bigern2300 said:
Built to "Oooo & Aaahhh" at. Useless in my book. My attention span on most of the custom chopper market is very short.
I have to take 2 steps backward about that.
My problem with the chopper guys is they have no adventurism, no foresight and a mechanical aptitude that rivals a titmouse. All the kids around here love the Orange County Chopper thing on TV. Those buffoons are nothing more than parts replacers and their final product is nothing more than a conglomeration of purchased components assembled as a wanna be motorcycle.
The shop where I bought my R3 sells Big Dog choppers and that abortion with the V8 engine too. All are artfully done but none are practical. The clientelle who buy them are the "profilers". The upper class upwardly mobile yuppies who have no intention of riding them except to the sports bar on the corner and "profile" them to impress everyone and increase their failing libido.
However, not all "chopper" builders are parts buyers and assembliers. I have the honor of knowing one or should I say a team of them. They are the same guys who mounted my sidecar and aligned it and even though they'd never fiddled with a sidecar before, the alignment is perfect. These guys build choppers. It's just a hobby for them. They actually own and manage a large custom machining and fabricating facility outside Detroit filled with state of the art machine tools and fabrication equipment. These guys don't buy engines, they buy castings and machine their own engines, engines machined to their specifications. Same goes with frames and sheet metal. They even turn their own aluminum wheels. These guys have proprietary rights for their own fuel injection units, units installed on their bikes and yes, I'd love to have one but I can't even to begin to afford one.
You'll never see their bikes at a show or on the web. They sell them to a very exclusive group of people and I love the warranty. Every part on the bike excluding light bulbs and tires is warranted forever. I'm not sure what forever is, but they've been in business over 30 years now. It's one of those bikes that if you have to ask what it costs, you can't afford it.
