The registry
Blata Registry: Models, Builds & Photos
Blata is a Czech manufacturer of pocketbikes and minibikes founded by Pavel Blata, who built his first minibike in his garage in Blansko, in the Moravian part of the country, in 1991. The company built its name on small-displacement two-stroke machines with in-house CNC-machined aluminum components, sold worldwide for minibike racing and recreation. Blata is best known for its Pocketbike 2.5, for the Elite and Ultima racing lines, and for a stillborn 990cc V6 MotoGP engine project with the WCM team, announced in July 2004 and never raced.
Pick your model
Origins in Blansko
Pavel Blata, a former off-road and endurance competitor, built the first minibike to carry his name in his garage in Blansko in 1991, as the Czech economy opened up after 1989. The operation grew fast: 554 minibikes by 1992, with exports to the United States and Europe following within a few years. From the start Blata designed and machined its own components in-house rather than assembling bought-in parts, which is the single biggest thing separating a genuine Blata from the flood of lookalike pocketbikes that arrived later. CNC-machined aluminum triple clamps, wheels, and engine cases became the house signature. The company also ran its own one-make series, the Blata Cup, from the mid-1990s, and from 1998 the cup winners went on to the European minibike championship.
The Pocketbike 2.5
The Pocketbike 2.5 is the model most owners know. It is a 39.9cc air-cooled single-cylinder two-stroke making about 2.4 kW (3.4 hp), with a Dell'Orto carburetor, a centrifugal clutch, and direct chain drive, no gearbox, built around a welded steel-tube frame with machined alloy hardware. Dry weight is 16.8 kg, around 21 kg fueled. The bikes were sold in several trim levels over the years, from entry recreational spec up to race-oriented variants with better carburetors, tuned pipes, and disc brakes. Parts interchange within the 2.5 family is generally good, and the engines respond to basic two-stroke care: 50:1 premix with quality oil, a clean air filter, a fresh plug, and a clutch inspection when engagement gets lazy.
Other model lines
Blata's racing pocketbikes carried the Elite name from the Elite 11, developed with Rastislav Brodsky in 1993 and put into production in 1994, through water-cooled models such as the Elite 13W. The later Ultima line took over as the competition platform, offered with air-cooled or water-cooled 40cc and 50cc engines for junior and senior race classes, and Ultima-based bikes are still used in junior road-racing feeder series today. The B1 Origami, developed in 2003 and sold from 2005, is a folding minibike with a 39cc water-cooled two-stroke; the handlebars and levers fold for transport, and despite the practical look it is a closed-circuit machine, not road legal. Minimoto racing on machines from Blata and its Italian rivals was a proven feeder into grand prix racing, with riders like Valentino Rossi and Loris Capirossi having started on minimoto circuits as kids.
The MotoGP episode and after
In July 2004 Blata signed an agreement with the WCM team to build a 990cc V6 four-stroke for the 2005 MotoGP season, and the team was entered as Blata WCM. The V6 was never finished. By team principal Peter Clifford's later account the engine never ran, even on a dyno, and only a non-running mock-up ever existed; WCM spent 2005 racing its old Harris-framed inline-four while waiting, and the team was off the grid in 2006 as the project collapsed. Blata itself carried on. It added the M125 road motorcycles in 2007, homologated a three-wheeled electric moped in 2015, and still builds Ultima minibikes in Blansko alongside a precision CNC machining business. The consumer pocketbike boom that peaked in the mid-2000s was gutted by cheap imitation bikes, and Blata's dealer network shrank with it, but the company never went away.
Asked all the time
What years was the Blata Pocketbike 2.5 made?
Blata built the Pocketbike 2.5 family from the 1990s through the 2000s in multiple trim levels. Blata did not use model years the way car makers do, so owners usually identify a 2.5 by trim level and component spec (carburetor, brakes, wheel style) rather than by a specific year.
How do I tell a real Blata from a Chinese copy?
A genuine Blata was built in Blansko, Czech Republic, with in-house CNC-machined aluminum parts: triple clamps, wheels, and engine cases with proper machining marks and Blata branding cast or engraved in. Copies use cast pot-metal parts, stamped steel hardware, and generic engines. Price when new was several times that of a copy, and the build quality still shows it.
Are parts still available for Blata pocketbikes?
Yes, better than for most defunct pocketbike brands, because Blata is still in business in Blansko and supports the current Ultima race line. Consumables (piston kits, clutch shoes, chains, tires in pocketbike sizes) can be sourced through the factory and minibike specialists in Europe, and generic two-stroke tuning parts often fit. Model-specific machined parts for older 2.5 and Elite bikes usually mean used donors or the minibike racing community.
Did Blata ever actually race in MotoGP?
No. Blata signed with the WCM team in July 2004 to supply a 990cc V6 for the 2005 season, and the team was entered as Blata WCM, but the V6 was never completed and by the team's own account never even ran on a dyno. WCM raced its existing four-cylinder bikes through 2005 and was off the grid in 2006.
What engine is in a Blata 2.5 and what maintenance does it need?
The Blata 2.5 uses a 39.9cc air-cooled single-cylinder two-stroke making about 2.4 kW, with a centrifugal clutch and no gearbox. Maintenance is standard small two-stroke work: 50:1 premix, clean air filter, fresh spark plug, chain adjustment, and periodic clutch shoe inspection. These engines rev hard for their size, so a top-end refresh (piston and ring) is normal on well-used bikes.
The wall
The most-documented Blata vehicles in the registry, every photo by the owner.