| Motorcycle chopper kits are a growth industry. But | | | | That is the whole point isn't it? It's very easy in this |
| what does that mean to you and me? Well one thing | | | | way to build your own custom chopper from a |
| that we know is that we will have more choppers to | | | | chopper kit. |
| ogle at. There is not a single day that goes by | | | | Another big question is, "How long"? The answer to |
| without more and more pictures of chopper bikes | | | | that is as long as it takes. Even on the kit bikes, |
| that have just been finished showing up in all the | | | | which are supposed to be designed to fit together |
| motorcycle magazines. Then at the weekends, when | | | | like a glove, you are going to run into some snags. It |
| we are on our "hot" rides, we will see four or five | | | | can't be avoided! |
| show finish level bikes. There are more choppers | | | | If you want a more concrete guide, try this. An |
| around now than there have been in the last twenty | | | | experienced kit builder (though not a professional) I |
| five years. | | | | spoke to reckons it took 10 full days to build his last |
| Most of these choppers have been built from | | | | chopper from a kit. For someone less experienced it |
| motorcycle chopper kits, the "bike in a box" | | | | could take a couple of days longer. Twelve 9 hour |
| approach. But hey, don't knock it! Building your own | | | | days works out at 108 hours. Over evenings and |
| chopper has never been easier. There are rolling | | | | weekends, this could drag out to three or four |
| chassis kits, complete bike kits, and frame | | | | weeks of living in a pile of motorcycle parts! So be |
| manufacturers give you a multitude of choice when it | | | | prepared to literally live the experience if you are |
| comes to take the plunge and buy a motorcycle | | | | going to take the plunge. |
| chopper kit. | | | | What about the practical side? Well, there is no |
| Thirty years ago, the old school chopper builders had | | | | substitute for experience. The place to start building |
| to start with a stock bike off-the-shelf and literally | | | | up your experience with the mechanical side of |
| chop it to pieces. With the modern chopper kits, | | | | building to kit bike is with your current ride. Make sure |
| there is a viable alternative to taking the cutting | | | | all you can do the basic maintenance on your |
| torch to your favorite soft tail! | | | | motorcycle, and then start to do some simple |
| Nowadays, you have a cheap and easier way to build | | | | disassembling. Take off the tires, take off the |
| the bike from the ground up. When you take the | | | | exhaust, real basic stuff; all of this will help to build a |
| cost of buying a new bike and the expense of | | | | new confidence in the shop side of things. You can |
| chopping it, it works out much cheaper to start from | | | | also get some great videos on maintenance, and |
| step one, and your chopper kit. Instead of tossing | | | | even on building the custom bike of your dreams. |
| away the parts that you'll never use again, you can | | | | Read the books, watch the videos, and buy the |
| start building your own bike with the parts that you | | | | t-shirt! Believe me, all the preparation you make will |
| really need. All the parts are included in the | | | | stand you in good stead. |
| motorcycle chopper kit, along with comprehensive | | | | If you really are hopeless at the mechanical side of |
| instructions. | | | | things, why not pay someone else to help you build |
| One of the first questions that people ask when | | | | it, or even get them to build the whole thing for |
| considering buying a kit is how will my bike stand | | | | you? The cost of the kit plus labor could well work |
| outs from all the other chopper kits? Well think of it | | | | out cheaper than buying a chopper "off the shelf". |
| this way, you are going to buy a chopper kit. A pile | | | | And of course, when that beautiful chopper is |
| of unassembled raw metal. No paint, no real finish, | | | | standing on your driveway, and your friends are |
| just a blank canvas. Is your taste in paint jobs likely | | | | asking you "Was it worth it?" you can turn to the |
| to be the same as the next guy, who buys the very | | | | chopper, drag your hand across the flames on the |
| same kit? I don't think so. What about your taste in | | | | tank and the polished chrome, turn back to them and |
| bolt-ons, seats, exhausts? Just because you buy the | | | | say, "What do you think? |
| kit doesn't mean every little thing has to be just so. | | | | |