T
Tarbash 27
Guest
Choppers=bad
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D
Desolation Angel
Guest
BTW, speaking of choppers, why did American Chopper get moved to TLC? Discover Channel ratings for it dropping?
T
Tarbash 27
Guest
because mythbusters is so much better than occ
A
andrewclaycomb
Guest
What's really weird, is trick my truck is being played on MTV2. Wasn't that a country music television thing?
R
rikusa
Guest
Yes
Yes
I dig choppers. I dig rats. And I really dig rat chops. Big GS's are the perfect donor; loads of torque, reliable as the day is long, right size wheels(16" and 19"), and cheap as ****. Chop on.
Yes
I dig choppers. I dig rats. And I really dig rat chops. Big GS's are the perfect donor; loads of torque, reliable as the day is long, right size wheels(16" and 19"), and cheap as ****. Chop on.
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C
Commodus
Guest
I like choppers!
Well, the ones you can actually ride. Some of them you just can't, and I'm no down with that.
Well, the ones you can actually ride. Some of them you just can't, and I'm no down with that.
S
steely
Guest
I like bobbers. The original choppers were cool, take everything off that is not absolutely essential. The new skool, load 'em up with chrome, bull**** choppers suck. They have no turning radius. Minimalist is best as far as I am concerned.
Chopped my Sting-Ray at the age of twelve....
Chopped my Sting-Ray at the age of twelve....
Couldn't even ride it at all after that except slowly on level roads. Pretty much sucked. Every chopper I have ever ridden was similar. CG wrong, wheelbase wrong, it's all wrong. Never seen anyone else riding any chopper fast enough to be fun. Have seen several guys get tossed off by a bump or something which would have been a non-event on any regular motorcycle, or hit cars which would have been easily avoided on anything with half decent handling or braking ability. Seem pretty silly to ruin a ridable bike just to make it look cool. Give me function over form any day.
So I guess that would be a resounding no.
Chopped my Sting-Ray at the age of twelve....
Couldn't even ride it at all after that except slowly on level roads. Pretty much sucked. Every chopper I have ever ridden was similar. CG wrong, wheelbase wrong, it's all wrong. Never seen anyone else riding any chopper fast enough to be fun. Have seen several guys get tossed off by a bump or something which would have been a non-event on any regular motorcycle, or hit cars which would have been easily avoided on anything with half decent handling or braking ability. Seem pretty silly to ruin a ridable bike just to make it look cool. Give me function over form any day.
So I guess that would be a resounding no.
B
BentRod
Guest
GS's and other sport bikes (supposedly) look the way they do for functional reasons to increase performance. Chopper are generaly made to be more artistic or to have a higher sex appeal. To that end, any chopper is going to be very personal, so asking our onions and opinions probably wont help. Go ahead, play with the lines of the bike, the paint scheme, heck, cover it in latex if it you that appeals to you. Just don't expect it to be a performance bike. All that occ and biker build off cr@p about making fast coppers is complete bull. I'm not even riding yet, but I'm willing to bet that if you try pushing 90mph with an upright riding position, with the wide bars (or the perviously mentioned apes) you are probably going to have to velco you a$$ to the seat
Choppers are bikes that are meant to be seen. in the most extreme cases, they are rolling art, so make sure you put a nice, wide, low profile tire on the back so you can be nice a stable at really slow speed (giving people a chance to look of course) but I'll probably out perform you on my bicycle.
Choppers are bikes that are meant to be seen. in the most extreme cases, they are rolling art, so make sure you put a nice, wide, low profile tire on the back so you can be nice a stable at really slow speed (giving people a chance to look of course) but I'll probably out perform you on my bicycle.
C
chazz
Guest
i like choppers:-D must have 16" rear and 21" front,a well constructed balanced frame otherwise it'll handle like a bag of custard :-D could let go of the bars on mine an it still went straight no wobbles etc
G
Guest
Guest
way to revive a 4.5 yr old thread...
8
80GS1000
Guest
As long as it looks good AND rides decently, why not? Some of the coolest bikes out there are choppers.
M
mpape
Guest
i bobbed my 81450e its f**ing awsom took the rear shocks off made it rigid flat rear fender nofront fender put an l modle tank on cut the frame solo springer seat drag bars and of course lowered about 12"" including seat hight and what not oh yeah forward controles it rides awsom and its no street fighter choppers and bobbers are awsom iv done about 5 so far from sprtsters to ground up choppers you can chop or bob anything just dont rake to much caus it does compromise handling these bikes with rediculous rakes are built for form not function so if you plan on riding it like i said watch the rake
B
Ben
Guest
Check out www.triumphman.com this guy sells some really neat old school chopped triumphs, always thought would be fun to have one for cruising around. The old choppers were that way to make them lighter and faster, not just to look cool so I think they actually wound up better looking because they werent so extreme.
I
ifly85
Guest
Choppers are great too! I like pretty much all bikes. I just wouldn't want to have all of them. Check the gallery on this website (http://www.hondachopper.com) for some examples of what you can do. I don't like rigid and I don't like really long front ends. More pro street.
Do whatever you want with your own bike.
Do whatever you want with your own bike.
M
mpape
Guest
dude your on the wrong forum i you want posotive feed back about chopping your bike the people on this forum like streetfighters an cafe racers wich by the way theres nothing wrong with its all a mater of opinion choppers are awsom no there not built for performance there built to look cool and they do and if built right they are as safe as any other bike just not always as fast but no one can see how cool you look when your going fast so go over to the chopper underground there youll get pleanty of advice on chopping or bobbing your gs or any bike for that matter i am having a hard tail section welded to my frame from someone from that sight dont get me wrong this forum is good to but most people here like i said lean tword streen fightersand cafes wich are also awsom remember its your bike so chop away just do it right
M
mpape
Guest
after reviewing my post after i submitted it i realized i cant spell for sh**t and have no concept of punctuation really i just cant type and have fat fingers so i apologize for the straining of all your eyes
B
beergood
Guest
Like almost any machine that is cared for and unique, I can appreciate choppers. Although, I must admit, I find most of the Discovery Channel choppers to be garish and tacky. A pet peeve of mine are also the "theme" bikes that certain people make. Why would I want a bike that looks like a fighter plane thing. It seems childish and weird. "Look, a pretend mini-wing pops up with little fake missiles. Pretty cool eh? Isn't it? Huh?"
Speaking of those guys (I'm pretty sure you can all guess who I am talking about), I enjoy the show, but I always wonder what the owner of a $100,000+ bike thinks when, after they take delivery, they watch the show and see them beating the hell out of the axle, or two dudes standing on the battery to get it into the box (the first thing I would think is: how the hell am I going to get that out of that box when it needs to be replaced?).
A friend of mine lives on the small island in Georgia where Davis Love lives. Apparently, less than two weeks after he got the bike it broke down. I don't have any more details than that, my buddy isn't a bike guy. But it was pretty amusing, none the less.
Now, Indian Larry, those are some good looking bikes.
Speaking of those guys (I'm pretty sure you can all guess who I am talking about), I enjoy the show, but I always wonder what the owner of a $100,000+ bike thinks when, after they take delivery, they watch the show and see them beating the hell out of the axle, or two dudes standing on the battery to get it into the box (the first thing I would think is: how the hell am I going to get that out of that box when it needs to be replaced?).
A friend of mine lives on the small island in Georgia where Davis Love lives. Apparently, less than two weeks after he got the bike it broke down. I don't have any more details than that, my buddy isn't a bike guy. But it was pretty amusing, none the less.
Now, Indian Larry, those are some good looking bikes.
L
Ludeykrus
Guest
I love choppers. Not the big, ugly, colorful things that get plastered on the TV, but the classic, simple choppers.
In fact, I almost bought a really nice '77 Shovelhead chopper, but the guy lost the title when it was time to do the exchange.... :?
In fact, I almost bought a really nice '77 Shovelhead chopper, but the guy lost the title when it was time to do the exchange.... :?
L
lecroy
Guest
I remember watching Easy Rider on our black and white TV and having the neighbor weld tubes to our bicycle forks to chop them. Some with bad results. I built my first chopper using an old Triumph as a starter bike. I was 14, no license and hooked. It was the first street bike I rode once I turned 16 and got my license. I remember machining the petcocks in shop class and have them taken from me because the teacher thought they were some sort of pot pipes.
I still like the look of the springer front end and ridged tail.
Anyway, I was digging through some old books I had. The following was scanned from an old book that was given to me as a kid (actually the man I bought the Triumph basket case from) that talks about the history of the chopper. Enjoy.
******************************************************
In 1947 a small rural town in the foothills of the Diablo mountains in California celebrated Independence Day with, among other events, a motorcycle hill climb. The day before the speed test some 4,000 motorcyclists invaded the place, Hollister. Among them were a few hundred leather-jacketed outlaws, Hell's Angels, for want of a better group name (although not a strictly accurate one), had yet to arrive. These were probably the Booze Fighters or similar, whose membership was drawn from the countless numbers of men fresh from the Second World War, still with an itch for action. Men who were unwilling, even unable to conform. They rode nothing but Harley-Davidsons and the legendary Indians, in vogue then although they were soon to be brought to an end. A few years later, British machinery, mainly Triumphs, made inroads into the all-American market, the forerunners of a revolution that no one at that time could foresee. The gangs spread and grew. They also realized that a big Harley was no match for a British twin, whose lithe performance ensured success even in the hands of the inexpert, both on the road and on the track. Somewhere along the line there came a split - not between the gangs, but among riders of all motorcycles. The ponderous old Harley V-twins earned themselves the derisory and now misused name of 'hog', or, if you like, 'pig', among the supporters of the British bikes. Far from remaining the insult it was intended to be, the term was gladly accepted and used with endearment by the Harley riders. A hog is a Harley, It might be a chopper, but not all choppers are hogs. The first seed of the chopper heritage was sown - the big bad hog was in.
Hog the massive 1,200cc might have been by name, but hog it could not be by performance if the outlaws were to remain the dominant personalities of highway banditry. By the mid-Fifties cars, as well as imported motorcycles, were encroaching on the power territories of the American twins. But Harley it had to be. Like the Colt 45, they were the biggest and most brutal, lethal and all powerful. At the same time a new, uglier breed of two-wheeled drop-out arose in the warmer climates of the West Coast. Exactly who established the freaky traditions of these bikers is unknown, and of little real importance, for California was rife with gangs, any one of which could probably claim some sort of credit.
To gain speed, the Harley owners stripped their machines of all unnecessary impedimenta. Before that a certain amount of styling and customizing had gone into the symbols of freedom, but with gathering speed the West Coast bikers latched on and left not a single bolt, bracket or panel in place that was without purpose. They themselves, as a token of their rejection of everything that Western civilization holds dear, threw off their leathers, reducing clothing, and thus protection, to a minimum. Levi's and denim jackets, sleeveless with the club colors emblazoned across the back, became The Uniform.
Whatever else the outlaws bikes were called upon to represent, they still had to perform. It was in and around San Francisco that the basic concepts of the chopper pageantry were laid down. Wild and outlandish traditions they may be, but a Frisco chopper is the daddy of them all.
Take a look at the Harley-Davidson production roadsters of that time and the apparently undisciplined force of chopping gets a little meaning. Rear suspension had yet to be introduced; front suspension was by leading link springer forks. The rider sat deep down inside the middle of the machine and steered through incredibly sweeping bars. Brakes were equally incredibly small - all the basis of a chopper. The term itself 'chopping', was borrowed from the rodders and was simply the outlaws' word for cutting back weight and unwanted equipment.
A stripped, naked gargantuan of whatever species presents a pathetic appearance to the world, so the outlaws introduced their own distinctive brand of motorcycle design, in a very successful effort to create a unique machine. With the seat, tank, mudguards, handlebars, fat front wheel and a goodly amount of other items gone, something was needed to replace them, and it had to look good. The second chapter in the chopper story began. There was to be only one more, and that has not yet closed - the introduction of the showbikes.
I still like the look of the springer front end and ridged tail.
Anyway, I was digging through some old books I had. The following was scanned from an old book that was given to me as a kid (actually the man I bought the Triumph basket case from) that talks about the history of the chopper. Enjoy.
******************************************************
In 1947 a small rural town in the foothills of the Diablo mountains in California celebrated Independence Day with, among other events, a motorcycle hill climb. The day before the speed test some 4,000 motorcyclists invaded the place, Hollister. Among them were a few hundred leather-jacketed outlaws, Hell's Angels, for want of a better group name (although not a strictly accurate one), had yet to arrive. These were probably the Booze Fighters or similar, whose membership was drawn from the countless numbers of men fresh from the Second World War, still with an itch for action. Men who were unwilling, even unable to conform. They rode nothing but Harley-Davidsons and the legendary Indians, in vogue then although they were soon to be brought to an end. A few years later, British machinery, mainly Triumphs, made inroads into the all-American market, the forerunners of a revolution that no one at that time could foresee. The gangs spread and grew. They also realized that a big Harley was no match for a British twin, whose lithe performance ensured success even in the hands of the inexpert, both on the road and on the track. Somewhere along the line there came a split - not between the gangs, but among riders of all motorcycles. The ponderous old Harley V-twins earned themselves the derisory and now misused name of 'hog', or, if you like, 'pig', among the supporters of the British bikes. Far from remaining the insult it was intended to be, the term was gladly accepted and used with endearment by the Harley riders. A hog is a Harley, It might be a chopper, but not all choppers are hogs. The first seed of the chopper heritage was sown - the big bad hog was in.
Hog the massive 1,200cc might have been by name, but hog it could not be by performance if the outlaws were to remain the dominant personalities of highway banditry. By the mid-Fifties cars, as well as imported motorcycles, were encroaching on the power territories of the American twins. But Harley it had to be. Like the Colt 45, they were the biggest and most brutal, lethal and all powerful. At the same time a new, uglier breed of two-wheeled drop-out arose in the warmer climates of the West Coast. Exactly who established the freaky traditions of these bikers is unknown, and of little real importance, for California was rife with gangs, any one of which could probably claim some sort of credit.
To gain speed, the Harley owners stripped their machines of all unnecessary impedimenta. Before that a certain amount of styling and customizing had gone into the symbols of freedom, but with gathering speed the West Coast bikers latched on and left not a single bolt, bracket or panel in place that was without purpose. They themselves, as a token of their rejection of everything that Western civilization holds dear, threw off their leathers, reducing clothing, and thus protection, to a minimum. Levi's and denim jackets, sleeveless with the club colors emblazoned across the back, became The Uniform.
Whatever else the outlaws bikes were called upon to represent, they still had to perform. It was in and around San Francisco that the basic concepts of the chopper pageantry were laid down. Wild and outlandish traditions they may be, but a Frisco chopper is the daddy of them all.
Take a look at the Harley-Davidson production roadsters of that time and the apparently undisciplined force of chopping gets a little meaning. Rear suspension had yet to be introduced; front suspension was by leading link springer forks. The rider sat deep down inside the middle of the machine and steered through incredibly sweeping bars. Brakes were equally incredibly small - all the basis of a chopper. The term itself 'chopping', was borrowed from the rodders and was simply the outlaws' word for cutting back weight and unwanted equipment.
A stripped, naked gargantuan of whatever species presents a pathetic appearance to the world, so the outlaws introduced their own distinctive brand of motorcycle design, in a very successful effort to create a unique machine. With the seat, tank, mudguards, handlebars, fat front wheel and a goodly amount of other items gone, something was needed to replace them, and it had to look good. The second chapter in the chopper story began. There was to be only one more, and that has not yet closed - the introduction of the showbikes.
