Chopper Facts:

In the United States servicemen returning from WWII were looking for a thrill. Many veterans had been trained in WWII to work on automobiles and motorcycles and were looking to add a little excitement to their post-war lives with their newly acquired mechanical skills. Motorcycles and Hot Rods were the perfect venue for them. Motorcyclist bought up surplus military bikes but found all the weight just a bit too restrictive so they chopped away all the unnecessary parts like windshields and saddlebags. Then in an effort to make the bikes a bit lighter and handle better all the unnecessary weight was chopped off. Rear fenders were "bobbed" or shortened just enough to handle a passenger and keep the rain and mud coming off the rear wheel from hitting them in the back and front fenders were removed completely.

This type of home done customization led to the rise of the "bobber". Then in the '60s, motorcyclist found that a longer front end allowed the bike to run smoother at faster speeds. The degree of neck rake and length of front end was modified on these bikes with this in mind. The Girder and Springer front ends were the most popular forks for extending. This does make the bike harder to handle at slower speeds.

To build or chop a Traditional Chopper an unmodified factory bike is used (usually a rigid Harley Davidson) and everything unnecessary to go and stop is stripped or chopped off. Then the engine and transmission are removed and the frame is cut up and welded back together to get it lower and lighter. Performance parts are added or modified to increase speed. The true function of a Chopper is to make it as fast and maneuverable as possible.

Choppers enjoyed a large resurgence in popularity in the late 1990s with companies like Jesse G. James West Coast Choppers producing extremely expensive traditional one off chopper style bikes and a wide range of chopper themed brands merchandise such as clothing, automobile accessories and stickers.

A distinction should be noted between true chopper (or chopper-style) motorcycles, and custom motorcycles, or 'custom cruisers'. Despite the name, a large percentage of the motorcycles produced by popular companies such as Orange County Choppers, Indian Larry and Von Dutch Kustom Cycles are better described as 'custom'.

On this same subject a distinction should be made between choppers and bobbers. While both tried to improve performance by removing any part that didn't make the motorcycle perform better, they differed in an important way. Bobbers kept the original factory frame, while choppers have a modified form of the factory frame.

When individuals were stripping their stock motorcycles and bobbing their fenders, the term "bobber" was born. When individuals started cutting (or chopping) and welding their frames thereby repositioning/restyling them, the term "chopper" was born. Chopping was the next phase in the evolution that followed dirt track bobbing. While people assume that the chopper style motorcycles were built purely for aesthetics, there is a real performance advantage to the raked front end on these choppers. These motorcycles have a much more stable feel at high speeds and in a straight line than motorcycles with original factory front suspensions. However, like any other modification, there's a downside: the raked front end feels heavier and less responsive at slow speeds or in curves & turns. This is due to the longer trail measurement associated with increased rake.

Changing the rake and trail of a motorcycle design requires modification of the design itself. This is a job that requires in-depth input from a motorcycle designer who is experienced with such design changes.

Which brings up one more option a chopper builder has: raked trees. Raked trees are designed so the lower tree sticks out further than the upper tree, thus increasing the rake of the forks in relation to the steering head rake. What this does, for those still following along all the imaginary lines, is position the axle closer to the frame rake measurement line, or shortening the trail. Thus, when adding raked trees to a raked frame (which sports a longer trail), the trail is shortened to a more manageable level. However, be warned that adding raked trees to a frame with short rake and trail can be hazardous, as shortening an already short trail measurement can lead to an unstable situation as speed increases. Misuse of raked trees can be quite dangerous, so a bit of research is in order before turning the first wrench on any chopper project. Just remember that because it looks good in a magazine doesn't automatically mean it will work on your bike.

Despite the personalized nature of choppers, and the wide availability of alternative designs, chopper builders overwhelmingly choose fat rear tires, original or recreated air-cooled, pushrod v-twin engine,in the UK due to the cost and lack of availability of t V twin engine many chose to use British engines from bikes such as Triumph or BSA and later due to the availability of engines Japanese engines and rigid-looking frame, even for a softail. As a result, the once unique looking custom chopper design starts to lose its uniqueness. Modern bobber builders tend to distinguish themselves from chopper builders with bikes styled before the chopper era.

Three wheeled choppers, most often referred to as Trikes are also a common configuration that is now regaining popularity. Usually made from car drive trains like the old VW bug, three wheelers are gaining acceptance for various reasons; they are safer and easier to ride and carry cargo and passengers. Chopper builder Rat Race Productions of Phoenix is one of the most prolific and popular trike producers.

Trikes, however, suffer from some serious handling flaws compared to normal two-wheeled motorcycles. If a trike rider hits a bump with enough force to cause one of the rear wheels to leave the ground the trike becomes, in effect, a motorcycle that is aimed at a sharp angle in relation to its direction of travel. Physics aside, there are no accident statistics to show how much more unsafe trikes are compared to motorcycles per mile traveled.

Hot Rod Facts:

Hot rods are custom-built cars. Originally the term was used to the practice of taking an old car, usually a Ford, and improving its performance by reducing weight (usually by removing roof, hood, bumpers, windshield and fenders), lower it, change or tune the engine to give more power, add fat wheels for traction and apply a distinctive paint job. The term may have originated from "hot roadster;" it was used in the 1950s and 1960s as a derogatory term for any car that did not fit into the mainstream. Other sources indicate that the term was derived from replacement of connecting rods in engines to allow higher RPM's to be reached without failure. When hot rodding became commercialized in the 1970s, magazines and associations catering to "street rodders" were started.

Hot rodders including Wally Parks created the National Hot Rod Association NHRA to bring racing off the streets and onto the tracks. The annual California Hot Rod Reunion and National Hot Rod Reunion are held to honor pioneers in the sport. The Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum houses the roots of hot rodding. Nowadays people who own hot rods keep them clean and try to make them noticeable. Those who work according to the original idea of cheap, fast and no frills are often called rat rods. There are many magazines that feature real hot rods, including The Rodders Journal. Commercial magazines include Hot Rod Magazine, Street Rodder, and Popular Hot Rodding. There are also television shows such as My Classic Car, and Horsepower TV. Hot rods are part of American culture, although there is growing controversy within the automotive hobby over an increasing trend towards the acquisition and irreversible modification of surviving historic - some even very rare - vehicles rather than the traditional hot rodding concept of the salvage and remanufacture of reusable junked parts.

The Hot Rod era extended from 1945 to the beginning of the muscle car era (about 1965), reaching its height in about 1955. During this time, there was an adequate supply of what hot rodders called "vintage tin": junk cars manufactured prior to 1942 that could be had cheaply. Many of these had sound bodies and frames and had been junked for mechanical reasons, since the running gear of early cars was not durable. The typical hot rod was heavily modified, particularly by replacing the engine and transmission, and possibly other components, including brakes and steering. Certain engines, such as the flathead Ford V8, and the small block Chevrolet V8 were particularly popular as replacements because of their compact size, availability, and power. The early Hemi was popular in applications that required more power, such as drag racing.

Construction of a hot rod requires skills in mechanics, welding, and automotive paint and body work. The "classic era" of hot rod construction ended around 1965, partly because the supply of vintage tin had diminished, but mostly because new cars were equipped for greater speed and power from the factory with little or no modification required.

Today, there are still a large number of hot-rodders and street-rodders. The Street Rod Nationals serves as a showplace for the majority of the hot-rodding and street-rodding world to display their cars and to find nearly any part needed to complete them.

There is still a vibrant Hot Rod culture worldwide, especially in the United States and Sweden. The hot rod community has now been subdivided into two main groups: hot rodders and street rodders. Hot rodders build their cars using a lot of original, old parts, and follow the styles that were popular from the 1940s through the 1960s. Street rodders build cars (or have them built for them) using, primarily, new parts.

Hot rod builders such as Jesse James, who is also famous for his motorcycle modifications (choppers), have profited through their exposure on sensationalized TV shows. Boyd Coddington, famed hot rod designer currently stars in American Hot Rod, a documentary series on Discovery channel. One of his cars appeared in the music video of Gimme All Your Lovin’ by the rock band ZZ Top. The Discovery Channel airs several shows dealing with modern interpretations of kustom kulture such as Monster Garage, American Hot Rod, and Overhaulin'.