So what's the deal with all this terminology?

[michaelpthompson]

I'm new to the community, so please forgive some ignorance. I know what a chopper is, from watching Easy Rider in the '70, but I don't know the details of all the terms I'm seeing here. I think a cafe racer is a bike where you lean forward and scream through police blockades, but I have no idea about a bobber, tracker, or any of a dozen other terms I've seen thrown around here. I'm just looking to make my '75 into a fun bike to ride, but out of curiosity, can anybody give me a quick rundown on these various terms to what style of motorcycle people are building?

TIA

Michael

 

[mrtwowheel]

Bobber, a small float placed on a fishing line to hold the hook at a desired depth.

Scott

 

[weaselbeak]

Cafe racer......good for sitting in front of the cafe while you hide inside nursing your sore ass as people laugh at the butchered bike out front.

 

[Uhlaf]

Oh god, okay for the quick and dirty;

Cafe Racer: Home made race bike, starting in England in the 50 and 60 and revived by hipsters driving the prices of UJM through the sushi hut. Defined by single seat, low bars, rear sets.

Bobber: in the same mindset of the cafe racer, a bobber is essentially stripping the bike of everything that is not essential (and sometimes actually is essential, looking at you front brake), looks like a short chopper. I don't know what these people have against rear suspension.

Tracker: A bike used to race dirt track, a hybrid of a street bike and a dirt bike kind of, also known as a scrambler (kind of). The hooligan bike.

 

[DIRTY DOG]

because HARDTAILS are COOL

 

[Uhlaf]

As you can see Mr.Thompson, their are a lot of different schools of thought on different motorcycle layouts.

WeaselBeak believe Cafes are butchered where I think, that the seat position personally give me much better control over my motorcycle (pushes my knees up and into the tank) and gives the motorcycle a streamlined minimalist look.

I don't particularly understand bobbers but I'm starting to come around. As Dirty Dog stated hard-tails are cool (which indeed they are).

Honestly though, I think the stock setup from '71 to '78 looks great and functions very well at everything, if you have a special I recommend doing SOMETHING as we are all on the consensus that they are diarrhea dogshit ugly.

 

[mrtwowheel]

The terms used, or the "style" of the bike are never as important as the cute riding outfits.

Scott

 

[michaelpthompson]

Thanks guys, I got more than I bargained for!

A couple of people mentioned hardtail. How would you define that, other than numbness in the tailbone?

Also, I don't have a Special, but some PO put Special bars on my standard, which I quite like, actually.

 

[5twins]

A hardtail has no rear suspension. The shocks are removed and replaced by solid steel struts or the whole rear portion of the frame and the swingarm are removed and a new rigid section welded on. You basically take a modern design and step backwards to a 1940s design.

 

[650Skull]

As you can see Mr.Thompson, their are a lot of different schools of thought on different motorcycle layouts.

if you have a special I recommend doing SOMETHING as we are all on the consensus that they are diarrhea dogshit ugly.

Your shitting on a lot of guys on here who are running stock specials and love them.

So NO we are not "all on the consensus that they are diarrhea dogshit ugly"

 

[650Skull]

Caf'e racer; Was started in England where the local lads reduced the weight of the bike by stripping off parts and replacing if required with lighter parts and these bikes were used to race between point A and point B evading cops and just being rebels.

Chopper; 70's hard Tail with a raked front and extended forks, think easyrider.

Bobber: originally a bike that had its guards shortened or any bike that had been cut to make it look shorter or bobbed.

Chopper/Bobber: Today a bobber could be a chopper or vise versa and encompasses both an old style chopper and bobber, combined as a build that is either a chopped bike that is hard-tailed or a bobbed bike that has had the rear end altered and replaced with a shortened or lowered rear with the shocks at such an angle they act in an inefficient manner for their purpose. or it could be raked.

Tracker is a replica of Kenny Roberts race bike or one that has a similar look

 

[michaelpthompson]

Thanks Skull. Oh, I'm SURE Uhlaf meant that in all good humor. Right?

Actually, I had a friend who owned a brand new Special in '79, which we rode 1900 miles together to a wedding in 1980. It was one of the reasons I was open to buying a Yamaha when a friend offered the one I'm now working on.

 

[lakeview]

Nothing wrong with the hinged seat Specials (except they are not Standards) that a bit of finessing won't hurt, however my approval rating is less enthusiastic when it comes to the lift off seat Specials with that large alloy rear handle.

 

[grizld1]

Michael, there are those who "build" motorcycles as fashion statements, there are those who think that their particular sample of one of the most widely produced price-point motorcycles in history merits museum grade preservation, and there are those who think out what they want their machines to do and modify them accordingly because they want to ride the things. These categories overlap, of course, but in general you'll find very few bobbers or choppers at a rally where serious riding is being done; in fact I can't recall ever having seen one at a riding event.

 

[scabber]

The large alloy handle works great for securing things with bungee cords. I use mine a lot.

 

[mrtwowheel]

grizid1, I noticed that more than ever this weekend. I went to the 3 day get together at a nearby leather retailers. Couple thousand bikes coming in to look at. I walk around the parking lots checking out pinstripe, paint and mods, taking pictures and mental notes. All weekend I only saw one bike that I would call a chopper and one bike I would call a bobber, not many older bikes at all except for the GoldWings. In just the recent past there was much more variety. Also it's getting more rare to meet up with people who do their own work, not that these newer bikes are "maintenance free".

Scott