Video: What is bucket racing?

I’m not just talking about the size of the bikes here. How far can you diminish the associated costs? How low can you make the barriers to entry? And how can you do all this without removing the benefits of amateur racing, like organized events and personal improvement? New Zealanders and Australians call their solution bucket racing, a budget road racing discipline they’ve enjoyed since the 1980s.

It’s called bucket racing because the bikes are “buckets of shit,” or at least they start that way. A few seasons of racing and tuning can turn flyweight beginner bikes into full-on race machines. Bucket racing can also turn absolute rookies into much better riders (and wrenchers, if they choose). This whole scene is right up my alley, and maybe yours, too.

Most riders start with either a beat learner bike (CB125, etc.) or a previously campaigned bucket. Some track organizations offer free advertising to sell private bikes, which keeps buckets out of garages and on the track, where they belong. For those starting with a stock bike, they’ll have to adhere to class rules when building. For an example, I’ll use the guidelines from New South Wales’ Bucket Racing Association. They run three classes. Superlite is closest to the original bucket bike idea, Monolite is a bit more advanced, and Commuterlite is most like a stock class. Bikes range from old two-stroke twins to 200-class four-strokes and everything in between. Remember, this is just one organization’s rules, but you get the idea.

Bucket racing relies on the availability of cheap, sub-200cc motorcycles in New Zealand and Australia. Without a tiered motorcycle licensing structure, street bikes in these capacities are less common in the United States. Bikes like the Honda Grom or Kawasaki Z125 Pro have increased interest in small motorcycle racing, but these programs need tracks to host them. Groms and Z125s also hold their value well in America, so something like a Ninja 250 might be a more tempting choice for amateur racers on a budget.

For those of us in the United States, mini moto is an alternative to bucket racing. Unlike bucket racing, you're more likely to see small dirt bikes with supermoto conversions. It’s a favorite for those in the know here at ZLA. Product tester Pat borrowed a CRF150F at NJMP’s kart track for his first small-bore race, and he was hooked after just a few laps.

“It was fantastic. All the fun parts of a track day’s twists and turns… well, except for the straights. But as a grown-ass man on an inappropriately sized motorcycle, I’m riding anywhere from 75 to 100 percent of the bike’s abilities at any given time, instead of what I’d be getting out of a supersport. It was around $60 for all the racing I could do, and you get so much more time on the smaller track. I spent the whole time laughing and becoming a better rider.” 

I’m still writing my New Year’s resolutions for the final Year in Review article, and I’m thinking a few bucket-inspired track days would do me good.