Chooper kit

I had added a few chrome bits, new handlebars and slash cut the pipes. Other than that, the bike is stock at this point. When the AME order arrived, there were two boxes. The first contained the AME chopper kit parts. Included were the upper and lower triple trees, steering stem, steering head adapter block, steel braided speedo cable, steel braided brake hose and a couple bags of miscellaneous hardware, spacers, steering head stop block, front axle and a headlight bracket. The second box held the extended upper fork tubes, tube caps and the fork spring spacers. Everything was either chromed or made of stainless. Once I saw the stainless braided brake hose and speedo cable from AME, I just had to have stainless clutch and throttle cables too! The forks are off and I'm ready to start dismantling the triple trees and steering head assemblyThe first thing I did was get the bike up on a lift and tied down for safety. I was also getting a new paint job from Benny Bryant at Fantasies on Wheels so I removed the tank, fenders and side panels. The fenders are each held on by four bolts. I had also removed the exhaust system because I wanted to do a little more work with the slash cut stock pipes.I loosened the brake hose at the caliper and drained the brake system. Once the brake system was drained I removed the brake hose from the caliper and the master cylinder reservoir. Two bolts and the brake caliper was off the fork. Next was the front wheel. This is easy. Loosen the axle pinch bolt and then the axle bolt itself. I put something under the front tire to take the weight off the axle as I slid the axle through the wheel hub and the lower fork assembly. On the Custom, the front turn signals are mounted to the forks. The fork clamps were removed and the turn signals were removed from the forks as well. I loosened the fork caps while they were still clamped in the trees but I didn't remove them. The two pinch bolts on each tree were loosened and the forks slid out of the triple tree. I took the caps off the forks, drained the oil and removed the spring spacers, spacer washers and springs. The stock spacers, washers and springs are reused with the chopper kit. I took the entire stock fork assembly and the new extended upper fork tubes to a local shop and had them remove the stock upper tubes, install the extended upper tubes and install new fork seals. The cost was about $40 for labor and $40 for new seals.




Here, the entire steering head assembly is off the bike. I'm almost ready to start installing the chopper kit.

There were a lot of wire harnesses and cables in the way so I removed the side panels to get to all the connectors and cable linkages. Before working on any of the wiring, the battery MUST be disconnected so that there is no danger of shorting anything as it's being worked on. I unplugged the turn signals and headlight harnesses. After removing the turn signals and the headlight I started disassembling the handlebar controls. I disassembled the throttle grip and housing. Then disconnected the throttle cables from the control housing. Next, I removed the grips from both sides. The clutch cable was disconnected from the clutch lever and the cluth lever/left mirror perch and the brake lever/master cylinder were removed. I left the throttle cables and clutch cable on the bike so I could measure the length for new stainless cables with the chopper kit installed. I unplugged the handlebar control housing wire harnesses. This normally wouldn't have to be done but I was going to hide the wire harnesses inside a new set of bars and chrome the housings, so I disconnected everything. After the handlebars and risers were removed, I was ready to start dismantling the steering head and trees. The steering stem nut was removed from the top tree. This exposes the steering stem, ring nuts and top bearing. There are two ring nuts. The main one and a top one that is used as a jam nut. I removed the top ring nut and loosened the main one. The steering stem is attached to the bottom tree, so the bottom tree has to be supported as you remove the primary ring nut or the whole thing will simply fall off the bike. Once the main ring nut is removed, the top tree can be lifted off and the bottom tree with the steering stem can be pulled down through the bearings and off the bike. All that's left at this point is the bearing races in the steering head tube.

Radikal Modification

Jakarta-One of current modification big motorcycle the most radical is chopper. This current appear because want to un similiar of other. Motorcycle product by factory reorganized by totally. And making a motorcycles appearance of the bikers impression wild and brandals. This trend born in West country after world war 2 period. The chopper pioner's are pilot veterans of US Army. They like use Harley Davidson motorcycle, BSA, Norton, etc. Because they disappointed with made in pabric, they are begin to modification with be rid of front fender, to change the seat, tank for liquid, and cut the behind fender. This community is the root chopper current and next developed by outlaw bikers knowend broadly like a "HELLS ANGELS"community.
The accordance Vero Land, and at time the motorcycle was maked for drag race used to escape from police. End then them meked very simple.

The History of Chopper

In the post-World War II United States, servicemen returning home from the war started removing all parts deemed too big, heavy, ugly or not absolutely essential to the basic function of the motorcycle, such as fenders, turn indicators, and even front brakes. The large, spring-suspended saddles were also removed in order to sit as low as possible on the motorcycle's frame. These machines were lightened to improve performance for dirt-track racing and mud racing.

Forward-mounted foot pegs replaced the standard large 'floorboard' foot rests. Also, the standard larger front tire, headlight and fuel tank were replaced with much smaller ones.Many choppers were painted preferably all in either flat black or in shiny metallic “metal flake” colors. Also common were many chromed parts (either one-off fabricated replacements or manually chromed stock parts). According to the taste and purse of the owner, “chop shops” would build high handle bars, or later “Big Daddy” Roth Wild Child’s designed stretched, narrowed, and raked front forks. Shops also custom built exhaust pipes and many of the “after market kits“ followed in the late 1960s into the 1970s. Laws required (and in many locales still do) a retention fixture for the passenger, so vertical backrests called sissy bars were 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 such a chopper was to show off and provoke others by riding a machine that was stripped and almost nude compared to the softer-styled stock Harley-Davidsons, let alone the oversized automobiles of that time.

>>Traditional choppers

In the United States servicemen returning from World War II were looking for a thrill. Many veterans had been trained to work on automobiles and motorcycles and were looking to add a little excitement to their post-war lives with their newly acquired mechanical skills. Motorcycles and Hot Rods were the perfect hobby for them. Motorcyclists bought up surplus military bikes and removed all the unnecessary parts like windshields and saddlebags to minimise weight. Rear fenders were "bobbed" or shortened just enough to handle a passenger and keep the rain and mud coming off the rear sometimes removed the mirrors, or replaced them with tiny ones, such as the type used by dentists in their work.

This type of home customization led to the rise of the "bobber". Then in the 60s, motorcyclists found that a longer front end allowed the bike to run smoother at faster speeds. The degree of neck rake and length of front end was modified on these bikes with this in mind. The Girder and Springer front ends were the most popular forks for extending in this fashion, although this does make the bike harder to handle at slower speeds. Nevertheless, some choppers have extremely long forks; as one biker said, "You couldn't turn very good but you sure looked good doing it."

To build or chop a traditional chopper an unmodified factory bike is used (usually a rigid Harley Davidson) and everything unnecessary to either move or stop is stripped or chopped off. Then the engine and transmission are removed and the frame is cut up and welded back together to make it lower and lighter. Performance parts are added or modified to increase speed.

>>Today's chopper era

Choppers have enjoyed a large following. Companies like Jesse G. James' West Coast Choppers have been successful in producing extremely expensive traditional chopper-style bikes and a wide range of chopper-themed brands of merchandise such as clothing, automobile accessories and stickers.

A distinction should be noted between true chopper (or chopper-style) motorcycles, and custom motorcycles, or 'custom cruisers'. Despite the name, a large percentage of the motorcycles produced by popular companies such as Orange County Choppers, Indian Larry, Falcon Motorcycles, Warlock Motorcycles, and Von Dutch Kustom Cycles are better described as 'custom' bikes rather than choppers.

A distinction should also be made between choppers and bobbers. While both tried to improve performance by removing any part that did not make the motorcycle perform better, they differed in an important way: bobbers kept the original factory frame, while choppers have a modified form of the factory frame.

When individuals were stripping their stock motorcycles and bobbing their fenders, the term "bobber" was born. When individuals started cutting (or chopping) and welding their frames thereby repositioning/restyling them, the term "chopper" was born. Chopping was the next phase in the evolution that followed dirt track bobbing.

While people assume that the chopper style motorcycles were built purely for aesthetics, there is a real performance advantage to the raked front end on these choppers. These motorcycles have a much more stable feel at high speeds and in a straight line than motorcycles with original factory front suspensions. However, like any other modification, there is a downside: the raked front end feels heavier and less responsive at slow speeds or in curves and turns. This is due to the longer trail measurement associated with increased rake.

Changing the rake and trail of a motorcycle design requires modification of the design itself. This is a job that requires in-depth input from a motorcycle designer who is experienced with such design changes.

Which brings up one more option a chopper builder has: raked trees. Raked trees are designed so the lower tree sticks out further than the upper tree, thus increasing the rake of the forks in relation to the steering head rake. What this does, for those still following along all the imaginary lines, is position the axle closer to the frame rake measurement line, or shortening the trail. Thus, when adding raked trees to a raked frame (which sports a longer trail), the trail is shortened to a more manageable level. However, be warned that adding raked trees to a frame with short rake and trail can be hazardous, as shortening an already short trail measurement can lead to an unstable situation as speed increases. Misuse of raked trees can be quite dangerous, so a bit of research is in order before turning the first wrench on any chopper project. Just remember that because it looks good in a magazine doesn't automatically mean it will work on your bike.

Despite the personalized nature of choppers, and the wide availability of alternative designs, chopper builders have overwhelmingly chosen fat rear tires, a rigid-looking frame (even for a softail), and an original or replica air-cooled, pushrod v-twin engine. In the UK, due to the cost and lack of availability of the v-twin engine, many chose to use British engines from bikes such as Triumph or BSA; lately as availability has increased, Japanese engines have seen more use. Some people feel that the variety of engines and other components used more recently (especially on bikes built outside of the US) is diluting the signature appearance of the chopper style. Modern bobber builders tend to distinguish themselves from chopper builders with bikes styled before the chopper era. Modern bobber builder Jan Bachleda (originally from Slovakia) of JBIKEZ in Colorado builds custom choppers and bobbers using Triumph engines and frames from the 70s and earlier. The look, though chopped, is distinctly modern and low. Today's custom choppers are usually seen as center pieces at bike night events around the United States.

The United States of America, where most custom choppers reside, is one of the few countries in the world that allow custom-built choppers to be licensed for highway use. Many of these types of choppers are regarded as dangerous to operate and don't follow basic design geometry and lack many safety features in their construction.

Finally, an often overlooked style of chopper is the chopper bicycle. Inspired by the smooth, low lines of chopper motorcycles, today's custom chopper bicycle designer builds bicycles that pay tribute to the motorcycles they resemble