# Honestly, what were the designers at Monark thinking...



## ricobike (Mar 30, 2017)

...when they came up with this color scheme on a boys bike?  Salmon, blech.  I'm pretty sure if I rode that bike to my school I would have gotten the snot beaten out of me .

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5335809022&icep_item=322463515706





*Mouse over to Zoom
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Click to enlarge*


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## Boris (Mar 30, 2017)

Salmon and turquoise were very popular mid-century colors. These two used together seems a bit unusual, but not altogether surprising. Generally, I'd think a more common combination might be salmon and a more neutral "color" like, black, white or gray. I wonder if it was as much of an invitation to a snot beating back then, as we would think it was now?


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## Vintage Paintworx (Mar 30, 2017)

ricobike said:


> ...when they came up with this color scheme on a boys bike?  Salmon, blech.  I'm pretty sure if I rode that bike to my school I would have gotten the snot beaten out of me .
> 
> http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5335809022&icep_item=322463515706
> 
> ...



Maybe that's why it's in such good condition, didn't get ridden much.


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## John (Mar 31, 2017)

50s Boats too





Changed the color


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## partsguy (Mar 31, 2017)

John said:


> 50s Boats too
> 
> View attachment 443835
> 
> ...




Color? Wha???


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## rollfaster (Mar 31, 2017)

It's just iconic, classic 50s colors. I love it.


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## PCHiggin (Mar 31, 2017)

I like it,It might be a faded orange? Monark had orange if I remember correctly


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## Bikermaniac (Mar 31, 2017)

Compared with the boat it looks like a faded orange to me.


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## robertc (Mar 31, 2017)

I think I would try a mild compound to that bikes paint and see what jumps out.

Sent from my VS987 using Tapatalk


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## rustjunkie (Mar 31, 2017)




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## bairdco (Mar 31, 2017)

Yeah, monark had weird colours. Figured I could one-up them with my lime green/orange combo...


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## PCHiggin (Mar 31, 2017)

Sorry to hijack the thread but they had a real cool purple too in the mid 50's. Not very common today.


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## Flat Tire (Mar 31, 2017)

I've seen a lot of Hot Rods painted in those Monark colors .....


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## bricycle (Mar 31, 2017)

Blue Green and Coral are "Complementary / Opposite colors"


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## partsguy (Mar 31, 2017)

*"She may not be very pretty now, but she was somebody's baby at once..." - Bugs Bunny w/ Witch Hazel*


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## partsguy (Mar 31, 2017)

This used to be a very popular color. It is either orange or coral. Either way, it's REALLY faded. Check out the fork!


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## rustjunkie (Mar 31, 2017)

partsguy said:


> This used to be a very popular color. It is either orange or coral. Either way, it's REALLY faded. Check out the fork!




The fork appears to be white like the body of the frame and fender accents


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## partsguy (Mar 31, 2017)

You know, Prince got the idea for the song "Little Red Corvette" while sleeping in a pink 1964 Mercury Montclair Maruader that belonged to Lisa Coleman. Although, earlier stories reported the car as a pink 1958 Edsel.



 

http://jalopnik.com/the-real-story-behind-princes-little-red-corvette-1772324027

http://jalopnik.com/everybody-was-wrong-about-the-car-that-inspired-princes-1772882304

The Purple One and a pink vintage car...what a color combo, eh?


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## partsguy (Mar 31, 2017)

rustjunkie said:


> The fork appears to be white like the body of the frame and fender accents
> 
> View attachment 444187




I see pink on the inside of the fork.


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## PCHiggin (Mar 31, 2017)

I like it,pink,orange,whatever.


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## rollfaster (Mar 31, 2017)

PCHiggin said:


> Sorry to hijack the thread but they had a real cool purple too in the mid 50's. Not very common today.



Chromatic fuscia.


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## ricobike (Mar 31, 2017)

Well, I'll say this, they blazed a trail that nobody in the bike world followed (that I know of) .


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## Kstone (Apr 1, 2017)

I kinda wanna take her home


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## vincev (Apr 1, 2017)

Dave Marko said:


> Salmon and turquoise were very popular mid-century colors. These two used together seems a bit unusual, but not altogether surprising. Generally, I'd think a more common combination might be salmon and a more neutral "color" like, black, white or gray. I wonder if it was as much of an invitation to a snot beating back then, as we would think it was now?
> 
> View attachment 443701



If you beat a snot will it stick to your knuckles ?


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## Boris (Apr 1, 2017)

vincev said:


> If you beat a snot will it stick to your knuckles ?


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## GTs58 (Apr 1, 2017)

Pink and Salmon were really popular in the mid-late 50's. My Dad had a 55 Buick that was pink and black. Then he purchased a new 1959 Buick Invicta convertible that was purple with a white top and interior. I had no idea what the hell he was thinking.


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## 2jakes (Apr 1, 2017)

Seller has the bike color listed as "rare".
More likely, it's faded with age to that hue.

I remember someone attempting a restoration on a Schwinn black phantom.
I mentioned that originally the color in parts was red enamel not orange
which he was planning on using.


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## 37fleetwood (Apr 1, 2017)

I always loved that color!


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## 39zep (Apr 1, 2017)

Our untouched original 55 Chevy.


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## 2jakes (Apr 1, 2017)

39zep said:


> Our untouched original 55 Chevy.
> View attachment 444773 View attachment 444772




It screams of the "Fabulous Fifties"....NIce!



Coral/Shadow Grey


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## vincev (Apr 1, 2017)

Dave Marko said:


> View attachment 444687



Why must you ruin another fine thread.


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## PCHiggin (Apr 2, 2017)

GTs58 said:


> Pink and Salmon were really popular in the mid-late 50's. My Dad had a 55 Buick that was pink and black. Then he purchased a new 1959 Buick Invicta convertible that was purple with a white top and interior. I had no idea what the hell he was thinking.



I think he had cool taste. Love that color.Thats the nicest looking '59 Buford I've seen


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## PCHiggin (Apr 2, 2017)

39zep said:


> Our untouched original 55 Chevy.
> View attachment 444773 View attachment 444772



Oh Man,Thats the one I always wanted. Crazy but I also want one in Navaho Tan.


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## Handyman (Apr 2, 2017)

I was into the 1955 Chevy Nomads most all my life.........................my absolute favorite color combo was the Coral and Gray.  Classic 50's two tone!  Pete in Fitchburg


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## rollfaster (Apr 2, 2017)

39zep said:


> Our untouched original 55 Chevy.
> View attachment 444773 View attachment 444772



my tongue is on the floor. beautiful 55.


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## 2jakes (Apr 2, 2017)

rollfaster said:


> my tongue is on the floor. beautiful 55.




Years ago while visiting Calif. I met
someone who showed me his  Chev.
BelAire which he purchased brand new.
He only had less than 50 miles on it.
Kept it mostly in the garage.
It was an odd sensation as if looking at
a time capsule.


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## 37fleetwood (Apr 2, 2017)




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## 37fleetwood (Apr 2, 2017)




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## bikewhorder (Apr 2, 2017)

I wanted one of these when I was 10 years old but it did make me wonder if there was something wrong with me (there was).


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## Nashman (Apr 2, 2017)

Salmon/pink/coral was popular in that era especially in a 2 tone. (" Gay"... back then...."not that there's anything wrong with that"/quote Seinfeld" mean't..... "Happy") Frankly, I love it. I drove a Salmon and cream 1955 Nash Ambassador Custom Country Club 2 dr HT for 7 years and held my head high. I only sold it ( divorce lack of $$ was part of it I suppose?) to downsize to a Nash Metropolitan. ( even it's a washed out/older red repaint with a pinkish hue/grey primer roof) The Ambassador ( original Packard 320-V8) only got about 5 mpg. That said, I don't wear pink pants or shirts, or ride a "coral" bike... but that's just me...ha!!


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## Nashman (Apr 2, 2017)

GTs58 said:


> Pink and Salmon were really popular in the mid-late 50's. My Dad had a 55 Buick that was pink and black. Then he purchased a new 1959 Buick Invicta convertible that was purple with a white top and interior. I had no idea what the hell he was thinking.



Stunning!!


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## Handyman (Apr 2, 2017)

......................and don't forget those great pink and gray 50's bathrooms to match your car and bicycle !!!!!  Pete in Fitchburg


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## Jeff54 (Apr 2, 2017)

1967 my dad bought a 1955 pink and white Ford  Crown Victoria. I still don't know why that, I was drawn to it like a magnet. Normally my parents would have to force or pay me to wash their car, but in this instance I did it every Saturday morning without ask, prodding or pay. Yet, due to the color, I wasn't volunteering that to the neighborhood boys. That  'crown' had really thick and rich chrome I admired too. Plus rather than factory rims, they were Chrome with half moons, which added an extra 'neat' appeal then. 4 sped Hurst shifter on the floor, albeit it wasn't a racer, just 'Boss'



I just loved those white and pink seats too, so, that car shined all of the time.

Even today as I reflect on photos like this interior, I get an all warm and fussy feeling that I can't explain. [grin]






However, I agree with OP what in #@!@ were they thinking as, that bike has got the worst color combination for boys ever. Albeit there was a kid whom his parents dressed as a girl, 'pursy' even the schools separated him in special classes, kindergarten though 2nd grade which was the The last time I saw him 1962. I could imagine they built it for him or boys the like.

I could adore those colors on a girl bike, but Boy's?  Yeah, that's a set on boy bike, I just don't get too.


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## partsguy (Apr 3, 2017)

Handyman said:


> ......................and don't forget those great pink and gray 50's bathrooms to match your car and bicycle !!!!!  Pete in Fitchburg
> 
> View attachment 445099




I am going to send this thread to my mom. My step-dad's bathroom is stuck in 1960. The bathtub, toilet, fixtures, steel vanity cabinet (with sliding doors!), and wall tiles were those colors. She can't wait to renovate it, toss the pink stuff in my truck, and never see it again.


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## 2jakes (Apr 3, 2017)

When I was in the 4th grade I was madly in love with the cute girl with the blonde pigtails.
She had a bottle of perfume. The contents were pink.


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## Jeff54 (Apr 3, 2017)

Mid 50's 'Pink and Salmon" I yust membered why. Pink Flamingos! and salmon sunsets on the beaches. And gives me an idyllic reasoning for that Pink bike, which fits my fancy even for a boy albeit, I wouldn't have been caught dead on it, myself. . Yet its colors are right on the money.

Miami Florida, Cuba etc. That was the big land grab push for Florida, the highlight era in Cuba too. It would be cool colors riding around in Miami even Cuba and ya wouldn't have to be a "pursy" to do it. Especially, really cool in Miami right now, I'd ride the heck out of it there. I bet if ya had this bike there , it is an easy sale locally.

Polish that bike up, stick it on Miami Craig's list or LBS, or antiques even retail specialty  store today, double your money +, Ka-Ching!

That era, those colors and pink Flamingos, most all of America was being sold on Florida's beaches, land developments and Cuba's Casinos. Come to tink on it, just like Boxing in this period, the fricken Mofia sold everybody on pink. [wink] Flamingos.

It's an iconic bike in Miami,.. That's what Monarch were tinking.


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## Autocycleplane (Apr 3, 2017)

They were thinking the same thing as Leo Fender - let's sell our products in popular colors of the day. I dig it, but then again I play this:


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## Boris (Apr 3, 2017)

partsguy said:


> I am going to send this thread to my mom. My step-dad's bathroom is stuck in 1960. The bathtub, toilet, fixtures, steel vanity cabinet (with sliding doors!), and wall tiles were those colors. She can't wait to renovate it, toss the pink stuff in my truck, and never see it again.




Previous owners got to the bathroom of my vintage house and put in all new boring crap. Lost the tub, toilet, sink, hardware and tiles. Fortunately for me, they didn't live in the house long enough to do any more damage.


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## Hobo Bill (Apr 3, 2017)

hey Dave ...eye have a 1961 briggs pink toilet for -sale....


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## Boris (Apr 3, 2017)

That house is now my rental. The tenants are fine with the remodeled bathroom, and I'm too cheap to restore it. Just whining about how "remodeled" generally means "to make worse" or "destroy" in relationship to vintage homes.


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## vincev (Apr 3, 2017)

Dave Marko said:


> Previous owners got to the bathroom of my vintage house and put in all new boring crap. Lost the tub, toilet, sink, hardware and tiles. Fortunately for me, they didn't live in the house long enough to do any more damage.



Too bad they got rid of the original colors.I would love to have a bathroom with the original pink and black tile,etc.I do have a pink bathroom sink I will sell you.I use it as a planter.


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