I get the appeal of motorbikes in general. Modern horse, sex appeal up the tailpipe, sense of freedom and all that jazz. And I must admit riding any bike, even a rusty 75cc dirtbike is one of life’s great pleasures.
However, I don’t understand the point of choppers. I hear the higher handlebars make them harder to steer than “regular” bikes, and I guess keeping your arms so high at all times must get pretty tiring pretty fast. So… what’s the point ? (or, more likely, what am I missing ?)
I don’t get it either. I’ve been riding motorcycles for twenty-five years now, and I’ve ridden bikes by just about all the major manufacturers, including Harley-Davidson.
Choppers, depending on how “chopped” they are, sacrifice function for appearance to a ridiculous degree. Ape-hanger handlebars transform the rider into a sail at speed, so you won’t be going very far very fast. Choppers are usually lowered as much as possible without dragging parts while moving in a straight line, which means that you will be dragging parts in corners, so your cornering speed is about the same as that of the old Schwinn you rode as a child.
Some choppers go as far as to forego a front brake (in the interests of appearance). This isn’t just non-functional, it’s suicidal.
Many choppers have rigid frames (i.e, no suspension in the rear, like a bicycle). This is a primitive design that may look good to some, but again, it’s entirely non-functional.
IMO, it started when my Dad went to making his 1937 HD lighter so as to preform better on impromptu hill climbs. Then came the Outlaw bikers after WWII. Then there are the guys who can’t afford a new bike these days and build from scratch or spare parts… Some like the look. Many choppers do not have ‘ape hanger’ bars. Many do not have ridged frames. Many today are just proof of how big a credit limit you have.
I think being hunched over on a crotch rocket looks stupid unless you are on a race course, but many of those types are cruiser bashers and vise versa.
Just because you have had motor bikes for 20-30 years does not make you good, or smart, or safe, or the guru of what is what. It just makes you lucky.
Me, I don’t understand guys like you with such a narrow view point… It is so wrong… 
OK, I realize I wasn’t precise enough 
To me, a chopper is the bike from Easy Rider, with “ape hangers” as high as possible, and an ultra-raked front end.
So I guess my question was more “what the point of ape hangers” ? Is it just an aesthetic thing, or is there a practical reason behind them ?
I think of that look much like I do loud pipes. It’s the “Look at me! Look at me! Look at ME! I am different from everyone else…except all those other people riding rides just like this”. :rolleyes:
I don’t get it either. I ride a rather quiet (by the standards of today) 800cc standard cruiser. I am pretty sure that not everyone in my suburban neighborhood is aware of all my comings and goings. Nor do I think they should be. The folks that ride choppers always seem to have the loud pipes too. Not enough attention as a child, perhaps?
If someone else wants to ride their chopper, fine by me. What do I care? You go out and play ‘renegade’ with all the other little renegades. Just don’t wake me up while riding by.
My first motorcycle (a used 1960s era Honda 305 “Super Hawk”) had been modified by a previous owner to have “ape hanger” handlebars. (Let’s all ignore the irony of putting those handlebars on an otherwise mundane 300CC bike, please - that’s what it had on it when I bought it, and I bought it because it was cheap, not because of the handlebars.)
I found them rather comfortable, and actually had a hard time getting used to the normal handlebars on my next bike.
I believe the difficulty of steering some choppers was because of the “negative trail” that results from taking the cheap way out in modifying the bike.
if you have to ask, you will never understand
Fortran,
Most choppers have increased “rake” or decreased “head angle” (in the Wiki diagram). That extends the front wheel further from the frame, a classic chopper look, and notable in the Captain America bike. That would make the trail even more positive wouldn’t it?
That also extends the wheel base, which would seem to make handling a little dicier, too, wouldn’t it?
Quite the opposite, long wheelbase with a long front fork set at a high angle make the bike very stable at the expense of maneuverability.
Crotch rockets are the opposite and they are prone to tankslapping. Here’s a video of a bike starting to tankslap but the rider saved it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jImOOhvawKU For that reason, all modern supersport bikes come factory equipped with steering stabilizers.
Yes, increasing the stearing head angle (steering head angle is normally measured from vertical not horizontal) increases the trail, making the bike more stable at speed, but with more effort needed to steer. This also introduces something called flop. With lots of trail, the front wheel tends to flop over when the bars are turned. This made many of the old choppers a bit dangerous to ride. Modern choppers, even with long forks, handle much better because the amount of trail is adjusted with changes in the triple trees.
No they do not, flat out wrong.
I’ve not known any sportbike riders who bash cruisers in general. Harleys sure. They tend to be overpriced primitively engineered machines and their riders look down on anyone riding a Japanese bike. I’ll wave at anyone from my sportbike though, including motor scooterists.
I try not to hang out with squids though.
Gotta say that’s not my experience. Until a couple of years ago I was riding a classic '76 Honda CB750F, and had nothing but good times with every Harley owner I met. I was always invited on the poker runs, and rode regularly with them. Then it finally died after the third engine transplant…
Turns out you’re right. Kawasaki doesn’t put stabilizers and it is an option on the Ducati 1098/848. But Suzuki, Honda and Yamaha do have factory installed stabilizers.
Yes. As long as you’re doing it the right way that’s exactly the result. But doing it the right way can be expensive. A cheap way of getting that chopper look is (or at least was, way back when I was riding) was to use something called a “raked tree” which often resulted in reduced or even negative trail.
Down near the bottom of this pagethey mention negative trail - look for the paragraph that starts with the phrase “Raked Triple Trees”.