Aside from more reading material at your house, what does this growth mean to you, the chopper fanatic?
What you hold in your hands right now is a collectible magazine. It is the first of the bi-monthly issues of STREET CHOPPER, marking its full return to the newsstands. The first two issues of SC in 2000 were called special issues. Sales of those two were so great that the powers that be suggested we do four issues in 2001, and by mid-year you told us you wanted more. So, starting with this issue, you will see STREET CHOPPER six times a year.
Aside from more reading material at your house, what does this growth mean to you, the chopper fanatic? How about more choppers to look at to start with? There is not a work day that goes by without someone sending us pictures of a bike they just finished that would be perfect for the magazine. Then on the weekends when we get out to some of the local hot spots, we see three, four, or five magazine-level bikes. There are more choppers around now than there have been in the last 20 years.
With all those choppers around, building one has become easier than ever. There are rolling chassis kits, complete bike kits, and frame manufacturers that all have the basis for your new chopper. Where chopper builders 20 and 30 years ago had to start with a stock bike and hack it to pieces, you now have a cheaper and better way to build a bike -- from the ground up.When you take the cost of buying a new bike and the expense of chopping it, it works out much cheaper to start from step one -- a new frame. Instead of tossing away a pile of parts you will never use, building your own bike has you just buying or building with parts you want. And with the price of some of the complete bike kits on the market these days, you really can't go wrong.Which brings up a good point: pre-packaged chopper kits. While 900 other people may buy the same kit as you, I really doubt any two will end up looking the same. Most people building a bike in their garage will see a way to do something different than the kit suggests or will change something to make the bike a little more their own design. I really love the complete kits and rolling chassis that are available today. For people who have never built a bike before, the confidence that comes from knowing the bike box dropped off in front of your garage has every part you will need, is reassuring. All you need to do is make sure there are no leftover nuts, bolts, or washers, and you have built a bike.
Taking that first step with a kit will only drive the builder to move further into the chopper-building world. By learning firsthand what goes into assembling a bike, the prospect of building one from your own part selection is a lot less daunting.And then, for those of you who can't find the time to build your own bike, the production chopper market is exploding. Look no further than the two Chopper Test articles in this issue to get an idea of what is available. Just a few years ago, when you walked into a shop, you were surrounded by rows and rows of fat-fendered Heritage-style bikes. Now it seems every fourth bike in the row is some type of production chopper. They range from rigid to Softail-style with almost any motor and transmission package you could imagine, not to mention the outstanding paintwork being offered. You really can walk in, fill out some paperwork, and ride out on a chopper. What a magnificent transformation from the days of old when choppers were project bikes only.
Finally, the increased chopper population on the streets has let the guys who started the chopper business -- and basically kept it going all these years -- finally start to earn a nice living after all their hard work. After years and years of squeaking a living out doing whatever they had to do on any kind of bike to keep their shops running, now these chopper specialists are scheduling work weeks or months in advance.
So like I said in the beginning, this issue is a collector's item. To us, it marks the full-circle swing of the chopper world, and from where we sit it looks like it's going to be a long, smooth ride -- and the bikes are just going to get better.