By Brandon HENSLEY

It’s a numbers game for Joe Sebergandio, and he’s doing well at the moment as far as he’s concerned.

His event, the second annual Joe’s Minibike Reunion Tour, brought out many bike enthusiasts to Crescenta Valley Park last Saturday. In fact, it brought out way more than Sebergandio expected. Over 150 bikes were registered and about 1,000 people showed up, said Sebergandio.

“That was way, way, way beyond what we expected,” he said. “I would have been happy with 500.”

For comparison, last year’s event had 70 bikes registered and around 300 people attending.

Sebergandio credited the change in scheduling. Last year the reunion took place on a hot day in August, and this year, on the first day of fall and with shorter hours, it proved to be beneficial.

“That was a great decision [to change] because we had a record crowd,” he said.

The reunion tour is based in nostalgia for minibikes and the grownups who used to, and still do, play with them. The tour gives people a way to celebrate their hobby and show off the bikes they either bought or built themselves.

The event held awards for several different categories, including “People’s Choice,” won by Chris Schneider for his Honda CT70.

New to this year were two hall of fame inductees: Dave Miller, a Formula 125 minibike racing champion and renowned minibike builder, and Richard “Mac” McGill, a legendary minibike historian, collector and parts expert.

Widespread media attention was there last week as well. “DUB Magazine,” “Hot Rob Magazine” and hotrod.com all covered the show. Also there were members from BCII, Brentwood Communications International, Inc., to record a sizzle, which is very short film defining the mood/tone of a potential bigger project.

Could a reality TV show be in Sebergandio’s future?

“It would be a wild dream if something like that were to happen but that’s the type of attention and excitement we’re capturing,” he said. “Maybe there is the potential to capture some exposure on TV. Who knows?”

What could also be in the future for the tour is a way to connect with the community in a larger role.

“We do want to find a charitable outreach to associate with the event and I’m open to any ideas that folks may have about something that’s worthwhile for the community,” Sebergandio said.

In the end, putting on the show is a labor of love for him. Sebergandio had a larger sponsorship this year, including Campbell’s Automotive, but these last two years have not made him money – and he’s not expecting to make a profit anytime soon, which is not a deterrent for him to continue holding more shows in the years to come.

“This is far from a profitable venture for us,” he said. “I know from my previous experience promoting car shows that it takes anywhere three to five years [until] you even think about breaking even.”

He added, “There’s something so unique about these minibikes that all I have to do is get people there on a consistent basis for a few years … I know I’ll see an increase in sponsors and minibike participation at the show.”

  Brandon Hensley