TEXAS TANK

[Danny Lopez]

Hey whats up guys, this my first attempt at a cruiser build. I bought a Mongoose Beast at the beginning of the year as a parts bike in hopes of purchasing a new frame and bars for it. Considering how pricey frames can be and that I'm pretty handy at fabrication, I went ahead and decided to take on the frame build myself. I was at the local steel yard ordering steel for a c10 chassis and while looking at samples i called for a 20ft stick of 1.25" OD 16g wall round tube and went from there. Now time to cut up the parts bike!!!

Heres what i started with... a Mongoose beast with typical scratches from packaging and loose bolts on everything.



And here it is with my retired BMX bike, a 20.75" Sunday Ian full build from when i didnt care about breaking bones.


Annnnnnnnd... her it is after staring at it too long and pulling out the tools. Chopped it in half removing the forward section of the fram nd removing the BB. then cut off the chainstay and re-angled and reworked it to weld to the seat tube.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Looking good so far, keep it coming!

Luke.

 

[Danny Lopez]

some progress...

wire wheeled the rear triangle


set up to get an idea of seat tube angle but too high. and front end in place to get idea of rake for the head tube



Better rake for head tube. set at 55degrees


Annnnd, Bought a new tool. time to get rolling.

some tube.


RRB swag and some rubber for the road.

 

[Danny Lopez]

stuff.

lined everything up and started fitting and tacking


BB


Then started welding it all together

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Very cool! I predict some crazy wheel flop, but that is part of the fun of riding a burritto style bike!

Luke.

 

[GuzziRod]

Looks good! Long and low!! Cool!

Building one also but going more old school with it. Fat rear tire, skinny front. Long fork.

Will be following your progress.

See ya,
Rod

 

[Danny Lopez]

more

 

[Danny Lopez]

problem im running into now is that the BOA's inflated are 1.5-75" lower than the stock tires. and i set the ride height for 3" so turns should be interesting lol. needless to say that there will be future adjustments. still learning as i go!

 

[Danny Lopez]

MOAR.



And some red oxide primer to keep the flash rust off. might go with this instead of paint to keep it kinda ratty.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Good looking frame.

Luke.

 

[Danny Lopez]

yep going with the red oxide for sure

 

[GuzziRod]

You might still need to clear coat over the primer. Primer doesn't seal as good as the top coat of paint will. Had installed a primer hood on my car, after a deer strike, and left it, now it has surface rust. Will take a strip and repaint to fix.

 

[Danny Lopez]

You might still need to clear coat over the primer. Primer doesn't seal as good as the top coat of paint will. Had installed a primer hood on my car, after a deer strike, and left it, now it has surface rust. Will take a strip and repaint to fix.

Yea it usually chalks up when its exposed to elements particularly harsh sun/heat. i hit the wheels with four fat coats but ill probably go powder when i get new hubs

 

[Danny Lopez]

Sanded the primer and primered again. three fat wet coats. ready to begin assembly soon. just need to gather a few more parts.

 

[Danny Lopez]

Almost there!!! just need a chain and grips. and have to make some other small adjustments. made a stand that slides into the bottom of the seat tube but will also have to fab up a kickstand of some sort. Cut out the filler panel to fill the frame for the mean time until i figure out what i want to do with the tank. Need to paint that also.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Looking good!

Luke.

 

[GuzziRod]

Have you tried to see how it will turn yet?

 

[Danny Lopez]

Have you tried to see how it will turn yet?

havent yet since i haven gotten the chain on. but just sitting on it pushing with my feet it does ok. turn radius isnt great but not bad for the overall length. since the rake of he neck is so ridiculous it dives down in the front when you turn more than 40degrees either way. got some good rolling speed and made a nice wide turn leaning into it. kind a fun, kinda sketchy lol.

 

[Danny Lopez]

grips on, chain on, bandana seat cover on. took it for a ride. rode pretty nice. cruiser and only a cruiser for sure. wheel flop is tolerable. going to be swapping the bars out for baby apes sometime in the future for knee clearance, but for now itll remain like this. its a real head turner, already pulled a few crowds lol. it drags over small humps in the road. and the only place i can make a full turn is in a coldesack. it was a real learning experience putting this one together and now i know what and what not to do. the next one will be a lot more function-able.

 

[LukeTheJoker]

Looks awesome!

Luke.