****Troy Ruttman Winner of the Indy 500 * 1952**** That day was also the start of a new industry, later to become known as the Mini-Bike Industry. The time was fall, the year was 1959, unbeknownst to anyone at the time was a historic day, that day changed the lives of Raymond (24), Larry (20) and Regis (16), the Michrina brothers. Troy liked it so much that he bought it, and ordered three more. The brothers were so pleased with what they built they wanted to show someone, so they went over to Troy’s to let him see their little scooter. You would have thought that the brothers just built the first airplane.
The brothers rolled the scooter into the middle of the street, and started it up, the little scooter worked extremely well, it ran straight down the street, and proved to handle very well. They made a small flat seat, and they were ready to go. To operate the throttle, they used the same lever and cable as they used for the brake. The brothers knew that this would never do for their scooter, so they found an industrial clutch that would allow the engine to idle until you revved it up enough to engage the clutch, this also let them use a recoil starter to start the engine. At the time, Go-Karts were driven with a direct drive chain and sprockets, to start the go kart you had to push it until it started, when you stopped, it quit running. For brakes, they used a small internal band brake on the rear wheel, operated by a bicycle brake lever and cable. The engine they chose was a Clinton A400, like they were using on their go kart. When it came to wheels, they used a 4’ aluminum wheel that was built for the front of Go-Karts, by Hanes in California. The brothers still liked the idea of having something little to ride around the pits, so with the experience they had, they designed and built a frame. The brothers were disappointed though, because the scooter handled so badly, it proved to be quite dangerous. The brothers got an engine and made what other parts they needed to get the scooter running. The brothers thought that it would be great to run around the pits, at the races, with a scooter rather than to walk, so they bought the frame from Troy. One day after Troy had just gotten back from California, he showed the brothers a small motor scooter frame that he brought back with him. They bought their first go kart from a store owned by Troy Ruttman, winner of the 1952 Indianapolis 500, and Troy wanted to sell the parts and accessories that the brothers were making. Racing of any type is expensive, and to help finance their racing, the brothers started to build parts and accessories for go-karts. When Go-Karts first started, and people started to race them, it was only natural that the brothers got involved. In the early days, there were three brothers involved in building and racing hot rods, and interested in racing of all types.
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