What is the difference between a Bobber and a Chopper?

The difference between a bobber and a chopper

What is a Bobber?

Before bobbers where called bobbers, they where referred to as a bob-job. The typical bobber included stripping any excess bodywork parts from the motorcycle, removing the front fender and shortening the rear fender.

The bobber originated when servicemen came back to the US from World War II and bought and modified motorcycles for racing or hill climbing. These bikes were Harleys or Indians, because that was commonly available at the time. influenced by the European customs American soldiers had grown accustomed to over the previous years, brought home new and interesting ideas that influenced everything from the way Americans dressed to what their vehicles looked like.

Motorcycles where already popular before WWII, but when servicemen came back from the war the motorcycles popularity exploded. Not only did their popularity explode, they where also constantly improved and new designs where introduced. This was the result of soldiers using their mechanical expertise they had acquired in Europe to design and customize motorcycles that where very unique for that time. Overall European bikes where lighter and more streamlined which the servicemen had noticed and they implemented the European ideas into their American Harleys and Indians. Anything that was seen as extra was cut of to decrease weight and increase performance. Lights, fenders,, mirrors or anything else that didn’t increase the bikes top speed was scrapped.

What is a Chopper?

A chopper is a type of custom motorcycle that emerged in California in the late 1950s. The chopper is perhaps the most extreme of all custom styles, often using radically modified steering angles and lengthened forks for a stretched-out appearance. They can be built from an original motorcycle which is modified/chopped or they can be built from scratch. 

The characteristics of chopper are in most cases long front ends with extended forks that are often combined with increased rake angles, hardtail frames which are frames without rear suspension, ape hangers or very short drag handlebars, stretched frames and larger front wheels. Another typical chopper feature includes the sissy bar which are a set of tubes connecting the rear fender with the frame. These are in many cases extended several feet high.

The first choppers were built in America, and were an outgrowth of the milder customization trend which was revered to as a Bobber. there are many common features between bobbers and choppers, however choppers are differentiated by being more radically modified, and especially by having the frame tubes and geometry modified/chopped by welding to make the bike longer. Over time the choppers became more about creating a certain look, rather than making performance oriented modifications. The modifications that had had their origin in hot-rodding evolved into an artistic and aesthetic direction.

By the mid 1970s stock Japanese and European performance motorcycles would outperform most bobbers and choppers. The one exception to this was the drag racing arena, which placed a priority on pure engine power, rather than handling over curvy courses. Chopper styling continued to be influenced by drag-bike modifications throughout the 1960s and 1970s. As the popularity of choppers grew, this was partly due to exposure in movies such as the 1969 classic Easy Rider, several motorcycle brands took note of this and began to include chopper influenced styling in their own factory offerings. However, none of  them went as far to do things like getting rid of rear-suspension to achieve the classic chopper look.

So, what is the difference between a Bobber and a Chopper?

What differentiates the bobber from it's well known cousin, the chopper, is that bobbers often are more practical and built and designed for speed and handling, keeping frame and fork geometry for proper handling and top speed, whereas the choppers are built more for style. This style can be noticed by highly modified frames, extended front ends and small gas tanks. The combinations are endless. Another difference is the large diameter front wheels of Choppers compared to its rear wheel, Bobbers usually have sizes similar to the rear wheel. Bobber builders mostly use spring saddles, which chopper builders don’t se as a must have. The sissy-bar springer forks are often have higher rake on choppers in order to move the front wheel forward, the paint jobs have their differences to with choppers having more glossy and colorful paint jobs than bobbers.