When a company refers to its motorcycle as a “Mini Mini”, you know it’s small. And with a seat height of 18 inches and weight of 57 pounds, this 1971 Indian MM-5A “Mini Mini” is small. The seller has it listed here on Facebook Marketplace in Sugar Hill, Georgia and they’re asking $2,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to PRA4SNW for the tiny tip!
After nine years, I probably don’t have to mention how much I like small motorcycles. Old vehicles are 90% about reliving the past for me, and even though I didn’t have a Gold Wing or KZ900 as a kid, I had a small motorcycle; although it was bigger than this one. Maybe that’s why I like these tiny 49-cc bikes so much, because we never had one this tiny. They came in green, yellow, or orange – make mine orange every time.
There’s a lot of surface rust on this Mini Mini, as in almost everywhere. To bring this back to showroom condition again would be a big project, despite its tiny size and under-60-pound weight. The seller says it’s been displayed in their “man cave” for 15 years, so the tires will have to be changed, too. Plan on almost everything here, but it’s small enough to tackle it in a one-car garage or even a basement.
After 1953, Indian Motorcycles was a memory, but the 1960s and 70s opened up the business of importing small Italian motorcycles, rebadging them, and creating another market. If young kids learned how to ride on an Indian MM-5A Mini Mini, they may stick with the brand and move up into a 100-cc bike, or, decades later, bigger bikes. Chrome work alone on this restoration would be somewhat daunting, even though there isn’t much here.
As a rebadged Italjet, this one is powered by a 48-cc two-stroke with a whopping 1.3 horsepower. It sends power to a single-speed automatic transmission with a centrifugal clutch, so no shifting, and Indian detuned them to have a maximum speed of 10 mph to be “safe” for young riders. This one was “running when parked”, but it’s been 15 years, so it’ll take some fiddling to have it fogging for mosquitoes (i.e., two-stroke blue smoke) again. Let’s hear those mini motorcycle stories!
In the 60’s and 70’s? That’s all you could get with an Indian name on it. Small cc imported bikes.
Howard … you always say no more bikes… 🏍 but this one is even an automatic 😲👍
Stan, that was one of the funniest things I’ve read or heard today.
Poor Howard, we bust on him for the stick will kill it.
But you have a good point here. He can’t argue that.
Dave
:),,no electric start?
To Dave, I’m by no means poor. Got a half way clean bill of health from Doc Sawbones, have 2 wonderful kids with wonderful spouses( no grandchildren and none on horizon, I did everything I wanted to do in life and have a great place to live for my retirement. I’m not about to let the ramblings of a malcontent ruin our relationships here. I enjoy your posts and sorely wish the site had a PM system. Take care, pal.
Stan, I didn’t mean YOU were the rambling malcontent, they know who they are. I may plan a trip to the PNW to see my son this summer, be fun to meet up somewhere,in the USA, that is. Not sure about no more bikes. Scotty sure twists my arm, and if anything, something like a Trail90, simple as a can opener and could take me back where the Jeep can’t go. Take care, pal.
Sounds a great trip Howard enjoy it friend 👍
Who coined “man cave”?
According to Google, John Gray used the term in his 1993 book, “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.” Come to think of it, I’ve seen this book in my dad’s home on his bookshelf. Maybe I should “check” it out of his library. Maybe it’ll give me some insights about why my wife says I don’t really need a sandblasting cabinet in the garage…
This thing belongs in a toy cave.