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These rides demand attention from everyone around them, their exaggerated stances, their amazing sea of chrome and paint and the unmistakable dose of bad-ass each one has running through its veins. But these incredible machines came from very humble beginnings from a time when the world was recovering from one of the most tragic times in human history. At the end of WW II, US servicemen returned to civilian life after years of war. While stationed in Europe, the bikes they rode were faster and lighter compared to the heavy, big American built ones they returned to. Many of the ex-soldiers were trained to work on bikes and cars, and while hanging out with other vets they used their acquired skills to tinker with cars and bikes to pass the time as a civilian. This is the time when early rods and choppers were born.

The vets bought up the surplus of military bikes and began modifying them, removing unnecessary items like windshields, big headlights and saddlebags to un-clutter the look of the motorcycles and minimize the weight. The fenders of these bikes would be “bobbed”, or shortened, as much as possible, hence this early style bikes were called “bobbers”. From there, the newly nicknamed “bikers” would continue to style their bikes, evolving throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s, the rides would sit lower to the ground and become more radical and far out.

Along the way, “choppers” would be the name used for these bikes, referring to parts of the car that had been “chopped” off. Some of the mods would include fronts that were “raked” for the ride to sit lower, bigger and fatter wheels were fitted.
High handlebars, called “ape hangers”, were fitted and the large spring saddles were removed in order to sit lower on the motorcycle’s frame. Immaculate chrome paint was added to further accentuate the stylings of the bikes, making them appear as extreme as possible.

From there, these rides became a form of rebellion, while the factories like Harley Davidson were churning out soft, conservative-looking bikes and the American car industry was rolling out giant cars, Choppers were stripped of all the un-needed accessories, a sort of nude and pure form of what everyone was used to.

The scene was pretty much underground, until 1969 when Easy Rider was released, exposing a mainstream audience to the romanticism of the bikes. From there the once humble Chopper grew in popularity and the culture would slowly evolve to become the widely known and seen lifestyle that it is today.

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