New Age Choppers...Are they a Fad for the rich?

So ya wanna be a biker. It seems that these days everyone does. The Chopper shows on TV are definatly driving this. But that brings up a question. Are choppers just a fad for the rich?

I find it amazing that folks would spend 20K on a bike to find out if they like to ride, but new age choppers are much more expensive. Worse yet, they are harder to ride in most cases. Not exactly the best choice for a beginner rider. But hey, some have the money to do it.

So, are most of these bikes gonna be rode or will these rich kids on choppers be having garage sales soon? What's your take on it?

While it's great to see the cottage chopper industry prosper, IMHO most of the folks who own the pre-fab customs don't ride that much. They love to profile , but don't rack serious mileage

While it's great to see the cottage chopper industry prosper, IMHO most of the folks who own the pre-fab customs don't ride that much. They love to profile , but don't rack serious mileage

hehe, it's hard to keep a bike clean if ya ride it!

Believe it or not, when they ride in at our shop on the "recent fad" bikes, and the traditional "for the ride, not the look" bikes, here lately, the guys and women riding them have been from about 35 yrs. old on up to their 60's. So around these parts, in KY, the garage sales are still mostly for the older ladies! Looks like this fad isn't just for the rich or the young.

I think you've pegged it smeg. Choppers themselves aren't a fad or if they are it's a half century fad. Now these 30, 50, 75, 100, or more thousand dollar bikes are bought by people with more money than sense. When they get bored, which will probably happen fast, they will move on to the next "big thing".

I agree, with smeg a passing fad. I've seen a few of these bikes,cracked frames and all.Not very impresive to me.Long Live the Shovelhead!

Why would anyone with the ability to use a crescent wrench and a set of allen wrenches pay that kind of money for someone to piece together you a chopped bike?

I ride rice on race gas....but if I ever slow down enogh to own a bike...I'd like to build myself my own chopper!

Why would anyone with the ability to use a crescent wrench and a set of allen wrenches pay that kind of money for someone to piece together you a chopped bike?

I ride rice on race gas....but if I ever slow down enogh to own a bike...I'd like to build myself my own chopper!

Well that's what it's supposed to be IMO. Not some yuppie buying a chopper and calling it "his". Most of those that buy these "Show" choppers can't even put air in the tires and they hire someone to clean it for the show. Go figure!

I'm not so sure about the "passing fad" concept, as there will always be people with money to burn. What I'm curious about is just how far are these machines going to go from function to all out art. Personally, I don't have anything on my bike that doesn't make it go, stop, or steer(and it doesn't do any of those things extremely well, lol), but it's always ready to go somewhere. I was at Port Dover, Ontario a couple Friday the 13th's ago and after walking around a bit got back to my bike to find this custom S&S powered scoot next to mine. This thing was mega-bucks..billet everything on the motor, Weber carb, custom softtail frame, 9 foot front end, the works. So this guy is getting ready to go, taking his time with his helmet, hoping to draw some interest. Sure enough a small crowd gathers to hear this bear run. He strikes a pose and hits the starter button, and it sounds like he's got maybe one or two cranks left in it. By now he's getting flustered, plays with the carb again, get's it to crank a couple more slow turns. He fiddles with a couple more things, tries again and it fires, on one cylinder, the other blowing black gas smoke. I'm not sure how that ended, cause just about then I pulled my choke, flipped on the switch, gave her a kick, and drove away. All I could think was how glad I was that my bike wasn't as pretty as that one.

I have had bikes all my life. Allways thaught choppers were cool,but the store bought
new ones look neet but they don't do that much for me. Now the home built Chopper
that is the work of someone that puts some soul into there machine. Takes there hands an fabracate it themself. That is art can't buy that in the catalog.
Ya' ll ride safe .