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Bobber motorcycles

A bobber is a motorcycle that usually has had the front fender removed and the rear fender removed or made smaller. When you remove a fender it is called bobbing. Hence where the name Bobber came from. The first Bobbers came on the scene after servicemen returned from WW II. They wanted bikes more like the ones they had seen in Europe. There is controversy over the true look of a Bobber. A true Bobber is said to have small fatbobs, floorboards, a bobbed stock rear fender (usually cut at the rear fender hinge), stock exhaust, and stock handle bars. Anything that is called a bobber that doesn't follow these standards are determined to be short chops or custom bikes not bobbers.

A Harley Davidson Bobber

History of the Bobber

The Bobber motorcycle came before any other type of custom motorcycle that we see today. When service men started returning from WW II they wanted bikes more like the European bikes they had seen. Also the men had learned many mechanical skills that they wanted to start putting to use. The men started forming biker clubs and eventually the men started tearing into there bikes and removing the fenders to make them seem lighter like the European bikes. Before there were any such thing as a chopper or even a chopper bobber there was a simple bike. The bobber.

These bikes became very custom and said a lot about the owner of the bike because they were the one doing the work on the bike. Usually the backyard mechanic started by taking of the fenders. As we know today the first customization of the bobber came from the average person and the WW II vets. Today there are many companies that will do they work for you and create beautiful choppers. They will also cost you more money then doing the work yourself.

Controversy about the Bobber

There seems to be a controversy today over what a bobber is and what a bobber isn't. A true bobber is a bike with small fatbobs, floorboards, a bobbed stock rear fender (usually cut at the rear fender hinge), stock exhaust, and stock handle bars. The controversy comes in that many of the builders today claim to be building Bobbers, but according to Sugar Bear of Sugar Bear Choppers they are short choppers. They don't live up to the standards set by the early generations.

On the opposite view though, it has been said that the difference doesn't come down to what's on the bike and what isn't. It comes down to if it has a short front end or a long front end. If the bike has been customized and changed with nothing done to the front end, it is a bobber. If the front end has been stretched out then it is a chopper.

Bobbers vs. Choppers

It wasn't until the 1960's and 1970's that the term chopper arrived on the scene. Motorcycle enthusiast were looking for a way to change there motorcycle again and they did. After the movie "Easy Rider" the men had found what they where looking for. They started removing parts they deemed unnecessary like the windshield, fenders, crash bars, and even the headlights. If it was for show and it didn't make the motorcycle run or if it wasn't holding the bike together the men got rid of it. It was after this that the original bobber made it's way to be known as a bobber chopper.

The men started changing the angle at which the front wheel was sticking out. The size of the gas tanks started getting smaller and the handle bars got taller, when they added ape hangers. Since there wasn't any type of fender the size of the tire started to get played with as well. The most sought after look for a bobber chopper is a thin front wheel with a very large rear tire. In biker lingo a bike with a very chunky or wide rear tire is called a Fat Bastard.

See Also

Chopper (motorcycle)

Bobber (motorcycle)

References

"What are Bobber Choppers?". Custom Choppers Guide. 2008. Retrieved 2009-04-07.

"Sugar Bear Choppers - Chops And Bobbers - Busted Knuckles". Street Chopper. 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-07.

"Too Short or Too Long...? Bob WHO?". Warren Fuller. 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-07.