motorcycle vs chopper vs bobber

When people think about motorcycles, the first thing that comes to mind is usually a Harley-Davidson. The Harley-Davidson motorcycle is one of the most popular bikes out there. You see them on the highways and probably know someone who rides one. There’s more to motorcycles than the factory made Harley though. Bikes come in different shapes, sizes and styles. If you’ve watched the reality TV show American Chopper you may have noticed that the look of chopper motorcycles is very different from traditional motorcycles. They are much more stylized and built to go faster with specific chopper parts and accessories. If you’ve seen old black and white movies with a world war as a setting, you may have noticed some of the lower and lighter vintage bike characteristics associated with a bobber. This article aims to inform you about chopper motorcycles and bobbers. What are they? How are they different? How are they the same?

Motorcycles
Before we expand on choppers and bobbers, you should first know a little about the traditional motorcycle. The motorcycle is a two-wheeled, single-track motor vehicle. It is one of the most affordable forms of motorized transportation in the world. The motorcycle is typically mass produced in a factory and has a standard steel or aluminum frame with forks holding the front wheel. It contains an engine and a whole array of parts such as brakes, fenders, and transmission and exhaust systems. The average mid-size motorcycle has a fuel economy of 35-40 miles per gallon. Popular factory stock motorcycles include BMWs, Hondas, Harley-Davidsons, Indians, Suzukis and Yamahas.

Choppers
A chopper motorcycle consists of a modified form of the original factory frame and only the most essential motorcycle parts to make it go at faster. Basically everything unnecessary to moving or stopping gets “chopped up” and some of the original parts are replaced with custom parts. Then the engine and transmission are removed and the factory frame is cut and welded back together to make it lower and lighter. Performance parts can be added or changed to increase speed. Styling includes a roughly 45-degree angle front fork, shiny chrome detailing and other features unique to the bike's owner such custom paint designs. The overall look and performance make choppers distinctly different from factory motorcycles. A chopper is also typically more difficult (at least initially) to turn than a factory bike.

Bobbers

Bobbers consist of a stripped stock motorcycle, a “bobbed” or shortened fender and only essential motorcycle parts. The main difference between a bobber and a chopper is that the bobber actually keeps the original factory bike frame as opposed to a modification of a factory frame. A bobber is also much more lightweight and minimalistic with less chrome than a chopper. The bobber’s origins began when servicemen returning home from the war began removing motorcycle parts that were not absolutely essential to the basic function of the motorcycle, such as turn indicators and front brakes.

Customizing Motorcycles, Bobbers and Choppers today

Riders can purchase a factory bike and have it perfect as is. Others may choose to tweak it by lowering it to fit their size or adding a new chrome gas tank. Many other riders may opt for a full transformation altogether in the form of a chopper or bobber. For example, today’s chopper motorcycles aren’t limited to their high ape hanger-style handlebars and front extended forks. Their characteristics also overlap with customized motorcycles. Bikers not only want to chop their ride, they also want to make them as unique as they are by adding anything from cool chrome features to dynamic performance parts to neat paint jobs. A poker player could have card designs like the ace of spades custom painted onto a bike. Riders can customize with chrome to fit their needs. If they ride with a partner, a rear seat and “sissy bar” or backrest can be installed. Engine modifications may be made to increase the bike’s power. The art of the customized motorcycle isn't just aesthetics but performance underneath. Bobbers of today can have the necessary modern parts to make it run like new but still look old school. Most riders want their bike as unique as they are as owners. Bike design and performance is limited only by the imagination.

Although the motorcycle, chopper and bobber have distinct differences, they do share some overlapping qualities. All are two-wheeled, single-track motor vehicles used by riders all over the world. All can be customized to suit the rider. The differences are that the typical motorcycle is made from a factory. The chopper has a modified factory frame, longer front fork and custom features. The bobber is lower and lighter, usually old school in style. Our reviews have further research on these kinds of motorcycles.

HOW CHOPPERS CAME INTO EXISTENCE

Before there were choppers, there was the bobber, meaning a motorcycle that had been "bobbed," or relieved of excess weight by removing parts, particularly the fenders, with the intent of making it lighter and thus faster, or at least making it look better in the eyes of a rider seeking a more minimalist ride. An early example of a bobber is the 1940 Indian Sport Scout "Bob-Job" which toured in the 1998 The Art of the Motorcycle exhibition. Indian Scouts and Chiefs of the time came with extravagantly large, heavily valenced fenders, nearly reaching the center of the wheel on the luxurious 1941 Indian Series 441 while racing bikes had tiny fenders or none at all. The large and well-appointed bikes exemplified the "dresser" motorcycle aesthetic and providing a counterpoint to the minimalist bobber, and cafe racers. Choppers would grow into and explore the dimensions of the space between the stripped-down bobbers and weighed-down dressers.


In the post-World War II United States, servicemen returning home from the war started removing all parts deemed too big, heavy, ugly, or not essential to the basic function of the motorcycle, such as fenders, turn indicators, and even front brakes. The large, spring-suspended saddles were also removed in order to sit as low as possible on the motorcycle's frame. These machines were lightened to improve performance for dirt-track racing and mud racing.


Forward-mounted foot pegs replaced the standard large 'floorboard' foot rests. Also, the standard larger front tire, headlight and fuel tankwere replaced with much smaller ones. Many choppers were painted preferably all in either flat black or in shiny metal flake colors. Also common were many chromed parts (either one-off fabricated replacements or manually chromed stock parts). According to the taste and purse of the owner, chop shops would build high handle bars, or later Ed Roth's Wild Child designed stretched, narrowed, and raked front forks. Shops also custom built exhaust pipes and many of the “after market kits“ followed in the late 1960s into the 1970s. Laws required (and in many locales still do) a retention fixture for the passenger, so vertical backrests called sissy bars were a popular installation, often sticking up higher than the rider's head.

While the decreased weight and lower seat position improved handling and performance, the main reason to build such a chopper was to show off and provoke others by riding a machine that was stripped and almost nude compared to the softer-styled stock Harley-Davidsons, let alone the oversized automobiles of that time.

WHAT'S A CHOPPER?

what is a Chopper? The Chopper is created by removing or "chopping" off unnecessary parts from the bike. Who needs a windshield, front fenders, big headlights, clumsy blinkers, crash bars, big seats, etc? Chop them off and make the bike sleeker and lighter. Bikers started raking the front end so the tire was further from the bike, it gave the bike a cool look, which goes a long way with a biker. Handlebars were raised high and called ape hangers. The front tire was made thinner and the rear tire was made fatter. Some bikers even removed the battery and used a magneto to reduce weight. The gas tank, headlight, and blinkers were all made smaller. Anything deemed to be unnecessary was removed. This made for a bike style that was unique and tailored to each rider since each rider decided just what needed to be done to his bike to create the Chopper he desired.