Yeah Unc, maybe I didn't make it clear enough when I said that the real value of the bike is leaving as it is..... a survivor! Once you start getting into the "if it was mine I'd.....", then there will be ton of different suggestions, and none of them really matter--- it's all up to the preference of cyb3 now...!
Hey cyb3, did this bike belong to a family member---- if I may be so bold to ask---- and you don't have to answer if you don't want to.
Maybe I should say that I have a surviving chopper from the 60's as well...!
If it was my bike I would not try to restore it but would probably modify it to be safer and easier to ride. I'd probably start with the exhaust and put on something with a bit of back pressure to help generate more power and slightly less noise.
Then I'd do something with that seat - which is soooo '60s. Perhaps a solo with pogo seat (if the frame allows) or external dual springs.
After that things start to get more expensive - forks, controls, carb, etc. Just a matter of how much money and time you want to throw at the bike. Of course if this is a bike a close family member built you might want to leave it as is. Your call.
I am just wondering how someone can ascertain from one photo that this bike is unsafe and dangerous to ride. Also, that it will need forks, controls and a carb among other things as part of the modifications to make it "safer". It looks like it has a front brake, though very small and that it is a hand clutch/foot shifter. Again I am just wondering. In my opinion a pogo seat would not look correct on this bike with the rake of the forks. The seat is 60-70's for sure but it looks good on this bike. Especially with the angle of the sissy bar.
__________________ "A truth's initial commotion is directly proportional to how deeply the lie was believed. It wasn't the world being round that agitated people, but that the world wasn't flat. When a well packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and it's speaker a raving lunatic." Dresden James
I agree completely, haugster. I'm itching to show my own example of an unmolested chopper from the late-60's, which I've owned for...... well, 35 years now.
You want to see "unsafe"? Not much different than this bike, only I have no front brake at all. You just have to ride it accordingly, no tail-gating like so many damned fools I see doing these days......
Have you ever used a tiny Mechanical front brake like that or perhaps NO front brake,, I have,, both....
If yes you would know..
It is better than NO front brake but almost as useless as titts on a boar hog..
Unsafe ???------ in the eye of the beholder,,,,,,, I personally think it's deadly..
Hey Frisco, No, I have never used that type of tiny brake and I believe you that it is almost useless. My 26 JD came from factory with a rear band brake and no front brake. When I rebuilt it I used a front wheel from a WLA that had a brake. Both brakes together did not give me much confidence and there was no tailgating. But seriously, how can Buzz say that the bike is "unsafe" and it is is in need of cables, carb and forks from just looking at the photo? He didn't mention anything about the front brake. Maybe he got the mail order x-ray glasses out of the back of the magazines from the 70's that actually worked.
__________________ "A truth's initial commotion is directly proportional to how deeply the lie was believed. It wasn't the world being round that agitated people, but that the world wasn't flat. When a well packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and it's speaker a raving lunatic." Dresden James
Last edited by 1haugster1340; 08-27-2009 at 03:17 PM.
Cool bike. I rode with a bunch of guys with similar bikes back in the early 70's. Some more radical than this one, and we never saw them as being unsafe. I can't think of a single accident in the group caused by "chopper" mods like these. A lot of the bikes were Pans, along with Triumphs, BSAs, and the occasional Honda. One of the Honda guys rode a 750 in one of those Amen "Savior" frames, coffin tank, 6-bend pullbacks, etc. Those were the days, and we all lived to tell about it.
__________________ I never wanted a Harley, but I always wanted a Sportster.
Thanks for the reply..
Well actually, I'd say, you do have similar experience and you know,, we gotta base our opinions on our own experience..
I don't know what Buzz had in his mind when singling out the items he did,, I'm guessing it's from HIS Hands-On experience..
Hey 83
Yup, we all did stuff in past days we lived to tell about,, that's how I got the experience to base my comment on..
Once in a while I handle my 4.5 ft Diamondback..
In 20 years, if I'm still here, I might say,,,, jeeeze that was stupid & unsafe..!
__________________ "Fill your hands you son of a bitch"
Rooster Cogburn
hmm I like. it looks like the bottom rockers on the forks are upside down.
the cables could use a tidying up with a shorter cable or find a disc brake front wheel similar they also have them for rear, I know I have a set in basement that I am saving.
seat looks good, I still have an old drag specialities "STASH" seat in cherry condition. it had a hidden compartment between driver & passenger to store something you want stashed like paper work? or?
the pipes look good I would add a heat shield to keep from burning leg, I have a set of new sky high pipes that slipped over drag pipes so exhaust would be about the height of the seat.
SU carbs are fun but agravate my leg, I would use something like a S&S E with short intake.
also on the seat it gives you a place to attach a T-bag to carry your gear on trips.
Re: 1951 pan chopper 
Also, that it will need forks, controls and a carb among other things as part of the modifications to make it "safer". It looks like it has a front brake, though very small and that it is a hand clutch/foot shifter. Again I am just wondering.
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