I see Big Dog custom choppers is closing

hamamatsu

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I see Big Dog custom choppers is closing their doors. The economy is taking it's toll on the expensive toys. I've never been a fan of Big Dog or OCC for that matter, but they are part of the motorcycle community and I hate to see them go under.

http://www.cyrilhuzeblog.com/2011/04/04/exclusive-big-dog-motorcycles-has-closed/

I hope S&S motors can survive the recession, they have been around a long time. A polished S&S engine will set you back 12K. You can buy quite a few XS650s for 12K.
 
Too bad.. And those bikes have Baker transmissions, made here in Michigan (Mailing address is Haslett, but I think their factory is in Bath)
 
Jesse James' shop "West Coast Choppers" has also closed. No doubt the economy is part of the closings, but an article in Cycle World states the custom world started to fail back in 2004 when Harley ramped up production. Why buy a home brewed Harley look-a-like when you can buy a new Harley that comes with a real warranty.

Here is a reality check, here in my town last year 2010 we saw the closing of 3 brick and mortar dealers. These were major brand, long established dealers with good reputations. One Honda, one Suzuki and one Aprilla, KTM, Can-Am. The up side saw the opening of a new Harley Superstore and a new all brand Superstore. Does it wash-out, I don't know yet, time will tell.
 
Harley has stayed steady on this side of the country. But the jap bike dealerships have been hurting out here. Supposedly because most of the dealerships thrive on atv type riding, and that is not economically feasible nowadays.
 
NO people just beat to death the chopper industry.
I use to build top end bikes but you just don't have those people out there anymore. With all the TV hipe and bullshit of getting $150,000 for a $40,000 bike and the frame crack/motor over heats/ride horrible/finance imposible. IT DIED
I won't build one now unless the customer puts up all the money. Last one i sat on for 9 months and had $28,000 in the bike and could not get $25,000
It will come back like it always does but for now MONEY IS TIGHT for everyone and i just seen a JESSE JAMES bike go for $12,000 on EBAY
Where are all the builders that were on TV . There was a big time builder from FL who use to build crazy trikes now he was on CAFE SHOW on TV building KAW CAFE BIKE.
BIG DOG / Trotter / JESSE JAMES / Billy Lane / INDAIN LARRY / occ / They all rode the wave and fell off.
Years ago nobody want XS 650 NOW LOOK Times change
I would rather build a nice $5,000 XS 650 and make a little money than put out $30,000 and just have a peice of furniture . You are going to see more go down
The new YUPPIE DEAL is CAN AMS.
 
Choppers were bought by people who thought choppers were the ultimate bike instead of the unrideable mess they really are. Our local craigslist has custom choppers that cost $30,000+ listed for below 10 grand. Every ad seems to say "Only 400 miles!" How can a bike have only 400 miles? It's because the bike was a horrible bitch to ride.

I ride like Steve McQueen, not Peter Fonda.

Tom Graham
 
He was riding his bike, standing on the seat. One of his welds let go splitting the bike, throwing Larry to the ground. I believe he died from a concussion.
 
This is a hard subject for me, because obviously the "chopper" industry was so over-bloated that there's no chance it could support itself past a certain point. Kinda reminds me a a certain housing situation.....

Anyway, the real reason it's a shame is because these builders who jumped into the fray because there was money to be made overshadowed the builders who've been doing it for years before just because they loved what they did. When that happened, these smaller builders enjoyed a period of notoriety, but then the phase passed, and these smaller builders lost a lot of the business that they did have, so many of them had to close up shop much earlier than these other big time builders. I hated to see that because there were a lot of truly innovative guys out there.

Me personally, I don't ride my motorcycles every day, to me they're more of a toy to express my own style and practicality doesn't really factor into it much. The bikes I build are not comfortable to ride, but that's completely not the point, I have a vision that I'm trying to achieve. There were a few builders out there that embodied that, but the money to support them isn't there anymore.

It's a shame all around.....

Although I couldn't really care less about the builders who were just in it for the money, they jumped ship and are riding the next wave now anyway.
 
I guess from growing up around them I liked the Triumphs and Nortons, ect. My uncle is a certified Brit mechanic, trained in the late 60's in England. So to me, a cool bike was a pre-unit Triumph. I would sit for hours on his many British bikes in garage and let my brain weave adventures. The choppers were never a big deal to me. Now I do love hardtails, but traditional hardtails. Some confuse any hardtail as a "chopper" or that a chopper has to be a hardtail. I just don't like the long, big, tons of crap welded on a bike. And I would never even think of spending that much money on one. For $100,00 I believe I would buy a Vincent, not an OCC.

It's a shame that someone has lost their business, but it is business and as in all business' there is severe risk involved. Especially when you have a custom, "certain crowd" service. It's the people that grew a huge head from their products that will fall the hardest. A big ego is the biggest killer. Fads come and go.
So the next question is, "what's next"?
 
KEN DUH!!!!!!!!!
I went to the memorial for him in Brooklyn.
I knew LARRY and his business still ran for a couple years then Paul and Keno opened there own shops and his shop only became a memorial. Last year i built a bike for them some young girl owns it now and they do other work and don't build anymore.
But that was not my point and his frame did not break. A good buddy of mine was there with him and he did that stunt a couple times and area was sandy and LARRY like the showman he was wanted to give the people one more thrill and fell off landed on his head and Died from the injury. Great guy Great Builder
My point was there were builders who used the TV for personal gain and killed the chopper business for the guys who built bikes day in day out because that was there only income. I have been building since the 60's and choppers died in the late 70's came back in the 90's and will come back again. Harley Davidson almost went out of business in the 70's and Buell went out last year . So its buyers demand that runs everything
 
Buell went out last year . So its buyers demand that runs everything

Buell was run into the ground by Harley. Then they used them as a scapegoat and shut everything down. There always has been a market for Buell motorcycles, but Harley completely mismanaged that brand.

Fortunately Erik Buell is back in the mix, more of a limited production basis, but his bikes are better than ever.
 
A lot of folks are still upset over Buell. The fact is Buell was not run into the ground by Harley nor did they use them as a scapegoat. And they were not (as far as I can determine) mismanaged. In fact, Harley invested a huge amount of money in Buell. But Harley dealers did not want the Buell. Think about it, the Buell was everything the Harley wasn't. Buell riders are the complete opposite of Harley riders. Although Buell always ranked high in motorcycle magazines, without dealer commitment they didn't sell. Sales is key to surviving. Buell riders don't like to hear it but the bikes didn't sell. Where Harley screwed up was in not spinning Buell off as a stand alone company and then selling it. Harley claimed Buell was too integrated into their JIT, Kazan and other processes to separate. I believe this bit is bogus. Buell was in a separate facility. I.E. already separate. I think it was the tax write-off.
 
I suspect a lot of HD dealers will soon be wishing for something like the Buell Blast as Harley doesn't seem to be planning to bring their Indian made 500-750cc line to the USA even though the US market is moving towards smaller motorcycles and the Ninja 250 is now the #1 selling model in the USA. And it just so happens that the Ninja 250 is made in India.

Did H-D run Buell into the ground? Maybe not but H-D could have done a much better job of educating its dealers as to why they needed an entry level motorcycle.
 
I suspect a lot of HD dealers will soon be wishing for something like the Buell Blast as Harley doesn't seem to be planning to bring their Indian made 500-750cc line to the USA even though the US market is moving towards smaller motorcycles and the Ninja 250 is now the #1 selling model in the USA. And it just so happens that the Ninja 250 is made in India.

Did H-D run Buell into the ground? Maybe not but H-D could have done a much better job of educating its dealers as to why they needed an entry level motorcycle.

Erik Buell is building bikes for consumer consumption again.

However, I doubt he will be making any blasts.
 
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