Trail Rider Magazine

36 Trail Rider www.TrailRider.com a minibike or wanted one. And, riding this wave of popularity, Mickey Rupp's company had exploded in size and capacity. By 1969, Rupp Industries em- ployed over 400 people and occupied a 180,000 square foot facility. In 1970, Rupp's sales topped 30 million dollars. By 1971, the Rupp workforce had grown to more than 850 people, and the company's opera ons expanded to include a research center, an administra on building, a styling building, an all-purpose proving grounds facility, and produc on opera ons included state-of-the-art, automated as- sembly systems. Keep in mind that in addi on to the tremendous popularity of Rupp mini-bikes, Mickey Rupp con nued developing and marke ng his snow- mobile line. Sales of these products were likewise extremely successful, as in 1970 Rupp produced and sold some 35,000 snowmobiles. Mickey Rupp himself was not merely an entrepre- neur and successful businessman. He was also a car racer! Details are thin, but Mickey apparently at some point earned his professional driving li- cense and competed in the USAC Champ Car series in '64 and '65. His ul mate achievement in racing was undoubtedly when Mickey qualified for the 1965 Indianapolis 500, where, in a year which saw considerable a ri on throughout the field of starters, Mickey drove a smart race and finished in sixth place! A tremendous achievement for any- one involved in motor sports. I've found no other informa on regarding Mickey's racing career, so it is presumed that following the '65 season, he likely re red to focus on his growing business. Mickey eventually began offering addi onal prod- ucts besides his snowmobiles and minibikes. Truly a man of vision, Rupp foresaw the future popularity of ATVs, and in the early 1970s introduced an en re lineup of three and four-wheel fun machines, all of which are highly sought a er and collec ble today. Products included the Go-Joe – a four-wheeler, configured along the lines of modern ATVs. It fea- tured a fully encompassing, red fiberglass body, had large balloon-type res, was powered by an eight hp engine, and seated two people. Even more desirable among collectors today is the Ruppster. Mickey referred to this model as a "dune buggy", and the li le machine does indeed mim- ic the classic Manx dune buggies in appearance. Considering its off-road-only func on, the Ruppster could undoubtedly be considered the forerunner of today's side-by-sides. Like the Go-Joe, it ran on big balloon res, sat two people side by side in its red, bathtub-like fiberglass body, and was powered by a 12 hp motor. Steering was via a conven onal automo ve-type steering wheel. The Ruppster was adver sed as able to climb 45-degree grades and reach 40 mph. Another Rupp ATV was the now-iconic 3-wheeled Rat model. It also featured a fiberglass body and balloon res at the rear, but up front was a minibike front end. The rider sat reclined on a padded seat mounted atop the fiberglass body. Tall, extended handlebars for steering, and the Rat was powered by a five-hp motor mounted in the rear, behind the rider, and under the fiberglass body. A later version, called the Truk-R, featured a pickup truck-type bed on the back and was powered by a more powerful, eight-horse motor. The ul mate Rupp crea on in this series was the Centaur – a fully street-legal trike, produced in '74 and '75. A fiberglass body encompassed the vehi- cle's rear, and enclosed its 340cc, 2-stroke, oil-inject- ed, electric-start, Kohler engine. The Centaur rode on automo ve wheels and res in the back, while up front was a motorcycle front end—dual disc brakes provided stopping power at the rear wheels. The front wheel featured a conven onal drum brake, and steering was by conven onal motorcycle handlebars. Single-seat and two-seat versions were offered, and one purchaser of a Rupp Centaur was Elvis Presley. As popular as Rupp's core products were, more sophis cated machines from other manufacturers, designed specifically for young riders, began to enter the recrea onal two-wheeled market. Honda had brought out its line of Mini Trails and, in 1972, released the immensely popular XR75. Yamaha like- wise hit a huge home run in '71 by introducing their JT-1, 60cc, Mini-Enduro. Kawasaki and Suzuki soon followed suit as well, plus there was a flood of other brands also vying for this vast market of small-dis- placement fun machines. Mickey Rupp responded by releasing his own line of small-displacement, full-on motorcycles, in both street-legal and off- road-only versions. These machines were offered in 80cc, 100cc, and 125cc displacements; Fuji engines powered the smaller bikes, while the 125s featured Sachs powerplants. They were very nice li le bikes, too, and today they are par cularly sought a er by collectors.

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