Many years ago (we're talking 1980) a friend helped me get a bike to shred the skatepark (SF Bay Area). He was a BMX racer who happened to know Danny Oakley, Mongoose's factory team rider. Danny had a prototype Moosegoose frame that he was using for testing/development before launch and apparently was willing to part with it for some cash.

Wallet slightly lighter, I was now the owner of THE prototype Moosegoose frame, painted flat black, various scratches, nothing special to look at other than the additional length of head tube and seat tube to help gangly riders' knees clear the bars. Mongoose released them in Show Chrome, Candy Black/Blue, and Red. My friend had access to lots of parts and helped me with the build-up. It was so long ago, but I vaguely recall putting on yellow Skyway wheels, Comp III tires, a yellow Kashimax MX seat, (I think) a yellow Toughneck, and yellow grips.

So, I'm curious, not quite 40 years later, where did this one-of-a-kind frame end up? Is it still around with stories to tell? Buried in a landfill? Melted? If this bike is still alive, I'm sure all the parts would have been changed. Needle in a haystack I tell ya.

Well, it may help to share what you did with it after you were done with it.

Sold? Stolen? I guess it's safe to assume you didn't wreck it.

Those chrome Mongooses with the Moto-Mags were the coolest BMX bikes ever.

DD

My first real BMX bike was a mongoose, got it in the late 70's, traded it up a few years later for a Race Inc. Miss both those bikes!

It's those little details that the mind feverishly clings to but sometimes loses its purchase. *sigh* Somewhere around that period I recall the bike being sold to a good home, probably the same friend who helped me get the bike helped me find a new owner for a reasonable price. At least that's how these things usually went down. Of course that was different than me blowing out my ACL and then, while under the influence, autographing my skateboard and giving it away to one of the groupies.

Same here.On the Mongoose.My first LBS bought BMX bike that was not A hand me down from my two older brothers.I had A Redline squareback? and G-boy that I broke the frame in two before the Mongoose.

It was blue and my parents bought it from A bike store on El Camino Real in Redwood City Ca.
Not sure what happened to it.I had two or three other bikes stolen from me through high school.

My first BMX scoot upon moving here to Santa Maria California in 79 was an orange Goose with Motomags. I swappped the motomags for black tuff wheels before taking it home. I recall my next upgrade was to a proneck and and redline v-bars. Next came a pretty set of gold Araya RX-7's with painted red spokes and sunshine hubs. I can't remember what I did with that bike when I moved up to a Redline MX II. Hmmmm... good old days!

around 82' or 83', my best friend had an older brother that was a B pro at the time, and columbia made an effort to become a name in racing and signed him. ( he was also best friends with jim paiva who rode for skyway ) don't think they went for more than a couple years.
after a few months, i became the owner of his first columbia racing frame.
don't remember much about tube sizing, but i think i remember it was an oversized downtube. 4130, not aluminum, no decals, and a ( at the time ) very unique in the bmx world the color was a wicked black chrome.
i know i traded it for something, but don't remember what ...

those spider web sort of looking magnesium things ??
yes they looked cool, but were heavy as hell, and magnesium is brittle so they broke all the time ...

My first genuine BMX bicycle was a mongoose, got it in the late 70's, exchanged it up a couple of years after the fact for a Race Inc. Miss both those bicycles!