Monkey bikes.

[SpannerMonkey]

I just want to ask, I can understand the enjoyment of most... shall we say Genres? of motorcycles
but Monkeybikes I fail to understand... Or am I simply looking into things too much?
I (more than most) understands the thrill of thrashing the nuts off a small capacity machine but from what I can gather, It's about riding miniature motorcycles off road in a heavily customised fashion?
Or is it on the road too?
Someone explain the ethos of monkey-biking to me =P

[mysterious_rider]

erm, well its a true minibike, lots of fun for very cheap money. And they look pretty cool too.


Heres my old one, 125cc, fairly modded before I flogged it. road legal. But i did sell to get a ns125r as im almost 6.2ft and wanted something a bit faster. Monkeys are good fun and it got me LOTS of looks!

https://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj88/mysterious_rider/100_5133.jpg
https://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj88/mysterious_rider/100_5138.jpg





and now i recently bought an offroad z50.

loadssaa fun for ragging about tracks.
easy to chuck in the boot of a car too.

https://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj88/mysterious_rider/DSC02248.jpg

[G]

Monkey bikes are generally on-road.
Pit bikes (and 'fiddys') are more used off-road.

You get some of the fun of dirt biking with less cost and much easier transportation/storage.

When I first had a go on a pit bike I was expecting it to be great, but didn't live up to the hype for me really, while full-size dirt bikes I got addicted to pretty damn quickly.

[SpannerMonkey]

I considered a monkey bike myself... but they're just not practical for anything over 10 miles... =/

[SamJL]

Monkey bikes are great fun, you can literally use full throttle everywhere, and they just sort of bounce round corners, with the pegs scraping

Pit bikes are also good. I use a KTM 65sx as a pit bike as we have a small track local to us, its to small for my proper MX bike, and the 65 still has 19bhp, so its pretty quick! Half the weight of a 125 with more then half the power, its a quick little bike, really good fun. I had a chinese pit bike, but it just doesn't handle or go as good as the 65, and I snapped the frame on the chinky bike, by clearing a tabletop and flat landing!
____________________
2009 CBR1000RR
2004 KTM 200SX
2004 KTM 65SX

[SpannerMonkey]

[ollieholt]

a friend of mine commuted on his various monkey bikes for 4 years before finally doing his test. he is about 6 foot tall, tuned the death out of them to the extent where you couldnt use the kickstart due ton the compression being too high, it would just bend them eventually. fast little thing, did 86 mph, but it did that everywhere lol it cornered like a house fly. youn know how your tyre gets a flat spot in the middle... well he had flat spots either side! it would sit into corners and stay slung over. incredible watching him fly round corners. tyres must be of good good quality though.

not for me im afraind i dont really fit on one, at all. aparently good fun though
____________________
< This? Well this is just a day brightner.

[Chalky.]

I might get one next year for some fun, how much was yours mysterious rider?

What do they go for?

[Clanger]

They are soooo cute!!! How could you not want one...
____________________
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss

[SamJL]

[ollieholt]

the very same friend had a chinese one as his first bike at 17, liked it but it didnt put up with his riding for very long. he ended up with a honda monkey 1979 model, alot of the lads get the honda nice engine its a 110 or a 120 i think but they have much tougher gearboxes and are built much better. those engines are getting expensive now though.

if you can, get the honda. but they do go for alot more money. if its just cheap laughs your after then a chinese should be fine .
____________________
< This? Well this is just a day brightner.

[mysterious_rider]

Sold my road legal one for 600 in the end. With soooo many spares. Basically it started off life like the bike in the second picture (offroad) then i converted it to road legal. I included all the parts like forks,swinger, wheels etc to convert it back offroad all for 600 notes.

I'd easily spent 800 in total inc price of bike.

They are good fun though. Not that fast, but fast enough. Just i sold because it was impractical. No garage so had to keep dragging it out of my sidegate and that measures 21cm wide, so had to twist the bars and all sorts down a narrow alleyway. Pain in the arse. Now i just lock my road bike out the front. much better.


More and more pitbikes are becoming road legal. They are also quite fun, handle better than monkeys in the corners too.

[Whosthedaddy]

It would be so wrong not to post in this thread.

[Chalky.]

Fancy selling it?

[binge]

Never owned a monkey, but my Cousin Sam had a Proper Honda Gorilla.
Bloody awesome fun, 3 Speed Semi auto.


I've had a number of pit bikes, My CRF50 being the Closes thing to a Monkey bike.

https://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac227/pitbikeben/Photo1157.jpg


And I had a KLX110 sized Road Legal Pit Bike.
I fitted it up with better wheels etc, and a YX150 Motorsport engine (Same as Honda Fitment).
Was the most fun I've ever had on the road. As stock, it was a piece of shite.
But after I'd uprated near enough everything for top of the Chinese market, or Jap/American Parts, it was awesome.

https://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac227/pitbikeben/DSC01174.jpg



After the engine went bang, I went the whole hog, and fitted a TZR125 stroker engine into the SDG frame I'd upgraded to.
Went on to spend another couple of grand on parts like KTM SX65 forks, Mobster Mag Alloy wheels, R1 rear shock etc etc...

The outcome was a sick as fook trackday tool.

It's just one of them things I guess. A mini bike thing, you wouldn't understand until you've done it.




https://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac227/pitbikeben/Photo1629.jpg

https://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac227/pitbikeben/Photo1628.jpg

https://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac227/pitbikeben/Photo1598.jpg



And that lead onto me getting a full size SM..

https://i902.photobucket.com/albums/ac227/pitbikeben/Untitled.jpg

[Peterthepillo...]

They are absolutley brilliant fun. Mine is only lightly customised from a chinese 50 as most seem to start from. 110cc replacement engine with one down three up manual transmission, and disc brake front end with a rather loud exhaust. All-in I suppose it has set me back 500 quid including the original 10 year old bike.
If I need a quick bike fix it is much easier to wheel it out and kick it over than struggle to get the 'big' bike up the sloping drive and put on all the gear. You do get some pitying looks though and you never get a nod.
I think it will do 50 or so which seems very fast and the accelleration is quite acceptable, in first the front will lift (too) easily and I am a fat bastard. With an eight stone yoof on board it would be dangerous.
Another plus is ithe light weight and ease of modifiaction. Bling parts are all over ebay and they all seem to fit.
Fortunately every time I ride it something falls off or breaks which is a constant source of interest.
Get one if you don't take yourself too seriously.
____________________
A passage broad, smooth, easy, inoffensive down to hell.

[t121anf]

they are so cool, but i probably wouldn't use it

[Clanger]

https://www.monkeybike.co.uk/acatalog/isle_of_white_2004.html

Monkey Bike do a rally every year on the Isle of Wight (which coincides with Over The Edge and Gallybagger rallies). And it's quite an awesome sight seeing sooo many monkey bikes together riding around.
____________________
Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter won't mind - Dr. Seuss