How can anyone ride these things for any length of time?
Whenever I see someone on a chopper, their arms are stretched out as far in front of them as possible, and so are their legs. It is almost as if they are in a permanent position of trying to touch their toes while sitting on the floor.
I’ve had the “pleasure” of riding one once, and it was the most uncomfortable, unpleasant riding experience I have ever had. I don’t even like how they look, although I understand why some folks do. But to me, this is a perfect case of style over substance. Cool-looking if you are into that sort of thing, but completely impractical for riding over 10 miles at a stretch. The bike puts your body in such an awkward position… How can anyone enjoy riding them?
If they were cheap, I’d almost understand how they have a niche in the market, but they are very expensive to buy, meaning someone who buys one of these things is looking at riding the chopper for their main bike.
Can anyone shed some light onto why these things are so popular, and if anyone owns one, can you tell me if you find them as uncomfortable as I did? If not, how is that possible? A regular motorcycle has the rider sitting mostly straight up and down, with a slightly forward lean. A much more comfortable, and a much safer riding position.
I’m interested to hear from folks that own and enjoy riding choppers as well as those that have had a chance to ride on one and found it to be as unpleasant as I did.
A guy I worked with once told me about the long summer he and his buddy worked on their choppers, inspired by Easy Rider.
Ape hanger handlebars and all.
The day they deemed their works of art complete was a grand occasion, and they started them up and went for a ride.
About twenty minutes into the ride his friend looked at him and said “This ain’t that comfortable, is it…”
My friend responded “But we sure do look cool!”
I always figured choppers fit in the same category as convertibles: they are much more awesome to look at than to use.
I’m 70, been riding this chopper since 1992. Hard tail, kick only, no springs under the seat.
Tulsa to central IA, nonstop, N/W AR to as far N/W as you can go in IA nonstop. Spot 1 Spot 2
I have had two at once, I build them pretty much by hand.
I can’t afford a new bike so I just accumulate parts over time until I have enough to build. Spot has a 1963 stroker HD engine. The second one had a 1963 outside oilier stock 74 inch HD engine.
That sums up my experience, except i didn’t build my own. I am sure building your own bike has a lot to do with tolerating any discomfort.
But can I ask why you look at convertibles like they are more awesome to look at than to use?
Did you find the nonstop trips pleasant, or did you have any discomfort?
Also, your choppers don’t seem to be as uncomfortable as others I have seen, although your arms still look like they would be stretched out completely. That seems to be something I could not do for any significant length of time.
If you are still riding your chopper at 70, all I can say is “I am impressed.”
But since you have been riding them for so long, don’t you find that they put you in a very vulnerable position, one that you wouldn’t be able to recover from quickly if you happened to find yourself falling, or some other position that required you to be sitting more upright? Plus, as far as I can tell, turning quickly is not an option on a chopper, so avoiding a split second hazard is not exactly an option, is it?
What I don’t get is ape hangers. I live in Milwaukee and every 5 years we have HUGE Harley rallies so I get a chance to see a ton of bikes and there’s always a couple of bikes with ape hangers. If someone has a hobby bike, I can understand being uncomfortable for a few hours here and there, but I don’t understand how someone can ride a bike from, say, Georgia to Wisconsin with their hands higher then their shoulders.
Whenever I am stuck in slow city traffic on a sweaty steamy Jersey summer day at 95F + steam, I see folks sitting in convertibles. They are sitting in the blazing hot sun surrounded by stagnant steam while most admirers around them are sitting in cool comfort of air conditioning. At that precise moment, their appearance is far more exciting than the reality.
Besides that, there are some impracticalities: They are very noisy to drive with the top up, especially so in the rain; as they age, squeaks and rattles come; and you can never leave anything of the slightest value visible in the car.
In perfect “convertible weather” they are every bit as awesome as they look, so as long as you have the luxury of keeping an extra car for fun they are great. And I imagine that many chopper riders have another bike at home, for when they want to give their arms a rest.
One impracticality that I’ve always wondered about is what if you park with the top down, and while you’re gone it begins to rain rather heavily. The interiors don’t seem any more waterproof than non-convertibles interiors do, which in my experience is not particuarly waterproof. Driving in damp, mucky seats doesn’t sound like fun, and I can’t imagine water improving the operation of modern electronic instrumentation and sound systems. OK, probably the modern upscale luxury convertibles like you see on TopGear UK probably raise their tops automatically, so think of classic US convertibles from the 1960s thru the 1980s - OK, I guess in the late 1970s that was mostly Cadillacs.
Come to think of it, most of the automobiles in the early years (till the 1920s) were open tops/runabouts - that must have been fun…
Well, against a professional rider, that may be somewhat true. The best policy is to never be stupid. 2 seconds of stupid can really ruin your day.
Some people like a recumbent bicycle too. You can fall off any 1 or 2 or 3 wheeled vehicle. I don’t like seat belts on my motorcycles either but that is just me.
One foot hole or rock directly in my path hidden by a line of traffic, if you are too close to the car in front, nobody can miss it. Why are you that close? ( 2 seconds of stupid? )
Just going down the road, I can flick the wheels one foot or better to the side & recover without the top of the bike moving but a few inches.
Riding down a city street at 35 - 40 MPH as per the limits & the traffic, car jumps at just the wrong time from a blind alley, 999 times out of 1000 nobody on anything is going to escape. If you are that one, you have been riding a lot for years and would not get into that situation in the first place. Crossing cars are right near the top for the deaths of riders I know. National average, I do not know the stats. I am always trying for it to not be me, ( Thinking, watching, experience, & no phone for anything. Except taking pictures on the fly as I do with a very easy to use camera one handed. )
Your questions are good for a new rider to be asking & thinking about. Do not start out on a chopper unless you really want to die. Best is on dirt on a dirt bike with as much safety gear as you can. Not always possible. Never be stupid. Get instruction, do not get on more motorcycle than you are experienced enough to ride. Way too many do not start smart.
I did none of those things but 50 years ago was totally different. And I was lucky. ( Pretty good also. )
I used to fly airplanes but don’t anymore because I can’t afford to and don’t have that job anymore. A whole lot of the things that make you an ‘old pilot’ are the same things that enable you to be an ‘old’ biker.
I had a convertible for about 10 years and I never had this problem. I think most people can tell with near certainty whether or not it will rain in the next couple of hours. If there’s any chance of rain you put the top up before leaving the car. I did once see a Mercedes convertible with the top down in a heavy downpour. Rookie. Probably the same kind of person who drives with the top down when it’s 40 degrees because they just bought it and, damn it, they’re going to drive it with the top down no matter what.
As to sitting in traffic on a hot, humid day, the air conditioning still works with the top down. If you’ve got a hat and the air conditioning on you’re all set.
It had instant super power steering, instant brakes that were way sensitive, monster power, seats that were sorta bench like & the girls could sit under your arm & it had super conditioning. Total chick magnet and the best ‘go on a date’ car I ever got to drive.
Car was great in town but on the road with all that super control with very little feed back, the ride that was better than a Caddy at the time, IMO, would put me to sleep in 15 minutes on the open road. It scared me that way. But all the kids fought over using it for dates.
I’ve been riding motorcycles for about 40 yrs. I have 4 of them.
I got introduced to Harleys and choppers via an association with a biker gang as a young teen.
I’ve never owned a Harley, but I’ve fixed and ridden many of them, including a few choppers.
My motorcycles were mostly standards and sport-touring bikes - I just bought a VStar cruiser (kinda looks like a Harley) last year - because it’s got a much more passenger friendly rear seat.
‘Chopper’ by definition is both personal and form over function. Where between form or function is highly variable. The choppers you see on TV (OCC) are JUST ART, ie not really meant to be ridden, not really functional (they don’t have front brakes!!)
Ape Hangers actually ARE (were) made for long dist. riding. On the highway, the ‘wind’ of the speed (w/o a big windshield) wants to push the rider back - constantly. Arms get literally worn out from holding the body ‘up’ for hours. Ape Hangers, when selected and installed properly, let the rider just 'HANG ON" (that’s where ‘hangers’ comes from!) which CAN be done for HOURS (once your finger grip strength is developed).
Granted, very few ape hangers you see today are for that - they’re just for looks, style, street-cred… mostly by ppl that have no real street-cred.
( Pretty good also. )
