Monark

[Heavy Pedal]

Build-off time again! The wait was long, but it will be worth it to see the sickness we've all been dreaming up for this build!
My volunteer is, and correct me if I'm wrong, a Monark Roadster. I'm guessing the year to be in the mid '50's.

I'm digging the look of this bike so I might leave the paint, especially the down tube decal.

No big plans... 3 months to savor!

Have fun!

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Nice starting point!

Luke.

 

[kingfish254]

I am guessing that it's a Monark too. :mrgreen:
Good luck!
By the way, I love the C&H avatar!

 

[xddorox]

Clear coat and the paint is done!

 

[Heavy Pedal]

Got a chance to strip the Monark down to the frame. I use a penetrating oil made by International Harvester I got from my dads garage. Works pretty good! I have to use it sparingly.

It helped me get this fork off. I'd be interested to find out what the poor chap riding this bike hit!

I have this spade minus its handle laying around and thought it might make an interesting seat...

 

[tailhole]

I dig seat idea dude. Rough rider.

 

[Terry66]

Monark's are the coolest vintage bikes on the planet.....knock it out of the park!

 

[ChrisMac]

Very cool starting point. Like to see where it leads.

 

[Heavy Pedal]

Here's my donor bike for wheels & tires... maybe more.

 

[jats]

harvester oil thats cool remember seeing those cans in the barn as a kid. cool seat Idea!

Troy

 

[axsepul]

Monark's are the coolest vintage bikes on the planet.....knock it out of the park!

i'm gonna have to agree with you.

watching

 

[Heavy Pedal]

I was hoping to use the original handlebars the bike came with, but the pitted rust and peeled chrome left them in tough shape.

I though about repainting them flat black, but usually the paint scratches off too easy, so I came up with another way to recover them using a bad innertube.

The tube and bars are basically the same size so with some stretching I was able to recover the handlebars and give them a smooth grip.

 

[tailhole]

Dig that trick!!! Might be tricky getting that laced into the stem. Can't wait to see the rest.

 

[ChrisMac]

That came out terrific. Great idea !

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Now that's COOL!

I wonder if you'll need to cut it around the center though. Hope not because it's TOTALLY TUBULAR the way it is now (see what I did there? :roll: )

Cheers,
Dr. T

 

[NewOrleansFlyer]

Seat...dug! Great idea for the handlebars.....

 

[Heavy Pedal]

Re: Monark, updated 7/30

Ok.... long break. Summer will do that. Since I last logged in, I gave the frame a clear coat and sanded the sprocket down to bare metal. I decided on no fenders, but I really like the rack fenders, like I salvaged from this 24" girls Hiawatha.

Problem is, it was a 24". So I had a Schwinn Suburban frame with issues, and thought I could cut the rear dropouts up to just past the brake bracket and bolt it to the Hiawatha rack fender.

It's not the right color but then again I'm using a forest green fork from an old mountain bike.

I also wanted to add a 'tank' to the frame to give it some character, so I traced out this and jig sawed it out.


After painting it black, I designed a distressed Monark emblem to print on the side.

I work at a screen printing shop, so I was able to make a screen to print the design directly to the tank.

I wanted to match the orange on the frame.

For the seat, I originally wanted to use a spade, but after bolting it to a seat bracket and giving it a test run, it proved to be most uncomfortable, so I have an old metal seat, minus the padding, but with a great gun metal finish to give it an aged look.

 

[kingfish254]

Great idea to use the chainstays for your rack support.
I also like the way the silk screen tank came out.
Welcome back from your slumber.

 

[jats]

cool tank board and lettering!!

Troy

 

[ChrisMac]

cool tank board and lettering!!

Troy

Agreed. Came out really nice