briton bees

So much for my team.

Speaking of small, I offer inspiring. Do you dig the tiny motor bikes? What did Shaun call them…. I forgot. Anyway, whilst visiting the 520 Chain Cafe, I found out about a company in Asheville, North Carolina called Briton Bees (Briton rhymes with Triton).

Well, you might think these bees are dangerous southern bees, trained to kill anyone who’s skin doesn’t burn after forty minutes in noontime summer sunlight, but you’d be wrong. Not that sunblock is bad, but these little 50cc motors are paired with kickass classic designs that remind one of the boardtrack days of death-defying riding for fun, not profit. Ah, to ride simply for fun. To be a kid. I want one for my kid.

NOTE TO SELF: Get one for your kid.

Even though they call their home-made bikes “motorcyclettes,” Briton Bees isn’t an exclusive and expensive snob shop. Their two-stroke bikes are affordable, their repair rates are fantastic, and these babies are American-made. Briton Bees original frames are constructed of 4130 Cromoly aircraft-grade steel. All their bikes come stock with a Franco Morini 50cc S6T engine (um… American assembled = American made?), Dell’Orto carburetors, Magura controls, and a classic Brooks saddle. Each bike weighs between 50-75 lbs, depending on the model, gets over 100mpg, and can carry up to 325 lbs. So there. Suddenly your fat kid is cool and you feel green. ‘Cause that’s what’s in your pocket.

Kermit the Frog has left the building.

Hey. Each bike feeds an American family and profits American businesses and neighborhoods. Check out Briton Bees and tell ’em bikerMetric sent you. Dammit.