anyone from the chopper days?

[timebombprod]

knowing that majority of the gs fanbase here grew up seeing these bikes new, was anyone here into choppers during the time they were the biggest (60s/70s)? i watch a guy on youtube called "hunting harleys" and he has a 30 minute video explaining what the chopper craze was about, and why it died so abruptly. i know theres forums made for that but i wanna hear from somebody here if anyone was into it, and why did you switch over/ get into japanese bikes. i know theyre basically better in every way except maybe sound in my opinion.

one cool things i learned is that many of the choppers were made because it was cheap ( not the aftermarket frame). you'd go to a junkyard, pick all the parts you need to build a full bike, and either ride it or flip it. apparently it could cost you 50 bucks to get it from a junkyard and sell for $500 to the people in the city. those old harleys arent survivors, they're pieces of junk!

 

[LAB3]

I'm younger than that crowd, got my first HD in the early 80's. In or about 1985 the factory was in trouble and just days away from closing for good.

A queer millionaire with a hot air balloon shaped like a chateau at a vinyard (Malcom Forbes) came out of the closet and said "We got to save this company!" His rich buddies got the cash up to keep the company afloat and all the new bikes where being purchased by yuppies.

About 1990 or so I stopped to see if another guy on the side of the road needed help. His three yr old bike had 1500 miles on it and the carbs where obviously gummed up. Offered to help him out suggesting we drop the float bowl to clear any obvious crud and he asked "What recourse do I have if you break something?" The culture was changing!

A couple of years later with a spate of doctors, lawyers, social workers and other undesirables showing up at biker events, the guys started selling their bikes to pay for rehab, another major shift away from where it came from.

About that time I bought a Goldwing and have ridden rice ever since. What exists today as "biker culture" is a PG13 version of where it came from. I'm still riding cheap bikes today.

 

[Cipher]

I just remember the exploitation movies.

Even as a child I was shocked at how lame it was to see people in cars being forced off the road by bikes.

I wonder if there is a parts bike special sort of genre in UK made of amalgamated junk yard bits.

 

[hank2]

I can't give a whole lot of insight into the chopper culture of the 60's-70's, but I'll add a few memories of those days. In the mid to late 60's in Pa., you would see some very nicely done HD knuckle head and pan head choppers and bobbers. Pa. was no. 2 in national bike registrations back then. They were likely emulating the west coast style bikes that preceded them by a few years. All custom handiwork as there really wasn't an aftermarket for those parts yet. The pro flat track races, of which my town had 3 a year, were huge gatherings for all motorcyclists. From very old style clubs, like the Motor Maids and folks wearing green or purple bowties and Harley hats to many one-percenters. Many Brit bikes, as Triumph and BSA were hugely popular. That's where you saw the nicest choppers and such. In early 1969, in my senior year in high school, a friend and I purchased a running 1952 ( I think) panhead HD. We paid $300 for it. I think that the title was in the friend's name only. We didn't get much further than discarding the front fender and tuning it up. We took it for unplated rides around his neighborhood. We had plans alright, but his kid brother tried to kick it over one day and caught it and the garage it was in on fire. End of panhead.

To put things in perspective, the cost of living has gone up (US) at least 7 or 8 fold since then, much more than that for vehicles. I was offered a new Sportster at a local old school HD shop in about 1969 for $900. The Electra glides were about $2000, or a tad more. A multi brand dealer had a long line of new in the crate surplus HD 750 servi-car trikes for sale for $500 each. Not a bank in the land would finance a loan for any of them.

The local outlaws, who I knew a couple of through friends, were not particularly bad attitudes at that point. Many would help a guy fix a bike and were mostly happy go lucky chaps as long as you didn't give them a reason to beat you. Few of them lived past their early 20's. Many of them were hard men who could ride for days on little sleep or food. A little later, with hard drugs, that changed completely. Prior to the early 70's they rode primarily Brit bikes in the East, with a smattering of HD's.

A year or two after that, I was off in the military and people started chopping everything. Some nicely done and many abominations. Welded struts in place of rear shocks and rear brakes only. Lot's of chopped Brit bikes and tons of chopped Japanese twins like Honda CB350's and 450's. Some were put together for very little money, other than the extended fork tubes. Old HD parts were not very expensive yet either. Brit bike parts not so cheap. I remember a friend paying about $3500 in todays money for a magneto for an early 60's BSA. (A little cheaper than the color TV consoles of the time). A nicely prepared custom bike built by owner cost at least what an average guy made in a year, so sacrificing all else was the norm.

Other than some dedicated diehards, most people left the choppers sit in a few years. Many were after the image and the chicks only and left motorcycling or progressed to the many tasty and fast big bore UJM's coming on the mid 70's and on. Kaws and then GS's. Also some harassment from outlaws if you were not one, on a chopper. No sign of prepsters or conspicuous consumption crowd yet. I know of one sort of local chopper shop from the late 60's which still exists today, although it moved a time or two. Seems dedicated to the HD shovelhead engine, last I heard.

Ha! I remember Malcolm Forbes and some of his publicity stunts for motorcycling. He did at least one good thing, in throwing money in court at New Jersey to defeat their long standing ban on motorcycles on the NJ Parkway. Even folks that hated motorcycles ( many people) thought that ban was crazy.​

 

[Gorminrider]

Since you're from a newer generation, you may not have seen "Easy Rider"...

 

[timebombprod]

i tried to watch easy rider, and while it may be a nice life style to live, god it was kinda boring to watch, was bout 30 minutes in. hell yea boi cocaine and weed

 

[dorkburger]

Intetesting about the NJ Parkway ban. Well before my time, as were the chopper days.

The Parkway is pretty much a danger filled sh!t show these days.

 

[Gorminrider]

i tried to watch easy rider

Yes the bikes were just a prop -the cartoon above is probably from the only sequence where you see the bikes.I don't suppose Hollywood would risk Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper too long on "highway shots" that didn't relate to the "story". A similar disappontment of the era was "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". Good title, but the contents were unrelated...

 

[GS1150Pilot]

I enjoy Easy Rider. It is a period piece, but it is also art, which can require contemplative time.

As for choppers, they do nothing for me. Handling, safety, comfort all compromised for an aesthetic that does not appeal at all. I get the financial background for the chop cult's origins, but it isn't anything I'd subscribe to doing.

I enjoy the absolute hell out of my Sportster, but I'd never chop it or bob it. That stuff is ugly in my eyes, and adds nothing to function.

 

[Gorminrider]

choppers were never my thing either, but the long wheel base might have advantages on a long straight ride? The long angled forks would seem to be problematic though...the stanchions aren't going to slide much in dampers and woulseem to be vulnerable to a pothole if they weren't oversized..? The "Hard-tail"- well , I'd want a smooth road and a wide soft tire and seat I think!

 

[GS1150Pilot]

I dunno. For long distance rides, a big dresser would seem like the ideal mount.

 

[Grimly]

. A similar disappontment of the era was "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance". Good title, but the contents were unrelated...

Yah. I found it somewhat lacking in tappet adjustment information.

 

[LAB3]

There's a movie, more a travelogue from about 1972ish called "Cycles South" that you might enjoy. Three guys head out from Denver on a three month trip to Panama, much less a countercultural statement than Easy Rider, just three guys exploring and enjoying life.

 

[GS1150Pilot]

I need to look for that. I love films of that sort.

 

[GS1150Pilot]

I see it's available on Amazon. :encouragement:

 

[GS1150Pilot]

Actually:

 

[LAB3]

Actually:

It ran on one of the movie channels available on extended basic cable recently (MGM?)

 

[Gorminrider]

ha! i like that bit riding the railroad track! We have a disused track running half the length of Vancouver island, not including the logging railroads up north..I might try that!

 

[Guest]

There was a guy here that back then that built one out of a 750ss Ducati... Was kinda bobber style. Most people thought it was an early sporty.

 

[wymple]

I was there. I built an XS650 hardtail for my 16 year old son, it's still here. My nephew & I built a 750 Triumph twin. It was really common to find stock bikes with extended forks. Springers were a big deal, the coolest ones had the twisted steel look. 750 Hondas, mostly, and the occasional 900 Kaw. Always a king-queen seat. Yamaha made the TX750 for only a short time, and some build your own chopper kit outfit bought all the left over engines. They were advertised in all the major mags. Rarely saw chops out on the road, mostly bar hoppers.