My '98 Kona Muni Mula - Ride pics added !

[majoreyeswater]

I thought that it was about time to start a thread about my Kona Muni Mula build. This follows on from this original thread http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... ht=#678452 in which I asked a few questions having at first thought the bike was a Kula. Some of you were good enough to supply info with effect that it was actually a Muni Mula

I bought the frame, a pair of Z1 Bombers and a P2 rigid fork as a job lot after placing an ad on a local free classified website. I think the guy had used and abused the bike in the late 90s as a trials/jump bike ! It was in a sorry state so I decided to strip it down, clean it up and possibly get it sprayed up.

However, after much thought and plenty of elbow grease, I polished it up as best I could and decided to leave it in bare alu, warts and all ! There are a couple of small dents and plenty of nicks to the metal but I think it all adds to its patina of age. I don't have access to industrial type polishing so it's far from perfect but I like it. In fact I like it a lot so will use it as a first ride - no garage queen this one

Here are a few piccies to be going on with. I will post more shortly with a run down of what's been added to the bike so far and what, ultimately, I want to add in the future.

So there it is folks - not perfect but it's a start. Really taken to the Kona and would value any help if possible More to follow soon.

Cheers, Steve.

 

[carter711]

I've got alot of time for that! There's something about late 90's konas with Marzocchi z1 forks that's so right. They look great and just seen to go well when riding.

Watching with interest

 

[AdamAsh]

I like that a lot

 

[majoreyeswater]

Thanks for the kind words chaps

Back in the late ninties I always wanted a polished Kona but never got one. Always ended up with other things ! I think it looks purposeful and just right.

So far it's got a Raceface Prodigy seatpost, Bontrager saddle (bought for my LTS bitd), Z1s, Kore stem, modern Hope headset, XTR M951 rear mech and the original bb. The current wheels are grey LX hubs on Mavic hubs but I have a set of XTR M950 hubs which i'd like to lace to some nice rims in the future. The tyres are new modern Tiogas. Bars are Commencal risers but i'm after something a bit more contemporary.

I'd like to stick to XTR stuff (coz I couldn't afford it back then) and am after a nice crankset, maybe Middleburn ? The budget's a bit tight at the moment so that's all for the near future. So here's a few more pics to be going on with and will update as soon as progress is made.

Little monkey :roll:

Cheers for now, Steve.

 

[coomber]

Polish has come up a treat, looks quality.

My bro had a muni mula, bright green which would have been a '99 I believe. Was a great bike til some swine nicked it :roll:

Anyway, looks great with the Z1s, as said before, it's a classic mix.

Really good work

 

[Easy_Rider]

I like that a lot, looks a lot like my Mokomoko only yours is cleaner looking

 

[-jamie-]

looks great.

im impressed with the finish you have achieved with the polishing.

what stuff did you use as i have a kona&trek i would like to try it with.

cheers jamie

 

[majoreyeswater]

Hello mate & thanks for the comments.

I use Autoglym http://www.autoglym.com/enGB/product-pr ... GH&Range=1

It's a bit more expensive than some and I think its finer than Autosol. To be honest it was all I could get at the time but it has come up nicely. Get up close though and you'll see that the alu is a bit marked. Tried and tried to get a really good finish but had to make do in the end

Cheers, Steve.

 

[-jamie-]

cheers for that. was the paint already struipped though or polished before??

i ask because i have heard people using nitromors or something then wire wool wet and dry then the metal polish if that sounds right??

cheers again jamie

 

[majoreyeswater]

The frame was bare metal to start, so I used a paint stripper and meths to remove the factory and added on stickers.

Then I used progressively finer wet n dry papers and fine wire wool to bring the frame to a point where the polish would have an effect. The wire wool is good for those harder to reach places such as welds and sharp corners. I've also got a cheap Dremel power tool which I used but to be honest it was 95% elbow grease really

Then polish done in fairly small patches using pea sized amounts only. Once the whole frame was done I went back over it several times. You think you've got a reasonably good shine but give it another go and it comes up better ! Mind you, didn't do my tennis elbow any good :shock:

The only problem is that this finish does mark easily when handled. I had to give it a quick polish before taking the pics !

Cheers, Steve.

PS: Just a reminder of how it looked to start with.