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Bob-Jobs: A History Spreading Through Decades
World War I ended and America’s GI Joe’s came back all trained in mechanical and technical works of motors and vehicles and of course, motorcycles. 1920s were the times of Triumph and the world-renowned Harley Davidson. But The bikes released during that time were too bulky to be fast. Racers chopped their Harley Davidson J series V twin model to make them lighter, sleeker and ultimately faster, giving birth to California but down which then became a hot trend.
By 1930s, we had our first bob-jobs, the common name of bobber motorcycles. Now you can buy a Bobber Chopper online already customized as well as further customizable to your own desires. 9 decades ago, you had to get your bike chopped down and pieced together again to get what you wanted. This journey of advancement is long spreading 1930s through the late 1990s.
Here is a little glimpse of this decades-old glorious history :
Taking The Extra Off
Bobber motorbikes emerged out of necessity to make the bikes lighter so that they could run faster and match the bikes that the servicemen saw and used in European countries the world war. Anything that wasn't necessary was either chopped off completely or reduced in size making the overall body of the bike slender. Majorly, the front fenders were removed and the rear fenders were cut short along with mufflers and other accessories that didn’t play a major part in making the machine run. Featuring teardrop gas tanks and low seats, bobbers were ready to grab American bikers clubs’ hearts by the late 920 and early 1930s. You could see the bikers riding around their bob-jobs around on the road as well as in races. With technological development and availability of better tools, by 1950s, US markets had even gotten their own catalogs for bobber motorbikes.
Emergence of Choppers
It wasn’t until the mid-1960s that the more stylish and even more modified versions of bob-jobs came into the picture and they were called choppers. The popular movie “Easy Rider” hit the theatres and gave a glimpse of what bobber could be turned into inspiring a lot many to follow the design and customize their bob-jobs further. While bobbers usually had the factory made original frame and modified only extra parts, choppers were a step ahead. Designing a chopper included restructuring the original frame of the bikes into a much smaller size complementing the reduced size of steering and thus making for an overall compact design. More things started being chopped off the bobber design including like headlights and windshield among others. One major difference between the bobbers and choppers was that the choppers had considerably longer forks. By 1970s, the chopper had made its own place in the bikers community as an evolved version of the US honey, bobber bikes. Most choppers were usually reflecting their owners’ style and thus were quite different from one another in detailing. By 80s, sissy bars and dramatically long forks with ape handlebars became quite a common sight on the roads. However, in the closing years of the 20th century, the customized bobber motorbikes came down in their popularity.
The 21st-century Bobbers
The name bob-job gave way to “bobbers” and with this change, the stylish bikes made a comeback. A lot many people give credit to Triumph’s Bonneville which gave a perfect customizable design to bikers. Moreover, various tv shows also brought back the bobbers back to trend. A new twist to this regained popularity was given by the 2017 Triumph Bobber it released in 2017. Which did justice with the traditional bobber design and gave additional room for creativity to the owners through its customization accessories kit. While the higher than thou
Forks have been replaced by comparatively shorted forks in today’s bobber-chopper, and the sissy bar is also not very common, people still love the traditional bobber design even after decades of its emergence.
At Belmonte, we strive to give our customers the best bobber choppers in their true element at affordable prices. Browse through our customized mini choppers collection for some out of the ordinary mini bobbers and choppers and parts for a completely revamped biking experience. Our complimentary 6-months parts replacement warranty will ensure you enjoy your bike buying as well as riding experience without any worry.
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