Just How The Chopper Emerged To Be

By Brian M. Sorensen


Many American soldiers who returned to the States after World War II were faithful to the Harley Davidson company but were not very happy with the new motorcycles that were introduced. Most of them enjoyed riding more exciting and lightweight motorcycles present in Europe. Getting trained in the service to maintain automobiles and motorcycles, they wanted improvements made. Consequently, the fenders on the bikes were shortened or removed altogether to lighten the weight. Generally the front fender was removed, but the backside one was only shortened to keep the passenger protected from mud and water thrown up by the rear tire.

The term bobber originated from this, and the chopper was created as riders continued to customize their bikes by making more changes. The primary intention was to convert these bikes for dirt bike racing. Because unneeded parts of the bike were being chopped off, the term chopper to describe such bikes was created. A portion of what was chopped off involved large seats, accident bars, big headlights, front fenders and windshields. Forward-mounted foot pegs supplanted the larger footrests, and the gasoline tank was made smaller, which all made for a lighter bike.

The wheelbase belonging to the bike was improved by raking the front end which diminished the angle of the fork to the ground. The handlebars were also raised and they termed them ape hangers. Just about every rider was creating a bike totally the way in which they wanted and anything that was unnecessary or too big was removed or made smaller. The rear tire was made fat and the front side one was made small. Enterprising individuals began to fashion custom bikes and began building them to sell to those who didn't want to do the work themselves. When the trend caught on choppers began to be developed.

The fad for choppers slowed down for a few years, but recently it seems to have made a comeback. Choppers that happen to be custom built by the best designers are valued greatly and in high demand. The film Easy Rider with Peter Fonda helped to boost the popularity of the chopper. On account of the chopper's popularity, Harley Davidson launched the Shovelhead FX Super Glide. Even though a lot of people believe the chopper was built for aesthetics, there is a real performance advantage to the raked front end. Any time going at excessive speeds, the chopper feels more stable on the road than the original factory suspension, but there is one drawback to this. It is heavier and much less responsive at slow speeds and in curves.

A hand-crafted chopper created from scratch is most likely good to have if you want something that is unique and custom built. Although they are probably not easy to ride in particular situations, they do look very impressive. The low-rider style featuring its low frame to ground clearance, is one particular look that is becoming more popular.




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