The Rise and Fall of Choppers

One of the best things about this video is the narrator. It's a real human instead of a robot voice.

Old English geezer here. I was a Mod, riding a Lambretta LT175 with loads of lights and mirrors, and a tank aerial (with de riguer foxtail) that caused police to ask me to remove it as it was so long it was a hazard to other rode users. I saw 'Easy Rider' when first released and bought an ex-GPO (Post Office) BSA Bantam 125cc and put Ape-hangers on it. Unfortunately I didn't think to install a longer throttle cable, so on first ride of this 'customised' sled, turning the bars to the left opened the throttle wide and I fell off. I was such a twat in my youth.

Indian Larry has been gone for 20 years now. He was a great builder and quite the character.

Always loved the look of the skinny choppers of the 1970s...with the weber carb sticking out the side!

You never mentioned the biggest influence on the radical choppers of the 1960s- 1970s -- LSD

“The were just regular guys like you and me, who also were creative and talented, so not like you and me” 😂😭

I built a 1951 Panhead dresser chopped in 1971. Won a bike show my first time out. Sold it in 75 to get money to get married. A week ago my brother gave me his 1995 Dyna low rider. I'm 73. Can't seem to shake them.

Indian Larry's bikes were more ridable then the other "choppers"

Choppers were originally built not only for the artistic expression of the ridet but also to give the rider a more relaxed and laid back riding position. The longer front forks made the chopper more stable on the highways, but it does make them harder to corner. Sugarbear builds his front ends to actually handle better than most chopper front ends.

My youngest is 21 and he and his friends are all in on 70s choppers, I love watch them run around looking for parts or building their own bikes!😂😂😂

Dennis Hopper's bike was definitely better than Fonda's Captain America. Much more rideable with its forks and front brake, but also better looking.

The key into Chopper is that they are unrideable for common folk. Also they don't fit on your regular pick-up bed or van, so they are less likely to get stolen when parked on side of a street. When you ride your chopper to a clubhouse or bike meet, you will be judged as a person by your chopper. How far have you come, how much rake can you handle, can you hold on to ape hangers, where and how you pack your gear? It's the showcase of your ability and stamina as a rider, more than skill level of a designer, which is also on the spot too. If you REALLY know what you are doing, you can build a smooth and steady long distance cruiser that looks absolutely ridiculous. Those who know, know. And they will salute you.

David Mann Paintings Were freakin Awesome!

I’m really loving this series you’ve done on biker history/culture. Please do a video on Bosozoku, it would be wild. 😁

the chopper scene is small, but very much alive! Chopper riders are also called 2%ers now, as only about 2% of motorcycle riders still build and ride their own choppers. Choppers are wild, crazy, sketchy machines, and each has it's own quirks that only the builder knows. This gives them more 'character' than any other style of motorcycle, in my opinion. You have to be kinda crazy to ride an old chopper.

Orange County Choppers was such a low point in Chopper history

I built Harley’s at York Park. in 1984. AMF sold it to Willie G Davidson and friends and we made the first evo, a great engine. I ran multi spindle screw machines that spit out most of the parts on the motorcycles. I worked right next to the bomb line. The old factory was an arsenal. New building there now. Bought an 81 AMF 1340 super glide while there. 20% employee discount and $500 rebate on a hog made my day, a leftover that didn’t sell in the 81 batch of bikes. Bike still running today😊

Totally impractical, but works of art, is a fair description.

Saw Easy Rider when I was a kid, wanted a chopper so badly, never did, never regretted it. But I did put ape hangers on my CB350, took off the side covers and painted the tank in red yellow flames, that was kinda cool, even bolted on some forward pegs. Such a rebel.

I think you missed the main seed of the chopper movement: the high bars, upright seating position and raked forks were all originally modifications aimed at improving highway / long ride comfort. Of course they quickly wrapped around to being incredibly impractical for those very same highway miles as people took things to absurd extremes, but it does nonetheless root the choppers in a practical adaptation of the motorcycle's fundamental form, the same as the cafe racers, scramblers, and so on that you mentioned.