Pocket bikes are an exciting trend these days. If you haven't heard of them, they look like a menacing motorcycle or chopper, but are around 1/3 the size. To ride them, you must sit bow-legged and everyone looks awkward riding one. You can buy them online at a lot of stores, or find them in stores in your local town.

The pocket bike phenomenon is controversial. On one hand, it's a great way for people who would never own a real motorcycle to get in on the action. Even though even a small person will look funny riding on a pocket bike, they are actually real motorcycles with two stroke engines. In some cities, you can even find pocket bike racing where two people square off in a drag race using their tiny pocket motorbikes.

It's unclear whether a pocket bike counts as a real motorcycle and the required license. In some states and cities, you actually need a real motorcycle license to ride your pocket bike legally. In other places, you don't need a license and they are treated like a bicycle. In some areas, pocket bikes are not consider street legal and you can get a ticket for riding in the street. If this is the case in your area, you will want to stay in driveways and parking lots with your pocket bike.

Also take care because even though they are small and you are close to the ground, some pocket bikes can be fast and a fall can still be dangerous so consider wearing a helmet when riding your bike. Even though they appear to be child-sized, they are dangerous machines that you shouldn't usually let your child ride.

One downside to pocket bikes is their two stroke engine. Not only are these engines loud and whiny like old Vespas, but they also pollute a lot. This is probably okay since most people ride their pocket bikes only periodically for fun, and probably no one has ever commuted great distances with any regularity on one of them.

You can find them sold online, and at some stores in some areas. Be careful since they may actually be illegal where you live. Pocket bikes can be a great way to get the thrills of riding a motorbike without the huge expense, the problem of where to store it and, in some cases, the hassle of getting a real motorcycle license.

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