Since STREET CHOPPER is a bi-monthly magazine, the latest news doesn't always appear in print in a timely fashion. No, as a six-time-a-year magazine, we simply move along at a mellow pace with little to harsh our happy attitude about the chopper world.
So here is some news, a little late, but worth hearing. I am writing this editorial a week after returning from the biggest motorcycle trade show in the country, The Powersports Expo in Indianapolis. The show is the kick-off of the motorcycle season for shop owners and media people. Manufacturers have a chance to showcase what they have been working on all winter and gauge how in touch with the market they are by the orders they receive at the show.
For magazine people, it is a chance to plan out future issues, line up tech articles and test rides, and best of all, meet the people who run shops all over the country and see what they are up to. And while I love the new stuff and cool displays, my favorite part is talking to the shop owners, because they are the people who shape the industry.
In all that talking, I found out something that you as a STREET CHOPPER reader already know: Choppers are absolutely the stuff right now. It seemed like everyone I talked to was in the middle of putting together their idea of a ground-up chopper. But here is where it gets interesting: None of them were doing the same thing. The only true common theme among all the pictures of projects I was treated to seeing was that all of the bikes were choppers.
Each region of the country seems to have its own idea of what a chopper is, what it should look like, and what it should be equipped with. And that is what makes working on this magazine so much fun. If there are no boundaries that rigidly define what a chopper is, it opens the door to almost anything that someone builds. A chopper is the ultimate expression of self. The builder takes his idea, vision, or inspiration and from it creates a machine, or rather, a mechanical being. No one can tell him what it should be, how it should be, or how to do it; it is simply a motorcycle built to satisfy its master.
Without getting too sentimental and goofy, the simplistic beauty of a chopper is what makes them so special. While they may not be adorned with all the latest high-tech geegaws or the most ornate trim pieces, a sleek, non-cluttered chopper is capable of garnering as much attention as any billet-laden, slammed-to-the-ground Softail. And where a custom non-chopper is immediately judged on how it fits into the category it is styled to represent and if the owner has dared to stray from the recognized direction, a chopper is just what it is. Anyway, back to the show. It seemed like every booth I popped into had some new chopper-specific part the staff wanted me to check out. It got even better as I visited with the new crop of American V-Twin manufacturers because each company has one or two chopper models on the floor or at least on the drawing board. Both of these new developments affect the home chopper builder in a very positive way.
For those of you who plan to build a ground-up bike but don't have the luxury of access to a machine shop, the new crop of ready-made parts will make your project a lot easier to finish. And for those of you who have big custom chopper aspirations, but don't have all the cash you need to get started building one, all those new showroom choppers have your answer. Why? Because you can buy one with a low down payment and finance it. By doing it that way, you get the bike right away and can customize and personalize it as you go along. And while we are big fans of building your own chopper, we are bigger fans of being on the road as quickly as possible.
So anyway, even if this is the June issue and the stuff I am talking about took place in February, it is good news at any time that it is delivered. Now that the pressure is off, I think I will kick back with some Emerson, Lake and Palmer and then go for a ride.
If there are no boundaries that rigidly define what a chopper is, it opens the door to almost anything that someone builds