The appeal of choppers and ape hangers?

Being short like I am, I have to dial my bikes in to me also. Can probably be said for most people and most bikes.

I’ve had at least one hard tail motorcycle, and of course many bicycles. Agree, they really aren’t hard to ride.

There are trolls and troglodytes in this thread, but there are many who are not.

For excursions of a few hours now and then, they are a blast.

我公司于ldn't last an hour on that bike. The position on a softtail standard murders my back in about 50 mile for that matter.

Captain America was an exercise in excess, if you have ever ridden a stretched chopper its a job of work and keeping your hands above your heart just means that they go on pins and needles constantly. Not to mention they REALLY don't like going slow as I don't think that offset trees were a thing when that bike was built and that bike would have had a massive trail, which makes a bike flop at low speeds.

Did the Military MSF class for Army base access (I believe it is an intermediate level class). Instructor took one look when I showed up and said "good luck". Did the whole course, including figure 8, without ever doing the duck walk. Did have a dresser and adv bike in the class go down. With L4-L5-S1 spinal fusion, my lower back ignores the hardtail. Have to ride a chopper more than just bar hopping in order to really learn how to ride it. Put 20,000+ miles on her, and all smiles.

Just in case a get back whip isn’t enough

God invented Bicycle front end shock absorbers for those weak back problems and hardtails. My hardtail will have a pair of em under the seat. Gonna put 6 pot calipers on my 1980 wide glide dual disc front end for stopping power off a gsxr
Think I am kidding?


Like I said. Helps when you are not ignorant when it comes to having fun.

Never saw that one before. So now the phrase "never bring a ball-peen hammer to a gun fight" makes sense.....

Yamaguchi 650 makes good hardtails also. I thought those xs 650 specials were butt ugly.

It is not like this is my 1st rodeo

I had a 24" wheel bicycle like that. Schwinn Speedster, had the top tube cut and the neck pulled back.. Three sets of fork legs fitted together for the front fork set and one of the tall sissybars as a fork brace. Definitely different. Aztec Gold with metallic red lace paint on the fork legs and chain guard.

That hammer and holster would have been a god-send on my POS Ural...

I had a 51 Indian Chief, it wasn't a hard tail, but the plunger suspension wasn't far from it. It did have the OE pogostick seat that would make speed bumps disappear, but my legs would come up like I was doing squats. I like sprung seats.

我看到采访关于寿司的彼得·方达ng of Easy Rider. He commented how painful it was to ride those bikes. The crew who built the bikes made them for show. The removed the springs from under the seat. The seats had minimal foam in the saddle for appearance sake. He also commented they never road over 25 mph for the purpose of filming. After the first day of riding for the film, he said he went for a beer. The barkeep gave him a cold one. He said after a slow riding day with the ape hangers, his arm were so sore he could not lift the beer high enough to drink. He said he had to bend over and slurp the beer from the bar.

I see people with choppers with ape hanger frequently. They do look cool. I admire how people customize their bikes into works of art and still ride them.
To each their own.

For me I prefer to ride off road. Give me a tall dual sport bike with good suspension and knobbies. I add a lot of protection for the bike, and me (bash plate, radiator guards, case savers and hand guards, ATGATT), since I tend to tip over a lot. I do replace the 2x4 plank the manufactures call the seat with something a little more comfy.

Would be handy for "spiking the guns", cavallery back in the days carried those...

You know I smoked a lotta grass, oh Lord I....

When I was a teenager I thought the same. Then I went off roading and some short tracking, along with road riding and learned what posture worked best for my riding. Learned function over form. Choppers with ape hangers and truly ridiculous positioning along with extreme clubman cafe positioning are no where as cool as they were when I was younger. Now bobbers are a whole different thing... as are street trackers and old school superbike styles.

This bike is an American icon and a work of art It should be respected for that.

But it dosen't cut good laps or top out at 200+!

I tried a pair of 6" risers on my Dyna Low Rider, attemping to alliviate severe forearm pain that i first noticed on my Tiger 955. They helped, compared to stock risers but never eliminated the pain. Interestingly, i have no forearm issues with current Triumph Street Scrambler, which is close to UJM riding position.

I do agree, the Captain America chopper is possibly the prettiest motorcycle ever made and
我公司于ld like to own one as an extra bike to ride to coffee shops and bars. But, sure wouldnt want to take it on mountain roads, i think that would be a death wish unless you rode it like a turtle, which is how most HD riders handle mountains anyway.

My pan-shovel was the most cmfortable bike I have ever had. The problem was that it broke down alot. I can't have that.