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| highwayrider |
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highwayrider
Scooby Slapper
Joined: 29 Dec 2012
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 Posted: 23:15 - 17 Apr 2013  Post subject: The Captain America Bike |
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4MmPTqFTBk
My dream bike. Just love those old school choppers. Don't see many in the UK though, in fact I've never seen one. |
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| Ollie1995 |
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Ollie1995
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| highwayrider |
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highwayrider
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| sidewinder |
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sidewinder
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Posted: 23:33 - 17 Apr 2013  Post subject: |
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Cool  |
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| mailee |
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mailee
Spanner Monkey
Joined: 15 Dec 2012
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| Posted: 23:41 - 17 Apr 2013 Post subject: |
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I loved that bike back in the seventies.....until I rode one similar and it was a nightmare! those apehangers are a pain in the ass and the bikes are definitely not made for corners. Will stick to a standard cruiser now. I still love the look of it though.  |
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| G |
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G
The Voice of Reason
Joined: 02 Feb 2002
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Posted: 23:48 - 17 Apr 2013  Post subject: Re: The Captain America Bike |
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| yambabe |
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yambabe
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| carlosthejack... |
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carlosthejack...
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| Polarbear |
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Polarbear
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| anthony_r6 |
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anthony_r6
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| Teflon-Mike |
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Teflon-Mike
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Posted: 12:26 - 18 Apr 2013  Post subject: |
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| Quote: | This peculiar type of machine represents a craze that started in the United States. The name, Chopper, applies generically to the type and comes from the American use of 'chop' when a standard machine is extensively modified in external appearance. The long front‑fork stanchions, small front wheel, high handlebar and laid‑back riding position gave poor handling qualities. |
Little Known Biking Trivia:
The modern 'Custom & Cruiser' scene is dominated by stuff fitted with Harley V-Twin engines. And the idea that Harley and the American Custom are inextricably linked is now 'lore'.
It is in fact an irony; in the early days of the American Custom-Motorcycle movement, no self respecting Harley or Indian Owning 'Motorcyclist' would commit such sacralidge to Milwakee's finest. The Harley or Indian was a statement of achievement, the pinicle of the American motorcycle, and who would dare mess with perfection?
The first 'Choppers' were in fact British singles and twins; Matchless and Triumph and the ilk. These were sold on the post-war US market for half the price of even an entry level Harley '45, thanks to the strong dollar and the British Governments tax incentive for exportting UK manufacturers; conseqently they were the bikes that when bent or broke were most readily consigned to the scrap heap as beyond ecconomical repair, and provided the basis for innovative 'Chop-job' projects.
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IrAEO86detw/TWPua0pn75I/AAAAAAAAEtA/IvEx9_abtOo/s1600/0DSC00140.jpg
Which leads to the oragin of the name. 'Chopper'. again, lore applying to the actual motorcycle of that style.
Yet; in post war USA, the early custom builders, looking for info and inspiration for thier British Bikes, found little in the main-stream American Motorcycling press, which was then, as now, dominated by the Domestic manufacturers products, Harley & Indian. Instead, they turned to British periodicals, which were a lot less market driven.... British 'consumers' denied consumer products by post-war rationing and a mend and make do mentality the result of five years war shortages and war effort..... and were a lot more hands-one technical, offering tuning tips and modification suggestions.
And, significantly in that early post war era, high-octane fuel was not readily available. The Motorcycle Factories, might have fielded road-racing machines, but on low grade 'pool' petrol, and with an FIM ban on supercharging, speeds for a long while were significantly lower than in the imediete pre-war era. And it was far beyond the means of most men to dream of road-racing.
Trials, was, again, the emergent sport. Where it had waned from the pre-eminance it held as 'Reliability Trials' in the pioneering era, when tests of speed on the British roads meant that the only road-racing was on the Isle of Man, while fearsome flame spitting 'ported' board racers tore around banked ovals and short speed-ways; the sport was revived, by factory interest, and more, being a very accessible sport for the amateur clubman.
Except.... that bikes were just a bit TOO reliable. And to thin the field and seperate the men from the boys; they had to make the events aver more grewling tests of endurance over ever rougher terrain.... And clubmen and factories started modifying their road-bikes to suit these new, 'off-road' courses.
And, the factories, entering competition to sell road-bikes, were often far less inovative and a lot more concervative, than the enthusiastic 'Shedologist' trying to make a machine bought from Army Surplus auction competative against them!
These British Shedologists then; had cart-blance in their creativity to build thier 'Trials Specials', and taking a standard road-bike, and adapting it for slow-speed control over rough terrain, wanted to make them more 'nimble'. The road-bikes they had were built with geometry optimised for 'stability' on bumpy roads at higher speeds, and consequently were often low, and long and had quite a lot of fork rake and consequently steering 'trail'. So the shedologist, with a rigid frame bike, would often take the expedient course of doing a 'Trials CHOP'..... cutting the head-stock from the top and down-tubes, and welding it back in with a few degrees less rake, reducing fork angle, wheel-base and steering trail all in one fell swoop, making the machine a lot more nimble and manouverable at slow speeds.
This was common practice amongst British 'sporting' enthusiasts; but carried by the magazines over the Atlantic, the American Custom-Builders applied it to thier 'Drag' specials.... but THESE rather than wanting nimble slow-speed handling, wanted more high-speed straight line stability... becouse they HAD high-octane 'gas' at 10 cents a (US) gallon, and had skimmed the heck out of the cylinder head to up the compression ratio, and advanced the ignition to exploit it, and wanted to show it off on a Friday night on the hick-town high-street! So they did a trials 'Chop' in reverse.... cutting the head-stock out and welding it back in with even more rake, to increase trail, and wheel-base and straight line stability.
The 'Chop' was the job of creating a 'special' frame.... the CHOPPER... was the bloke that DID the chopping job!
And it was a bit of British terminology, applied to British bikes, adopted by American Specials builders, customising British bikes....
So... we get to Captain America, suposedly the epitome of the American 'Chopper'.......
This is actually Captain America's prototype:-
https://images.tate.org.uk/sites/default/files/styles/grid-normal-8-cols/public/images/peter_fonda_wild_angels_still_0.jpg
From Peter Fonda's 1966 Film 'Wild Angels'..... personally, I think its a little better than Easy Rider... it's err... well... torrent it and find out for yourself! It's cornier than a cornered cornish pixie in a dodecahedron, but it at least has some sort of story, and is quite amusing, in a way that Easy just gets weird! But I detract from topic!
Yeah, that was Fonda's bike in that movie three years before Captain America, and... its not chopped.
While I'm doing a Barry Norman Film thing.... lets skip back to 1953, and the immortal 'Wild One'.... So, Johnny...... Whadda-ya-got?
Well, we have Marlon Brando.... NOT on a Harley.... but A Triumph. A Thunderbird, I believe! And its not chopped either. I don't think its even got high bars!
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1Sr7EddpqFg/S7wMvNKVw-I/AAAAAAAABpk/ohwH_gYkcR8/s1600/wildone25kp2.jpg
For reference, it was Lee Marvin who rode a Harley..... also not 'chopped'!
https://img24.imageshack.us/img24/2391/panhead2.jpg
I THINK, it was basically a Pan-Head 'Hydra-Glide'... with the fair ground ride outfit ing and paniers lopped off.
So, we come to Captain America.... and the question.... IS it ACTUALLY 'chopped', or is it merely raked out curtecy of extended forks?
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VfKsVhVW2Ns/Ts_xhkgq7XI/AAAAAAAAAU4/690v2I0ERTo/s1600/peter-fonda-captain-america-2275f.jpg
The clue is given by the lower frame cradle not being parallel to the ground.... wiki suggests that the four actual movie bikes were built around a job lot of ex-police Hydra-Glides.... compare to Lee Marvins stripped down stocker above.....
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Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?' |
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| yambabe |
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yambabe
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| DrDonnyBrago |
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DrDonnyBrago
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| Teflon-Mike |
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Teflon-Mike
tl;dr
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| Posted: 14:27 - 18 Apr 2013 Post subject: |
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| yambabe wrote: | The Hells Angels mostly.  |
| yambabe wrote: | Read Sonny Barger's............ |
Sorry, GOT to stop you RIGHT there..... that has instantly undermined the authority of ANYTHING you might suggest from here-in....
| yambabe wrote: | autobiography |
ah... yes... thats that novel in which his alter ego, first 'invented' the chopper, then the Hells-Angels.... so he could hire them out for low budget Hollywood B-Movies...... single handedly discovered, weed, invented cocain, and went on to formulate LSD for an encoure.... gave Dennis Hoppa the story-line for Easy Rider, then set up an international drugs cartel to maufacture the all his pharmaseutical break-throughs, stuff in Mexico and ship it into the US, to sell to the movie moguls...... before the Columbians moved in on his turf...... 
| yambabe wrote: | He explains how the bikes they rode evolved due to them first and foremost looking for more speed and/or thrills when riding, but also cos often not having a lot of cash they could sell parts they took off and replace them with cheaper parts that were home-made or sourced from elsewhere. |
Well SOME-ONE might have had that idea....
| yambabe wrote: | This would have been in the late 40s, early 50s. |
He was born in 1938...... he would have been TEN when Holister happened..... he would have been 15 when 'The Wild-One' was released.
He was one of the rebels without a clue; the second generation, a teenage wannabee hang-around, in the mid 50's to the 30-something 1%ers, coming out of the disenfranchised, beat-nick inspired road-rider war-vets who'd already been living it a decade, a kid looking for trouble, and desperate for attension....
Sorry, I have very little time foe the chaps hype and self publicity, and its that sort of comment that exemplified how successful he has been, implying he was 'on the scene' and a big wheel in that scene that early! He wasn't! He's not old enough! He wouldn't have been out of short PANTS in the late 40's! And barely old enough to ride a motorcycle by the mid 50's!
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My Webby'Tef's-tQ, loads of stuff about my bikes, my Land-Rovers, and the stuff I do with them!
Current Bikes:'Honda VF1000F' ;'CB750F2N' ;'CB125TD ( 6 3 of em!)'; 'Montesa Cota 248'. Learner FAQ's:= 'U want to Ride a Motorbike! Where Do U start?' |
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| RhynoCZ |
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RhynoCZ
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| Posted: 14:47 - 18 Apr 2013 Post subject: |
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I'd say: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEMimY0HyUk
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'87 Honda XBR 500, '96 Kawasaki ZX7R P1, '90 Honda CB-1, '88 Kawasaki GPz550, MZ 150 ETZ
'95 Mercedes-Benz w202 C200 CGI, '98 Mercedes-Benz w210 E200 Kompressor |
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| stinkwheel |
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stinkwheel
Bovine Proctologist
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| Posted: 15:35 - 18 Apr 2013 Post subject: |
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My mate made a lovely A10 chop a few years back. All good until it spat back through the open bell-mouth carb, set fire to the fuel he'd just tickelled out of it and burned to the ground. Thereby proving that the flash arrestor plate he'd omitted was there for a reason.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/Big_Chris_Chop.jpg
Another guy in the club is still riding a Z650 in an original Uncle Bunt hardtail frame.
Therein lies the answer though. You want a REAL chop, you build one from the blood of your knuckles and the sweat off your back.
EDIT. The REAL Captain America has no front brake and in my oppinion, missed a perfect oppertunity to fit a radial spoked wheel.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles. |
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| Nick 50 |
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Nick 50
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| Posted: 16:15 - 18 Apr 2013 Post subject: |
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1450cc v-twin with a tiny fuel tank .............. Great idea
Miles per tank?? 3 maybe 4?
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Current Bikes: ZX7r 97 (Black Beauty), VFR400 NC24 (The banana)
Previous Bikes: Aprilia Tuono 03 (The Beast), CBR600f (97)
First bike: A GZ125 Lemon....... |
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| RhynoCZ |
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RhynoCZ
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| Alpha-9 |
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Alpha-9
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| Posted: 18:04 - 18 Apr 2013 Post subject: |
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| stinkwheel wrote: | My mate made a lovely A10 chop a few years back. All good until it spat back through the open bell-mouth carb, set fire to the fuel he'd just tickelled out of it and burned to the ground. Thereby proving that the flash arrestor plate he'd omitted was there for a reason.
https://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f216/stinkwheel/Big_Chris_Chop.jpg
Another guy in the club is still riding a Z650 in an original Uncle Bunt hardtail frame.
Therein lies the answer though. You want a REAL chop, you build one from the blood of your knuckles and the sweat off your back.
EDIT. The REAL Captain America has no front brake and in my oppinion, missed a perfect oppertunity to fit a radial spoked wheel. |
There's a bike that looks just like that occassionally parked near my work
Bike in OP is gay as fuk
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| keggyhander |
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keggyhander
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| Rogerborg |
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Rogerborg
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Old Thread Alert!
The last post was made 13 years, 174 days ago. Instead of replying here, would creating a new thread be more useful? |
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