Post by Pug}{maN on Nov 8, 2010 13:55:46 GMT -5
A Chopper is a motorcycle of which the rake of the front fork has been increased to a rake which is considerably larger than the rake of the original stock motorcycle.
The rake of the front fork can be increased either
• by cutting (i.e. "chopping") the frame and resetting the rake of the steering head and then replacing the stock front fork by an overlength front fork so that the bottom of the frame and the engine will sit horizontally again or will tilt backwards (like on Peter Fonda's Long Chopper in the movie "Easy Rider"); or
• by simply exchanging the stock front fork by an overlength front fork without making any changes to the stock frame, whereby the bottom of the frame and the engine will not sit horizontally anymore but instead will tilt backwards (like on Dennis Hopper's Short Chopper in the movie "Easy Rider"); or
• by exchanging the stock frame by a custom frame which has a rake larger than the rake of the original stock frame of that motorcycle and/or which requires an overlength front fork to suit that custom frame; or
• by creating an additional rake in the triple trees (if this is done, such additional rake is usually in between 3 and 7 degrees); or
• by any combination of the above.
Of course there will always be lots of grey area and we should not take the definitions on these pages too strictly. If the 29.9 degrees stock rake of a Rebel is increased to like 33 degrees, you will hardly see the difference, and we shouldn't call that bike a Chopper just because it complies with the above definition.
While we are serious about what we wrote here, the definitions on these pages should be seen as guidelines. It's not the law.
So, if in your opinion your Chopper is a Bobber, respect. We just hope you don't mind us calling her a Chopper...
The rake of the front fork can be increased either
• by cutting (i.e. "chopping") the frame and resetting the rake of the steering head and then replacing the stock front fork by an overlength front fork so that the bottom of the frame and the engine will sit horizontally again or will tilt backwards (like on Peter Fonda's Long Chopper in the movie "Easy Rider"); or
• by simply exchanging the stock front fork by an overlength front fork without making any changes to the stock frame, whereby the bottom of the frame and the engine will not sit horizontally anymore but instead will tilt backwards (like on Dennis Hopper's Short Chopper in the movie "Easy Rider"); or
• by exchanging the stock frame by a custom frame which has a rake larger than the rake of the original stock frame of that motorcycle and/or which requires an overlength front fork to suit that custom frame; or
• by creating an additional rake in the triple trees (if this is done, such additional rake is usually in between 3 and 7 degrees); or
• by any combination of the above.
Of course there will always be lots of grey area and we should not take the definitions on these pages too strictly. If the 29.9 degrees stock rake of a Rebel is increased to like 33 degrees, you will hardly see the difference, and we shouldn't call that bike a Chopper just because it complies with the above definition.
While we are serious about what we wrote here, the definitions on these pages should be seen as guidelines. It's not the law.
So, if in your opinion your Chopper is a Bobber, respect. We just hope you don't mind us calling her a Chopper...
