What is YOUR idea of a what a Street Chopper really is?

From what you have written and what we hear when we are talking to people on the streets. I think you will like the way we are going with the next issue which hits the stands in May.  

sorry if i offend anyone.not trying to start off on a bad note here,but oh well.
it is not a chopper if it is store bought production bike.
i am so sick of people saying loo at my big dog
thats a custom chopper.no dude that is a production bike.if you did not cut crap off how can it be chopped?
if you did not weld and hammer out metal.how can it be a chopper?
if you did not burn your fingers cut your hands and in general leave your blood on the bike how can it be a chopper?

i love bikes all kinds doesn't matter.but a chopper is just that a bike that has been chopped.
period end of debate  

there is a few comments that hit home in this area over at "CHOPPER-WEB",..

http://chopperweb.net/forum/showthread.php?s=24a8920a6ecde2772f9a755ed1f17e45&threadid=26889

the consensus is mostly the same where ever you go, the BIGDOG's have been ruled out of the "CUSTOM" world by popular demand,...  

A street chopper is what you want it to be. No opinion can trump another. Sorry. If it is a pink Evo with an airbrush mural of porky the pig or a black shovel with apes and drag bike specs it is what it is.. A street chopper. That is the idea right? Do what you want. Don't follow a mold unless you want to.

PS truth be told, I really think the 883 iron is a street chopper- No fancy parts and American workers making factory style. In a time when Harley is losing profits (58% Nov. Dec. 08)  downsizing, laying off, cutting production numbers 11%, and taking hundreds of millions from Warren Buffett to stay afloat the only custom welder I would hire right now are those craftspeople in Milwaukee Wisconsin. Sreaming Eagle Baby!  

Sounds like there is a positive consensus as to where a "Chopper magazine" should be headed. Made in Taiwan bolt on parts don't make a chopper. If you didn't chop it its not a chopper, etc. There is always room for a "Readers Rides" section. Personally I think you need to publish more tattoos, Pendleton flannel, and Vans shoes. Hahaha. It would be great to see the magazine more like it was when it first started back in the day. A lot like Big Daddy's Chopper Magazine was when he ran the works, or even the Old Easy Rider before it just got sleazy. That old format was the best ever for those of us who were there to see it back in the day. Well, late seventies for me. .o2  

Jeff, the last issue was banging! Tell them bean counters to give you better paper! See you in Garden Grove on Saturday.  

It's really quite simple:  a "chopper" has had parts chopped off it, but has a custom frame; a "bobber" started with a stock frame, and had parts "bobbed," or cut.  OCC, West Coast Choppers, Big Dog, etc. build chopper style limited-production motorcycles.  There ain't nothin' custom on any of 'em, which is really sad, as these are some very talented men, and they could build truly great choppers/bobbers if they chose to.  

Where can I pick up a copy of Street Choppers? I've looked all over, with no luck. I would also like to subscribe.

Thanks  

What do you all you "So-Cal" dudes do when two guys have the same flannel shirt on?    
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A "chopper"? I guess I am a purist also, in the true sense of the word. I have a daily rider that I have made stuff for and done some things to, but would never classify it as a "chopper", it's a customized bike. I started building choppers a few years back in my garage as a hobby, something to keep me sane through the winter months in Nebraska. A chopper is just that, a stock bike or pile of parts that you have cut, welded, grinded on, shed blood and sweat, cussed at and puzzled over to get the look that is floating around in your twisted mind. It's meant to be ridden and enjoyed, or get rid of it and start another.  

I would say my idea of a chopper is: Rigid, loud, obnoxious and makes me smile everytime I swing a leg over it. Best of all, everyone has there own thoughts and can build their own version!  

a chopper is anything ya scrape yer knuckles on, out in the garage at 2 a.m., tryin' to get it ready for tomorrows run.  just my two cents......  

I guess it could be said I have a VARY narrow mind choosing to restore and preserve the history of a very well known builder who graced the pages of the "First Wave" of Street Chopper magazine I beleive more times than any builder to this day.38 mags (and counting)that I know of for sure with one or more bikes in them with 1977 being his bigest year with 6 bikes, Denver Mullins of Denver's Choppers.

I read somewhere but couldn't find it again before I posted so I hope I remember right but I think the name "chopper" came about in the late 40s early 50s when young military men where coming home with money to spend and didn't like what the stock motorcycles had to offer so they would strip (chop) unwanted or unneeded parts off them and then added parts from other bikes,cars and even household items or building their own parts ( since there were no aftermarket MFGs yet)to personalize their--------------"Chopper"

In my opinion a chopper is a motorcycle with a factory MFG frame or engine that has been,cut,rebent,molded or changed in someway then assembled by a person or company using aftermarket,used or handmade parts.

The "Second Wave"of Street Chopper starting in 2000, was full of mostly who could out spend who,Bling Bling, chromed out,over painted,over rated,nonriden and unridable creations.At first I could appreciate the work it took to build those bikes then to see some of them up close in real life you would laugh and wonder who could build such crap and charge the big bucks for it? towards the end (2007) they finaly started to get it with bikes like Kutty's "Original Sin" S.C. May 07 or the 8 bikes in the "Get out and ride" article S.C. Aug.07. I know Toph and Suzanne "Back in the day" were trying to change the direction of the river.

This "Third Wave" with Jeff has hit the nail on the head bringing back  a mix of original old,new age old,us old guys mixing with the younger generation building more and buying less on their rides.  

Good to see streetchopper is stillaround,bought the first issue and quite a few after that. What is a chopper? In 1964 I was a young buck with my first bike, a 52 harley hummer and I thought I was really cool. One day riding to Cannonballs harley in St. Pete. I passed a bike sitting in a parking lot with a for sale sign. This bike caught my eye and I had to turn around and check it out. What I beheld Literally changed my perception of motorcycles. It was a hardtail hog, had one of them old type forks with springs on the outside, and it was all chromed,a 21" front wheel with chrome front factory brake, small headlight and ape hangers. Out back all chrome back wheel covered by a three rib fender with this strange chrome bar sticking up the back. Up the right side was a pair of upswept pipes. In the middle a peanut tank (remember those) a white solo seat and p-pad. And the whole thing painted candy apple burgandy. I think I had my first orgasm with something beside rosie palm. After that I built a lot of bikes, but they where all visions of my first true love. I built my first harley in 68 after many triumphs, actually sent the springer to a little shop in so. Cal. called AEE choppers they extended it 12" they where just a store front then, found their add in Big Bike not many people on the bike scene could extend so you shipped to Cal. A chopper is simplicity, all the unneccessary things remove, and the remaining pieces altered, rubbed, chromed and painted into a thing of beauty and motion, dripping sex and the promise of a soul mate thats going to show you the time of your life. Unlike these soleless caricatures of choppers that are pushed out the door of multitudes of bike shops a real nice chop job wows you in a deep place. To this day when I start to lose my vision I drag out my old copy of "the Wild Angels" check out some real choppers, and why we build them. Keep on partying and riding dudes.  

It's funny how the man asked what the readers would like see in the up coming issue's, and it turned in to a pissing match about what a "chopper" is, or isn't for that matter.
 As I haven't a dictionary handy, I can't help much.  Being only 33, I'm not so sure if my definition will count...but read on.

 In my reality, a chopper is a stock bike that has had everything removed that doesn't get hot, turn, or necessary.  It's dimensions (frame) has been altered by either stretch (backbone, down tubes, rear section), and/or rake (pitch/angle of the steering head).
 Power-train?  Has the performance that snaps heads (your self, and others).  The louder the pipes the better.
 Paint? There is only one paint job.  The one that the owner decides.

 All, and all a true chopper is an extension of the owners personality.  It emulates their essence, karma, and passion.  Not only that, choppers are a life-style that can not be bought, or duplicated.  They are earned by way of experiences, (bloody knuckles, busted parts, bad welds, the list goes on) life experiences that only those who understand...understand.