Facts About That Crazy Scooter from ‘Dumb and Dumber’
In 1994 director Peter Farrelly introduced the world to a couple of real characters: Two roommates who have little to no employment and even fewer brains. In ‘Dumb and Dumber’, actors Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels bring us Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne are best friends who go on an inadvertent adventure in Aspen, Colorado when they attempt to return a ‘lost’ briefcase to a woman Lloyd only briefly met, yet fell instantly in love with. The craziness experienced and demonstrated by these two guys during the course of the film are hilarious, to say the very least.
Speaking of funny, during their travels there first means of transportation is a customized dog grooming van which looks like a big dog on wheels, but after that goes to pot, the pair end up getting over the Rocky Mountains anyway. How? No one in their right mind would even try to cross it on foot, but what else could the two of them do with no vehicle? Well, Lloyd saw to it that they made it to their destination with that briefcase, even if it meant trading the dog van (which belonged to Harry and his future dog grooming business). Sounds crazy, huh? Yeah, it really does.
But all of that craziness brings us to our topic of focus: The method of transportation they got when they traded the van. If you have seen the movie, you’ll remember it; it really isn’t something that one could easily forget. It was tiny, the seat sitting only a couple of feet off the ground at most. The fact of the matter was that this was transportation for a big child or young teen; you can get a pretty good idea (though it’s not the real deal) of what were talking about if you haven’t seen the movie by visiting Quora.com. Anyway, over the next few scenes, prior to their Aspen arrival, these two grown men basically squash themselves onto this tiny motorbike and traverse the mountains in the freezing cold, to the point that icicles are hanging off their faces. But what, exactly, was that little bike?
Make and Model of An Insane Little Scooter
Now we’re going to get a bit more specific and allow you to take a gander at the real deal, flaws and all, instead of a newer-looking example of the same. In 2018, the scooter used in the movie actually sold at auction to a man who had been a fan at the tender age of thirteen He paid $50,000, and he stated that he intends to hang it on the wall for display. The seat is all taped up with electrical tape, it has flecks of rust here and there, and it has a yellow and red sissy bar on the back that matches the mid-body battery casing. Unfortunately, it is truly a bit difficult to track down an actual make and model, but if you backstep a bit to Quora.com, there is a great discussion on this very topic. According to the content, someone suggested that it was a customized Tom Thumb minibike, which came in a kit that could be mail-ordered a couple decades ago (maybe they still can). However, the bike on ‘Dumb and Dumber’ was actually significantly smaller than those kit bikes, so this person continued to research, and eventually cam up with something pretty close: The Doodlebug 30, by Baja Motorsports. Unfortunately, the bike has been discontinued, but it can certainly be found out there, and they can be built on a budget, as well. Coleman Powersports also has a very similar model, the CT100U, for about $500.
The problem is, we don’t know which, if either, that the one from the movie is, which makes listing specs a bit difficult, now, doesn’t it?
Factually speaking, two of them were made for the film, with one of them being given to Gordon Merrick, the ‘Dumb and Dumber’ transportation coordinator, and the other was given to Planet Hollywood to be put on display, with one of them winding up being the one auctioned. Both were designed by production designer Sydney J. Bartholomew, Jr., who also happened to design the dog van, or ‘Mutt Cutt” van that the dumb guys started their journey in. The one sold on eBay happened to be the one that belonged to Mr. Merrick, who gave it to a friend. That person cleaned it up and put it up for auction.
That’s the real story.
No Specs at All?
Well, not necessarily. While researching, we were able to glean some small facts about what made this bike go, but they were few and far between. Regardless, we were able to gather a bit to satisfy those hungry for more technical information. Let’s see what we came up with:
• Approximately 150-200cc
• According to Lloyd Christmas, the ‘Hog’ was able to get 70mpg
• Some has been redone: New brake cables, pulley belt, and throttle
• New carb seals, fuel hose, air cleaner and spark plug
• Repainted in original color
• A signed letter of authenticity that has been notarized
• Original parts, just in case the owner ever wants it back in its original condition
• A non-original helmet, briefcase, and bag that were added to the deal to sweeten the auction a bit
While these aren’t necessarily specs, per se, they are about as close to it as anything out there. It’s pretty difficult to really pinpoint the actually nitty gritty when it hasn’t specifically been made public. But the little tidbits here offer a tiny bit of perspective for those interested.
(Information courtesy of Hot Cars)
In A ‘Nut’-shell
Yes, Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne were a couple of dummies…and a couple of nuts, too, when you consider that they supposedly travelled on a tiny minibike together over the Rocky Mountains in the freezing cold. Fans know that this made for great entertainment, with their little adventure making for some incredible belly laughs. If you’ve never seen ‘Dumb and Dumber’ be sure to check it out. It will lift your mood for sure, even if you don’t know what the hell those guys were really riding on.
