The Rise and Fall of Choppers

Few topics in motorcycle history are as difficult and complicated to address as that of the helicopter. Sure you could describe it as a silly little subculture with no real influence on the rest of the two-wheeled world or culture as a whole, but that would be a lie as the cafe racer movement is so much more than just a style or shape. of customizing your bike and there's more to this story than just crazy paint jobs and really tall handlebars and flames and a video like this wouldn't have much substance if it weren't for the incredible research of Paul De Orleans in his expensive but amazing book called The Chopper, if you can get your hands on a copy, I'd recommend it now.

My first contact with the world of Choppers was when I was a child. in the early 2000s, from the TV show American Choppers, at that time in my life, motorcycles were either big loud Harleys or dirt bikes. I grew up in the type of community where if you ran out and bought a motorcycle, it was assumed it was a Sportster. What else could you get, but for these guys the motorcycle really could be anything you've ever dreamed of. It may not work well or be comfortable, but it would be great. I remember thinking, man, all these motorcycles have different themes, but for some reason they are all too. more or less the same and why everyone is constantly shouting.

What I didn't know is that as much as the Orange County Chopper team tried to think outside the box with the bikes they built, they were very much working within such a tradition. This goes back almost to the beginning of motorcycles, so let's start there. Customizing motorcycles is as old as motorcycles themselves, partly because these early machines didn't always do what you needed, but also because those who were interested in motorsports at the time. The turn of the century had to be the kind of people who understood their machines inside and out; In some cases, these early riders knew more about particular topics than even the manufacturer and would therefore change things to make the bike more reliable or simply better and the riders.

Nowadays I think they are tough, those guys with mustaches in the first photos you see with those primitive two-wheeled vehicles. They were a completely different breed. Initial customization focused primarily on performance. But as time went on, motorcycles became cool, motorcyclists discovered that motorcycles were a species. of personal expression a sort of extension of themselves and a part of their identity As the motorcycle itself evolved, so did the ways in which riders customized them, the first major category of custom motorcycles being something called special, which special became a term really for any motorcycle that doesn't fit into any category, often made by home builders and repairers curious to actually change every aspect of the motorcycle, from putting the head on a different bike than the one they had to motorcycles completely built from scratch.

In America during the 1920s, a specific local movement known as cutdown would actually be the precursor to the chopper, as 1920s motorcycle frames changed from being essentially straight and tall to sort of slanted slopes, you know. , the painting we think of and Harley's. The first leftover jframes would find their way into the hands of California Builders and they began cutting, bending and welding them to create motorcycles with a shape of their own and quickly a specific relaxed style would take over, still, it was all a matter of skill and creativity. of the builder and the result was generally a leaner motorcycle than the original Harley of that era, the Great Depression essentially wiped out all American motorcycle manufacturers other than Harley and Indian, but the C-class racing scene, which focuses on you as a racer actually building and customizing your bike for better performance, this would lead to the Bob or bobber scene where not only racing bikes but also production motorcycles owned by everyday people would be dismantled to have fenders minimal or non-existent, often a shortened box and any additional elements.

Unnecessary parts in the early years of the Bob scene were removed. These were relatively simple custom bikes made to look like their C-class racing counterparts, but it didn't take long for more artistically minded people to start getting creative and giving their Bob designed bike a unique paint job, for example, but the war was approaching and it wouldn't be until after World War II that we would really begin to see the roots of the helicopter movement now emerging from World War II. The United States experienced a resurgence. of wealth and so our vehicles continued to, you know, became more luxurious, so it's not surprising that custom cars and motorcycles became much more elaborate with more chrome and crazier paint jobs.

At that time, a movement began to take shape from those customs. Builders who before the war would have simply done a simple Bob's job, but now the motorcycles they would create would be quite different. You know, a pre-war Bob really has little in common with helicopters, which would become one of the main questions. That's why the shape of the helicopter would become what it is with this very specific driving style and position that you know. High handlebar. Low seat. In Paul De Oran's book on the helicopter, he notes that prior to this move, the other two positions had been available. meaning you know a straight or standard position just for normal bike riding and then the crouch position where you're down but your butt is up and that would be used more for racing and performance.

You know, it's flat and forward, but never backward and As the chopper movement took shape after the war and moved further and further away from its B and racing origins towards a completely familiar non-performance aesthetic, it would take the opposite shape of those racing bikes instead of low handlebars and a forward lean. You'd find yourself leaning back with your hands up and if you've ever driven a helicopter you'll know it's not exactly made for performance or high speed cornering, although if we can make Baggers race then why not? Helicopter Race It is also likely that the Zoot Suit movement influenced the development of Choppers.

They were also the first movement in the four-wheel world to customize cars with a specific rearward tilt, just aiming for informality. Now many say that the helicopter movement actually formed in Southern California shortly after World War II and the veterans basically cut up their Harleys, but this is not exactly accurate, it is true that many military personnel found a life of sorts in the road on two wheels and yes, they were often Harleys and yes, they customized them, but for the most part, even after the war, they just customized them for Bobbers, you know, the wild one is kind of an image, not necessarily the typical American motorcyclist at the time, but at least what people thought of the motorcyclist, kind of an Outlaw and it's also a picture of where motorcycle culture was and how motorcycles were customized.

You know, the main character isn't even on a Harley and there really weren't any Choppers during the '60s, the chopper movement really grew out of the hot rod movement. The rods were not just cars, people customized the motorcycles a lot also for shows and little by little these bikes evolved from simple high performance racing machines to becoming crazier and more elaborate and quickly the helicopter took shape with specific elements that dominated in the Early days of the chopper before it became a business for many, these bikes were built in garages by incredibly skilled builders who weren't necessarily businessmen, as local builders tried various things to make their bikes more ridiculous. .

Specific trends grew from tall handlebars to small tanks to big, skinny front tires and really small diameter headlights and these Chopper trends would become so influential that major bike manufacturers would even adopt them for children's bikes, from There were bikes like the Stingray, which was literally a chopper bike in the early '60s, one of the key elements of the Chopper featured extra-long forks and that's when someone basically realized that the radial rods on a Ford Model T They could be welded to spring forks. These ridiculous setups would have a huge influence on Choppers in the future, which some people would settle for. a 4 ot extension and others would really take it to its length longer forks and more rake were the name of the game at this point and also, like the origins of rock music, it is important to note the often past influence overlooked by black and Latino Riders. in really early Chopper culture, as their bikes were some of the first to have things like monkey hangers and flashy paint jobs and this will also be true for the most famous chopper of all time, which we'll get to in a moment.

The specific way in which the helicopter developed as a kind of art form places it in a specific category known as folk art, folk art, unlike traditional art, is not created or trained in fine arts by professionals or academics. , but rather it is built more locally within specific subcultures and with the chopper that is exactly what happened most of the early creators of this form of motorcycle were not professional artists so to speak, they were just normal guys like you and me, who were also incredibly creative and talented, so I guess maybe not like you and me, so the helicopter would evolve among various groups as a way to show the values ​​and aesthetics of the community and that really makes it In a popular art in the 1960s, multiple motorcycle subcultures had appeared, you know, in Britain there were the cafe racers ridden by the Rockers along with the Mods and their scooters, but honestly none of them would go global in terms of popularity and would influence the way the Choppers would do it and this is because the chopper, although it has some specific elements, would actually lend itself better to personal expression than any other motorcycle movement in history.

I mean, you can't do whatever you want with a cafe racer, you can pretty much do it with a chopper. Some things happened later in the '60s and '70s to make the chopper movement really grow. The first thing is that professional Builders made it possible for regular Riders to get their hands on a helicopter. You know you didn't have to build your own anymore and some of these Builders pushed the boundaries in terms of the style they really focused on. creative but still rideable motorcycles, one of the most incredible and influential builds in these early years was the Arlandness Untouchable, just exquisite detail, incredible quality and artistry, it was a fully realized design and the kind of thing a manufacturer would dream of building but that I probably never could.

It has something of the vintage era, almost brass, but it is also kind of Steampunk, despite having a supercharger, then I would even make more ridiculous builds, like the pity with twin Sportster engines, but as they got more involved professionals, the quality and also the price went up. These bikes and the Chopper magazines came out and the culture really grew like wildfire and then Easy Rider came out. Now it certainly helps when the world's most famous motorcycle of all time turns out to be part of your move: Captain America's motorcycle is actually bigger than the movie Easy Rider, at this point some would say Hopper's flamed flat head is actually cooler, but certainly not as famous.

What is often overlooked are Captain America's true origins. The truth is Captain America and the Easy Rider Billy Bikes they came from. the Beautiful Minds of Cliff Sunny Voss and Ben Hardy and their names would be removed from the film's closing credits even though they not only made these bikes but were very influential in the creation of the film as a whole, while the Movement for Civil Rights was on the way these guys were building bicycles in their backyards before getting involved Dennis Hopper the director of Easy Rider and Peter Fonda began to think about this new idea for a kind of western movie where the protagonists embark on an adventure western style.

All over the United States, but instead of travelingon horseback, they would ride the new horse, which is the motorcycle, and Voss would have a big influence on the creation of Easy Rider, including its name and the construction of motorcycles, when they approached him and asked him. his opinion and basically how they could make the movie and what the motorcycles would be like. He designed the motorcycles from scratch and Benny Hardy originally built them. They didn't have much rake and then they had a lot of rake, but for some. The reason Fonda would go on to say that he actually built the bikes doesn't mean that Fonda wasn't a big part of making the bikes great.

I mean, he's the star of the movie and would tour the bikes for decades afterward. They just never really recognized the true origins of these Choppers. You know probably the best Choppers of all time were designed and created by two black men and in fact Jesse James can be credited with tracing the bike's true origins after Fonda and Hopper tried to erase these Builders. Easy Rider's involvement would in many ways bring the chopper concept to the minds of people around the world in Britain. Riders started shredding old triumphs and Vincent and even the little cocks at BSA had British sportsbikes like the Commando and Bonville started to look more like the Customs.

Japanese manufacturers started making Cruisers, American aesthetics were taking over BMWs, Suzukis, gold wings, CB 750s, you name it, everything was available to be converted into a helicopter. Outlaw motorcycle clubs like the 1centers adopted the helicopter in many ways, the rest of the world remained somewhat sensible during the '70s, '80s and '90s, but in America, especially in the '80s and '90s, things got pretty wild. In the '70s, Harley decided they needed to try to recapture the Chopper's image and got involved with a production Chopper or at least a bike. really taking style cues from the movement, this would be the Superglide and then Superglide Low Rider, as almost every major manufacturer tried to make a chopper type bike and as the bikes became more ridiculous, the purist chopper scene went somewhat underground during the 80s and 90s, although the 90s saw a resurgence. of what could be called The Fat Tire power Chopper and then it happened that Choppers went global once again on the T, but this time not with a movie but with a new type of television show, reality show, the origins of Orange County Choppers on the reality show.

American Choppers is a fun and complicated story. I would recommend the donut media podcast on this topic. In short, the problem with their 10 years of operation making what Paul De Orleans calls grotesque Choppers a

rise

s from the fact that the Tunnels actually had very little manufacturing experience. Choppers before the show compared to other builders right now, but what they did have were fiery personalities and that is, of course, what made the show addictive. Many of the reality TV stereotypes were born with American Choppers, not only was it the first of its kind in terms of automotive or manufacturing reality shows, it really did PVE like for reality shows in general, but it didn't do much for the helicopter scene, except making tuttles and some other crazy builders earn a lot of money for the helicopter. as a platform for art and creativity it's a delicate thing and throughout its history you know it's been used for amazing expressions but it's also been abused for personal gain right now.

American Choppers paved the way for this new Chopper aesthetic with bigger and crazier really being the name of the game, they also paved the way for themed bikes, obviously that had been around since the '60s, but these motorcycles weren't really like the bike. From Captain America, which was a subtle art, this was anything but subtle. Orleans sums this up pretty well, saying that any semblance of manly independence or countercultural credibility left in the helicopter scene had been discarded by a generation of media-hungry, money-savvy businessmen. Helicopters were just another business opportunity, albeit under some guise. of creative expression sprinkled with a ray of fame as Chopper builders became celebrities, he goes on to point out that people like Jesse James are something of an exception with their interest in Chopper history, but his bike still followed this trend and then the economy.

The crisis of 2008 2009 really killed this whole Choppers scene as quickly as it had appeared now. I don't know if you can relate to this, but I really haven't seen many Choppers in the last five years and I think that's partly the case. This is because they are hiding as the new commercialized form of Chopper became mainstream in the early 2000's, the old Chopper scene became even more underground and honestly I think they like it that way, ya that was never like that. Making a lot of money or being famous was always assumed to be a personal thing where you, the rider, built your own bike to truly be an expression of yourself, so Choppers are now somewhat few and far between, although they do exist and there are . traveling groups and many builders like Austin Johnson, for example, and Indian Larry, who have had a more traditional perspective on the whole Chopper thing, even amidst all the big, ridiculous Choppers craze in the early 1990s. 2000, in Japan there has been a resurgence of interest in classic American motorcycles and

choppers

, check out shinya kimura's Neptune Chopper, which is really an amazing combination of theme but also that vintage aesthetic.

Now I want to highlight some of the best, biggest and, in my opinion, coolest Choppers ever, other than the ones we have. We've already mentioned first that Indian Larry's Grease Monkey has to be mentioned based on a 65 flathead and featuring that iconic engine front and center and beautifully simple lines with exposed parts. I mean, this is the kind of motorcycle I think Harley wants. They could do it it's so stylish and so old school, this is one of my favorite Choppers, the wild sugar bears and the innovative Springer Choppers are also worth mentioning. Dave Pertz and of course Jesse James have some pretty wild creations, but I also think Arin Nest may be one. one of the most important and influential when it comes to making wild but cool Choppers.

I'll be completely honest with you, making this video has really given me a new appreciation for the chopper and its history and its place in the world of motorcycles. Although I may never build one, some of them really appeal to me. I think for a lot of us, myself included, what we haven't liked about Choppers are these more popular commercial style

choppers

from the early 2000s with their huge rear wheels and somewhat sleek aesthetics. Still, I think the whole Chopper thing is not without its problems, regardless of how it's made. Choppers are unique in the history of the motorcycle custom scenes in that, aside from the oldest examples, they have basically no benefits to the rider, they are purely superfluous. feature super tall handlebars long forks small thin gas tanks skinny front wheels none of these things really do anything but make the ride worse and you know Choppers are unique in the sense that cafe racers aren't necessarily more comfortable but at least They serve the purpose and performance goal, you know, Bobs are meant to make your motorcycle more aerodynamic and lighter, scramblers and trackers work better off road.

Choppers, well, they're just meant to look cool and that's fine, but that's all, but motorcycles have always been art. two wheels, especially when function leads to form or thinking of something like a Britain v1000, is ridiculous, but every extraneous aspect is about making the bike faster on a track and that's what makes it artistic. Making art on two wheels cannot be separated from what the motorcycle is meant to do, it is intended to carry passengers, so a hard, heavy, uncomfortable, difficult to handle tail that has been made specifically that way on purpose and that You can barely ride it, it seems a little outside the original purpose of the bikers. adding knobby tires and tall tubes to their bikes for better off-road performance, so today yes, you know that a tired, knobby street bike looks great, but it has a cool look because those people They did great when they needed it.

Adventure Riders made their bikes more comfortable with better storage options for, you know, going on adventures, motorcycles look different for legitimate reasons, mainly to provide the experience a potential rider is looking for, but the chopper is actually just an artistic expression. I know some would say that building your own bike, whether it's a cafe racer or a chopper, but especially one built from scratch like so many Choppers, is a way to get to know your motorcycle more intimately and I really respect that, I think it's cool, but such Maybe I'm seeing this all wrong, maybe the chopper.

It's more than just a motorcycle you know from the movie Pulp Fiction. Butch or Bruce Willis is asked where you got this motorcycle and he responds by saying it's not a motorcycle, honey, it's a helicopter. Think about that question, where did you get it from, assuming you bought it? This way it's not really that much of a custom motorcycle, so I could have done it, but that's okay, it's the concept that you don't just go out and buy a chopper that goes against the general spirit and is not a motorcycle at all. In the traditional sense, it really is not.

It was also meant to be in the movie, he stole the thing, so the helicopter is a motorcycle or it's something different or it's the truest form of art on two wheels. I'd love to hear his thoughts in the comments below. As I'm sure there will be many, be sure to subscribe if you liked this story and check out my other videos on motorcycle history, see you in the next one, ride safe.