An Italian/American motorcycle, this little 48-cc two-wheeler wasn’t a catalog bike, but it’s super rare and appears to be in excellent condition. And it sounds like it’s never been used? This unusual early-1970s Moto BM/Yankee Boss Mini Bike can be found here on Facebook Marketplace in Woodstock, Georgia, and they’re asking $3,500. Here is the original listing, and thanks to PRA4SNW for the tip!
The seller says that this little bike has been sitting in a showroom or a basement since it was new. The only thing I see that doesn’t look perfect is that the “Boss” name on the gas tank is mostly worn off. That would be much easier to redo than spending $2,000 on chrome. I thought that I was fairly plugged in to the motorcycle and minibike world, but I have never seen one of these until now. Thanks, PRA4SNW! I wish I could justify spending $4,500 (with shipping) for this little gem.
Successful Italian motorcycle racer Mario Bonvicini designed a 500-cc racing motorcycle for the Baudo and Meldi Company in Bologna, Italy, in the early 1930s. Two decades later, he founded Bonvicini Marino Company, sometimes seen as Moto B.M. His firm made smaller motorcycles and mopeds, and almost two more decades passed before he connected with a gentleman named John Taylor. Taylor owned Yankee Motors in Schenectady, NY, and Mr. Taylor was looking for a 50-cc bike for the line-up. The Boss 50, or the Yankee Boss, was born.
Some sources say these bikes were sold by Yankee Motors between 1968 and 1972, but as with most things on the internet, there is conflicting information. The New York State Museum says they were made between 1966 and 1975. This is what turns my hair gray, and what causes some of you to comment that Barn Finds writers are often wrong. From what I’ve found, they were all this bright yellow color, and there were two models: the Maxi with 14″ wheels and the Super with 12″ wheels. Bigger than most minibikes, the Yankee Boss was somewhere between a standard minibike with a pull-start engine and a regular kick-start motorcycle.
This one appears to be an absolute jewel, other than the worn “Boss” letters on the sides of the gas tank. And, maybe since I enlarged this photo, is that a hole in the side of the seat? Otherwise, bella! The engine is a 48-cc Franco Morini two-stroke single-cylinder backed by a 4-speed manual. The seller says this example is in excellent condition, but they don’t say whether it runs or not. If it’s been stored for more than five decades, it would be nice to know that. Most of you are laughing at a $3,500 asking price for this, when you can get a “real” motorcycle for that money. You have to realize that humans don’t all like the same things. Some folks (including me) are into small motorcycles like this one, and that’s what makes the world go-’round. Have any of you heard of the Yankee “Boss” motorcycle?
Some years ago, saw a dirt bike that at first glance looked something like an old Bultaco. It was parked alongside the highway near an old subdivision entrance with a for sale sign on it with just “$150” and a phone number. Stopped to look it over, saw it was an Ossa engine and said “Yankee” on the tank. Driving away, the thought “Yankee?” kept returning. Curious.
Stopped by the ATM 15 minutes later and got $150;, went back to call the phone number but the bike was already gone.
Same company as this gem you have here, SG, but a full size bike. Turns out it was a venture by your guy Taylor with input from Dick Mann-who was living nearby at the time this bike was out there.
Missed out again…
Neat find here. Never saw or heard of this cool little ride until now.
I’ve been aware of the Yankee brand for years, but I’ve never seen one. The attached article explains why the ‘twingle’ 500 failed. I’ve owned a few OSSA’s, a MAR and two Pioneers but never a road racer. OSSA is a high-quality Spanish brand but the small bikes’ engine in this write up is a much lesser quality Italian made unit. No offense to anyone with an old Italian made mini, but IMHO, the quality at that time is comparable with Chinese made _____. Please fill in the blank with your assessment.
The Yankee MX link:
https://motocrossactionmag.com/classic-motocross-iron-1971-yankee-500-twin/
My bologna has a 1st name, and baloney really was from Bologna, Italy, Oscar just fancied it up. We ate so much baloney as kids, we were pooping hot dogs, but this seems to be the real deal. There just is no wear and entirely possible. It looks like a fun little bike, full suspension, a scaled down big bike, just, thing is, there just wasn’t a big call for these, as yes, most went with a REAL motorcycle for the same price, even then. These “monkey ” bikes had a limited calling. Sitting so long, could be engine issues, crank seals on 2 strokes don’t like to sit. Why it sat so long is anyone’s guess.
LOL
Someone probably started to polish off the ‘boss’ on the tank years ago– it is in Georgia–‘how do you like my new Yankee Boss’?
I grew up 10 or 15 miles away from Schenectady in the 60’s and 70’s and I never heard of these bikes, or Yankee motors! I’m amazed that these things existed without me knowing about them. Very cool bike!
My nephew came to visit for a few days. (many many years ago as he is 50 now) And I borrowed the in-laws Kawasaki 175 to ride him around on out in the desert. It just so happened that the day he came to visit. My next door neighbor brought home a small dirt bike like this for his 10 year old. Since we lived on a dirt road his son was restricted to our “block” until he could venture out with his father farther away. With my nephew along for a ride we came motoring up our street and the neighbor kid comes out of nowhere to slide up along side of us. As we pass our and his house, his parents were out front watching us go by he waves and instantly goes down hard. He was wearing a helmet but his face took the brunt of the landing. He was quite the sorry sight with a road rash face. While his Mom was attending to cleaning out the sand from his rash. She said, “someday you will look back at this day and think it’s funny. (The crash was particularly funny!) He looked at her and said. “I will never think this was funny!” Now that I think about it,could the brand be Italjet?
Italjet was active in the ‘70’s-‘80’s and one of the founding family kids revived the marque.
How does it stay cool, it appears the cylinder and head cooling fins are covered?
Good obs, and that’s a really good question!
2 stroke engines run cooler than 4 strokers, and the cover housing made the little bike cooler, styling wise, by making it look bigger in displacement.
Sorry, I was wrong- I don’t know how it cools enough either- maybe it has an internal fan blowing over the fins.
If you look at the view of the left side, you can see the shroud is connected to the left side engine case, that must have a small fan on the flywheel. I’ve seen those cooling shrouds before on scooters, but most seem to take them off. Not all of these had that shroud.
Wow, grab the way back machine. In about 1970, there was an ad in a motorcycle magazine for a Yankee, and I believe it was a 500cc. The styling was really sharp. I fell in love immediately. Of course, no local dealers and really no way to see one in person. Thank you all for the time travel and details I never knew.
Not bad for $350.
I saw versions of this in Cannes when I lived there in the mid-70s and immediately wanted one. Peugeot made something of similar size/form, the GT-10, that had a centrifugal clutch and was a popular market leader. But this may explain the discrepancy in the years of manufacture – I suspect that it was an existing platform but modified for the US market.
I had a Moto Morini bike under the nameplate Malaguti – Harley imported & sold them in the late 60s, hand-cable-shift 3-speed with this exact engine under it: a 50cc with a 12mm Del’lorto carburetor.
They were somewhat anemic; to pep them up we’d file out the intake and exhaust ports and install a 14mm carb, a Del’lorto or Solex worked great and doubled the HP/Kw.
Morini did sell the same engine but with a 4-speed foot-shifter but mine was not worth the trouble or expense to convert, easier to buy a Benelli or similar 50cc trail bike and soup it up.
The 50cc class in France was street- legal from age 14 so long as the bike was 49.-whatever cc and had pedals on it so that it could arguably be pedaled around. We’d remove the left pedal; the right pedal operated as a kick starter but you weren’t allowed to put a return spring on it, so you had to toe the pedal (and it had to stay a pedal, cops would notice, though they weirdly didn’t care that it was only a single pedal) back up to kick it down to start.
The French had a lot of weird laws like this: up until some point (mid-70s?) every car had to be capable of being crank-started. So there’d be a hole through the front bumper of every domestically new-sold car, with a long-shafted crank in the trunk (also used for the scissor jack)
cool