How to Build a Bobber on a Budget: Donor Bikes, Parts Fabrication, Repair, Painting, etc.

MY HISTORY OF CHOPPERS AND BOBBERS

Most of us know the history of where bobbers or choppers came from, the textbook history of how stock bikes became customs and got their proper names. But I’m interested in the modern rebirth of customs. Not the high-dollar super custom chops that we see at rallies or on TV, but the simple, soulful bikes built as everyday rides.

To me, the turning point in all this new bobber rage started a couple years ago with an exhibition at the Journey Museum in South Dakota. There’s a new guard in the industry today: guys like Indian Larry, with all his amazing creations; Billy Lane with the Devil in a Red Dress, the blue Shovel chopper, and the Knuckle Sandwich; Chica; Hank Young; Johnny “Chop” Vasko; and several others.

They’ve all made their style by resurrecting the simple form and style of choppers and bobbers, by being creative, and by relying on imagination and hard work. The quick growth of magazines like The Horse: Backstreet Choppers also influenced the rebirth of cool, inexpensive bikes on the scene.

PREPARE YOURSELF

We all need to begin with something, maybe an idea or a bike we have seen and badly want. Some of us have a preference for certain engines and certain years. In reality, any cool, inexpensive bike can be built with any Big Twin or Sportster. It’s what you make of it that makes that end product cool and the owner/rider proud.

By experience, builders have all started on the wrong end of the build many times. Maybe a frame here, or a motor there…nothing wrong with that. Sometimes, deals show up and we can’t let them pass, but since we are kind of following what I do at the shop, let’s start by what I start with: the search.

You might be lucky enough to already own a bike that you want to use for your project. Maybe that old Shovel, or even better, a Panhead, is sitting around your uncle’s garage and he never uses it. Maybe, if you are not that lucky and have to look around for your donor bike, well, that kind of gives you a better spectrum of choices.

What I do is talk to the customer and kind of figure out what his budget is (how much money he can hide away from his spouse). Of course, I try to find the most inexpensive bike possible if the customer is not set on a year or engine configuration.

I start the search by calling friends, asking other shops, and even looking around while driving. (Believe it or not, I’ve found a lot of bikes that way, just sitting alongside the road with a “for sale” sign.)

If there’s no bike to be found, or the prices are too high, then I hit the Internet or newspaper classifieds. I search areas closer to home, or maybe an area where I know someone who can check it out and/or pick it up for me.

Once the monetary exchange takes place, the shipping and any other tasks, then it’s time to plan your build.

Sometimes the hardest part of a build is choosing a color and scheme for your bike. I prefer things to be as simple as possible. On my bikes, kandy colors and metalflake are the norm, with occasional simple graphics, panels, teardrops, scallops, and derivations of such. Pinstriping by itself looks really cool, as well.

I rarely use flames, but alas, they always look cool and never go out of style. I tend to lean more toward flames on choppers and almost never on a bobber.

There are many books available (including several by JoAnn Bortles, published by Motorbooks) that can help you immensely in this area. They will provide you with ideas, hints, tips, techniques, and a bunch more useful information for your paint job. Like always, the more research you do, the more you learn, and the better off you are at the end.

Some home builders will use the rattle-can method, usually flat black. But even with that, there’s always a lot of prep work involved. Just because you are using a $2.98 can of spray paint doesn’t mean the bike has to look like a $2.98 paint job. It all depends on how carefully you handle the most important step of the process: the preparation.

• Introduction
• Before You Start
• Getting Started
• Sheet Metal
• Engine and Transmission
• Pre-Assembly Mockup
• Disassembly
• Paint
• Final Assembly
• Ready to Start
• Index