Steen's Mini Motorcross 1963 Magnet

John Steen led a pretty incredible life, from peddling his dad's synthetic oils and being one of the top motocross racers in the world to being homeless after a racing injury and coming back to drive the mini bike craze. Go Karts were blowing up in the late '50s and as an avid motocross rider, Steen decided to create his own, but a two-wheeler. Sure, there were a few others that were first, but Steen's mini bikes employed mx features not commonly found on these baby motos, and these set his bikes apart. Steen's Mini Motocross was officially launched in 1963 and quickly became wildly popular. So popular, that the big Japanese motorcycle manufacturers actually purchased several of them to ship back to Japan to be copied.