | two-stroke 39 or 50 cc; four-stroke 90 cc |
| Cooling | air in Junior classes, liquid elsewhere |
| Power | 6–7 hp air-cooled, 14–15 hp liquid-cooled (Italian kits) |
| Road use | not homologated, except some pitbikes |
| Company output of pocket bikes | 50 cc up to 15 hp |
The sources describe the Polini company and the minimoto class rather than a single model, so the figures above are class figures.
History of the Polini minimoto
Polini Motori was founded in 1945 in Alzano Lombardo, in the province of Bergamo, where it is still based. Battista Polini, back from the Second World War, began by building bicycles; the firm’s first logo was a ram, the emblem of his battalion. The arrival of the first Vespa and Lambretta scooters in the late 1940s turned the company towards motorcycle parts, and it became one of the best-known names in scooter tuning, a historic rival of Malossi.
Minimoto joined the catalogue in the 1990s, after a long run of cylinders, variators and exhausts. The class it belongs to is made of very small motorcycles, usually ridden on closed circuits and private land because they have no permit for the road; the off-road equivalents are called minicross. A typical machine is about one metre long, sixty centimetres high, with a seat just over forty centimetres from the ground, and weighs a little over twenty kilos.
The engines are almost always two-stroke, of 39 or 50 cc, with four-stroke 90 cc units also used. Junior categories run air-cooled engines with limited power; everything else is almost entirely liquid-cooled. Italian air-cooled cylinder kits produce 6–7 hp, Chinese ones 2–3 hp, and liquid-cooled kits reach 14–15 hp from Italian suppliers and 11 hp from Chinese ones, with 18 hp possible on machines at the top of the sport.
The company is still owned by Battista Polini’s sons Carlo, Franco and Piero and sells in 64 countries. Alongside pocket bikes from 50 cc up to 15 hp it makes the Evolution and Big Evolution tuning series, sells the miniature folding scooter called SkAtE and the Thor 250 and 250-DS two-stroke engines for paramotors and ultralights, and sponsors the single-make Polini Italian Cup.
Design and features
- Class dimensions: about one metre long and just over twenty kilos.
- Two-stroke engines: 39 and 50 cc units dominate, with 90 cc four-strokes also allowed.
- Track-only use: minimoto have no permit for public roads.
- Part of a tuning business: pocket bikes sit beside Polini’s cylinder and exhaust ranges.
Polini minimoto versions
- Air-cooled minimoto: the Junior route, with limited power.
- Liquid-cooled minimoto: the main competition machines.
- Minicross: the off-road equivalent of the class.
- Road-legal pitbikes: a small group, first homologated in Germany and then in Italy.
Individual Polini models are the Polini 910, the Polini X, the Polini Air and the road-legal Polini XP. More in the Polini collection.
Sources
- Polini, Italian Wikipedia: company history and minimoto production
- Minimoto, Italian Wikipedia: dimensions, engines, cooling, use
- Polini, English Wikipedia: company history, ownership, products
