Maurice

Mr. Monkeyarms · Jan 4, 2022

I have soooo many muscle bikes that need to be put back on the road and intended to do a couple this year as impetus to get going here on RatRodBikes. My Dad/Best Friend/Mentor passed on Nov. 1 that has put my plan on the back burner for a while so please forgive my tardiness getting going.

This delay has worked out it seems. Just before Christmas I was looking on CL for bikes I don't need or really have room for when I became enamored with a stupid Walmart bike!

A low mileage Mongoose Beast that was the same amount as my Christmas bonus and I don't even like green! Much less a ridiculous fat bike that weighs almost 50 pounds. FROM WALMART!!! What a waste of perfectly good money.......

Until I started thinking about some parts that have been taking up space to support dust that might turn that thing into a pretty cool muscle bike and had to have it!

I found time to finally do a mock-up to get started on my vision & see if it will work. Initially pleased with this starting point.

Now maybe I can get some sleep now that the image is out of my head.....

And one to conform with the 2 outta 3 rule.

More to follow............

MattiThundrrr · Jan 5, 2022

Very cool idea. Almost creating a whole new category, muscle fat. This could be BIG!

ifitsfreeitsforme · Jan 5, 2022

Looking forward to seeing this one.

Palepainter · Jan 5, 2022

Maurice has a big caboose….

. Look forward to seeing it on the rides this year. I will have to stop buynwith the old pinstripe brushes and tag it.

Mr. Monkeyarms · Jan 5, 2022

I like big butts and I cannot lie!

And like my friend @kingfish254 says,"Mo fattah, mo bettah!"

(just so you know, I consider everyone my friend)

bruised · Jan 5, 2022

I like. Are those forks from a Jesse James bike? I recognize the ones not used as occ stingray. What size is rear wheel? I wonder what it would like with a 20 or 24 x4 rear wheel (I like the chopper look)

Mr. Monkeyarms · Jan 5, 2022

Thanks @bruised ! Both wheels are 26". 26"x4" stock tire out back(for now) and 26"x2.35" up front. Gotta get some shims for the stem so I can try out this fork while riding. I can get about 3" of length on the fork if I install it correctly, with stem on top of crown. Then I will try out the OCC fork with some rake built in. This bike has a pretty steep head tube so I want to try out some stuff real quick to make this somewhat comfortable to ride while achieving the look I'm going for and keep it within the rules.

I got the Jesse James fork & tank from a customer. They were on a Nishiki mountain bike with a Chinese engine that he was taking to the dump and he gave it to me. Sold the engine, kept the rest.

MattiThundrrr · Jan 5, 2022

Mr. Monkeyarms said:
And like my friend @kingfish254 says,"Mo fattah, mo bettah!"

The king is not wrong

Mr. Monkeyarms · Jan 5, 2022

This is why he's the king!

Mr. Monkeyarms · Jan 6, 2022

Had some time to assemble the fork as intended, with the stem on top of the top crown to get a couple more inches of fork length. I think it gave the head tube a couple more degrees slack. Tried out a couple more bars....

I need to swing by the bike co-op for some stem spacers so I can ride this to see how I like the handling & stuff. Probably get a couple more stems for different combos. Then I'll put the OCC fork on to try out. This fork feels like it will handle nicely and looks pretty good. Since I love my Felt Bandit this will be a bit more nimble.

Mr. Monkeyarms · Jan 8, 2022

I picked up the hardware needed to finish installing the fork, a couple more stems & tried out a couple more handlebars. Some motorcycle bars from the bottom of the pile are pretty cool. Comfy too!

And some others....

Will try out the fork with a few bars to get a feel for the handling tomorrow. Enough snow should be gone to make it fairly enjoyable since we've got about 13" of the stuff since New Years Eve.

wheelbender6 · Jan 8, 2022

Now we're talkin.

Mr. Monkeyarms · Jan 10, 2022

Got in a wet, chilly test ride yesterday to try out the handling with this fork. It handles like my road bike! Very intuitive, stable & responsive.

The head tube sits at 72.75° in this arrangement. May try a couple other bars before swapping the fork for the OCC fork with rake built in while exploring options.

MattiThundrrr · Jan 10, 2022

I think some rake in the fork would help with the motorcycle look. Won't handle as sharp as a roadie

sdframe · Jan 10, 2022

As cheap as Walmart bikes may be, most of us can't duplicate that beautiful matte green finish. And it's fun to once in a while work on a bike that isn't grimy, crusty, greasy and rusty. I can see you on late night TV telling folks how they can turn ugly fat into beautiful muscle. Great concept!

Mr. Monkeyarms · Jan 10, 2022

Thanks for your feedback guys! Still lots to do & experimentation with this thing to make it as good as it can be!

sdframe said:
As cheap as Walmart bikes may be, most of us can't duplicate that beautiful matte green finish. And it's fun to once in a while work on a bike that isn't grimy, crusty, greasy and rusty. I can see you on late night TV telling folks how they can turn ugly fat into beautiful muscle. Great concept!

I don't see a lot of these out in the wild which makes me think they are taking up space in garages collecting dust. They will likely end up being sold cheap on the interwebs being they weigh just under 50 pounds. I am hoping to open people's minds what can be done with a little imagination & some parts. While this should be a fairly simple project anyone can do it will have a couple challenges. Matching the green paint being one of them in the near future.

hamqqea · Jan 10, 2022

There was a thread dedicated to Beast mods. Love them, can't find it ATM
Snapped this last year.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1369446312.851462.jpg

Now I want to make one

Mr. Monkeyarms · Jan 10, 2022

Yep! I saw that plus generally the same type of mods all over the web. I want to take this to the next level.......... :nerd:

https://ratrodbikes.com/forum/threads/mods-on-a-beast.107449/
It seems interest in these has waned...

https://ratrodbikes.com/forum/threads/still-playing-with-the-mongoose-beast.107511/

Mr. Monkeyarms · Jan 16, 2022

Well, I had some time to fiddle with some more options for Maurice yesterday. Found an interesting mini ape handlebar that is really comfortable and already the color I'd like.