Chopper (motorcycle)
[1] The "sissy bar", a set of tubes that connect the rear fender with the frame, and which are often extended several feet high, is a signature feature on many choppers.
Two famous examples of the chopper are customised Harley-Davidsons, the "Captain America" and "Billy Bike", seen in the 1969 film Easy Rider.
The first choppers were built in America and were an outgrowth of the milder customization trend that had originated after WW2 when returning soldiers and others began modifying cars and motorcycles, frequently to improve performance in top-speed races on dry lake beds in Southern California and similar desolate spaces such as unused airstrips in other parts of the country, or on the street for street racing.
As the Japanese manufacturers began offering larger engines in the late 1960s these motors were also quickly put to use by chopper builders.
In Europe at roughly the same era that choppers were invented and popularized in the US, bikers modified their bikes (primarily English brands like Triumph, BSA, Norton, and Matchless) in a different way, to achieve different looks, performance goals and riding position.
Many of Ness's bikes in this era retained the rear shocks of the donor Sportster to provide a more forgiving ride than the typical hardtail chopper.
The huge success of the 1969 film Easy Rider instantly popularized the chopper around the world, and drastically increased the demand for them.
According to the taste and purse of the owner, chop shops would build high handlebars, or later Ed Roth's Wild Child designed stretched, narrowed, and raked front forks.
Laws required (and in many locales still do) a retention fixture for the passenger, so vertical backrests called sissy bars became 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 a chopper was to show off and provoke others by riding a machine that was stripped and almost nude compared to the stock Harley-Davidsons and automobiles of the period.
The coffin and prism shaped tanks on these bikes were frequently mated with very long front ends (12" over stock and more), with the archaic girder fork often being used to accomplish this instead of the more common springer or telescopic types.
Honda's groundbreaking 750 cc four-cylinder engine, first introduced to America in the 1969 CB-750, became widely available from salvage and wrecking operations and became a popular alternative to Harley-Davidson's motors.
In 1984 Harley-Davidson, who had been using chopper inspired styling for a number of years, released the 'Softail', a design that hid the rear shocks under the engine creating a profile that looked a lot like a hard tail.
This frame was initially offered in the Softail Custom, a bike that took many styling cues from choppers, including the narrow 21" front wheel.
While individual builders still built long bikes, the trend was towards more moderate geometries, and the basics of how to build a good handling chopper while still looking great became more common knowledge.
The millennium began with the cable TV network The Discovery Channel creating a number of television shows around several custom bike builders who built choppers.
The first, the 2000 special Motorcycle Mania, followed builder Jesse James of Long Beach, California, and is credited with creating "a new genre of reality TV" around choppers.
Indian Larry and Paul Cox along with other New York City builders from Psycho Cycles are often credited with leading the movement back towards old school choppers in this period.
Indian Larry was a featured builder early on the series "Biker Build-Off" on Discovery network, and won all three build off competitions, highlighting the popularity of his old-school style.
Some common characteristics of these custom bikes may include tall front end, narrow tires, high-output motor, cradle seat slammed onto the frame, t-bars, mid controls for example.
