Monark Rocket Rat "Super Swift"

[Jimmybug]

Hey y'all, I'm just starting my first rat cruiser and will be trying to document some progress here. It will eventually have a motor, but for now I'm just focusing on achieving full bicycle functionality. (Moderators, please move this to "Bikes with Motors" if appropriate.) Picked up this frame and wheels from El Duderino a little bit ago, and have just begun making something of it.

50's Monark Rocket(?). I'm going to keep the paint as-is, cuz it looks so rad 'n' bad. Shooting for a tracker-inspired build, but in the end I'm just putting parts on that I like. Since taking these photos, I've put on a short-reach BMX stem (need to cut it down a bit) and different flipped BMX bars (silver, narrower, less sweep, less rise/drop). I'd like to get a speedo and headlight mounted to that crossbar. Those bar-end levers have no purpose for now, but I'll put them on again when I get a drum hub up front and a clutch for the motor.

A New Departure... but does anybody now which model it is? This'll get a low-slung banana seat with fabricated struts from the axle, plus some rear pegs for when I'm motorbicycling in the future. Skiptooth chainring is on the way, and I'll keep these tires until they rot. Then it'll be slicks, though I dig this chunky rubber. Thinking of a chopped rear fender, but I won't worry about that until I get my seating worked out...

With a cat:

With a dog:

It may be a slow build, but as I go along I'd love to get some input from all you pros.

 

[El Duderino]

Re: Monark Rocket Rat

the paint is so good

 

[Jimmybug]

Re: Monark Rocket Rat

Yeah buddy! I'm afraid it might turn out to be the best part of the bike. If you run across any beat 26" rear fenders, this guy's lookin'.

 

[Jimmybug]

Re: Monark Rocket Rat

Slowly putting things places.
Specifically, chainring + cranks. Ignore the derailleur.
The seat isn't attached yet...

 

[Jimmybug]

Re: Monark Rocket Rat

Well, I've made a large amount of progress this weekend, and this thing is looking super ratty:

I got a '78 Puch moped fork and test fit it. Looks likes I'll need to extend the threads just a bit to get it seat properly, but a 26" tire fits in there just fine. I've got a Peugeot front hub and brake on the way that should fit the new fork just fine. It's finals week, but I hope to get the front end dialed soon.

I also made the seat struts for the banana seat out of 1/8" steel stock--they look pretty good and are super sturdy. Mounted some axle pegs on the rear wheel for cruising. They're silver, but I might paint them black and let the knurling "age" to show the silver.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I got my GT5 engine kit almost completely installed. I ordered a 49cc but they sent the 66cc. Oh well! The stock tank actually looks OK on this bike, which I'm fine with for sure. Stock exhaust won't fit on this frame, so I'll need to get that sorted. Might run a straight pipe for now. I'm Working on polishing the edges of the engine fins (it's a black motor).

That's all for now; I took photos but don't have the camera with me, so no pics until the weekend.

 

[Jimmybug]

Re: Monark Super Swift

I was thinking about the lack of badge on the bike, and decided that rather than buy one, I'd make my own.
The plan is to craft it in Photoshop, print it and mount it to aluminum or something else thin and bendable, laminate or otherwise seal it, drill it and mount that sucker!
Never content with making something tasteful and classy, I have begun thusly. Here's the base image, courtesy of Google:

So far I've arrived at this:

Yup, feeling pretty good about this idea. :lol:

 

[Jimmybug]

Fuel line problems, still need to get the Puch fork rethreaded, and I need to extend the header so the muffler will fit. After that, it's just working on aesthetics like tidying the cable lines and electrical wires, doing some paint work on the clutch housing, and fine tuning EVERYTHING and upgrading individual parts as I go. Thoughts?

I'd like to get a tracker / scrambler look going on, although there's not much scrambler in it currently. In the future, maybe route the exhaust up and back, tracker style...

 

[snydur]

i love your build "journal" start with a cool bike. add afew ideas. have two or three updates,t hen bam! awesome motored bike. like it alot.

 

[MrNemo]

Bike is looking sweet what's your opinion of the 66cc grubee?

 

[Jimmybug]

Thanks fellas! That means a lot--I'm glad somebody else thinks it looks ok. (snydur, that Krush is one smooth and clean machine! I'm pretty jealous.) I know it wasn't much of a chronicle... the build consisted mostly of me living at school with no time and the bike living in my parent's garage. I just sat at school and thought of things I wanted, figured out how to make it or buy it, and finally got the time and parts to put the whole thing together over one weekend. Thanks again!

MrNemo, well, I've never tried anything motorized before, so I don't have much of anything to base my impression off of. You get what you pay for, I guess. I spent plenty of hours putting it together, and then several more hours scratching my head. Out of the box, there were bent fins, chipped paint, missing fuel line clamps, and a totally frozen clutch assembly. The electrical wiring instructions from the kit are wrong, plus I had to make my own engine mounts (see that wood block near the down tube?) and cut the muffler off to get it to fit. But let me tell you: I had it running today and it is a BLAST. I'm glad I've got a front suspension in the works, though. The latest problem:

Going to pick up some #41 chain from the farm supply store, I guess. Anyway, well worth the money and no regrets (so far :wink. Plus a lot of learning!

 

[MrNemo]

JimmyB i got the 49cc grubee hooked up to a 60's monark. I noticed your woood enging mounts pretty clever. They are fun to ride so far I got about 30 miles everytime I ride i expect to pedal home but hasn't let me sit yet

 

[buckchocolate]

haha...I knew I recognized that frame...it, along w/ el duderino used to live in my garage...funny, "the dude" is also a HUGE Taylor Swift Fan...awesome build!...I like it!!!!

 

[snydur]

be honest though. how confortable is that thing?

these are simliar bars, but a tad bit shorter. this thing is hard to ride and theres no tank in the way. and we need speed! how fast? hahah :mrgreen:

 

[Jimmybug]

JimmyB i got the 49cc grubee hooked up to a 60's monark. I noticed your woood enging mounts pretty clever. They are fun to ride so far I got about 30 miles everytime I ride i expect to pedal home but hasn't let me sit yet

Not sure if it was clever as much as it was desperate, but I'll take it! :wink: I got about 2 miles on it before the first breakdown, but it seems to be going strong now. My little sister laid it down hard and fast on the gravel road yesterday... left side is banged up, but it wasn't much to begin with! Also, she's scratched and bruised but in one piece haha Glad yours is doing well. I'd like to see what it looks like!

haha...I knew I recognized that frame...it, along w/ el duderino used to live in my garage...funny, "the dude" is also a HUGE Taylor Swift Fan...awesome build!...I like it!!!!

Thanks! He showed me some pics of your newest build the other day. It's looking awesome! Love the bars. Funny thing is, this bike is just about the opposite of Ms. Swift, so I'm not sure if I'm going to run with that idea after all.

be honest though. how confortable is that thing?
these are simliar bars, but a tad bit shorter. this thing is hard to ride and theres no tank in the way. and we need speed! how fast? hahah :mrgreen:

Well, it's actually pretty comfortable, considering that it's a banana seat and flipped bars! Mine definitely don't have as much sweep as yours does there, which I think helps a lot. Those black bars I originally had on there did have more sweep, and it was horrible feeling. Here's some more honesty: this thing is ROUGH off-road! Need that suspension fork ASAP haha. I love that light on yours though, snydur! I've been casually looking for a yellow-lensed headlight for this thing. What brand/make is that?

I'll get you some speed readings as soon as I find that speedometer.... haha where did I put that??

Went for a few-mile ride today and decided to take some photos... Here's my newest tweak: hand-made stencil on the clutch case, and somewhat sanded fins on the block.

Here's the Puch fork and Lelue hub that will (eventually) make it onto the bike:

 

[snydur]

that fork is cool. never seen one like that. the light is a 1950's s$m. i gave the other one away already. :roll: sorry

 

[Tommy Atoms]

This bike seems to have an animal attraction.

 

[Jimmybug]

It's been a while! I dropped off the face of the internet for a while there.

This bike seems to have an animal attraction.

Indeed it does. In fact, it attracted many spiders and cobwebs over the summer, as I was either out of the country or too busy to do anything with it until this past weekend.

I did manage to get the Puch fork to fit on the bike, and laced up the drum hub to the 26" rim from the original front wheel. With a Michelin Pilot Sport 2.35" on front, there is enough room for around 1.5" of travel, which is fine for normal road riding. I'd like to get stiffer springs or something to ensure the tire doesn't rub, though. I have another set of bars I'd like to try, narrower, with a little less drop and a little more sweep.

My little brother modeling the bike.

 

[YOUBUGME2]

That looks nice, I like the bars on the inside of the fork looks really sweet.

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Really digging this bike!
Was there a lot of effort to get that Puch fork to work? Do you what model it's off of?

Cheers,
Dr. T

 

[Jimmybug]

Re: Monark Rocket "Super Swift" - New Fork

Thanks fellas! My brother and I have been brainstorming some non-traditional buckets for the front light. We'll see how that turns out down the road...

Dr. T, it's from a late-70s Puch Maxi. I believe they ran the same fork clear through the 1980s. The only problem was that the steerer is too long for the headtube, in that the threads don't run down the steerer far enough to tighten the bearings against the cup... Due to the triple tree design, a traditional bike shop thread-cutting tool won't work to extend the threads. In the end, I filed the threads off of the top race, allowing it to slide freely over the unthreaded part of the steerer, then used spacers from an aheadset to make up the distance between the race and the locknut. Basically, the locknut is the only thing threaded onto the fork. It's not a beautiful solution, but it got the fork snug. I'm not around the bike, or I'd take a photo to illustrate/clarify.