Custom choppers are...

MeatGrinder · 02-25-2005, 22:43

for POSERS! You're a yuppy showoff if you ride one.
"Hey everyone- look at me! I think I'm real cool on my over-priced chopper thingy!"

***Short Cut*** · 02-25-2005, 22:48

They're not for me, but I wouldn't call Paul Sr. a poser.

MeatGrinder · 02-25-2005, 23:02

He's just LUCKY they are the latest FAD, or no one would know who he is. America loves fads.
It used to be that having a Harley made you cool. But now everyone has a HD. It ain't something special to own a Harley anymore. So now those "Biker Badasses" have to move up to a chopper to feel cool.

bdhawk · 02-26-2005, 11:31

i entered a contest to win a o.c.c chopper. it is said to be valued at $58,000. if i win it (fingers crossed), i will have to sell it. winnings are considered income, and i can't afford the taxes.

DarkStar · 02-27-2005, 13:05

Agreed on the trendy yuppie factor of any custom 'chopper' and Paul Sr. may or may not be a poser, but he could certainly benefit from some serious meds and therapy... Only once I watched that moronic show of his and flipped it off in under 5 minutes...

;Q

Wetrudgeon · 02-28-2005, 04:30

We think some of the bikes are interesting, although probably not very practical as rides.

And we heartily agree with DarkStar: There is nothing even remotely entertaining about watching that big be-whiskered Tuetel "gentleman" stalk about cursing and throwing things. He is clearly a candidate for remeadial charm school...

We trudge on.

jthuang · 02-28-2005, 07:09

I dunno, I like the look of custom choppers. Then again, IMHO it doesn't really matter what anyone rides as long as they're riding ... buying any bike and then riding it for 100 miles per year (don't laugh, I've seen it) is a bit ridiculous.

Re Paul Sr. -- I think most of that stuff is staged. It's almost predictable as clockwork, so it couldn't be anything else.

1. Paul Jr. shows up late
2. Paul Sr. yells because of #1
3. Guys work on bike and place gets dirty
4. Paul Sr. yells about #3
5. A supplier screws up or is late with the parts
6. Paul Sr. yells about #5
7. The crew takes a break, playing volleyball, shooting archery or running over innocent furniture with Paul Sr.'s Expedition.
8. Surprisingly, Paul Sr. does not yell about #7
9. Bike is running behind schedule and they work late into the night.
10. Bike gets done ... no bike is ever late. ;Q

I think the AC guys are getting better. Early in the show they were nothing more than glorified assemblers ... not even a "heat and beat" organization. Now they're fabricating more and more of their stuff.

For the record, I think the whole crew (save Rick and Vince) are bombastic fools. But they have a TV show and I don't. ;J

fnfalman · 02-28-2005, 11:22

Custom choppers are for people who can afford and want them. The riders are no more posers than anybody who wants to modify their rides.

It's not my cup of tea, but I wouldn't knock it.

Compy · 02-28-2005, 11:50

Like them or not, they are out there DOING it. We're sitting here TALKING about it.

Who's the posers?

epsylum · 03-03-2005, 21:20

Quote:

Originally posted by CompensateThis!
Like them or not, they are out there DOING it. We're sitting here TALKING about it.

Who's the posers?

Good point.

I think those shows are good tv for one main reason. They are helping the motorcycle industry, period. Most people who watch the show cannot afford a custom chopper, or a Harley. However they are compelled by the show to start riding, somehow. They may start talking to people they know who ride, then maybe meet other people who ride through them, etc. Next thing you know they are taking advise from experienced riders (hopefully some are mentioning taking a class or learning on a dirtbike ;f ), but they have to buy below cost of "the fad", since they don't have that much money. So they go buy a Honda, or Yamaha, or whatever. That money goes back to the "more diversified" bike companies, so they have more money to spend on making all other kinds of bikes as well as cruisers.

It's a big circle and as long as people are getting more interested, I'm happy. Besides now motorcyles are getting more coverage as a whole. More people are recognizing bikers (of all shapes and forms) and we are losing our stigma as a group of hellions and criminals.

Now as for the actual show, it's just mindless entertainment. Just like a sitcom. I like some mechanical aspects of the show (basically olny the different things they do), but I am usually not the biggest fan of thier final product. I think Billy Lane is 10x the builder they are. anyone who can make a working hubless wheel, without researching Sbarros's designs (Billy likes to just do things, not research) in a shop as small as he has, with as few tools as he has, that's talent. Him and Jesse James are my favorite chopper makers. They use some degree of engineering and truely make stuff by hand.

That being said, I doubt, even if I had the money, I would buy a chopper. Just not my thing.

JCee · 03-04-2005, 17:04

Quote:

Originally posted by MeatGrinder
for POSERS! You're a yuppy showoff if you ride one.
"Hey everyone- look at me! I think I'm real cool on my over-priced chopper thingy!"

I'd damn near bet a thousand dollars that there isn't one rider posting here that doesn't have a picture of himself sittin' on his two-wheeler. We are ALL posers.;f

Oh yeah,

sean o'farrell · 03-04-2005, 17:22

Here's what I don't understand about those choppers:

Factory-built motorcycles are engineered. A lot of time is spent in design and stress testing components and making sure they work well together and stay together, and stop properly, et ceteral.

These chopper bikes, they're sort of put together from whatever is kicking around.

They can't possibly be as smooth as a well-built bike costing one fifth the price.

JCee · 03-04-2005, 19:25

Quote:

Originally posted by sean o'farrell
Here's what I don't understand about those choppers:

Factory-built motorcycles are engineered. A lot of time is spent in design and stress testing components and making sure they work well together and stay together, and stop properly, et ceteral.

These chopper bikes, they're sort of put together from whatever is kicking around.

They can't possibly be as smooth as a well-built bike costing one fifth the price.

Sean,
I'm 48. For some reason, I assume you are younger than that.

Some of the "chopper builders" know more about engineering, stress testing, aerodynamics, power transmission, braking, etc. than any "expert riders" will ever know. They are the engineers for some motorcycle manufacturers. They live it, think it, breath it, and dream it.

greenleaf · 03-04-2005, 20:58

unfortunately choppers have become the hot yuppie fad. i have mad respect for anyone who builds a chopper in their own garage, but for all the folks that go out and spend $50k in some upscale biker botique, i got a big middle finger just for you. as for occ, i would never ride any vehicle that is constructed by people that use tape measures to build it.

green

Compy · 03-04-2005, 21:35

Quote:

Originally posted by greenleaf
but for all the folks that go out and spend $50k in some upscale biker botique, i got a big middle finger just for you.

That's such a piss poor attitude. They are on a bike for Christs sake. There are a lot of people who simply don't have skills, time or tools to build it themselves. It's people like you that contribute to the segregation of bikers and I wish you all would remove your heads from your asses and realise we're in the same game.

EUPHER49 · 03-05-2005, 00:22

Quote:

Originally posted by greenleaf
i would never ride any vehicle that is constructed by people that use tape measures to build it.

What do you drive/ride?

PatinAz · 03-05-2005, 02:42

Why go and bash what someone else rides? Thats dumb. The way I see it, the wind in your face is not discriminatory. As long as you ride.;c

sean o'farrell · 03-05-2005, 05:08

Quote:

Originally posted by JCee
Sean,
I'm 48. For some reason, I assume you are younger than that.

Some of the "chopper builders" know more about engineering, stress testing, aerodynamics, power transmission, braking, etc. than any "expert riders" will ever know. They are the engineers for some motorcycle manufacturers. They live it, think it, breath it, and dream it.

Uh-huh. Well, while the Tuttles are entertaining, and while I do watch American Chopper, I've not seen anything on any of their shows that indicate they know anything about engineering, stress testing, aerodynamics, the transmission of power, et cetera. They know know to cut, roll and weld metal, for sure.

Living, thinking, breathing hard science usually is not a substitute for being formally educated in it. A two-wheeled vehicle is under a lot of stress; I'd like mine engineered and built by people who understand that you just can't cut holes and make welds in the frame anywhere you like.

fnfalman · 03-07-2005, 10:38

Choppers aren't meant to be fine samples of engineering. They are artistic expressions. Of course one's taste varied. I don't care much for most of the chopper designs except for the one that OCC did for Jay Leno. It was all black and had styling cues from the 1930s. It was beautiful.

If a person's taste in choppers ran also toward fine engineering then there's Confederate Motorcycles in Louisiana. It's not surprising to see their choppers having carbon fiber parts, forks from Showa and Ohlin, Brembo brakes, Marsechini wheels, etc.

Of course there are chopper builders who turn out things that are neither art nor engineering as well.

sean o'farrell · 03-07-2005, 12:14

Quote:

Originally posted by fnfalman
Choppers aren't meant to be fine samples of engineering. They are artistic expressions. Of course one's taste varied. I don't care much for most of the chopper designs except for the one that OCC did for Jay Leno. It was all black and had styling cues from the 1930s. It was beautiful.

If a person's taste in choppers ran also toward fine engineering then there's Confederate Motorcycles in Louisiana. It's not surprising to see their choppers having carbon fiber parts, forks from Showa and Ohlin, Brembo brakes, Marsechini wheels, etc.

Of course there are chopper builders who turn out things that are neither art nor engineering as well.

I'm not claiming that choppers should be fine examples of engineering. I like the looks of some of them. But I am astonished while viewing the "build" process of how little attention is paid to any kind of engineering matters whatsoever.

I do a "bit" of welding, and had to learn quite a bit about metallurgy to do the kind of welding I do. O pay attention to where I am welding or cutting, and what I am attaching or removing, and how. The guys I see on the "chopper" TV shows know how to work metal, but I don't see that they know much about welding it. You mess with a steel bike frame the wrong way, and you cut its strength significantly.

fnfalman · 03-07-2005, 13:27

You are correct. Most of these guys have rudimentary knowledges about the engineering and sciences. They are handy with metal works and that sort of thing, and well, these things are bar hoppers. They aren't designed and made to work well like a factory motorcycle. Although Confederate Motorcyles are different. They actually engineered their "choppers". So's Ecosse.

greenleaf · 03-08-2005, 16:26

i currently ride an 03' suzuki r 1000. i have owned several cruisers and sportbikes. i beg to differ with you CompensateThis!, i dont have my head in my ass, and i dont ride a motorcycle cause i saw it on a tv show.

green

fnfalman · 03-08-2005, 17:41

and i dont ride a motorcycle cause i saw it on a tv show.

------------------------------------------------------

Of course, you never read any magazines on motorcycle and motorcycling either, righhhht? You just went out and bought a particular motorcycle out entirely of your own accords and without any sort of external influences?

Compy · 03-08-2005, 17:50

I have yet to see my Honda 919 on ANY TV show.

fnfalman · 03-08-2005, 18:38

I bought my bike because that model was featured in a movie and I was sooooo enthralled with it that I must get one...nearly two years later. I'm gonna cruise Rodeo Drive and see if Uma Thurman would like to take a ride with me.