Why your next project car should be a pit bike | Articles

Not everyone can build the Tire Rack Ultimate Track Car. That’s why we call it a “Challenge.” 

Every year, I watch competitors sink thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars into their builds, only to have at best a dice roll’s chance of victory. The same story plays out every year at Solo Nationals, especially in the wilder classes where a medium-size defense department’s worth of engineering and fabrication talent descends onto a parking lot to see who’s built the fastest car.

Welcome to racing, and welcome to building a project car at the pointy end of whatever field you’re playing in. You might notice that we’ve balanced out the December 2025 issue with some (much) more approachable project cars, like our Club Spec Mustang update and features on that Civic or BRZ. All three are much, much easier ways to get on track. But they’re still big projects, big expenditures or both. Building cars is hard.

And let’s be honest: You might not have the time, money, skills or energy to do it–not yet, at least. But what if you didn’t have to? Welcome to the world of pit bikes, where you can experience most of the highs and a fraction of the lows of building a project car on a shoestring budget. Then, once you’re finished, you can progress to building full-size project cars, bolstered by the lessons you’ve learned building tiny little vehicles. Your pit bikes can even stick with you, tagging along to the track to support the projects you build in the future.

At least that’s how I did it, starting with a ratty go-kart when I was about 6 years old. My dad and I (mostly my dad) got it running, and after probably 1000 miles of driving around the yard, I was ready for “my” first real project. 

And at age 8, I came into possession of $40, and somehow I parlayed that into buying a neighbor’s Puch moped at a yard sale. I still can’t believe my parents let me drag it home, but they probably figured I’d never get it running. 

Good thing they were wrong, and after a few weekends and more of my dad’s help, I suddenly had a running, driving 50cc moped to ride around the neighborhood. Was it pretty? Absolutely not. But was it legal for me to ride? Even less so. Still, it taught me how to diagnose simple engine problems, how to clean a gas tank, and how to find obscure parts. 

Then I met Team Gutty, the $2000 Challenge-winning group of friends who built a seriously fast (and pretty) CRX before going on to found Gridlife. Know what else they built? Pit bikes. They brought along a fleet of heavily customized mopeds just like what I started with. One test ride and I was hooked: If the adults liked silly little bikes, too, then they must be a good idea. 

I can’t remember what eventually happened to that first moped–probably flipped at a future yard sale to fund my next dumb project–but I’ll always remember successfully finishing my first project as a little kid with no skills and no money. 

And in the decades since, I’ve lost count of the various two-wheeled projects that have passed through my hands. For a while I was building motorized bicycles–picture 80cc two-stroke motors on small, light frames with terrible brakes–along with various dirt bikes, scooters and e-bikes, including one my friends and I simply dubbed “The Death Scooter.”

And I’ll be blunt: Since about age 12, I’ve had the resources to build project cars. And I’ve been building them. So why do I have this weird compulsion to keep building small, slow, horrible vehicles? I’m not exactly sure, but I know I’m not alone–go to any track, and you’ll see tons of people with the same disease I have. So here’s my best attempt at explaining it.

First, pit bikes give you an easy win. It can be tough to stay fulfilled and motivated when you’re in the middle of a yearslong project, but these let you chase–and feel–that high of completing something in as little as a weekend. They’re a powerful way to keep working in the garage fun. 

Second, pit bikes give you a low-stakes way to learn new techniques, from fabrication to tuning to machining and more. I taught myself how to build engine mounts while playing with bicycles, where a dropped engine meant $100 and a bruised finger instead of $1000 and a crushed hand. 

And lastly, pit bikes are necessary. Some tracks are just too big to walk, so a pit bike is a force multiplier that makes you and your teammates far more efficient.

So as we all retreat into our garages for the winter, don’t despair if you aren’t working on the next Tire Rack Ultimate Track Car. Maybe your first project should be a pit bike–just like mine.

Comments

Displaying 1-10 of 12 commentsView all comments on the GRM forums

You’ll need to log in to post.