So, you may remember my posts about the Grey Mistress, and how I’ve called it a bobber-style bicycle or a chopper-style bicycle. Choppers are pretty easy to imagine, but you may have asked yourself, what the hell is a bobber?
Let’s start with what we already know. I’m not a huge cycle expert, but I love custom bikes and choppers, so I do know a little something here.
Choppers actually go way back to something called hill racing, that goes back almost as far as the modern American motorcycle itself. Enthusiasts would remove and chop non-essential materials from the bike to save weight. Since this was for racing, headlights, turn signals, fenders and even brakes got chucked. Alterations were then made to ensure a good run uphill. Sissy bars, elongated forks, and stretched handlebars all contributed.
Hill racing isn’t what it used to be, but the look continued and took on a life of its own. 60’s exploitation movies, pop culture, and of course movies like Easy Rider and Race For Your Life Charley Brown would ensure that the custom American motorcycle was an icon meant to last for decades, if not centuries.
But, wait a second, let’s have a second look up there. Some major changes have happened along the way. Custom bike culture has strayed a long way from the hill racing days. Custom paint jobs and chrome have made modern choppers too valuable for racing in the mud. The post WWII economy brought in lots of imports, such as the Triumph, which was a very popular bike to chop. That style of engine is what you’re seeing up above. Not only have choppers become more about a custom look than a particular style, but now almost any kind of modification or even stock bikes can be considered choppers.
Given biker culture, leather and rubber, choppers have been very popular in fetish art. I’ve seen a number of Dommes posed with their choppers while dressed in leather or latex.
Bobbers are a good example of how things have changed. Like the chopper, essentials have been cut, chopped, or bobbed to save weight and keep things simple. That’s about where the relationship ends. Unlike the 60’s chopper style like up top, many bobbers are single seaters. Many old school bobbers go for high handle bars and a low seat.
Going back to the original chopper motif of form follows function, bobbers are usually conceived to be street legal, and a little less lethal. Brakes, turn signals, headlights will usually stay, but you may see things traded out to go for a certain look or style. Imports are still popular to bob, possibly even more popular than American bikes are to “chop.” Let’s face it, you’re less likely to chop an American bike now, than you are to simply order the chopper frame and parts out of a catalog. This bobber is based on a typical used police bike, which runs about $2000 before you start to customize.
With form following function, some luxuries get left out on a bobber. Rust is considered a color, although many bobbers do get some spiffy paint like the one above. Brakes are usually kept, but I’ve seen a number of Japanese, or “metric” bikes with rear shocks pulled and converted into a rigid frame.
Are there more to choppers than bobbers? Sure, just look at the popular motorcycle magazines. A popular trend now is for cafe-style custom bikes with short forks and handlebars. There’s now a magazine dedicated to a breed of “bagger” cycles, with customized rear storage. There’s a Euro-style of chopper that’s been around for at least 10 years, and even some rice rockets get their fiberglass and plastic traded for a more chopped look.
Dungeon Net
Hogspy
