anyone from the chopper days?

[GS1150Pilot]

Actually:

[LAB3]

Actually:

It ran on one of the movie channels available on extended basic cable recently (MGM?)

[Gorminrider]

ha! i like that bit riding the railroad track! We have a disused track running half the length of Vancouver island, not including the logging railroads up north..I might try that!

[kingofvenus]

There was a guy here that back then that built one out of a 750ss Ducati... Was kinda bobber style. Most people thought it was an early sporty.

[wymple]

I was there. I built an XS650 hardtail for my 16 year old son, it's still here. My nephew & I built a 750 Triumph twin. It was really common to find stock bikes with extended forks. Springers were a big deal, the coolest ones had the twisted steel look. 750 Hondas, mostly, and the occasional 900 Kaw. Always a king-queen seat. Yamaha made the TX750 for only a short time, and some build your own chopper kit outfit bought all the left over engines. They were advertised in all the major mags. Rarely saw chops out on the road, mostly bar hoppers.

[Rob S.]

I was there. It was really common to find stock bikes with extended forks.

Yes it was:

asset (1).jpg

1975, I was 18.

1971 CB350 6 inch over Forks by Frank, a real kitty magnet (look on the seat).

[wymple]

Forking by Frank. A motorcycling legend.

[timebombprod]

I was there. I built an XS650 hardtail for my 16 year old son, it's still here. My nephew & I built a 750 Triumph twin. It was really common to find stock bikes with extended forks. Springers were a big deal, the coolest ones had the twisted steel look. Always a king-queen seat. . They were advertised in all the major mags. Rarely saw chops out on the road, mostly bar hoppers.

watch this guy shadetree surgeon on youtube and he has a xs650 chopper, love the look and its ALOT cheaper than a panhead, and yes the king and queen seat is mandatory if i ever build/have a chopper, it doesnt look like one without it to me. hardtail, springer front, twisted forks, all early chopper ideals, the choppers you see now are great works of custom bikes but i still love the oldschool look.


also watch hunting harleys a bit too, not my favorite but i like seeing old choppers and such and the occasional photos/history that he'll have with a bike. very true that you dont see them on the road, if it was all the parts you wanted, and as clean as could be, its a magazine bike. the ones on the road are the ones resurrected from the junkyard, at least at the time.

[pano]

6530499C-1355-4651-B4F4-849836DF3124.jpgSaw this on another site, thought I would post here.

[Rob S.]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]60904[/ATTACH]Saw this on another site, thought I would post here.

For the day, a fairly conservative guy on a fairly conservative bike (no raking). I wonder what the price on the pump is.

Left foot on the rear drum (if it was before '71), right foot dragging the ground to stop.

[GS1150Pilot]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]60904[/ATTACH]Saw this on another site, thought I would post here.

Godawful hideousness squared

[LAB3]

watch this guy shadetree surgeon on youtube and he has a xs650 chopper, love the look and its ALOT cheaper than a panhead, and yes the king and queen seat is mandatory if i ever build/have a chopper, it doesnt look like one without it to me. hardtail, springer front, twisted forks, all early chopper ideals, the choppers you see now are great works of custom bikes but i still love the oldschool look.


also watch hunting harleys a bit too, not my favorite but i like seeing old choppers and such and the occasional photos/history that he'll have with a bike. very true that you dont see them on the road, if it was all the parts you wanted, and as clean as could be, its a magazine bike. the ones on the road are the ones resurrected from the junkyard, at least at the time.

The looks thing to me has to do with fit and finish. The "back in the day" look is due to custom parts made by hand and the imperfections that resulted from that. With AutoCAD and 5 axis milling machines the custom bikes these days look like they came off the showroom floor or bolted together from parts out of the Arlen Ness catalog. My favorites are the ones a guy did in his own garage, maybe with the help of some buddies. That has more to do with "good old days" nastalgia than anything else.

[GS1150Pilot]

I saw one of these godawful things at the gas station the other day while filling up the Sportster. It was based on a Sportster, looked similar to the one below. No front brake, handlebars about 12" wide, just hideous. Motor sounded really good, though.

[Gorminrider]

migod! no front brake! (...and it Looks like he's steering a shopping cart)

[storm 64]

I kind of like it. A slice of the 70's... I'd never ride it though, but it would good in a collection. 👍