One of the best things about this video is the narrator. It's a real human instead of a robot voice.

@user-McGiver

4 күн бұрын

''robo voices'' are used by non-english speakers...

@matthewmarquisee238

3 күн бұрын

@@user-McGiver there is one robo voice I always hear that has almost a NY accent.

@chrislye8912

2 күн бұрын

I agree and I like his accent.

@rupertbollywood1190

8 сағат бұрын

He's most likely reading out a script generated by AI. I don't imagine any skills or effort go into his videos - just reading in front of a mic while putting shutterstock clips in sequence. He's just an algorithm jockey. He's good at working the algorithm. This channel seems like pure KZread business, for the $. He's got one vintage bike, and is too young to be a guru on all these subjects. He Googles, researches, generates a script and reads it. Same formula on all his videos. Like Gordon Ramsay in Kitchen Nightmares. He doesn't care that I'm writing this - he's watching the analytics page. So don't cry about me telling the truth. HE doesn't. He's a businessman.

@noahway13

Сағат бұрын

That is REALLY getting to be a big thing. The a.i. even writes it, and then it might get a little edit job before it goes out. But not always. AND THEY SUCK. Its like they are reading Wikipedia in an awful robot/human voice.

Old English geezer here. I was a Mod, riding a Lambretta LT175 with loads of lights and mirrors, and a tank aerial (with de riguer foxtail) that caused police to ask me to remove it as it was so long it was a hazard to other rode users. I saw 'Easy Rider' when first released and bought an ex-GPO (Post Office) BSA Bantam 125cc and put Ape-hangers on it. Unfortunately I didn't think to install a longer throttle cable, so on first ride of this 'customised' sled, turning the bars to the left opened the throttle wide and I fell off. I was such a twat in my youth.

@zipper978

5 күн бұрын

Hah my friend was my friend was a punk in London. He told me stories about hating Mods. He drove a group of Mods off the road once 😂

@robertmartin8233

5 күн бұрын

We all were, first bike was a Garelli record 50cc, put the ape hangers on it and thought it was the coolest thing ever all my friends riding honda and Yamaha Suzuki 50cc were so jealous, now 6 months away from being 70 years old, I've been riding a Suzuki Vs 1400,1995 for the last 18 years and I can honestly say that this is the best bike ever.

@mottthehoople693

3 күн бұрын

have you changed? I heard somewhere that us males only mature about 6 months before we die...

@johncartwright8154

3 күн бұрын

@@mottthehoople693 no, my wife of 43 years still thinks I'm a twat!

@gabrielmalta1962

Күн бұрын

LMFAO I just had the same experience as a 23 year old with a Suzuki Intruder GN125. Bought it with armpit driers already and parking it was always an adventure, hitting the rev limiter on neutral whenever I had to turn left. Hasn't happened since I swapped for a cafe-racer style flat bar though.

Indian Larry has been gone for 20 years now. He was a great builder and quite the character.

@JeffKopis

7 күн бұрын

Arlen Ness is gone too. I dunno if Denver from Denver's Choppers is still around. Or Rick Fairless from Strokers Dallas. Those guys were the real deal.

@Prosecute-fauci

6 күн бұрын

He only built 3 motorcycles…

@jamescole9767

6 күн бұрын

Ashes are at the motorcycle museum

@kevinfox500

5 күн бұрын

Paul Cox, Larry's old seat guy, keeps Gasoline Alley going to honor him. Had the honor pfmeetong Larry and the noys at Laconia in 2000. Quite tye charachrer, with an amazing story. And heart.

@nikdrown

5 күн бұрын

Billy Lane still doing it and has a modest channel with some cool content!

David Mann Paintings Were freakin Awesome!

Always loved the look of the skinny choppers of the 1970s...with the weber carb sticking out the side!

@baconsarny-geddon8298

7 күн бұрын

Yeah, I love that 70s "digger" style; Super skinny, crazy rake, a narrow, stretched out gas tank, low handlebars like drag bars or pull-backs, wild induction set-ups, like multiple carbs or even supercharged. Molded frame. Sometimes HD v-twin, but alot of guys also used cb750s, or other Jap 4's. Wild paint with stuff like gold leaf, or pin-striping. It's nice to see Arlen Ness get some appreciation in this video; His 70s and 80s bikes were unmatched.

@spamfriedmice4800

7 күн бұрын

Dellortos too

@taurbaby

6 күн бұрын

@@spamfriedmice4800 my shovelhead has manifolds for both...but the reliability of that old s&s wins out for me!

@dcamnc1

6 күн бұрын

Yeah, raked 70’s kick start shovelheads are what I picture when I think chopper.

@timothyporras3720

5 күн бұрын

S U brotha !!! Or SShorty 20"over sugerbear 🐻

You never mentioned the biggest influence on the radical choppers of the 1960s- 1970s -- LSD

@terrycreech8801

7 күн бұрын

You're exactly right that's the years I grew up driving choppers that was the last of the real biker generation right there

@teeess9551

6 күн бұрын

@@terrycreech8801 Sad ha ha Harley riders

@AlexRye-sv6no

6 күн бұрын

​@@terrycreech8801What makes a "real" biker?

@phil6506

6 күн бұрын

@@AlexRye-sv6no commitment to his/her lifestyle

@pa4tim

6 күн бұрын

@@AlexRye-sv6no Only driving a motorbike in all weather and in all seasons. I switched to sidebikes because I could still ride in the snow and transport my dog and f.i. grosseries. I started in the 80's when I was 18, I'm now 61 and my main transport is still a motorbike.

Indian Larry's bikes were more ridable then the other "choppers"

I built a 1951 Panhead dresser chopped in 1971. Won a bike show my first time out. Sold it in 75 to get money to get married. A week ago my brother gave me his 1995 Dyna low rider. I'm 73. Can't seem to shake them.

@lostcat9lives322

4 күн бұрын

You don't shake them. They shake you.😊

Choppers were originally built not only for the artistic expression of the ridet but also to give the rider a more relaxed and laid back riding position. The longer front forks made the chopper more stable on the highways, but it does make them harder to corner. Sugarbear builds his front ends to actually handle better than most chopper front ends.

My youngest is 21 and he and his friends are all in on 70s choppers, I love watch them run around looking for parts or building their own bikes!😂😂😂

@timothyporras3720

5 күн бұрын

Tell them thank you for keeping us RAGS alive 🙏 live to ride Harley-Davidson choppers 4ever 120yrs

the chopper scene is small, but very much alive! Chopper riders are also called 2%ers now, as only about 2% of motorcycle riders still build and ride their own choppers. Choppers are wild, crazy, sketchy machines, and each has it's own quirks that only the builder knows. This gives them more 'character' than any other style of motorcycle, in my opinion. You have to be kinda crazy to ride an old chopper.

@braapchop5925

2 сағат бұрын

Love this comment….as you get it. An I’ve always claimed it’s the 1/2%er’s. Those who build and ride are the rarest riders on the road.

Dennis Hopper's bike was definitely better than Fonda's Captain America. Much more rideable with its forks and front brake, but also better looking.

@telcobilly

4 күн бұрын

I always liked the Billy bike more. Had function with the form.

@thejunkman

7 сағат бұрын

Peter Fonda even stated in interviews that the "Captain America" bike was difficult to ride. I am amazed how he was able to handle it on camera, especially "offroad" going into the hippie commune with a passenger.

“The were just regular guys like you and me, who also were creative and talented, so not like you and me” 😂😭

The key into Chopper is that they are unrideable for common folk. Also they don't fit on your regular pick-up bed or van, so they are less likely to get stolen when parked on side of a street. When you ride your chopper to a clubhouse or bike meet, you will be judged as a person by your chopper. How far have you come, how much rake can you handle, can you hold on to ape hangers, where and how you pack your gear? It's the showcase of your ability and stamina as a rider, more than skill level of a designer, which is also on the spot too. If you REALLY know what you are doing, you can build a smooth and steady long distance cruiser that looks absolutely ridiculous. Those who know, know. And they will salute you.

@braapchop5925

2 сағат бұрын

My man…..awesome comment. Respect. 👊🏻

People quickly realized the choppers from the early 00’s were unrideable and mostly poorly built. They really are $5000 bikes. The big front tire bikes of today will be the next type of bike that will go for less than $10k in the next 5 years. Take a rideable bike and make it look dumb and less rideable.

@dougiequick1

7 күн бұрын

Amen .....ignorance on display. Loved by? The ignorant. I was in love myself....when I was TWELVE lol...THEN I got a motorcycle, rode motorcycles worked on motorcycles and raced motorcycles and just naturally the chopper very quickly lost ALL it's alure....even the "bad ass" look evaporated into "DUMB looking"

@MisterOcclusion

7 күн бұрын

Those big front tire baggers instantly make me think of that plastic Big Wheel kids trike. Grown men literally reliving their childhood, and looking silly doing it

@garysavala665

6 күн бұрын

Indian Larry forever

@stonehobson2487

6 күн бұрын

Choppers were unreliable in all decades. Always breaking down on the road, always fiddling with it. Lots of baling wire.

@fderbar1

6 күн бұрын

I have a $5000 bike and it's perfectly rideable. It's a 2022 Royal Enfield Classic 350. I've had it for 1 year and 10 months. I have 26,000 miles on it

I built Harley’s at York Park. in 1984. AMF sold it to Willie G Davidson and friends and we made the first evo, a great engine. I ran multi spindle screw machines that spit out most of the parts on the motorcycles. I worked right next to the bomb line. The old factory was an arsenal. New building there now. Bought an 81 AMF 1340 super glide while there. 20% employee discount and $500 rebate on a hog made my day, a leftover that didn’t sell in the 81 batch of bikes. Bike still running today😊

I’m really loving this series you’ve done on biker history/culture. Please do a video on Bosozoku, it would be wild. 😁

@ed9603

6 күн бұрын

To truly get a look at the many bike builders go research the series THE GREAT BIKER BUILD OFF WHICH THERE ARE MANY TRULY GREAT MOTORCYCLE BUILDERS AND YES A LOT OF CHOPPERS

I just remember a cartoon I saw in the eighties whenever I think of choppers. Four guys hiding around a corner holding sawed off shotguns and axes while another guy knocks on a door and asks, "Did you advertise the chopped Vincent?".

Team Gonzo here. "Bobbers"= police motorcycles, that was strip down. The reason we wanted extended forks on the big Harley-Davidsons. Is much simpler than you think. The scavenging pump, on these engines are in the rear of the crankcase. Raising the front end insured a constant flow of oil, breaking and leaning it in corners. California was going to outlaw extended forks until, a writer took a chopper from Barstow to Vegas across the desert and made it without crashing. So the DMV said if it can make it from Barstow to Vegas across the sand, it's good to go!!! 👍🇱🇷 Let me see how many movies of choppers made it into the Congressional library in Congress!???? Oh yeah that's right "Easy Rider"!!! I haven't read this guy's book yet. But being raised in the Coachella Valley, where you can ride all year round at sea level. There were many clubs. The whole thing about choppers is being free brother. A personal expression. Just saying....................

@stevegappa2959

Күн бұрын

"The reason we wanted extended forks on the big Harley-Davidsons. Is much simpler than you think. The scavenging pump, on these engines are in the rear of the crankcase. Raising the front end insured a constant flow of oil, breaking and leaning it in corners. " might be a side benefit, but I never heard any chopper builder saying I want extended forks to increase oil flow...just saying..

Saw Easy Rider when I was a kid, wanted a chopper so badly, never did, never regretted it. But I did put ape hangers on my CB350, took off the side covers and painted the tank in red yellow flames, that was kinda cool, even bolted on some forward pegs. Such a rebel.

@duncanstone8758

5 күн бұрын

In 1972, when I was 18, I took my 1970 CB350 and painted the tank and side covers metalflake blue, put slightly longer tubes on the fork, replaced the stock handlebar with Z-bars, added a contour seat, a short sissy bar, and shorty mufflers. I thought it looked really cool and was still a good road bike. Saw Easy Rider at the theater and watched Then Came Bronson on TV. One of the chopper magazines at that time had an article on putting a hard-tail rear end on a CB350.

@PanRider939

3 күн бұрын

Crazy what we do. Another iteration after the yellow flame was lace on gold. I sprayed the tank and covers gold from a can, then along the bottom about 4 inches of curtain lace stretched against the tank masked off the rest, I sprayed red paint through that. Forgot the Dunstal pipes. Then a guy I knew that was high on drugs set alight to it. Insurance put it right back to stock. After that I kept my bikes more or less stock. It was a fun time.

@PanRider939

3 күн бұрын

Then Came Bronson, I remember that, it was a favourite. There was another one I’ll try find it.

I think you missed the main seed of the chopper movement: the high bars, upright seating position and raked forks were all originally modifications aimed at improving highway / long ride comfort. Of course they quickly wrapped around to being incredibly impractical for those very same highway miles as people took things to absurd extremes, but it does nonetheless root the choppers in a practical adaptation of the motorcycle's fundamental form, the same as the cafe racers, scramblers, and so on that you mentioned.

@dougiequick1

7 күн бұрын

Thats why the best designs of motorcycles for doing real iron butt miles look absolutely NOTHING like what you describe

@Nicoya

6 күн бұрын

@@dougiequick1 They look nothing like the caricatured choppers that evolved out of them, that's for sure. From an ergonomics perspective they were much closer to what you'd find on a modern goldwing or adventure-touring bike.

@abigstorm

6 күн бұрын

@@dougiequick1 not nothing, think of goldwings and hd baggers, even the adv bikes people do big miles on, they're all upright seat, medium - big rake (not so much the adv), pull back and high bars, even mini apes, it's not so far off. I agree with original commenter, origins were in making highway cruisers (with flair). Sissy bars, back rests for attaching bags to and leaning back on, high bars to rest on, highway pegs to stretch out legs.

@amerigo88

6 күн бұрын

What about the stories I have read that wartime motorcycles had been field modified with high handlebars (ape hangers)? The idea was that if the enemy had stretched a wire across the road at the height of a motorcycle courier's throat, the handlebar would push the wire safely over his head? At the beginning of the "Colonel Blimp" movie (highly recommended), we see a wire across a road used to drag down a motorcycle courier.

@Nicoya

6 күн бұрын

@@amerigo88 I've heard that story but I don't think there's much evidence to support it, and some of that evidence is conflicting (some say it was the Germans stringing up wires, others say it was the Japanese). The more plausible origin is that the higher style of ape hangers were used to give the rider extra leverage when lifting themselves out of the seat when going over bumps, as the bikes at the time had no meaningful rear suspension (usually only a sprung seat on a rigid frame).

Dick Dale, the king of the surf guitar at 4:08. This guy did it all, one of the greatest guitar players ever also raced cars, bikes, surfed all day all swung all night. He also had a pet lion.

@skootr924

5 күн бұрын

And a super nice guy. Love his video for the tune called,"Nitro"

My first chopper build was in the mid 70s. It was built out a Triumph and looked pretty much the same as Indian Larry's version mentioned in this video. And, indeed the things you mentioned such as it was a ridged frame, the ride being terrible, the handling being awful I didn't have a speedometer so I had to be super conscious of my speed and also it didn't have a gas gauge of any kind so if I didnt want to have to push it I had to be really tuned into the distance I traveled since my last fill up. But cool? Oh yah, baby, I would not have traded it for any other bike on the road.

I always enjoy your content. I ride a West Coast chopper. It’s incredibly uncomfortable and brutal, but it’s visceral and analog. Every ride feels like an event.

@braapchop5925

2 сағат бұрын

Love it. You got a CFL or a shop built?

A chopper is "Your Style". Thanks bart.

Totally impractical, but works of art, is a fair description.

@aamry

2 күн бұрын

The "They may not work right, or be comfortable" made me laugh outloud

Orange County Choppers was such a low point in Chopper history

@cobra5088

6 күн бұрын

Agree! Every trendy who previously would only ride a crotch rocket jumped on the bandwagon thus making it lame AF.

@walmorcarvalho2512

6 күн бұрын

I'd say it was kinda of a forced "Last Hurrah", like they tried to make them pop again but it was all too shallow and gimmicky to last

@thra5herxb12s

5 күн бұрын

They weren't built for riders, they were built for collectors. Riders build their own.

@seanmakesthings

5 күн бұрын

​@@thra5herxb12s OCC made it their mission to let everyone know their machines were for riding, even though they almost never hit the 100 mile mark, let alone 10 mile mark. They were made for riders, but they were completely un-rideable. That doesnt make it a "collectors" bike, that makes it an unrideable piece of metal.

@CODY1989...........

5 күн бұрын

@@seanmakesthings You mean piece of 'shit'...

they never really fell. i still see choppers to this day, Motorcycles never go out of fashion.

@cleon5766

3 күн бұрын

Most definitely did as a kid I would see them here n there now I don't see them at all I think baggers is the new trend for bikers

I live close to Panama City Beach and ride down to Thunder Beach Motorcycle Rally regularly. Back in 2007/08, choppers were everywhere down there. Now, it’s nothing but baggers and custom baggers.

@telcobilly

4 күн бұрын

Yep, too many baggers. I gave my 2001 Roadking to my son when I bought my less practical but cooler 2006 Springer Classic.

A fantastic documentary, Bart. Thank you.

Gauche is the word that comes to mind with commercial choppers, especially the branded or themed ones. About as “cringe” as buying a Harley Davidson branded Ford F150

My first encounter with choppers was the movie _Easy Rider,_ it was 1969 and I was 12 years old. In my teen years I was the typical penniless teenager who was into the whole custom car and bike scene (and wanted to be a rock star) but had to live these enthusiasms vicariously through magazines. With choppers it was through _Easy Riders,_ which was pure chopper porn. I got married in 1978 and life happened, so the dreams of my youth faded and were abandoned. Fast forward 25 years and along comes _American Chopper._ At first there was a sort of naive charm to this father/son team trying to start a chopper-building business but within a couple of years it had devolved into show about a dysfunctional family that build motorcycles that will never be ridden as high dollar promotional items on commission from corporate clients in between throwing furniture at each other and generally smashing up their workplace. The Teutuls were only ever reality TV stars and were never part of the traditional chopper-building scene like Arlen Ness or Indian Larry or Billy Lane. _American Chopper_ ruined American choppers.

I went to a rat rod copper motorcycle show last year while friends and I were riding around. I would never buy one but I couldnt stop staring at them because there was always a bolt or part that just caught my eye. Choppers are like that, they are just unique and fun to look at.

@truantray

7 күн бұрын

But horrible to actually ride.

@aegrotattoo9018

7 күн бұрын

Exactly. You'll never know what obscure part or 'thing' on a vehicle will trigger an idea for a good modification.

@ninji5226

7 күн бұрын

@@truantray For sure, their like sculptures though and I really dig the Frankenstein vibe they give off. I also love Sport bikes and the way they represent the pinnacle of performance, but they are also horrible to ride, and, kinda all look the same. Just good to have variety.

@dougiequick1

7 күн бұрын

When I look at em? It just hurts my brain

When I got a 1973 Sportster in '78, this 19 YO had gone to Heaven early. It went thru MANY iterations before I grew up 6 years later and bought an Electra Glide. That Sportster was my real 1st love and I'd love to own another someday.

@trippkklimka3283

6 күн бұрын

I have two 1974 ironhead sportsters you may be interested in.

@oldphart-zc3jz

5 күн бұрын

They're dirt cheap to buy so go for it. The best Sporty in functional terms and ease of wrenching is the five speed solid mount (not the four speed with the unfortunate "clutchernator" charging system though you can stick a five speed engine in their frames if you move the kickstand mount which is easy work. Ironheads are cheap to buy but expensive to (properly) overhaul and not as durable as the later solidmount Evos which may be HDs most refined engine. See the xlforum for everything there is to know about Sportsters of any generation. Solidmount five speeds in "get on and ride" condition go in high teens to mid-twos in much of the US with many low-mileage examples remaining.

I'm a motorcycle rider and have been my whole life. I have never made or owned a chopper but from an outsider's point of view, personally I liked Indian Larry's work best.

@klowen7778

6 күн бұрын

Yep, and the chopper fad also grew out of a blue collar sensibility, where it became more 'Tribal' and mostly about 'Harley Davidson', than simply a 'motorcycle' thang (aka, 'ricers', 'jap crap', etc.).

@telcobilly

4 күн бұрын

Same here! He was a decent, legit guy as well. I remember a bike build off episode where he cut the trophy in half because he said the other guy deserved it as much as he did.

I still want an Exile Cycle/Russell Mitchell bike to this day. They were just so mean and clean.

Easy rider is one of my favorite movies ever!. They actually made three captain America bikes for the movie. One was destroyed as per the script (the one that blows up at the end of the movie). The other two were stored in a warehouse in Ventura California, but they were stolen before the movie came out. To this day, no one knows where they are or what happened to them

@empireoflizards

7 күн бұрын

I think it was around 2005 our company retrofitted a CNC pipe bender for a company in Carson City NV called Paughco Inc. who builds custom bike parts and whatnot. The owner had what appeared to be a replica of the Captain America bike with supposedly some of the original parts. The story I heard was that after it was stolen, some of the parts were allegedly recovered.

@patrickshaw8595

7 күн бұрын

@@empireoflizards Paughco is one of the original makers of aftermarket chopper frames. Back then if you ran an S&S engine in a Paughco Frame that was about the ultiimate.

@alternator7893

7 күн бұрын

@@empireoflizards After the bikes got stolen. And since they couldn’t find the whole bikes. The theory (and probably most likely outcome) is that they got dismantled and parted out by the thieves. There’s a replica in a museum(I don’t remember the name of the museum. I think it might be in private hands now. Might be the one you’re talking about), that was made to be an exact replica of the one from the movie. And I mean EXACT. Same year original parts, same year original engine, tranny, etc.. The team who built it spent hundreds of hours looking at footage and making it a virtual clone from the one from the movie. And they even got Peter Fonda to ride it. Reportedly, when he first straddled the bike he said: “Boy this brings back memories”

@truantray

7 күн бұрын

Fonda stated that the bike was so unstable he refused to ride it and they cut some scenes because of that.

@dougiequick1

7 күн бұрын

probably kept the motors and scrapped the rest of the garbage

Once, long ago, I had a chance meeting with Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. We didn't talk too long about choppers, but he did let me in on some wisdom when it came to extended forks. "If the forks are longer than six inches over stock length, take them off, put on shorter forks and then go out and have fun on the bike." I never cared for the gaudy plastic-looking OCC bikes. A famous West coast bike builder once deemed the OCC guys "cake decorators." I couldn't agree more. Build right. Ride safe.

It is like Bruce Willis said: „It‘s not a motorcycle“

@CaptainJohn

7 күн бұрын

It’s a chopper! Haha awesome reference

@Manskilz

7 күн бұрын

Zeds dead.

@NoNonsenseFarming

6 күн бұрын

@@Manskilz Zed had it coming.

@CB-fn3me

6 күн бұрын

@@Manskilz Zed probably wasn't dead at that time. Just in agony from having a red hot poker up his Khyber Pass...

@jamescole9767

6 күн бұрын

It's a chopper baby, Zed's dead....😂

My first chopper build was a 1969 Triumph Bonneville on custom hard-tail frame, and a 40 degree rack with 20 over extend forks. Painted black with tweety bird on the coffin style gas tank. I loved that bike until I got older and my kidney"s couldn't take it any more. I'm 78 years old now and I putt around on a2017 Harley Sportster XL1200C. Great for city driving but not for long hauls.

Orange county CRAP!!!!!

@dougiequick1

7 күн бұрын

Amen!

@ulanarni8804

6 күн бұрын

Yes this is the truth. It was nothing, only a big air number. Einfach nur Bockmist mit großen Mäulern.

@jamiemoffatt50

4 күн бұрын

They’re more than you’ll ever be! 🖕🤡🖕

Wow, this was so well put together, thank you. I watched it start to finish. And for anyone worrying, choppers are still very alive and well, and they ain't goin nowhere

Grease Monkey is a beauty. Clean, solid, shiny... Very astheticly pleasing, while not looking uncomfortable and stupid.

Ive been seeing more young dudes rolling on subtle choppers and vintage shovelheads around town. I appreciate the more understated designs and pipes with actual baffles in them.

Great video! I often ride my chopper to work even though it takes 10 minutes more to get there. It is 10 minutes more of me with a big smile so it is definetly worth it. Can't explain why but it is a true joy riding it. Bad handling, noisy, awkward riding position... Love it!

I remember when choppers were ugly popular in the 1960's. They started fading out of style in the 1970's and then sports bikes became huge in the 1980's. In the 1960's there were kids' bicycles styled like choppers, but the bicycle boom of the 1970's made 10 speed bikes more popular.

I built a Harley chopper in the late 60's after seeing Easy Rider and about 12 years ago I bought a Big Dog K9 that I rode for awhile.

Great video! The chopper and to some degree the cafe racer/scrambler are great platforms for people who don't want to just ride, but also want to build. It's the process of building these bikes that people learn to weld, paint, fabricate, etc... and there's no cooler bike in the world than the one you fabbed parts for, welded the frame, and painted yourself. Also I agree 100% the simpler "garage built" chopper aesthetic is way cooler than the lavish OCC stuff.

I'm in Denver and there are always a few choppers at bike night. Most of the ones I see are that 60s/70s style, which I love. Glad the fat tire chromed out 90s/2000s choppers are mostly gone.

Well i never knew that ! The origin of the Easy Rider bikes and those who built them is interesting and has parallels with origins of various musical styles.

the 2000s didn't kill choppers, it just buried them, it's gone back to being a grassroots movement, Weems Motor Co is a great channel to get a look into the "chopper revival" that's happening, it's just cool dudes building bikes in their garages, going to shows to share them with other people, riding them all across the country, and just enjoying the experience of riding and building bikes, other good channels to look at include 947 Works, The Motorcycle Archives, and The Eazy Co.

I grew up watching American Chopper, and while i cant afford these expensive choppers, i WAS able to buy a Harley Sportster. It has the old school peanut tank, with the high back rest like you would see on a lot of the old choppers. Im also fixing to put some ape hangers on it, So i TRY and keep some of that old school styling on my bike.

Thanks for putting this together!

Choppers are still very Popular in the UK and Europe, with variations over the years ...... inluding the 90's British Street Fighters which featured heavily alongside more traditional Choppers in Magasines such as "Back Street Heroes" and "A.W.O.L" (A Way Of Life) , and which also featured many of the N.C.C ( National Chopper Club) Bikes and other Club Bikes . and the black and white section where you mention the "stingray" , is a clip from the British Childrens show Blue Peter showing Valerie Singleton and Peter Purves riding the " Raleigh Chopper" Bicycles

@telcobilly

4 күн бұрын

I caught that too. I lived in the US when the Schwinn Krate bikes came out in the 60s and then our family moved to South Africa where the Raleigh chopper bikes came out in the early 70s. Two different bikes, same idea.

beatiful video man, when I was 16 I first came in contact with them and it's a slippery slope. I am 27 now and have built multiple bikes myself, just how the did it back then. The information is correct and I don't find anything wrong in the video. However, this is a personal guess, the long handlebars and sissybars along with the long forks in the 60s where not for show only. Like you said many vets adopted a life on the open road. The layed back position really shines when you want to ride for a long time. If you have a sissy bar and a backpack you can lean back without having to do any core muscle work. If you pair it with high pullback handle bars you really sit on those bikes like you would in a car. My long distance bike is an 80 inch shovel with a hardtail frame, 12 over springer, mid apes and a high sissy of course. I can tell you I can spend an eternity on that bike. Feet forwards are the natural succesor of the motorcycle. It can surpass any bike in terms of comfort and power. While power is definitely something that is desired, they pretty much maxed out comfort in the 60s with the choppers.

11:40 - One of the key things about the Easy Rider "Western" concept is that instead of the traditional East-to-West direction, they travel from West-to-East. This is reversal and rejection of the traditional narrative of Westward expansion and the American Dream, and one of the reasons the film is so impactful. As the characters travel east looking for freedom or enlightenment or whatever, they become increasingly disillusioned by the country they experience along the way.

@dougiequick1

7 күн бұрын

Like Fonda's character said before their tragic end "...we blew it man" or a line very close to that....wrong way

About a month ago, some riders came into town and one of the guys was on a chopper, loved it.

Great history of the Chopper...my brother Shovelhead Dave passed away and I am restoring his 48 Panhead Chopper in his memory...He was a class act and so are Choppers😎💯🔥

I had a HD chopper in the late 90's. Never again. What an absolute waste of what could've been good, comfortable, enjoyable motorcycle time. 😂

@browngreen933

7 күн бұрын

TRUTH. I built a '48 Panhead chopper in my dad's garage in 1971. I suffered through it for 3 seasons then put it back to stock. Luckily I saved all the original parts and didn't cut up the fork or frame. A stock Harley is a MILLION times better!

@dougiequick1

7 күн бұрын

Glad you learned something at least! Best way to learn sometimes is doing it wrong...lol...As long as you survive it anyway! Like marrying the wrong the woman first? to learn what to look for in a woman afterwards? Again provided you SURVIVE such! lol...ask me how I know THAT lol

@Highairboarder

6 күн бұрын

How ​@@dougiequick1

Great chapter, man! I truly believe that the chopper is the most unique form of art on two wheels. And, I also agree that the more mainstream it goes, the more it losses it's soul and purpose. The dingy, low profile, underground chopper manufacturer is the one you want to look for.

Chopper philosophy: cant leave well enough alone

@BonelessVR

7 күн бұрын

Better than big wheel baggers and stretched 600's.

@blacksquirrel4008

7 күн бұрын

Yeah, Vincent Black Shadow with ape hangers!

@dougiequick1

7 күн бұрын

@@blacksquirrel4008 SACRILIDGE! dont even say that! man!

@MisterOcclusion

7 күн бұрын

@@dougiequick1the moment Bart mentioned a chopped Vincent, my chest tightened…

@rickrandom6734

7 күн бұрын

If I win in lottery I will buy restored Brough Superior and let to Orange County Choppers customize it.

Choppers started for me in 1969 on a candy red Stick Shift Sting Ray. One guy out side a local bar in small town Nevada awnsered when I asked "where do you get a bike like that" he said " you dont get them you make them". Ever sence then the Sting Ray was long and low and so where all the motorcycles I made after that. Its still a wonderful time now as it was then and i'll never look back, except to look at some the pictures of the coolest bikes I have ever built. Great video and thanks, Rob.

Ben Hardy was also a civil rights activist who got arrested on protests. It’s hugely ironic and not a little embarrassing (though sadly rather predictable and unsurprisingly) that a HollyWeird liberal like Fonda should fail to give the rightful credit to Ben Hardy and Cliff Vaughs.

Great video Bart, I've loved choppers since the 70's.

I am glad and proud to say that chopper culture is still well and alive around my circle. They get fixed more than they get ridden, but that’s why you gotta have more than one.

A proper nod to both John Harmon AND Harry Blake. I got to know Harry when we both lived in the Placerville area. I watched him bend up a springer front end out of 1in tubing totally by eye. "I've still got it" was his comment.

I had a Big Dog Chopper factory mass production chopper, S&S engine, it was awesome, the detail was amazing. Now I ride a 2024 Sport Glide.

Good video! During the chopper craze of the early 2000s there was also my preferred TV show called Biker Build-off. Two celebrity bike builders would be pitted against each other to design & build the baddest bike in 10 days before meeting for a ride together to a bike rally where attendees voted for their favorite. Unlike the often comical drama of the Teutul family, Biker Build-off highlighted the skill and engineering challenges of the best builders of the day. Still, I don't think there is any bike that was ever built on the series that I'd want for a daily ride...certainly not for a 1,500+ mile ride. Personally, nowadays, it's all about comfort and not "if you can't fit in your pocket, you don't need it"--Indian Larry. I'll take a hotel room with a hot shower over sleeping on a bed roll next to my bike. Enjoy the summer and ride safe.

I was introduced to choppers by the 2000s era skulls and fire boomer hyper cringe. So no matter how much history I learn about early choppers and customs, I can't shake how much my skin crawls seeing a chopper.

@mynameisnobody211

6 күн бұрын

Haha Yep, they’re gay, boomer cringe

Billy Lane is an expert in old motorcycles,he is the one to watch ,that guy is talented.

Here is the thing, you have two guys in the back of a garage putting a motorcycle together with no quality control even saying “yeah we can do that “ or “ we can do this”. From someone that owns one don’t waste your money or if you do waste your money, you’ll be spending more and more of it just to keep the damn thing on the road ! Smh.

I've had my '50 Pan since 1962. It was stock when we bought it off this old guy, and I rode it to high school. Crashed it in '65. Got it running again in '59 Swing-arm frame. Now she's a bobber/chopper. Still with the handshift and suicide clutch (not the treadle - the clutch is made from a shifter off a '71 Superglide. Dentist mirror for a rear view. No apes. Just drag bars on 6" risers.

@dougiequick1

7 күн бұрын

"no apes" ....well at least that part sounds great

I've always wanted a motorcycle, but it was never a high enough priority for me to actually get one. But, if I did get one, I'd want it to be a '70s style chopper. Not as radical as something like Captain America with the really high tank and super long forks. But a slightly milder version of that.

A chopper to me is like setting in your recliner, nice an relaxed cruising down the highway.

As a motorcycle enthusiast who grew up in the 70s I'm impressed by your breakdown of the topic. Being into motocross and road racing motorcycles, we hated choppers because they seemed so impractical for how we wanted to ride. However, they do have an enduring coolness that will last forever. Art form over function is what all choppers are.

Chops have become less noticeable before. They never truly died...... The National Copper Club has been strong and proud since 1973.

While choppers and bobbers can be a bike for the individual. What really killed it off was the EPA is that shops could no longer build a custom bike for a customer without ever meeting more stringent requirements. HD (and others) also did a good by being able to build bike that satisfied the EPA.

I remember living in Scottsdale AZ. you would see fat tire choppers everywhere the total rub thing now you see none of them anywhere.

"Wrench" was my favorite chopper mag ever. Not sure if it's still in print, but worth checkin' out back issues.

Enjoyed this vid. I've built and ridden a few choppers in the 70's & 80's. I enjoy all forms of motorcycling, though now I ride more comfortable bikes with suspension!

And yet they are the coolest bikes out there.

Thanks for another great video, Bart!! Fascinating stuff. And as a Guzzi owner myself, I was happy to spot a Moto Guzzi Stelvio at 16:28 as more or less the only non-chopper in this video! 🙂

There hasn't been a fall of choppers. Go to Fuel Cleveland or Momma tried. Choppers are going strong. It's art. Expression of yourself.

@bartmotorcycle

7 күн бұрын

I agree, I think its just not as mainstream anymore which is good

@truantray

7 күн бұрын

Call it art, but don't call them motorcycles. They just get trailered around to bike meets.

@girthquake9655

7 күн бұрын

@@truantray Do they really? I should trailer mine to meets then. I'll let my buddies know to do the same because that's what you think they do.

@BonelessVR

7 күн бұрын

@@truantray You're around the wrong people then. That's a you problem bud.

@tjroelsma

7 күн бұрын

@@girthquake9655 Some of the more outrageously styled choppers look virtually unrideable. OCC choppers being prime examples of that. If you look at some of their creations, they're not as much rideable as moveable under their own power and are purely for show. Bikes & Beards rode a couple of choppers and his comments were rather scathing: dangerous, impractical, zero comfort etc. You are probably one of the enthousiasts who built/modified his/her own chopper so that it not only looks good, but can actually be ridden (reasonably) well as well. And kudos to you for that.

My father had a chopper in the 80s based on a BSA A65. It was pretty jank and the seat was so thin that he'd feel every bump through his spleen, but he had it

@gregabell4799

3 күн бұрын

Did it have the foot pedals reversed? Shift with your right and brake with your left? The only chopper I ever road was a 650 BSA like that - I didn't ride it for long.

@MuscleCarLover

3 күн бұрын

@@gregabell4799 I did ask him a few years ago about that and I think I remember him saying it was the normal way, whether that was converted to be like that or if it was after the Brits flipped it to be right for brake and left foot shift I do not know. All I do know is that he bought it like that and it was some guys backyard build as the handlebars went up and down by about half an inch or so

As a Brit who watched the Easy Rider film in 1970 and read Easyriders magazine, I was shocked, when years later in 2007 I had my first experience of America and American motorcycling. I went with my wife on a Harley rental to Big Bear Lake, to the Big Bear Choppers weekend. Boy, was I surprised, during the whole weekend there were hardly any choppers at all, the most I saw was inside the Big Bear Choppers showroom. Nearly all of the bikes that were there were standard Harley’s, that the owners, at that time had put high ape hangers on with fishtail exhausts sticking a good 4 foot out of the back. And now that I have been on many more road trips to the States, I still hardly ever see that many chopper on the roads.

Bart; you should really consider making a coffee table history of motorcycles book. Your writing is A number one IMO. Just package up all Your KZread stuff and put it to paper. As far as the chopper esthetic, the Tuttle family along with Hollywood put a knife in and killed the chopper. I’m a lifetime motorcyclist starting clear back in 67’. As of today choppers leave a nasty taste in my mouth thanks to them. Well same goes for Harley Davidson motorcycles in general. They would be the last produce I’d ever spend money on. There’s just so many better motorcycles offered.

@dougiequick1

7 күн бұрын

"put a knife in and killed the chopper" ....if so? LOL GOOD RIDANCE!

@sportyonetaubert5923

5 күн бұрын

We all ride for personal and different reasons so I respect your opinion that there are better motorcycles than Harley's for you. But for me, I ride mainly to relax, so the slower reving big twin with its authentic look, feel, sound and laid back attitude keeps me riding. 😊

every time i see a old timey harley like the blue one at 3:17 fortunate son start playing in the back of my head

Much respect for putting this out

Excellent video young man. Well made. Superb commentary. Side note, the only OCC bike I ever liked was the CAT bike.

How could you forget Rick Fairless from Dallas Texas? He has a bike shop/bar/restaurant that feels like you've gone back to a better time when owning a bike ment something. When you had to ride that bike, no matter what the weather was. Freezing cold, take your breath away heat, skin piercing rain, the good old days.

@braapchop5925

Сағат бұрын

Are you in Dallas? If so, see you this weekend. 👍🏻👍🏻

I think choppers somewhere, somewhere along the line became a form of art. I have seen some really wild and goofy looking choppers that look like they would in no way be road worthy. I bought a 1958 Sporster back in 1975 that was chopped and raked a bit with a beautiful chromed springer front end and a high backed seat and chrome sissy bar. It was comfortable to the max to sit on and maybe even to sleep on, but to ride that thing on a 100 mile trip was a "TRIP". My back hurt for a month later and my hands had a slight viberating feeling and numb fingers for at least a week later from hanging on to the double "Z" handle bars and grips. It was a beautiful looking bike for sure, but I sold it and bought a Honda. Like going from a baja VW Beetle to a Cadillac...

I still don't what a chopper really is but that was one of the most beautiful motorcycle tales I have ever heared!

Great video Bart! This is one of the best explanations of chopperdom Ive came across! Especially the part about the Easy Rider bikes! Take er easy 🤘

Great vid. Enjoyed watching this! 👍🏼

Choppers never went out of style, maybe for a bit but they are always evolving. The last 5 years making a big comeback.

Form and function is always a balancing act. Some go too far one way or the other, and that is a good thing. The motorcycle is a symbol for freedom after all. Your ride is as personal to you as you want it to be. As an owner of a 2018 Fatbob (my first HD) I can say that it doesn't handle as well as my former race bikes, but it doesn't have to. On a side note the "sit up and beg" sitting position on many choppers is the most comfortable ride position imho.

Japan has a very cool chopper scene

I understand why you might think the chopper scene is just "art on two wheels" but it's so so so much more than that. Nearly every real chopper goes in deep on performance in some aspect, and yes there are show bikes, but 90% of guys aren't building those, they're building bikes that can handle well for long distances at high speeds, while still looking awesome and unique

@braapchop5925

Сағат бұрын

So true….those that get it, get it.

Been waiting for this one, you're a legend Bart

Something I learned from one of the Cycle World podcasts was the chopper aesthetic came from drag racing bikes. I still don’t really care for choppers, but I can give them a little more respect now. 😂

@truantray

7 күн бұрын

That makes no sense unless you drag a chopper backwards.

@brandonszekeres3761

7 күн бұрын

Maybe you should take a look at old 50's gassers ​@@truantray

@hokogan

6 күн бұрын

@@truantray They’re made to go straight over short distances and suspension doesn’t matter much. Hence the rake, the tiny tank, little to no suspension travel, etc. The apes and forward controls were stylistic choices, for sure.