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Make It Extreme Drops Incredible DIY "Crawler" Monotrack Bike Made From Scraps

Imagine for a moment that you have the creativity and know-how to create a motorized machine out of things you'd find in a junkyard. Well, Make it Extreme is the sort of YouTube channel with the traits mentioned above.
Monotrack Bike (Action) 16 photos
Photo: Make it Extreme / YouTube Screenshot
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Folks, if you've never heard of the YouTube channel Make it Extreme, then this short piece of literature should give you an excellent idea of what this crew is all about.

Ever since 2015, this channel has been creating material aimed at the automotive culture. This time around, they decided to do something special for their YouTube and Patreon supporters, and dished out one heck of a DIY ride.

At the bottom of this article, there's a video that goes through the entire process of building your own Monotrack Bike. This is what we're going to be exploring today.

Monotrack Bike Shocks
Photo: Make it Extreme / YouTube Screenshot
The video depicts one of the channel's craftsmen going to town on a car tire by cutting off the sidewalls. The sidewalls are removed because this "crawler" ride will be using said tire very much like a tank uses a steel track.

From here, the crew goes to town by mounting what will become the eventual powerhouse behind propulsion, in this case, a 100cc two-stroke scooter motor.

Now, this is where things get tricky. If you have no knowledge of how to mill aluminum, you just may be out of luck with this project. But if you do, you'll need to mill five rollers that will eventually give the track its shape and allow it to rotate.

According to details on Make it Extreme's website, three rollers are mounted at the front of Monotrack and the other two at the rear. This is done to stretch the track into the desired shape. Again each roller is cut individually, milled, welded, smoothed out, all of that.

Monotrack Bike \(Build Process\)
Photo: Make it Extreme / YouTube Screenshot
These components are then added to a frame cut and welded right there and there, and that will also support the rider's weight while riding around town. Yes, it can be ridden, although I'd wear long pants because tread burns are not fun.

To make sure proper tension is sustained at all times on the track, the front features the addition of two shocks that push down on a "scissor" component, or rather, swingarm, and maintains tension. The use of shocks also offers the adjustability I mentioned earlier.

Another shock is mounted at the other end of the swingarm, and aside from helping keep tension, it also acts as a suspension system, helping smoothen out the ride.

It's then time to add the finishing touches like a gas tank, exhaust, throttle, and brake lines. Once this construction is done, it's time to move on to components the rider will interact with. Things like a seat, handlebars, and headlights.

Monotrack Bike
Photo: Make it Extreme / YouTube Screenshot
With a wipedown of components, and orange paint job, and a few more screws and bolts in place, the Monotrack Bike is ready to rock it around town.

The final minutes of the video below takes you through some scenes where you can see just how neat it could be to ride around town on something like this.

Sure, it's not the fastest thing you'll ride all summer, but just imagine three to four people riding around your city on something like this. I'm sure you'd ask some questions, and when you do, Make it Extreme will be there to answer any questions you may have regarding the build process.

Imagine a little subculture with this Monotrack Bike at its center. I'd like to be a part of it for sure.

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About the author: Cristian Curmei
Cristian Curmei profile photo

A bit of a nomad at heart (being born in Europe and raised in several places in the USA), Cristian is enamored with travel trailers, campers and bikes. He also tests and writes about urban means of transportation like scooters, mopeds and e-bikes (when he's not busy hosting our video stories and guides).
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