Harley Magazine Fewer Features?

[lightning]

i like the home builts, they are more ingenuitive than the big$$ customs ..however every once in a while somebody builds a bike with both ...yall are doing great buzz.thanks

[unclepsycho]

Yup... Garage Built got my vote.... as it turns out I got a nice Shovel in my garage that I am building.... and am Documenting it's journey...
oh that's right... you know who I got it frum huh!!!

[kps]

I like choppers, bobbers, & even hard core baggers, where a guy has a jockey shifted knuck, pan, shovel, evo but has the hard bags for touring, hard to describe but a serious bagger is a rare bird.

I like garage builts! I like seeing air through bikes. not covered with something, I like stripped down bikes with hidden oil tanks, or oil tanks in gas tanks. but I like to see air through the bike & see the transmission & batteryless, kick only bikes

I do like a few customs, I like it when its a custom & to be built as a show bike but is really ridden!!!!!!!!!!!! yes!!!!!

I remember old days when we saw pics where they had parties, get togethers, rallys, & people were not afraid to ride off road to get to a show, where people were not afraid to get stains on their bikes or even a couple of scratches, or to even risk droppinhg it if it rained, & to cross creeks.

bikes built to be ridden. really ridden!!!!!! not trailered!!!!

I used to build a bikes from ground up, show quality & laugh as it got scratched, watched the road salt from snows eat away & pit the bike & that way I had an excuse to redo bike in a couple years so bike was ever evolving. with each new transformation but had a blast riding it to tune of up to 40,000 miles a year & rebuild the rat in aprox 3 to 4 years back to a show bike & repeat it always looked like a rat bike in 3 to 4 years.

I know not everyone will have my views. but I just gave my 2 cents for what ever its worth. lol

keep up the good work,
Randy

[stephenw]

I have no interest in looking at big money choppers - probably because I'll never be able to afford one!
On the other hand I could spend all day looking at home built choppers. They don't need to be extreme. I like the kind of choppers that people use as their main mode of transport not as decorations. They inspire countless hours of daydreaming about what I'd like to build myself or smaller changes I'd like to make to my own bike.

[1haugster1340]

Originally Posted by riolobo

first of all,I don't believe chopper building is a fad,harleys have been chopped as long as the moco's been around,,anyone with 20k in their wallet can go out and buy a cookie cutter bike,they're a dime a dozen,then the owners go out and buy all the little goodies(same goodies the other,cookie cutter bikers are buying) to add to them to make them "original".A true chopper builder starts with a vision in his mind,fabricates what he can,modifies what he can, to make that vision reality,when he's done he has a bike like no other,his heart and soul meshed with the mechanics and art of a true original

I agree! Choppers will be around forever. Though the the recent fad has been fading the chopper will never leave us. In my opinion a chopper can only be made from a factory produced bike. This bike is then "chopped" and or modified to suit the owners taste. If you feature a chopper in AIM make it a bike that someone actually chopped themselves from a factory machine and not a bike that anyone can order from a bike builder. What I get a kick out of is the large independant bike builders are taking their chopper models, removing the front fender and calling it a bobber. Borrow a copy of the book "Art of the Bobber" and you will see what I mean. I say borrow it because I made the mistake of buying it.

[unclepsycho]

What a lot of guys are calling a chopper... is really a "Factory Custom" If it was factory built that way like a Big Dog or American Ironhorse... then it is not a Chopper.
I agree, Real Choppers will live forever.

[C. Numb]

Definitely more garage built, and definitely more bobbers!

[Twinpeaks]

Would like to see more performance oriented bikes featured. Modified stock or even custom built with a function over form attitude. To each their own but if one is into riding, really riding, the challenge is to make your changes and keep handling, lean angle and comfort, a bike that can launch well and do high top end speeds.
The long front-ends, choppers, bobbers and such have been done and re-done. Stock looking "sleepers" with trick parts and clean look have always caught my eye. Even some drag bikes would be nice. How about a spread on the 6 second Vance & Hines V-Rod's. Most all the engine parts are basically one-off as well as the chassis. "American Iron" - V-Twin that is kicking some serious a$$.

[Chris Maida]

Originally Posted by JUBES

I have a home built chopper that my father and I built. First time builders... although my father's a gear head who's built around 7 cars. Anyway, how do I go about sending you guys photos and whatnot for a possible feature?

- Brandon

Brandon,

That stuff comes to me at ChrisM@AmericanIronMAg.com

Just shoot the bike yourself the same way we feature a bike. Both sides, cockpit, and any special details you want to bring to my attention.

As for the tech sheet, don't get crazy with it. Just give me some basic info.

[Chris Maida]

Am I glad to hear this! I built my first chop in '71 and still love 'em!

OK, so I'll keep putting chops into the mag on a regular basis. Some will be old school, some modern.

And thanks for letting us know what you want.