Introduction to Chopper Building

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Motorcycle building is a unique endeavor that fuses artistic and technical skills to create custom motorcycles that are both functional machines and pieces of art. The outcome of this bike building process is particularly special, as the created object is utilitarian, requiring the human rider and the motorcycle mechanism to almost become one cohesive unit.

Unlike hotrods, kit cars, and factory stock motorcycles, you will seldom see any two custom built bikes that look alike. Each motorcycle tends to reflect the individual rider's personality, which is what makes custom motorcycles so fascinating in the first place.

A successful motorcycle builder must possess a blend of skills—those of a drafter or sketch artist, a welder and metal fabricator, mechanic, electrician, sculptor, painter, and businessman or businesswoman. This rare combination of talents is why many of the best custom motorcycles are the result of collaborative partnerships or dedicated building teams.

This guidebook was prepared to provide novice bike builders and new small shop owners with essential technical information that we believe is not widely published elsewhere. It aims to address the most commonly asked questions found in typical internet motorcycle tech forums. This is an ongoing project and will remain a work in progress indefinitely.

This is not a comprehensive 'how to do it' guide; the reader is encouraged to use this material alongside factory shop manuals, our internet links, and other technical publications and forums that delve into the processes of welding, motorcycle fabrication, wiring, painting, jig building, and general frame fabrication.

As many of you know, this site originated from a simple jpeg posted to answer a question on the Horse Magazine board. That initial jpeg grew into dozens, then evolved into an HTML page, and eventually became a full-fledged site. We received assistance from many individuals in the chopper building industry and were initially encouraged to make the Handbook a pay-as-you-go membership site. We chose instead to keep it open and free, and time will tell if this was the right decision.

I was advised to keep the site anonymous and not share my personal experiences. However, I took a different route. When I was learning, many people took a chance on me, teaching me the ins and outs of motorcycle building without charging me. I learned through my mistakes, which makes this site personal and credible. I have included my name, address, and phone number so that anyone with questions knows who to reach out to.

I bought my first chopped Harley in 1967—a 1936 EL that had already changed hands many times over its thirty-one-year life. At the time, I worked at Jay's Enco station on the outskirts of Las Vegas, covering the graveyard shift. One day, a regular customer asked if I knew anyone interested in an old motorcycle he was selling cheaply. This bike had been brush-painted yellow, was unregistered, and pieced together from various bikes. It was wickedly fast, incredibly loud, and gave me a thrill like no other. I couldn't register it, so I only dared to ride it at night on back roads until it finally broke down a few years later. Over the years, I’ve owned many other rides, but nothing has ever matched the sensation of that bike. The last time I saw her, she was propped up against a shed in the desert, and I can only imagine she’s still out there, just as wild as ever.

I've been trying to recapture the essence of that scooter and those original feelings with every custom motorcycle I build.