Chop it?

[Dogbad]

I must admit that I feel uncomfortable that I might be associated with the "Trying to copy a Harley" types!  I do like the look of the black racer style in the picture above and think that might be more the way to go.  My only worry is one of physical health in that, since the injuries, I have trouble with putting weight down on my wrists and the Clip on's of a Cafe Racer might make me handle the bike badly. No rush though, time to think for a while yet

[guest18]

No-one copies Harleys any more, they just buy a Sportster if they're that bothered. Customs are just that, custom (unless you are down to putting HD badges on the tank!!)
I say build what you fancy and sod what people think. I got bored a while ago being told by people that whatever I was riding didn't handle as well as (insert current plastic missile of your choice). Only to find half of them can't/don't ride or have the self same missile with all the adjusters set as hard as they'll go 
Handling is subjective at the best of times (outside of a racetrack) and as long as you like/don't mind it and it's safe at legal speeds then it's fine.

Quite like the classic hardtail & normal length forks type chop myself, but you just build what you want and you're fine with me 

[el vencejo]

Sorry Smudge, but I think that ALL chops are just a rehash of what the yanks have been doing to HD's since Easy Rider made them fashionable. I haven't seen anything that didn't start with HD originally... ergo they're just poor copies of bikes they wish they could afford    
As for handling, there is nothing subjective about big fork angles (which also greatly increase fork flex), simply put, great straight line stability but very resistent to tight bends and lousy at slow speed running (always see chop riders "paddling" when moving slowly. So in objective terms, chops only handle well in a straight line.
Classical hardtail and short forks is strictly a Bobber, Chops must have long forks and the word "chop" refers to the chopped and raked headstock.
Choppers are thankfully a very small part of the bike customising scene
All the rest seem pretty much ok... streetfighters, street scramblers, cafe racers, bobbers, minimals etc

Yes I am heavily prejudiced against bad engineering/dynamics/ergonomics 

[Steve H]

Handling is subjective at the best of times (outside of a racetrack) and as long as you like/don't mind it and it's safe at legal speeds then it's fine.

Smudge raises an interesting point here. Why does it matter how well a bike handles, I've had many bikes in the past (CX500, XS500, CB250 e.t.c) which had to be manhandled round corners and the challenge was riding them smoothly and quickly, I found this more satisfying than going round a corner twice as quick on a bike that was doing all the work for me. It was the same for trials bikes, I chose to ride a trail bike (DT175)  in trials competitions rather than a pukka trials bike, this was because if I cleaned a section it was down to me rather than the bike.
Going back to the initial thread on customs I suppose if its not dangerous, and you enjoy riding it, it doesn't matter if its slower round corners.

[guest18]

Would have to respectfully agree to disagree there   I always understood the original chops to be called chops as a reference to removing all the extraneous junk from overweight Harleys/Indians etc, way before Easy Rider!
The fact that many of the originals were Harleys is a fluke of geography, nothing more, it was the most common (and therefore cheapest!) bike in the area where the scene grew up.
The long forked candy painted chop is an evolution of customisation that began certainly after WW2 (see the original Hells Angel USAF squadron which begat the infamous bike club).

So a Bobber is just a name for a variant of a chop, imho of course  

But as I think we agree, there should be room for everyone to build what they want as long as it's safe!

[el vencejo]

The Bobbers came first   as a reaction to the post-war import to the USA of Triumph, BSA, Norton "lightweight" twins, the local guys bought cheap ex-army harleys and removed everything to lighten their bikes to compete on the streets, they were the early equivalent of English cafe racers. Then "style" took hold and just to be different some guys chopped their frames.  

In The Wild Ones, Brando rode a Triumph, Marvin rode a Harley Bobber.
Anyone seen a Chopper on film before that?   

[guest18]

I think we're arguing over chopped bikes or chopped frames, but I'm not an expert so I'll shut up now 

[el vencejo]

ok all,       but I love this bike 'cos its customised without detriment to the way it works on the road, inherently quicker with sharper steering simply due to weight reduction.


Bobber c1950, the guy is really having fun

[Mark]

ok all,       but I love this bike 'cos its customised without detriment to the way it works on the road, inherently quicker with sharper steering simply due to weight reduction.


Bobber c1950, the guy is really having fun

Until he landed on his head.

Now thats what you call a knuckle head.

[Steffan]

Man and machine....perfect!!

Great pic

Steff

[themoudie]

Have a gander at the Bullet, then scroll on down the thread below! You'll either love 'em or loathe 'em!

Bullet Bobber thread

Toodle pip from Lapland, Bill.

[guest868]

I was just about to post that Bill! Great minds and all that 

[el vencejo]

The Bullet Bobber has some very neat touches, but to make it into an extended hardtail just by adding some bent tube and flat bar to the swinging arm is aesthetically terrible, bad engineering and just plain lazy; the bolt-on hardtail from Hitchocks is a much more professional job.
Back tyre isn't exactly designed for bends

[Dogbad]

I agree about the rear end treatment. It looks like somebody has been told what a hardtail is and never thought of anything beyond that. Rest of the bike looks interesting but the back end is an ******* end!


Edit to say I just had another look and the akshool finished item, bottom picture, does look good!

Could try harder but did okay I reckon.