Source: Bike Bound
Photo: Handbuilt Show / Revival Cycles
Custom Minibike: “The Montague Loop Special” from Alpha Moto Co…
In the early 1950s, M&H Tires began to offer production racing slicks for drag racers. Since fully slick tires are outlawed on most roads due to their poor performance in wet conditions, “cheater slicks” became popular among hot-rodders and street racers in the 1960s — slick tires grooved with the absolute minimum amount of tread to satisfy legal requirements. If a car running cheater slicks crept up to the stoplight next to you, there was a good chance it was packing some serious horsepower under the hood.
“Pie Crust” Cheater Slick
By the late 60s, bicycle companies had joined in the muscle car and chopper craze, offering so-called “muscle bikes” that took inspiration from custom culture. Examples include the Schwinn Stingray and Krate series, the Raleigh Chopper, and the AMF Roadmaster. For their entry, Huffy offered the Cheater Slick, which included a drag-style rear tire, banana seat, special chainguard, and a variety of metal-flake paint schemes.
That’s where our new friend Mario Baroz comes in. Growing up in San Antonio, Mario lived in a neighborhood where some of the kids had minibikes, but he never got to ride or own one himself. The closest he could get at the time was his Huffy muscle bike…until someone stole it.
“My dad had a CB350 and he used to take me to the local motocross races. I would see kids racing their XR75s and I was so jealous. I wanted one soooooo bad. There was just no way we could afford that. Around that same time, I had a orange-metalflake Huffy Cheater Slick bike. I only had it for about six months before someone stole it. Since then, I’ve always wanted an orange metal-flake vehicle to replace my Cheater Slick.”
Fast forward 50 years, and Mario was hanging out at San Antonio’s Alpha Moto Co., the workshop founded by our friend Carlos Lopez, who’s been motorcycle mechanic since he was 15. We previously featured Alpha Moto’s Honda GL650 Silver Wing café racer and most recently their Ducati Monster S4 café racer — both of which were showcased at the prestigious Handbuilt Motorcycle Show in Austin.
ONESPEED RACER: Ducati Monster S4 Café Racer
While hanging out at the Alpha Moto shop, Mario had a ride on an old Honda minibike they had on hand, which gave him the idea for a full custom build.
“When I rode it, I couldn’t stop smiling. It was kind of rough and missing things so I commissioned them to remake it exactly as I wanted it. I had them do the frame in metalflake orange, just like my Cheater Slick, and I had Carlos make the number plates and fenders and use the XR75 tank to replicate that XR75 I dreamed about so many years ago.”
The result is a 140cc blast of nostalgia, nicknamed “The Montague Loop Special” for Mario’s childhood neighborhood and numbered 98 for the weight-class he wrestled in high school: “Yes, it was brutal to do that.”
As Mario’s pitbike at track days, the little Honda is quite the attention-getter, and we first caught sight of the bike at the 2023 Handbuilt Show, where it stood out as a blast of nostalgic fun among the heavier weight machines.
Photo: Kody Melton at Handbuilt 2023
Mario, we’re happy you got to have your own orange-flake Honda / Huffy dream machine after all these years, and we hope it provides you with many years of fun putting around the paddock at track days and races!
Honda XR75 Custom: Owner Interview
Photo: Kody Melton for BikeBound at Handbuilt 2023
• What’s the backstory on your custom minibike?
When I was 11 years old the neighbor kids had a Taco mini-bike which they let me ride. That got me hooked. We couldn’t afford one so I never had one. Then those kids got a Honda XR75 and I didn’t get to ride that.
At that time, my dad had a CB350 and he used to take me to the local motocross races. I would see kids racing their XR75s and I was so jealous. I wanted one soooooo bad. There was just no way we could afford that.
Around that same time, I had a orange-metalflake Huffy Cheater Slick bike. I only had it for about 6 months before someone stole it. Since then, I’ve always wanted an orange metalflake vehicle to replace my Cheater Slick.
Well, fast forward 50 years and I was at Alpha.Moto just hanging out. They had a mini-bike that looked kind of cool and when I rode it, I couldn’t stop smiling. It was kind of rough and missing things so I commissioned them to remake it exactly as I wanted it. I had them do the frame in metalflake orange, just like my Cheater Slick, and I had Carlos make the number plates and fenders and use the XR75 tank to replicate that XR75 I dreamed about so many years ago.
This bike might get a bigger motor, fuel injection, and some other mods….we’ll see.
• Can you tell us a bit about the build itself?
It was built by my good friends at Alpha.Moto, a custom bike/repair shop here in San Antonio. Their masterpiece was also at the Handbuilt Show, a custom Ducati Monster cafe racer. Carlos Lopez of Alpha.Moto did most of the work.
Frame: Honda XR70
Tank: Honda XR75
Seat: Honda XR75
Number plates and fenders: custom from Carlos Lopez of Alpha.Moto
Exhaust: custom from Johnny White of Alpha.Moto
Engine: 140cc Piranha
Forks, wheels, handlebar, switches, and swingarm: Tao Tao DB X1
• Does the bike have a nickname?
It does! I call it “The Montague Loop Special”. That’s the neighborhood where all those boyhood adventures took place.
Another piece of info….it’s numbered “98” because I wrestled 98lbs all four years in high school. And yes, it was brutal to do that.
• Can you tell us what it’s like to ride?
It’s just a putt-around bike. The engine is a 140cc Piranha engine but it doesn’t have a clutch so it’s not very engaging. It’s fun to putt around on, that’s about it. I use it as my pit bike when I do track days. It gets a lot of attention wherever I take it.
• Was there anything done during this build that you are particularly proud of?
Pretty much everything! Hahaha…The frame was pretty rough and I wanted it to be the exact same orange metal-flake that I remember my Huffy Cheater Slick bike was. Dan and Jose of Alpha.Moto brought me lots of samples and I chose one that is the exact color and flake I wanted.
I love the XR75 tank and the AM crew made up the perfect vintage Honda wing decals for it. One of the best parts of the bike is the custom exhaust welded up by Johnny White of AM. And of course, those custom fenders and number plates, evocative of the XR75, hand-fabricated by Carlos Lopez.
• Is there anyone besides Alpha.Moto you’d like to thank?
I’d love to thank my wife, Susan, for tolerating my nonsense.
Follow the Owner and Builder
Owner: @mario.rides
Builder: @alpha.moto.co
