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The Fiddy: Big fun. Little bike. Heavily modified.

What's hotter than Jessica Simpson, smaller than Gary Coleman, more modified than Michael Jackson's face, and shares a name with a rap star? The "Fiddy". Also known as the Honda XR50. Unless you have been living in a cave in Afghanistan, you have probably heard about the midget-bike insanity that has swept across the continents. Originally intended for little kids as an entry-level foray into the world of two-wheeling, the XR50 has sparked a massive trend with adults, MXer's and freestyle riders, too. Used for years as reliable track-side get around bikes, Motocross riders started messing around with them for fun, and the XR50 counter-culture began. Riders would sit around the campfire, get drunk, hop on the XR50 and say "hey guys, watch THIS!" and then pull off some stupid stunt that would get oohs and ahhs from the crowd. From such, ahem, humble beginnings, the Fiddy now boasts it's own race circuit, video production companies, parts manufacturers, and countless fan websites. And all for ADULTS!

As the little bike has grown in popularity, so has the aftermarket.

To date, this little bike has been adopted, tortured, abused and modified to the extreme by full-grown would-be adult motocrossers and Freestyle MX'ers everywhere. Back-flips, wheelies, rail grinds and ramp tricks are commonplace. With such aberrant abuse at hand, an entire industry has built up around hot-rodding and modifying this little bike to take the punishment inflicted by adult riders who are five times it's size. Every part on the bike, other than the gas tank, can be purchased as a bigger, faster, lighter aftermarket component. In fact, these bikes are so heavily modified, they aren't referred to as Honda XR50's, or even XR50's, just "Fiddy". For a bike that costs around $1200 new (if you can find one), it is common to spend three times that amount in modifying and upgrading the bike. Everything including massive disc brakes, long-travel heavy duty suspensions and engine hop-up kits can be purchased from a myriad of online suppliers and parts manufacturers.

The fiddy chop shop

To meet the insatiable demand, manufacturing companies that specialize entirely Fiddy upgrades have popped up all over the place. Fiddy chop shops like Fast50s and Powroll make kits in the US, while other shops get parts and kits from Japan. Two of the best and most recognizable "Fiddy" chop shops are BBR motorsports and Sano systems, which sell clamps, mounts, bars, graphics, forks, brakes, wheels, frames, engines, and just about everything else. After dropping around three grand, you can have a Fiddy that is four times stronger, 20 mph faster, an inch longer and an inch taller than stock.

Personally, I will stick with the XR650, but I have to admit that if I was younger, cooler, more athletic, and a little bit crazy, I would shell out a couple grand for a lightly modified XR50 to play with. Better yet, I will wait until my son is a little older, and use that as an excuse to buy one. HA!

Written by Mike DeJonge