The LA Ten Four

Like steel hornets, minibike takeovers buzz throughout Los Angeles’ streets. They’re a big part of the area’s culture.

_{Dozens of minibikers ride through Hollywood Boulevard on November 8 near Hollywood and Highland (Sean Beckner-Carmitchel)}

By Sean Beckner-Carmitchel

LOS ANGELES – Throughout Southern California, one particularly loud scene has erupted with increasing regularity: minibike riders drive through city streets. Steel and chrome minibikes of nearly every color buzz with power from engines originally designed to operate pressure washers. Riders park, hug and exchange riding crew stickers from places like Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, and as far away as Pacoima. 

They circle the streets in a big-city fever dream chasing freedom or trouble, maybe both.One rider, who goes by Leflame, told Ten Four that driving a minibike feels like, “Freedom, I guess. Experiencing things that are, like… fun.” When the riders arrive at a location, it’s common to see a pure joy that can only come from being atop a loud machine alongside like-minded riders.

Note: Ten Four has elected to use street names to protect the anonymity of riders

Leflame said one meetup started in Whittier, East L.A., and Montebello. Minibikes are an important part of youth culture in Los Angeles; especially east of the Los Angeles River.  “For me I live in East LA. Near Boyle Heights,” Leflame said. “East L.A. was one of the [places] that was the source of the inspiration. For us East L.A. people, we have a lot of minibikes. I’ve seen over a 100 minibikes of people that live in East L.A.” 

Jessie, a member of “Go Don’t Stop” from East Los Angeles, told Ten Four that it’s a point of local pride to attend. Jessie said it’s “like at the beaches, when people do drum circles. You don’t know whose there but it’s more like it’s a gathering. Everybody talks. Everybody there’s cool.” Jessie also said the minibike meetups often are about “representing where they come from.”

Minibike meetups are often planned on social media, with flyers distributed among riding groups and group chats. Riding groups have names like “Chavos JRA,” “Hooligans,” “GSNLS,” “Public Enemy,” “Active Gurlz,” and “Go Don’t Stop.” One or two groups plan an event, and from there invite other groups. Dozens often attend; a few have numbered near the hundreds.

Jessie said that as minibike culture has grown in Southern California, there have also been minibike events as far-flung as Las Vegas. Las Vegas, he said, is much more hostile to the takeovers. A recent event led to minibikes being taken by authorities in Las Vegas. He said “they’re taking minibikes, they’re taking people inside their jail, everything.”

“We take some parts off, put parts in and it becomes minibikes,” Leflame told Ten Four. “It starts off from a pressure washer engine, connected with metal tubings. Long mower tires, that’s what makes the minibike.” 

To get the desired result, Leflame said, “People build their own minibikes, their own frames. Everybody builds their engine the way they want. It’s like a Frankenstein build.”

Minibikes are much less expensive than motorcycles, and are part of the appeal. Several riders said it takes far less than what a motorcycle would cost for most minibikers to build their machine. Leflame said, “you have these things called a stock build, a semi build, and a full build. Full builds go 100 miles per hour.” 

The more mechanically inclined can often build something for significantly less. Leflame said that while riding, “you can feel freedom, you feel like you’re riding an expensive bike. And sometimes it is expensive, but I mean you can get whatever you want.” Getting started costs $800 to $2500, depending on what bike you’re building. 

Not a single minibike at the November 8 meetup was the same; even the frames had wildly different looks to them. The appeal of minibikes is partially due to their customizability.

“It is like a mechanic’s job,” Jesse says, relating how minibikes are an extension of a long-running motorcycle and vehicle culture. “Back in the day, people in the Chicano culture? They got the low rider bikes. Back in the day, the greaser times? They had hot rods.” 

Because of the customization, and frequent breakdowns, of the bikes, it might teach the hobbyists skills they can use in the job market. 

Minibikes have their origins in the 1940s. British soldiers would parachute behind enemy lines, unfold the light vehicles, and begin riding within less than a minute. By the 1960s, commercial minibikes had exploded throughout the United States. Once many people realized that they were fairly able to build and customize, it became a full-fledged hobbyist craze.

In Los Angeles in the 1950s, as motorcycle racing became a trend, an enterprising synthetic Alhambran oil salesman named John Steen began collecting used parts. Legend has it that as Steen was delirious from illness and walking down an L..A street he saw a sign advertising, “The Mexican Sandwich,” and later trademarked the name “Taco” for his minibikes.

On Saturday, November 8, several dozen young minibike riders descended on the intersection of Hollywood and Highland. Young riders bonded, showed off their minibikes, and raised hell. A recent minibike takeover started in East Los Angeles, made its way on wheels to the Sixth Street Bridge, and then over to Hollywood’s Walk of Fame. The riders ultimately ended in Boyle Heights, near the El Pato salsa factory.

“I did not expect that much, mostly different crews came,” he says. “It was fantastic, there [were] a lot of people. Meeting new members and crews. And meeting more of my own members too.”

_{A rider begins to slide and spew smoke from his minibike near a TMZ Tour Bus on Hollywood Boulevard (Sean Beckner-Carmitchel)}

Ten Four was able to watch one takeover unfold near Hollywood & Highland on . This particular one began as a celebration of a rider’s 18th birthday. “Active Gurlz” was one of the main groups that announced the meetup. 

Tourists and riders took out their cell phones as young riders put the lawnmower tires that minibikes use to the test. Rubber marks hit the road. Riders celebrated and drank Pacificos (some of the younger ones drank Sprite) as several participants directed traffic on the Boulevard. you see signs that tell you that you cannot record within this facility.

_{A pink minibike rounds a corner in Hollywood; a man carrying a canned Pacifico encourages him (Sean Beckner-Carmitchel)}

Not everyone felt joy in the moment. Several tourists hugged their children closely as they walked away. A security guard for El Capitan theatre rolled his eyes, looking annoyed. A man in a Spiderman costume sighed, upset that his tourist photo hustle was momentarily disrupted. 

Driving through the Fairfax District, one member of the group allowed Ten Four  to ride in the back of a following vehicle. When the minibike riders left Hollywood, they turned back towards Boyle Heights. In Fairfax, they took a moment to refill gasoline as they took selfies. Nearly all of them asked to pose for pictures for Ten Four.

Those lingering in Hollywood mostly waved and cheered at riders while riders raced past. A child wearing tzitzit gave an excited thumbs up to the riders in the Fairfax District before an older-looking woman angrily shooed him inside their home. The driver of the following vehicle told Ten Four “you know what’s great about this city? It’s all love, man. Whoever you are.”

_{One minibike features pink accents, Hello Kitty logos and stickers for riding groups Chavos and Hooligans (Sean Beckner-Carmitchel)}

In Hollywood, a minibiker rode a pink rig with Hello Kitty logos; a Dodger jersey-wearing Lebubu rode on the front of one minibike like the figurehead of a pirate ship; a stuffed Barney the Purple Dinosaur straddled the two handlebars of another minibike. Leflame’s rig was bedecked by an exhaust spitting out a small fire. 

_{A female minibike rider in front of a TMZ Celebrity Tour bus in Hollywood on Nov 8 (Sean Beckner-Carmitchel)}

Lieutenant Frank Marino, of LAPD’s Hollywood Division, says minibikes exist in a gray area in California’s vehicle codes. Marino says, “some of these minibikes are made at home from spare parts, so it’s difficult to license. Right now the DMV doesn’t have any category for licensing of these minibikes.” 

Because of that gray area, Marino says, “it all comes down to the operation of it.” 

He also says, “there’s a concern that some of the riders might be underage, not wearing helmets. … concern that in a group that large we might have other distracted drivers that might not see them.”

_{Members of GNLS pose for the camera in Hollywood on Nov 8 (Sean Beckner-Carmitchel)}

As Los Angeles County experiences increased financial pressures, and federal immigration raids continue, minibike culture remains a strong and growing presence in its streets. Ultimately, minibike culture is “a distraction from all the chaos as well, that’s going around in the cities,” Jesse said.

“It’s a community man, you see us all around,” Jesse said. “You post videos about minibikes, people are gonna like it and start networking.” Jesse told Ten Four. If you look long and hard enough on social media, you might just be able to get an invite.