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| I've always been a sucker for bobbers and until just
recently if you saw a bobber, nine chances out of ten it was a Harley... I
don't have anything against Harleys, in fact I have some Harley parts on
MY bobber (they make great "donor" bikes! (wink)... I focus on
Japanese bobbers because while the Harley market has exploded with
anything and everything chrome plated or made of billet aluminum, building
a Japanese bobber still requires some thought and ingenuity to plan and
build. The metric cruiser market is definitely taking off, but in my
opinion a bobber (and even a chopper) should be less about bolting on
shiny bits and pieces and more about making things "work".
Click on the pic to supersize it... Each image will open into a new window. Feel free to zap me YOUR Japanese bobber pix for inclusion. =) Squirts Copyright © 1998-2008 by Tom "Squirts" Clark. All rights reserved. Excerpts from this document may be quoted with proper reference to the URL, the author, and the modification date listed below.
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(As told to me
by old bikers now gone)... In the old days, back when the air was still
fresh and gas was less then thirty cents per gallon, any bike sporting all
of the factory goodies such as fenders, spotlights, saddlebags and all of
the associated yee yaa was considered a "Garbage Wagon" by those who
participated in flat-track, enduro, or street racing. To increase speed
and performance, riders would remove, or "bob" parts from their bikes
which weren't absolutely necessary for its operation. Fenders, saddlebags,
spotlights and the assorted chrome goodies were removed leaving
essentially an engine, two wheels and a frame... THIS is a "Bobber".
Contrasting the bobber is the "chopper", a movement which began as a
bobber (with bits and pieces "chopped" off) but over time experienced a
metamorphosis from a more practical racing machine to a less practical
(and poorer performing) embodiment of a motorcycle more bent on making a
statement than winning a race (Apes and extended forks make diving into a
corner at speed just a little bit more hairy) =). Both choppers and
bobbers owe their history to those first riders who knew that big engines
and less weight equaled BIG smiles. 
