CHOPPERS HISTORY

History of the Chopper Motorcycle

Where did choppers come from? Well, it all started when soldiers returned from World War II. While in the service, they rode European motorcycles that were lighter and more exciting to ride. When back in the states, soldiers began hanging out with other vets, and started talking about motorcycles and how the could be improved to be more like what they experienced in Europe. They started to "chop" up their motorcycles, by removing or shortening the fenders, creating lighter, sleeker bikes. Initially these new motorcycle creations were dubbed "Bobbers."

Throughout the 60's and 70's people continued to customize and evolve their bikes, and eventually the name "Choppers" was born, paving the way for the future of the American Chopper Motorcycle. In 1969, a movie came along that began a nationwide movement, Easy Rider. Riders across the country now wanted to have a motorcycle just like the one Peter Fonda had in the movie. The Chopper was now a hot commodity. Riders wanted Choppers, and since nobody was building them commercially (yet!), people took it upon themselves to build their own Choppers. Soon, talented designers rose up, and people started having Chopper designers do the customizing for them, such as Arien Ness, who became a legend.

Chopper designers did a number of these to customize motorcycles - though "chopping" Harley-Davidson Motorcyles was most popular, Choppers were also built from British and Japanese bikes. There are several ways that Choppers were designed, all of which involved removing unnessary parts from the bike. Windshields, fenders, headlights, crash bars and seats were all either removed or modified to create a sleeker and more lightweight ride. As riders streamlined the bikes, they also raked the front end so that the front tire stood out farther from the bike, giving it a stylish look. Handlebars were raised, tires were differenciated by weight from front to back, and everything else on the bike was shrunk for style and weight reasons. These unique bikes stood out from typical manufactured motorcycles, and the love of the Chopper became an obsession for many.

During the 1990's, Choppers experienced a resurgence of popularity, and ever since then they've gone mainstream - big time! TV programs have popularized the Chopper even further since 2000, giving way to such shows as Discovery Channel's Motorcycle Mania and American Chopper, as well as California's Jesse James' Monster Garage. Orange County Choppers and West Coast Choppers are now widely known. It's unusual to be out and about without crossing Chopper-themed bumper stickers, t-shirts and other merchandise. Americans have become obsessed with the stylish Chopper Motorcycle. It looks like Choppers are here to stay!