Mini bikes

[Trebor English]

Does anyone have any experience with mini bikes in the desert?  Mostly, how to the tires hold up?  I'm thinking that 200cc Coleman  

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Coleman-200c.../302874890

I have one.  I haven't put enough miles on it to comment on tire wear.  The tires are big and soft so it doesn't sink in loose sand.  It works great on a graded dirt road.  On a two ruts "road" it works fine.  Off road where it is flat but rough it isn't so great.  It has no suspension, just soft tires.  You have to go slower.  

Like a traditional mini bike there is no transmission, no shifting.  As the engine RPM increases the centrifugal clutch starts to engage.  Once the RPM is high enough the clutch is no longer slipping and is fully engaged.  That corresponds to a speed that is too fast for the above mentioned flat rough dirt.  

When I went to RTR in Quartzsite I didn't have it.  My recollection of the desert surface there is that it is smooth enough to go at a good fully engaged clutch speed.  Near Sanders, North East part of Arizona, the soil is loose "blow sand" that the wind easily moves.  It gets deposited unevenly.  

At 220 pounds I am 10% over the 200 pound rating.  That contributes to the unpleasant ride on a rough surface.  It seems to me that if the ground is good to walk on comfortably the Coleman will do fine and get you there in 1/4 the time with very little effort.  If the ground is flat but a bit difficult to walk on it will be less pleasant on the Coleman.  Trying to hurry makes it hard to hang on.