shw911's Monkey/Gorilla build thread

[shw911]

I bought this bike in early December of 2007 and have finally found some parts to mod this thing. It started out as a 2000 Jincheng Panda. The previous owner added the Gorilla tank and seat and a Zonshen 124cc engine and Kitaco shocks. Since not many have the Gorilla tank/seat combo on their builds here, I have decided to keep it for now.

I picked this up near Sacramento (Lodi) and drove from the Los Angeles area to pick this and another Panda (for a friend), and a 1981 Yamaha SR500 (for sale) from Auburn, CA. I rented an F-150 truck and I drove up there at 4pm and arrive back in LA the next day at 5pm. It was, needless to say, a crazy adventure driving by myself up to a place I've never been. Keeping focused was the main obstacle. I made it back in one piece and I can't say I'd drive the 900 miles in 25 hours again.

So here is the picture of it before I picked it up. It was a bit dirty, but everything was working. Note the plastic wrap was still on the seat.

[shw911]

After bringing it home, I let it sit for a week before I tried to start it again. At first I thought something was wrong with it when I pulled the clutch lever in, the kick starter felt broken/disengaged. I remember reading somewhere that some engines only start in neutral...ugh. That's what I didn't want. Not only does it have to be in neutral, you can't pull the clutch in when you're starting it.
After a few months passed, I cleaned up the bike a bit, got it to run correctly and added some chrome fenders, I decided I needed to register and insure it. No surprises here.

Itching to go for a long ride, I meet Superness550 and EddieNewYork for the first time and rode with them around the Griffith observatory.


Here's another pic of the bike (no mods yet) near the observatory on another ride day. Eddie's CRF50 is in the back and Downtown LA is in the background.


I found out that my bike is just as fast as Eddie's 88 Takagawa BBK (stock head) Yoshimura Ti exhaust, but I pull ahead once I shift into 4th gear. 1st - 3rd, their about equal, but the CRF50/88 is a bit faster off the line. Obviously, my bike is no match for Ernesto's Honda 124 engine. We never did have any problems keeping up or holding up any traffic at all.

[shw911]

Sometime in May, I had the opportunity to purchase a used G-craft Fatty exhaust. Being one of my favorite exhausts, I had to jump on it. The quality on these are awesome.


Fatty's maiden voyage with Eddie and Vlad (Hooptytank). I learned many things from this ride. 1) the exhaust is low, 2) I need larger wheels for clearance, 3) I need better brakes on faster rides (40mph and up), 4) scraping up a newish pipe is heart-breaking.

[shw911]

Here's how it stands today:
Zongshen 124cc engine.
UNI foam air filter
G-Craft Fatty Exhaust
Kitaco shocks
Kitaco forks and triples,
NSR50 front brake caliper, rotor and lever,
G-craft headlight stays,
Daytona 2.5"/3.5" x 10" rims
Synapse front disc hub
Kitaco speedo drive for 10" rims
Dunlop tires 100/90-10
Daytona bars.
17T front and 30 tooth rear sprocket.

I need a cover on the right side of the frame to fill in the void that the old exhaust left. I'm planning on adding an oil cooler very soon in addition to a new engine that starts in any gear (probably a GPX/Jialing 125). It sucks to stall in traffic and try to find neutral while a line of cars is behind you. I'm also shopping for some nice blinkers.

I know it looks low in the back, but I hope to purchase a new swingarm, shocks and slightly wider Heidenau tires later this year.

[shw911]

Here's one of the latest rides where we covered nearly 90 miles with the TotalRuckus group. Eddie's CRF50/88 and my Gorilla, had no problem keeping up if not pass their modded scooters and was able to pass them going uphill. It's almost hilarious seeing a tiny bike just hauling a$$ uphill.
Here we are between Lake Hollywood and the Hollywood sign. Our bike are hidden somewhere between the scoots.

[big pete]

Looks good Sam! How much were the forks/wheels? How wide are the wheels?

[EddieNewYork]

Love progression pics... nice work Sam! A longer swingarm and shocks should do the trick.

[shw911]

Originally Posted by big pete

Looks good Sam! How much were the forks/wheels? How wide are the wheels?

I picked the forks and wheels from a couple PM members.

2.5" front and 3.5" rear. Tires are currently 100/90-10 and I can't get a wider rear tire yet because there is less than 1/2" clearance between the rear swingam and tire.

BTW, I know someone is going to comment about the fingerprints on the exhaust header and it's uneven fire effect, but I polished it off this week and we'll start all over again.

[mikev]

Looks really good. The gorilla tank actually makes the bike look awesome - and as a bonus, it holds more fuel than the stock Panda one, right?

(Incidentally, I'll comment on how much I hate the Ruckus, too. blech! Old school > New School)

[Dj Hunny]

your bike looks totally awesome Sam. When I first saw it I felt inspiration(jealousy hehe) running through my veins...so totally awesome!
Keep up the great work..!

[fastbmw]

I'm surprised how fast the 88cc/crf50 is being described. That's awesome. On my ZB I have a big head 88cc and I've always wondered how it would hold up to regular scooters.

[supernes550]

looks good man. coming along nicely. the 10" wheels and forks make it look a lot more proportional.

[bigluelok]

looks good

[FastMC]

Good thread...The bikes coming along nicely. Once you stretch it out a bit in the back it will be perfect. It must get a little twitchy at speed with the short wheelbase and bigger tires ? The fatty is one of my favorite pipes also, I like the short slashed look... Wish I lived on the left coast so I could join in on one of these rides !

[mikev]

What are your swingarm plans?

[~E]

Originally Posted by shw911

Here's one of the latest rides where we covered nearly 90 miles with the TotalRuckus group. Eddie's CRF50/88 and my Gorilla, had no problem keeping up if not pass their modded scooters and was able to pass them going uphill. It's almost hilarious seeing a tiny bike just hauling a$$ uphill.
Here we are between Lake Hollywood and the Hollywood sign. Our bike are hidden somewhere between the scoots.

Hey, were you the same pack of minis that I saw going up Angeles Crest on my way down 2 weekends ago Sunday (20th)? Bahahaha... that was rad.

~E

[shw911]

Thanks for all the kind words.

Mike, not sure about which swingarm I'm going to get yet.
I think the tank holds 9 liters (2+ gallons) and the stock monkey holds 4 liters (1 gallon).

fastbmw, on one night ride, we did a top speed run with the scooters and I was keeping up with the fastest 4 scooters (I think some had fixed up Zuma motors and some had the GY6 type motors)

FastMC, yeah the bike can get twitchy, but if you relax, it does surprisingly well at speed. I was actually able to keep ahead of the KSR110 on a ride (or was he letting me win?) Oh yeah, he was only running a 3 speed semi auto, but nevertheless, I think the minis surprised many among the modded scooter crowd.

DJhunny, just wait until you take a spin on the Gorilla. I don't think you'd give it back to me!

~E, it wasn't us coming down ACH, but I'd be interested in a ride up there.

[RAZZO]

Excellent pictures! Nice time line too! Great job on the bike. You guys have some great riding out there.