Buying a Chopper

concours said:
Look closely... no wiring, no control cables... that lump has not, nor will not ever go down the road as a functioning motorcycle. The hipsters have done the easy part... then lose interest
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and no exhaust wrap … oops ! Sorry, wrong era …
 
concours said:
Look closely... no wiring, no control cables... that lump has not, nor will not ever go down the road as a functioning motorcycle. The hipsters have done the easy part... then lose interest
Click to expand...
The hipster got offered more than I had in it by several hundred dollars including $25/hr for "time served", SO I SOLD IT.

At the time I had 3 personal projects going, and 3 client projects in-work. I was NEVER going to keep the chopper.

The "before" chopper had a badly blown engine, which I had already rebuilt. Plus powdercoated frame, chromed springer, and other work on wheels.

I GUARANTEED that the engine would "go down the road", and the rear brake would work if connected to a pedal. The springer forks actually worked just fine.

This project was one of two badly blown engined choppers. My middle son and I started overhauling the engines at the same time, but he joined the army just after we buttoned up the bottom ends...

Buying a Chopper


The other one was not raked and had a bolt-on rear end, so I acquired a proper rear end and built up another rolling project...

Buying a Chopper


Back then I kept 5 or 6 projects going for about 8 years straight out of 14 that I had my shop. People would follow my work and I'd be made offers at various points before finishing, and I'D TAKE THE OFFERS EVERY TIME, as long as it meant $1 profit or more.
 
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One of the main things about building a motorcycle is to avoid building something which might suddenly kill you. Changing the trail on the steering must be done very carefully. If the trail is wrong, the bike might still handle OK, until an unusual circumstance arrives - the bike can deck the rider in an instant.
 
acotrel said:
One of the main things about building a motorcycle is to avoid building something which might suddenly kill you. Changing the trail on the steering must be done very carefully. If the trail is wrong, the bike might still handle OK, until an unusual circumstance arrives - the bike can deck the rider in an instant.
Click to expand...
Really!
Well I never knew that
 
acotrel said:
One of the main things about building a motorcycle is to avoid building something which might suddenly kill you. Changing the trail on the steering must be done very carefully. If the trail is wrong, the bike might still handle OK, until an unusual circumstance arrives - the bike can deck the rider in an instant.
Click to expand...
Buying a Chopper
you'd better let Tony Foal know
 
Well coppers aren't built for the race track or running on methanol Al, its the enjoyment of building something different and some love to ride them as well once they Master the different style of riding, on our kick start only ride last weekend there where a few old school choppers and they went really well with the experience owners/builders even with the hand gear change and foot clutch and car tyre on the back rim.
Buying a Chopper
 
ashman said:
Well coppers aren't built for the race track or running on methanol Al, its the enjoyment of building something different and some love to ride them as well once they Master the different style of riding, on our kick start only ride last weekend there where a few old school choppers and they went really well with the experience owners/builders even with the hand gear change and foot clutch and car tyre on the back rim.
View attachment 122899
Click to expand...
Early shovel, generator
 
concours said:
Early shovel, generator
Click to expand...
There was 2 old school Shovels and one old school Panhead and they all had car tyres fitted and surprised how well they handle the corners, all 3 were ridden hard, these 3 bikes are well ridden by their owners/builders and not stuck inside a shed, like I say not everyone cuppa tea but everyone is different in how they see things or build things and the best thing they are enjoying life on two wheels and they aren't show ponies, not like some who just talks about when they rode/raced back in the day.
Wonder if you can chop a Seeley frame bike lol.
 
Have to admit if a Pan Head chop that was rideable and affordable came my way, I would have interest....Maybe
Maybe even a Triumph....
 
Much as I loved my old pan I sometimes wish I never had it. I
3 years on a rigid frame on crappy Philadelphia roads can screw up even a 21 year olds vertibrae for good.
 
grandpaul said:
This is a really cool thread, lots of excellent "period" photos.

All I can add is my BEST (hands down) chopper rescue...

View attachment 122887

The list of sins is extensive...

The chopper had:
-One round light, one rectangular
-ALL wires were red
-Front fender mounted to sprung legs
-HD tank WELDED to frame
-Frame badly raked
-Kickstarter welded to the shaft
-Front seat mount welded to frame
-One stainless header, one rusty header
-World's longest rear brake rod
-18" socket extension welded to shifter shaft, for hand shifting
-Engine required crank re-grind, all new bearings, new pistons & rings, cylinders re-bored .040" over, several transmission gears were replaced, all trans bearings & bushings replaced, all new valves & springs, head resurfaced and valve seats re-ground, all new clutch plates & springs, new primary chain, new camchain, all new lifters & pushrods, total carb overhaul including re-sleeving both bores & oversize slides, new alternator, new Sparx electronic ignition, new wiring harness, all new gaskets & seals (of course), and polished engine covers when it was done with the rebuild
-Many parts hose-clamped to frame
-Many parts U-bolted to frame
-Coils mounted in two pieces of steel pipe welded together then TAPED to the frame
-Over 10# of red Oklahoma dirt caked to the oily frame
-Completely worn swingarm bushings
-Completely worn isolastic rubbers (falling apart internally)
-Honda tail light welded to rear fender

I'm sure there were more debaucheries, but it's late and that's all I can remember...
Click to expand...
That guy got a lot of practice with his welding machine! I used to wire my bikes with just black wire thinking it looked cool.Growing up in SoCal during the late sixties-early seventies was a great time for a kid with a motorcycle.
Mike
 
Most of the choppers which I have seen have been absurdly bad. Whenever I have built a motorcycle - function has always dictated form. The function I require, it the bike must be able to be ridden fast and handle and brake perfectly. One of my friends said 'at least your bike looks right'. What he does not understand is that my Seeley 850 could never have been built in any other way - any serious mistake would have caused a serious crash. The only real mistake I made was using the fork yokes which came with the frame. I was lucky enough to be prepared to meet a problem when riding, and when the problem presented itself, I was able to cope with it. If you have a look at most choppers, they have powerful engines and stupid steering geometry - they are an accident waiting to happen. Only a nut case would ride one.
I am not afraid of crashing. When you ride something like that, you are making an assumption which you cannot afford.
Every production motorcycle on our planet has probably been shaped by a myriad of crashes.
Bob McIntyre's daddy bought him a world championship winning Mondial 250 for him to learn to race - 'the rider adapts to the bike' - the reverse can be painful.
I am lucky to be alive, and I do not know why that does not worry me. I can only think of one crash out of about 6 in which I seriously believe I could have been killed. My shoulder and my knee still hurt sometimes. In that last crash, my shoulder could have been my neck - my helmet had a flat worn on its top.
 
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acotrel said:
Most of the choppers which I have seen have been absurdly bad. Whenever I have built a motorcycle - function has always dictated form. The function I require, it the bike must be able to be ridden fast and handle and brake perfectly. One of my friends said 'at least your bike looks right'. What he does not understand is that my Seeley 850 could never have been built in any other way - any serious mistake would have caused a serious crash. The only real mistake I made was using the fork yokes which came with the frame. I was lucky enough to be prepared to meet a problem when riding, and when the problem presented itself, I was able to cope with it. If you have a look at most choppers, they have powerful engines and stupid steering geometry - they are an accident waiting to happen. Only a nut case would ride one.
I am not afraid of crashing. When you ride something like that, you are making an assumption which you cannot afford.
Every production motorcycle on our planet has probably been shaped by a myriad of crashes.
Bob McIntyre's daddy bought him a world championship winning Mondial 250 for him to learn to race - 'the rider adapts to the bike' - the reverse can be painful.
I am lucky to be alive, and I do not know why that does not worry me. I can only think of one crash out of about 6 in which I seriously believe I could have been killed. My shoulder and my knee still hurt sometimes. In that last crash, my shoulder could have been my neck - my helmet had a flat worn on its top.
Click to expand...
Al there are a lot of crazy riders/owners who have built old school choppers who ride them like they stole them and have never had any accidents and they have built them back in the day when choppers were the rage and they still ride them hard to this day, not everyone are scared to ride on the road, your Seeley is a put together bike of every bit and pieces from other bikes, same as building an old school chopper and only crazy riders know how to ride them without fear of crashing, its the risk we take of motorcycling, sitting behind a keyboard is no fun, getting out on the bike is more fun enjoying what we like best, no matter what we ride, old school choppers are part of motorcycling and my mates are enjoying every bit of riding and living the dream and as they get older they still loving every minute of being on two wheels as well their old school choppers.
Don't be a keyboard worrier get out and enjoy life on two wheels, take the risk and enjoy life, don't listen to others do what in the heart and do it for as long as you can, life is too short and talking about it gets you nowhere.
 
Whats more dangerous, raking your frame or messing with your Manx top motor mount......
 

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