Custom Made Chopper Motorcycles
“Whose motorcycle is this?”
“It’s not a baby motorcycle, it’s a helicopter.”
“Whose helicopter is this?”
“It’s helicopter baby Zeds.”
“Who is Zed?”
“Zeds dead baby, Zeds dead.”
Now most of us who live in the 1990s remember this scene from the classic American film Pulp Fiction. I remember seeing this movie for the first time and then wondering, “What is the difference between a helicopter and a motorcycle?” This was before shows like American Chopper and Monster Garage came onto the scene and helped educate the public on the difference between a custom-made motorcycle and helicopter.
A chopper is more or less a motorcycle that has been customized or “chopped” to give it individuality. The practice of building custom motorcycle helicopters began sometime after WWII, when the culture of the motorcycle rider began. Veterans returned from Europe and found the big, clunky motorcycles built by Harley Davidson and Indian to be unsatisfactory compared to the lighter and faster European bikes. They decided to change the bikes removing everything that was unnecessary. They started shortening or removing the fenders to give the bike a sleeker look and the term “chopper” was born.
The custom-made chopper motorcycle evolved further during the 1960s and 1970s. The motorcyclists began to eliminate everything that was considered unnecessary and to replace everything that seemed too big. The windshield, the big flashing lights, and the big seats went out. They started raking the front wheel so that it extended further out of the bike, giving the bike a “cool” look and raising the handlebars higher. These custom motorcycles began to move away from anything that was factory standard and became unique as each owner tailored their individual bike to what they felt was necessary.
The helicopter acquired iconic American status after the release of “Easy Rider” in 1969. Soon after, the idea of a custom-built motorcycle left the realm of the outlaw motorcyclist and entered the domain of the typical American. Soon talented designers opened their own customization shops replacing the guy in the backyard who built bikes for fun. People started going to these stores to get their custom helicopters instead of building them themselves.
As the baby boomer generation began to age, the demand for these nostalgic symbols of individuality began to rise. Soon, custom-made motorcycles were being produced and sold at exorbitant prices. Helicopters were no longer the outlaw motorcyclist’s vehicles. Instead, they had become the status symbol for the weekend hobbyist with expendable income. Still, when I see one of these bankers going through a midlife crisis flying down the freeway in a Chopper, I can’t help but feel a chill of danger and rebellion.