The Smokestack Tandem (Monark)

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Thanks us56456712! I believe you're right! I was inspecting the head badge and noticed it says "Azusa, CA" on the bottom. Hadn't noticed that before. I did a little research, and I came up with some similar info as you. I'm guessing mid 60's as well. Which doesn't put the bike as old as I had originally guessed.
It ends in 8 so that might mean it's a 1968. It starts with 2 so that might mean it had 2 inch tires on it but I am not sure? Some say the last digit is the year but determining the decade is harder. Some also say the first digit can be used to indicate the tire size with a starting digit of 5 meaning it had 1.75 tires on it. I am just guessing here but someone out there must know more.
 
I have a huffy "daisey" tandem, when I got it I was searching for images and stuff, a lot of the ones that came up were a frame that looks like yours. mine is slightly newer I think it was the first year after the change. 60 something??? I'm thinking its a huffy. I have no idea if at that time monark was rebadging huffy frames?
anyway that's a cool idea what you are doing and definitely a good looking frame. my little guy wasn't the slightest it interested in taking his training wheels off. I wanted to take him on a cool ride through nyc where they close off some streets for a route, but I wasn't going to bring him on training wheels. I came up with the plan to throw my tandem together with a bunch of bmx parts for us to ride, but then I realized I had no way to get a tendem into nyc.
 
yeah, search monark daisey in google images, nothing comes up. search huffy daisey, and tons of images come up of the 2 style frames. I want to say mine was a 64, or 66 and its the corny straightbar style.
 
Thanks jamesdart! I found lots of images for Huffy as well. Searching for a chain guard for both had yielded zero results though.
 
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Major progress this weekend! I spent all day Sunday putting this thing together. There were a few hang ups. Rear fender doesn't quite fit, so it's touching the frame. Not a big deal to me, and probably something I will replace in the future, but I'm just going with it now.
The fork went on surprisingly with very little effort. But I had to rush to the bike shop to get a 1" stem. The HBBC 4 banger stem worked well on the back set, just used some "mallet persuasion" to get it on. But the front one would not fit the headset I used. No big deal, just a different brand.

The front fender bracket needed some drill persuasion as well to fit the fork, but it came out clean.

I've obviously got more to do, but I stopped during chain install because it got too late. I hope to have it mostly finished (at least rideable) this week. So far I'm very pleased with the result. It looks exactly how I imagined it would, but it's much taller than I thought. It also measures in at about 8'.
 
I pieced the tandem together after work today and on into the night. Really wrestled with the crank and chain configurations. The tensioner just kept derailing the chain and it rides better without it, so I'm leaving it off for now. It felt great to get this thing out on the street. There's still a few things I need to do it, but for the most part it's done. I'll be looking for a chain guard and I need to order some proper cable clips for the shifter cable. Also some decent cup holders. I'm stoked on how it came out.
 
Looks cool. I will probably never do anything with my tandem I guess I could part with the chainguard. It has the same look but I'm not sure the length is the same. Do you want to measure from front crank centerline to rear axle? I can compare it to my frame.
 
Looks cool. I will probably never do anything with my tandem I guess I could part with the chainguard. It has the same look but I'm not sure the length is the same. Do you want to measure from front crank centerline to rear axle? I can compare it to my frame.
Awesome! I got a measurement of 44"
 
The maiden voyage was a blast! His feet don't reach the pedals though, so he still gets to kick back and let me do all the work! This picture was literally our first pedal, so he's got his feet up in the air. He eventually learned to set them on the frame and relax though. He was so stoked! He kept kissing my back and saying "thank you daddy!" To know that he "gets it" and he's thankful makes it all worth it!
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Yesterday was twin day at school/work (I'm a special education teacher). It's not hard for us to look like twins anyway, but it was perfect timing to have a tandem. I didn't plan it, but I finished the tandem just in time. No better excuse to bring it to school and ride around. You should have seen the reaction and hordes of kids following us like a parade. Best feeling for my little dude! He was beaming! I also gave lots of rides throughout the day. So this thing has definitely passed the test! No hang-ups, no problems... all fun!
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The maiden voyage was a blast! His feet don't reach the pedals though, so he still gets to kick back and let me do all the work! This picture was literally our first pedal, so he's got his feet up in the air. He eventually learned to set them on the frame and relax though. He was so stoked! He kept kissing my back and saying "thank you daddy!" To know that he "gets it" and he's thankful makes it all worth it!
93a6591cb6316e24789ea9bc4d7b9baa.jpg


Yesterday was twin day at school/work (I'm a special education teacher). It's not hard for us to look like twins anyway, but it was perfect timing to have a tandem. I didn't plan it, but I finished the tandem just in time. No better excuse to bring it to school and ride around. You should have seen the reaction and hordes of kids following us like a parade. Best feeling for my little dude! He was beaming! I also gave lots of rides throughout the day. So this thing has definitely passed the test! No hang-ups, no problems... all fun!
2deb60d379bb89f828b9b370acf50732.jpg
You are a great dad! :thumbsup:

Luke.
 
Great project, great bike, great dad, great son. It doesn't get any better than that.

On a side note, I love the Kroozie cup holders, I put on my wife's bike. They come in painted or brushed stainless and have a vertical mount available that you could connect to either the rear seat tube or the rear 'head tube' or even the handlebar.
http://kroozercups.com/

Cheers to you dude!
Dr. T (Rob)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

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