Gitarzan wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:03:


that has always been my point, that and the one i hide with my hat.  

sunny wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:03:


very good question
when you start taking things off not adding them.  

the things you take off have nothing to do with making the machine move or stop, like signals. check your states laws, many states only require you signal, not actually have signals.  passenger seating, sissybar, windshield any ornamental do dads, side rails stuff like that, you don't have to have an extended front end that's an add on making it a custom, not a chopper.  now many builders are making customs and calling them "choppers" which they are not.  it goes right along with the "real" biker discussion. a chopper is something you make yourself, not go out and buy. nobody buys a chopper they can only be built.  buy it, it's a custom job.

hope this helps.   no offense hoghunter.

Gitarzan wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:03:


and they are when you look at the orgins of the "chopper" as i explained in the earler post.  you "chop" off excess weight for added performance.

so whats mine. technicaly a chopper. i prefer the term bobbed custom. or years from now  "ratt bike"

Gitarzan wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:03:


thank you for the custom statment.    i do like the term street chopper.  most that see it call it a chopper.

a client of mine said he wanted a savage before he knew i had one, i told him i'll bring mine down for him to check out. he loved it, one of his employees saw it and asked if it came that way, before i could say anything my client says "no way he's spent some serious time customizing it". i threw him the keys, said take it for a spin.  he wouldn't go, said i dont want to hurt it.  i couldn't convince him that short of running it into a building or car he couldn't hurt it, or at least do anything i couldn't fix..  

he did have a sweet 71 triumph bonny with less then 10k miles on it in his back room. he bought it new and just can't bring himself to ride it.. that's why he wants the savage.

You know I watch these things all the time and sometimes get some inspiration from some of them... but you know after a while all thier theme bikes get kind of a blur. Now what I want to see is some branching out from the "chopper" theme.

I want to see some Scooters... and some Cafe Racers... something on the other edges.  Something custom in those... as well as something taken and Modified to be something else. Both shows of maybe building them from the raw parts and maybe others on modifying something stock to be something else. Things like we do. Taking a Savage and making it a Cafe racer or a Chopper. Or for that matter just restoring something.

NOT another build a Chopper from greatest parts I can have made or purchase and do a tad of metal fab to stick on it show. There are enough of those to satisfy my needs.

What I want is something like what we all do. Which is really a truer form of old skool "choping" than these guys do.

There is a good audience for this other kind of stuff.

klx650sm2002 wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:03:


no just removing a case of beer doesn't count.  

cphilip wrote on 12/31/69 at 16:00:03:


RIGHT ON!!!