1968 Manco Mini Chopper

“Hey Ethel, look what I found at the swap meet today!!! I think Bubba Jr. is gonna love it! It’s a mini chopper, looks just like my real chopper!” “I know he’s only seven years old but like I’ve always said get ’em started early…kinda like me and you”

I remember riding Byron Snedakers homemade minibike as a kid, we’d blast that little thing all over the neighborhood (that’s back in the day when you could). His dad literally modified a Schwinn Sting Ray bicycle frame to hold a lawnmower engine and designed (or bought) a chain drive system and a throttle. It was waaaayy too much fun. We were nine years old and it was summer vacation. That next Christmas Santa brought Byron a genuine Taco minibike…he still believes it was Santa that brought him the bike. A couple other guys in the neighborhood had mini’s and as you can imagine, races became the norm. I rode the ‘Sting Ray Lawnmower’ a few times until the frame broke.

I found a Manco mini chopper on ebay this morning that just cracked me up. This guy some good money and time into and as mini choppers go, did a great job. Now, Manco, also known as Yellow Jacket, was actually better known for its 4 wheelers. Off road vehicles and go carts. The mini bikes it seems were more of a side business? They were powered by a 3 1/2 hp Techumsa engine and were pretty standard. But, a lot got modified…all minibikes back then did.

So, if you think Bubba Jr. at your house would love to be like Bubba Sr. then this is a perfect summertime play toy. Click on the pics below for more pictures and more info. Could be fun.

1968 Manco mini bike