The History Behind These Wonderous Machines
Shortly after the Second World War, American G.I.s were searching for an outlet to express their individualism and freedom. Motorcycles became a venue that was not only affordable (surplus war Harleys could be had for a song) but soon became the epitomy of freedom both on and off the open roads. Heck even in the early 1960's used Harleys could be had for a few hundred dollars, all in all if one had the nerve to go outside the realm of four wheels motorcycling was a very affordable means of transportation.

It didn't take long before the competitions began, who had the fastest, strongest, and most able to climb a steep hill. The mods available in those days were quite limited, most of the stuff required a bit of yankee ingenuity and creativity. Once all the gains of added horsepower were explored, it became neccessary to shave some weight off the bikes to make them more agile and increase the power to weight ratios.

Anything and everything deemed not neccessary was removed. Fenders, lights, mirrors, and other street legal items were stripped and shelved. Coencentric holes were drilled into the brake rotors and sprockets, and similar holing was done to any and all levers and connectors as well in an effort to remove as much weight as possible.

After awhile, the owners decided to modify their rides to their taste. Rather than remove, items would be cut, shaved, bobbed, or taken to the grinder or blowtorch in any way to reshape them. Eventually the frames recieved this treatment, and when portions were "chopped" off or apart, the phrase "chopper" was born.

These frames were chopped and repositioned, to be welded back together in a different shape. Steering heads were kicked out, downtubes and swingarms were stretched, and longer front ends became the latest rage when Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper would get together to create their renditions, in the forms of the now classic "Captain America" and "Billy" choppers for a nation-wide media blitz motion picture.

The "Easyriders" movie became an overnight cult classic, and the chopper craze soon went full tilt. Everyone wanted that sleek stretched look or that squat low stance emulated by Captain America (of which Fonda originally made two; and one was stolen, never to be seen again even to this day!) and Billy. The aftermarket was alive with frames, tanks, fenders, handlebars, and front ends in any configuration imaginable, and welders became sought after to alter these frames even further (or to change their stock ones). Metric and American models alike were sporting sexy amounts of rake and there simply were no boundaries. The 1970's was a great era for two wheeling.

The craze faded somewhat during the 1980's, Harley was struggling with their finances and the metric market gave way to performance. Soon the aftermarket began to die off as Harley made every effort to stay alive while Japan belted out asphalt screamers. Interceptor, Hurricane, and Ninja soon became household names with their intense speed and cornering along with streamlined styling. Japan was also belting out V-twin models to market against Harley Davidson, in 1981 the first one came to our shores from Yamaha in the form of the 750 Virago. Honda, Kawasaki, and Suzuki soon followed suit with bikes respectively named Shadow, Vulcan, and Intruder all somewhat patterned in style after the American cruisers. Needless to say the days of the UJM were finally over. UJM (or "Universal Japanese Motorcyle") was a term garnered by the typical styling of 750cc inline air cooled four bangers of the 1970's, until one got close enough to read the tank emblem they pretty much all looked the same, hence the inherited name.

But Harley would re-enter the motorcycling world soon enough and the resurgence of the stacatto V-Twin rumble could never be denied. The 1990's yielded record sales for Harley Davidson, and once again foreign and domestic V2 riders were customizing their rides, and it didn't take long for choppers to make a comeback at this point.

Nowadays, technology has progressed that such radical mods to the basic geometry are no longer neccessary to achieve that look, but the aftermarket is definitely alive and kicking once again with raked and lowered frames along with simple bolt on rake kits, either way you go you can stretch that front end out a little more! Who knows what the future holds for us rake nuts, but the 21st Century promises quite a lot of potential...

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