I have owned several motorcyles, have ridden a good bit, but am in no way very knowledgeable about them. But when I see these ridiculous choppers with the extended fork, tiny front tire and the huge rear, I just have to wonder "Why?". What are they like to ride? Can they stop and turn? I even see them with no front brakes. Are they just two wheel versions of donks? They tend to be quite expensive, too. Can somebody explain this to me? Thanks, Chuck
just a style thing
typically rougher ride due to no rear suspension...
From what I can see, the worse they ride and handle, and the more uncomfortable and impractical they are, the better. Their purpose is not to perform any actual function, but to prove what a badass you are for being willing to ride one, and how financially secure you are by way of spending giant piles of money on something that is totally and utterly useless.
Style over function = stupid.
A few of my uncles rode choppers back in the 70s. One of my uncles chopped the frame and went 20 over with a 16in in the back and 19in up front. It is the easy rider look. Oh and he said the thing handled like a pig and wouldn't turn. New choppers are for turds with money. You know that chrome adds tons of weight to an already heavy bike?
There are varying degrees of stupidity at work building a chopper, but when you take a sawzall to a vintage harley frame you should be shot.
I heard someone once call them a train wreck bike. Appropriate name and it made me laugh.
I have a chopper. It is a 1970 yamaha 650 twin set in a hardtail frame. It has original paint, drum brakes, a springer frontend, no air cleaners, no mufflers, no gauges, nada. Its nicknamed the E36 M3bike. I paid about $1000 for it. It was built by a guy who went to Vietnam but never came back. I'll never sell it, it's an absolute blast to ride and gets more attention than all of my buds Harleys. That being said, I have no idea why anyone would spend more than a few thousand bucks on one. Oh, and btw, I ran a 12.90 on it at Lebanon Valley Dragway.
To some extent, some of the mods on a chopper can make it a more stable platform for long highway rides. Others have some drag bike heritage. But many of them take it further to the point of reducing function. Because it looks cool, of course. I'd say they are a bit less like donks, though, more like lead sleds. While the high dollar / lots of bling choppers are something of a fad, real, low buck choppers have been around for decades.
Doesn't Hotch ask $250,00.00 per bike?
I will agree, that of all the "big time" builders, the ones from Hot Match are the ones I'd want.
I thought the point of a riding a chopper was so you could be different.
Just like everyone else.
Shawn
I'm no bike historian but I think it started like this...
Strip off the parts you don't need to go faster and be more reliable. Hence, the stripped and clean look of most choppers. Less electrics meant more reliable at the time.
Frames back then were really, really flexible. To make a bike more stable you raked out the front wheel putting it practically in the next state. The added length made the bike more stable at higher speeds. Great for the highway but crap on curvy roads. The longer the bike the more lean required to negotiate a turn at a particular speed. More speed = more lean required as well. So, fast turns on a chopper require either sliding the rear or leaning over a lot. Britain has many more curvy roads so they went the cafe racer route. We have more interstates so our guys went the chopper route.
Harley motors were a dime a dozen so HD mills were mostly used.
Pull back bars were more comfortable at speeds below 90 mph instead of the flat bars or pull forward bars that came on most stock bikes from the 1940's to '60's. The bike's engines could cruise at that speed so that was the goal for comfort.
Ron Finch has been around forever! He's so bizaar, so creative and walks his own line regardless of what others are doing, he could be one of us.
http://www.finchscustoms.com/finchcollection.htm
So what about ape hangers?
What are the deal with those? I can see the laid back for the freeway and extending the wheel base for stability, but I don't understand what these do for you:
Obviously these are extreme (as in extremely stupid)
I wonder how many of these guys run freeway pegs with no front brake?
914Driver wrote: Ron Finch has been around forever! He's so bizaar, so creative and walks his own line regardless of what others are doing, he could be one of us. http://www.finchscustoms.com/finchcollection.htm
I know nothing about bikes, choppers, old style hot rods or anything, but this guy rocks. My kids school had an art show/sale as a fund raiser a couple of months ago, I have no idea of his connection, but he was there with s couple of bikes and lot's of pictures. I talked to him for a while, just a cool cool guy.
aircooled wrote: So what about ape hangers? What are the deal with those? I can see the laid back for the freeway and extending the wheel base for stability, but I don't understand what these do for you:
I do know that some guys like to rake bars back and up so they lean back while they ride. They prefer the arm chair seating position.
I agree with your assessment of "That guy". 
That guy does have a front brake. You can see his brake reservoir on the right handlebar. Some chopper riders I rode with used the back brake exclusively. Most of the weight is on the rear so it makes more sense than when your bike has a front weight bias like the sportbike style.
aircooled wrote: So what about ape hangers?
I've run them for comfort and control.
I do not like riding for long arched over or crouched. I'm much more comfortable with my hands up closer to my shoulders.
They've saved my hide any number of times by letting me stand up on the pegs and wrestle the bike. Something I cannot do with low slung bar, or worse the buckhorn style bars.
aircooled wrote: So what about ape hangers? What are the deal with those?
The mini-apes that are available as dealer options on many new H-D models are actually quite comfortable.
aircooled wrote: So what about ape hangers? What are the deal with those?
The mini-apes that are available as dealer options on many new H-D models are actually quite comfortable.
foxtrapper wrote: ...I do not like riding for long arched over or crouched. I'm much more comfortable with my hands up closer to my shoulders....
Hmmm, OK, I guess I can see that. It would be much easier to lift yourself up when reclined.
When I see someone using those going down the freeway in a (somewhat typical) t-shirt I always think: "Gee I wonder what it feels like to get hit in the armpit by a bug going 70mph?" "I bet that guy knows..."
After riding sport bikes for years I started to get shoulder pain from the riding position. The apes may be the one way I could ride again without chronic shoulder problems.
..I'm not sure if I want to ride that bad tho. 
My Two Cents? Well Ok. Today, the term bobber has stepped in where chopper once rightfully resided. You "chopped" everything unnecessary off the bike-for more speed, better performance, etc. In much the same way" Hot Rod" once meant one thing, but now means twin turbocharged TWO SPEED AUTOMATIC F-bomb, a chopper once was a more elegant, Occum's Razor sort of machine, but now, somehow means adding length to forks(shouldn't they be called "Stretchers"-what their often uninitiated owners may well need), and maybe they're faster in a straight line, but certainly an image enhancing accesory, much like MC Hammer's glasses- not a guy trying to go fast straight out of the garage with minimal cash outlay.
Like any motoring trend, all the style elements of bikes usually start with a race oriented idea that becmes comically overdone.
In the sportbike world we have extended swingarms. Originally to help traction on dragbikes, You can find them on 600s. They have a ridiculous fashion element now, as I see them polished and holding 180 rears. Nitrous has also become the "in" think to have on your superbike. Not that you'll use it on the street, but the purge valve makes it look cooler.
aircooled wrote:
Big 60 mph JuneBug right in the armpit! DOH !!!!
wheelsmithy wrote: In much the same way" Hot Rod" once meant one thing, but now means twin turbocharged TWO SPEED AUTOMATIC F-bomb
There haven't been any hotrods in "Hot Rod" for a very longtime.
Rodder's Journal FTW!
It's the only thing I buy regularly other than GRM.
Shawn
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