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What is a mongoose 2 / there's no such thing as a motomag model....let's discuss

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bobafett:
I got a PM from Paul (snav69) asking about what is the difference between a mongoose 2 model and a motomag model as he has an '81 goose and i thought it was worth discussing.............

here is pauls frame - http://www.radbmx.co.uk/forum/index.php'topic=85771.0

These are my personal views so feel free to chip in  ;)

If you go by decal names then bmxproducts.com has the black background decals as mongoose 2 and the gold background as mongoose / motomag which would put Paul's as a mongoose 2 - As a side issue on the "motomag" topic personally i believe that name to be something created by collectors today OR owners BITD based on the motomag decal that was often on the downtube - the model was never called the "motmag" by mongoose as far as I am concerned - it was always just a "mongoose" I'm also fairly sure that the motomag decal came with the frame but not applied - it was the choice of the owner to apply it or not and many survivors can be found without the motomag decal and no sticky residue indicating that it ever was - anyways I digress  :-[ ;D
Back on the mongoose 2 trail............... right so according to bmxproducts.com - black background decal = mongoose 2 - it is also my belief that this decal change may coincide with the movement of the frame decal from the top tube to the down tube for standard mongoose models (supergoose / team etc. had already moved to the downtube prior to this) AND also possibly coincides with the change of serial number style ('81 mongoose survivor owners could help me confirm this with serial number / decal combination info  ;) ) i.e. I have seen 1981 survivor frames with the "C" prefix serial on the bottom bracket tube and gold background decals but the frames without the "C" prefix serial nos. having the black background decals.

1981 was a busy year for mongoose changes  :LolLolLolLol: and that's before we even start talking about the dropouts changing that year too  :-X :LolLolLolLol:

Anyways........ again............. back to the question(s) in hand  :-[ ;D

Decals aside, the frames are identical so as such there is no such thing as a mongoose II frame  ;)

....but just to throw a spanner in the works the term "mongoose 2" OR "mongoose II" as it happens first appears in the mongoose 1979/80 catalogue with the older decals and the only difference to a standard "mongoose" (or "motomag" to some) would be the parts on it - freewheel instead of coaster - alloy wheels - full caliper brake set front and rear  ;)

Here is a piccy from the 79/80 catalogue :



And then in 81 the spec changes again as there is only a rear brake and there is agold stem etc.  :LolLolLolLol:

Here is a piccy from the 81 catalogue (as you can see it has the earlier decal as this is how they started out at the begining of 1981 and as you can see it is on the top tube, also there is a motomag decal supporting the "no such thing as a motomag model" theory) :




So I guess if the question is "What is a mongoose II" the answer is - a standard mongoose with alloy wheels no coaster and caliper brake(s)
but if the question is "What is a mongoose 2" - the answer is a standard mongoose with 2nd generation decals.

So I guess I've either cleared this up now or totally confused everyone and made the situation worse  :LolLolLolLol:

Please chip in with any thoughts......................................

Bob_Acid:
To my mind the Mongoose 2 was the one with the step down dropouts.  ???

kdw712:

--- Quote from: Bob_Acid on August 12, 2009, 02:49 PM ---To my mind the Mongoose 2 was the one with the step down dropouts.  ???

--- End quote ---

see Bob i would call that a mark or type 2 / 2nd gen
then the mark 3 has no gussets at all


with the mongoose 2 as per the catalogue
would / could that be tied to the lose of the coaster brake tab ?
so very early 76 etc no brake bridge just the tab
then had both
then just the brake bridge  ?



and i think your right John the term mongoose motomag has become a generic term
rather like hoover describing any vacuum cleaner

snav69:
Are you saying there is no model called a Motomag  :-\
I have just had a look through a catalogue and there is a model called the motomag in it  ???
Confusing stuff  :D

bobafett:

--- Quote from: snav69 on August 12, 2009, 03:18 PM ---Are you saying there is no model called a Motomag  :-\
I have just had a look through a catalogue and there is a model called the motomag in it  ???
Confusing stuff  :D

--- End quote ---

I guess what I'm saying with reference to "motomag" Paul is that many people list a mongoose frame for sale as a "mongoose motomag F&F" but there is no such thing - the bike you refer to in the 81 catalogue has coaster motomag wheels and as a full bike it is labelled as a "motomag" in that catalogue but above it is a "freemag" with freewheel motomag wheels but it's not a "mongoose freemag F&F" if you catch my drift - also this is the only catalogue that gives each build style of the same frame different little monikers - in all the earlier catalogues it's just a "mongoose" regardless of motomags or spokes  ;)

I think that makes sense - well it did to me when I typed it  :LolLolLolLol:

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