Paul snr from american chopper

[hornedfrogs07]

Great post.

I don't watch "American Choppers" for the bikes. I think the bikes are hideous rolling cartoons, the two-wheeled equivalent of a clown car. I watch it to laugh at those two idiots arguing with each other.

Good post. Except I do think some of those jobs they do are pretty cool as showbikes.

 

[Mudge]

I'd like to see how many of these "new guys" getting chops with 124 inch motors are slamming them into things because they are a bit (WAY TO FUCKING) much for them.

Iron Addict

2 liters is crazy in a bike. I'm not a Hayabusa fan, but they beat the snot out of near anything on the road without serious cash in them (i.e. 970 RWHP Vipers that can barely keep up with a stock Busa).

I love the V twin sounds since I'm a V8 guy, but I'm a performance nut. To me the cruiser bikes are rice, import rice bikes ARE performance oriented even when they have those flashy paint jobs.

 

[iron addict]

If you need more performance than 140 horsepower and 155 lbs of torque I feel for you. Unlike the high revving machines these bikes have FLAT torque curves that are about 120+ foot lbs from 2000 r's up. That means as soon as you grab throttle you GO!!!

I am now at the point in my life where I actually want less performance. In the past few years I have dumped 2 girls off the bike doing wheelies and there are just fewer and fewer places where going from 20 to 120 in 10 seconds or so doesn't attract a lot of law enforceent attention. And may also leave one potentially dead if you get out of shape. I have scars head to toes and don't feel like collecting any new ones at age 42.

When i used to live in No Cal we used to ride 10-15 bikes through the center of town at 75-100 miles per hour and when the cops got behind us, we'd just go 3-4 different directions as fast as we could. Did a lot of stupid shit like that and I often can't beleive:

1. I was dumb enough to do it.
2. I didn't get killed (came close LOTS) doing it.

Yup, I'm getting old. Gonna get a new Road King when I sell my FXR and keep it mostly stock other than cam/pipes/fuel injection mapping.

Iron Addict

 

[string_bean00]

I heart this thread.

.

 

[inked1]

I couldn't give a rats arse if someone wants to build a great looking bike that handles like shit, thats their perogative.
personally I like to ride pretty cruisy, every now and again i'll give it a flogging, but truth be known, if you really wanted a motorcycle that was designed to ride hard n fast, corner and brake well, you probably wouldn't be on a harley. the jappers shit all over them performance wise.
I can't understand why someone would build a bike just for show and not to ride, but I might change my opinion if I had $$$$$$$$$ to throw around

 

[pullinbig]

IA i bet those two ladies were very proud of you for dumping them. =0)

 

[Mudge]

If you need more performance than 140 horsepower and 155 lbs of torque I feel for you. Unlike the high revving machines these bikes have FLAT torque curves that are about 120+ foot lbs from 2000 r's up. That means as soon as you grab throttle you GO!!!

Actually, the japanese bikes have very respectable torque curves, they are not that peaky.

I am old enough by now that I am winding down a bit. I was close to putting a Ferd 5 liter V8 in a 2300 pound car, but I recently gave up on the idea, its time to get out of the car thing a little bit.

 

[iron addict]

IA i bet those two ladies were very proud of you for dumping them. =0)

One of them took it very well and after she got done crying, luaghed her ass of and dared me to try it again. And proceeded to 'death grip" me everywhere we went.

The other one......well she cried hysterically. Said I tried to kill her, called for a friend to pick her up because she would never get on my bike again. And called me two days later for my insurance policy because "she would never be right again". Like she was "right" in the first place-lol.

Iron Addict

 

[b fold the truth]

My mother and father covered every single state except Alaska and Hawaii on their Harley Dresser between 1973 and 1977. They would leave the house with a change of clothes, a 1 person tent (that they would squeeze into), 2 cartons of cigarettes, and shower supplies. They would come back a month later. It was functional and probably the best looking bike I've ever seen. Every single nut, bolt, and screw on the entire bike was chromed.

He likes how the "Choppers" look but laughs when they try and act like they have ridden them cross-country.

B True

 

[iron addict]

A hundred miles is stretching most peoples limits on a lot of those bikes. And 50 is WAY more than you would want do do on many. I can get on my FXR and do 500 and feel fine.

Iron Addict

 

[Mr. dB]

I was amused by all the talk about the artist David Mann, and how much Paul Sr. was influenced by his work. When they finally showed some of his paintings, they were "art" that was one step removed from airbrush-on-black-velvet type "art."

 

[iron addict]

David Mann has done cenerfolds for easyrider and many of the bike mags since the early 70's. Many of his works are classics in the biker world. You need to take the context in to consideration when looking at the stuff he paints. The mona lisa the aren't. But they are extremely detailed, covering many years of the the biker scene from total outlaws to our new "kinder gentler" bike scene of the new melinium.

Iron Addict

 

[TheStromba]

I watch the show and like it alot. I agree that the bikes are not practical at all, but if someone has the cash, so be it.

It is attracting alot of attention to motorcycles, and most of it is positive.

I also agree that the bikes are being built with way too much power. I have never ridden a really fast bike,( I have a Ninja500) but it seems to me that there is little margin of error on the clutch and throttle which makes the bikes more dangerous than they really need to be.

 

[Mr. dB]

David Mann has done cenerfolds for easyrider and many of the bike mags since the early 70's. Many of his works are classics in the biker world. You need to take the context in to consideration when looking at the stuff he paints. The mona lisa the aren't. But they are extremely detailed, covering many years of the the biker scene from total outlaws to our new "kinder gentler" bike scene of the new melinium.

I understand his significance to that community. But objectively, his work may be skillfully done, but it is still aesthetically challenged. If it were good art, you wouldn't have to be a fan of the genre to "get it."

 

[iron addict]

You have obviously never seen one up close, and the old adage, "if you need it to be explained, you'll never understand applies here perfectly.

Iron Addict

 

[Mudge]

I understand his significance to that community. But objectively, his work may be skillfully done, but it is still aesthetically challenged. If it were good art, you wouldn't have to be a fan of the genre to "get it."

Huh? Most of us "dont get it" when it comes to art, thats why we think they are strange hippy freaks. That doesnt change someone wanting to pay a million bucks for some painting that we "dont get."