We've been jamming forward, wide-open throttle in Fourth gear to get Street Chopper back in your hands. If you've been around awhile, thanks for checking it out. If you're new to the mag-welcome. We geared up over the past couple of months, waiting for the best riding weather to unleash this special Summer issue packed with over a dozen of the coolest handmade custom scoots. Some started out as a rolling platform from the Factory, others are ground-up artistic, spiritual creations. There's nothing necessarily wrong with stock bikes, new leathers, or orange safety vests. This book isn't about that scene. Folks are drawn to a variety of bikes for different reasons and purposes. Kick back, enjoy, and take the ride.
You've probably already noticed the radical cover shot. Unstaged, unrehearsed, and unleashed on the busy streets of midday LA-Crazy, ballsy, irresponsible, cool, dangerous, exciting-yes! Most of those adjectives describe the same adrenaline-fueled fervor we sense every time we slice a syncopated path through blacktop arteries. Sure, it's a dude flying high on a machine, a possession, something crafted by the hands of mortals, but man, it is so much more than that. I know I'm preaching to the choir here. If you didn't "get it," live it, or want to be a part of it, you might be looking through your girl's home journal right now.
Trying to define a chopper is akin to discussing politics or sex with your in-laws. I'm not going there. Is it long, is it thin, is it short, is it light, is it rigid? Black, red, or blue; shiny or dull? Jockey, kick-only, no front brake or mirrors? Sure-all of the above, and more or less depending on your journey. It's whatever YOU want it to be-practically limitless. It's the sensory as much or more than the physical qualities of two wheels and straddling a motor.
I'm not attempting to explain why Jimi's "Watchtower" is better than (or different from) Dylan's acoustic version. Same song, same notes, same main instrument, but, whoa, what a different trip. It all started as an assembly of notes and words on a piece of paper but touched, interpreted, and breathed-on by two different creative cats. Hendrix's rendition sets a different tone and feel, and it's more than just an overdriven Marshall stack. Hell, I don't know how to explain it, but I know it rocks. I like them both, but given only one, I'd take the balls-to-the-wall, WFO Stratocaster version. If there's any confusion, here's the skinny: just replace song with motorcycle, stock motor versus blown firebreather for the instrument, and the difference between a garbage wagon and a chopper for the different styles each musician brought to the table.
Take a quick look through these pages. You'll find Knuckles, Pans, Shovels, Sportsters, an ex-Buell, Triumph, Yamaha, and Twinkies, along with some of the personalities behind the bikes thrown in. They're all amazing bikes with different character. Take a second, longer look, there will be things on many of these bikes that you'll miss the first time and inspire your next project.
If you love it here, let us know. If you hate it, tell me why. Write it down, snail mail it, MySpace it (www.myspace.com/streetchoppermag), sidle up to us at the bar and tell us your thoughts. Send us your pics and stories-there's a chance we'll run it right here. Tell your friends to pick up a copy. Be a good buddy and pick up all your friends some copies. Especially if you're about to build a new scoot-you need all the friends you can to help out.