| Author | Message | ||
     Jackbequick |
Checked the Speed TV channel to see when the MotoGP replay is on and the there is this 1971 biker flick "Hard Ride" on. Man is that a bad movie. But the bikes are interesting, a collection of knuckle head, pan head, Triumph, and BSA choppers. I don't think I saw a single chopped HoKaSuYa (the benchmark/prime ingredient) for low quality biker flicks. Anyone remember Schlitz beer in a tin can? It was the Breakfast of Champions for those guys. Anyway, the MotoGP starts at Noon (Eastern time) and then its six hours of racing finishing up with the Formula Extreme race from 5:00PM to 6:00PM Jack | ||
| Leftcoastal |
There were no Japanese based choppers because there really hadn't been any built yet! The "big Honda" 750 4 cylinder bikes had only been introduced to the USA about a year prior to the '71 date of the movie. At first, the 'chopper' types and Harley riders generally found the Asian import bikes to be totally unacceptable for customs. This changed somewhat over the ensuing years, but there is still a contingent of die-hard types that think the choppers built from "rice grinders" are are ridiculous or a waste of fabrication skills. (maybe even me?) You're right, that movie started out horrible, and quickly declined from there! I watched about 10 minutes, and grapped the remote. AL | ||
| Aldaytona |
Ah, the good old days. We used to ride bikes like that and do runs like those.  And yes, Jap cruisers and customs still blow! | ||
| Pwnzor |
I grew up in Long Beach, Ca in the border area with Compton, Ca. There is only one type of person I EVER saw riding a chopper made from a 1970's Jap I4. I will not say what kind of person that was because I don't want to be branded. I will go on to say, however, that these same people are the types who drive Impala's with hydraulics and cheesey paint jobs and eat at Roscoe's all the time. | ||
| Sparky |
Low... ri... ders? No, just kidding. I know where you're going with that. Hey, I'm a little west of there and, believe it or not, I think I saw that guy riding that same bike. Or maybe not, all those guys look alike, ya know. | ||
| Jackbequick |
Pwnzor, As a native son of California and guy that has lived in the North, South, East and West of the U.S., I'd have to say that the chopped Honda is not the exclusive domain of any particular segment of U.S. society. If I had to typecast the owners I've seen and been around I have to say that they were generally people that lacked a good middle class education and had little taste in any of the good things in life. That would include motorcycles, cars, homes, wives, beer, wine, and career choices. Most chopped Honda's I've seen seemed to be owned by guys that wanted a chopper and started with the first cheap motorcycle they could find. Then they got a J. C. Whitney catalog and worked it out from there... Jack | ||
| Kdan |
I had a Honda cb750 motor on a custom chopper frame in like, 78-79. I caught a lot of grief for it, but I'd always challenge the 1%ers to a start off..."Let's see who can start their bike fastest." Then they had to buy me a beer. That was a great little bike. Totally impractical, but it got me chicks. Oh yeah, you guys are a$$holes.  I didn't care what it was as long as I could ride it. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Jackbequick, I only commented on the ones I saw. I don't doubt that lots of different kinds of people have chopped Honda's. In Long Beach, Compton, Downey, Bell, Bell Gardens, Commerce, Vernon, South Gate and Wilmington, it's the Roscoe's Chicken and Waffle crowd riding them. Prior to California, I lived in my native Saba, Netherlands Antilles. Here, I've lived in the SF Bay Area and all over So Cal. I was always proud of my 1976 Honda CB750F1. Bone stock, beautiful bike. Then it got run over by a truck full of frozen worms in front of a tropical fish store I used to manage. It was never the same, and I think the guy I sold it to chopped the hell out of it. Oh well. | ||
| Bcordb3 |
I used to go the Roscoe's in Long Beach, near Broadway and Alamitos Blvd. The food was quite good. The atmosphere good, friendly. The crowd was diverse, people from every walk of life, you know, from down in their luck homeless to the upward mobil trash called yuppies. In the resturaunt, everyone was treated equally, with respect, no matter who they are, or where their from, you know, Compton, Bixby Knolls, or Orange County. Back in the 70's and the AMF days not many of the folks would ride Harley's and the Buell hadn't been created yet. The European cost almost double of the Japanese bikes. The Japanese bike were inexpensive and accessible, so why not try your hand at customizing. Racial or economic profiling is one thing, bigotry is another. My .02 cents. | ||
| Tom_b |
You guys who badmouth asian choppers obviously haven't rode, seen many or been around much of them. I am building one, have friends who own both harley customs and asian customs. Two of my friends who ride their asian choppers are college educated( one is an architect, the other graphic design). Both bikes were self built and I would put their I.Q., personal tastes up against anybody who would down grade another rider just from what they ride. THAT shows the quality of a person, what kind of house they live in and a lot about their personality. I personally would rather have an old custom asian than a cookie cutter, look like a thousand other custom harley. Plus, they are a LOT more dependable and cheaper. Like Kdan said, you guys are assholes |
