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Custom Culture
he customizing of Harley-Davidson
T motorcycles has grown from a relatively
lowly underground activity into a multi-
million dollar industry. Originally the exclusive
activity of extrovert individuals who, with varying
degrees of engineering knowledge and dexterity
with a hacksaw, modified their rides into personal
statements. To be an individual and stand out from
the crowd is a strong motivation in the world of
the biker, and riding a personalized, head-turning
custom Harley amongst thousands of stock bikes
produces a buzz that many riders enjoy. Never
before has there been a time when custom Harleys
were more popular, thanks to the plethora of ‘chopper’ TV shows so
accessible to the public at large.
The origins of this custom phenomenon hark back to the years
immediately after the end of World War II. GIs returning home after demob
were awarded a year’s salary to tide them over until they found employment.
For many, the sunny climate of Southern California was a good reason to
settle in the state. Many young men who had seen action in the South Pacific
needed to find activities that excited them and many turned to motorcycle
racing or hot-rodding for their kicks. Thus, Southern California became the
‘Garden of Eden’ where the customization of cars and bikes originated. As a
result of the war effort and the multitude of engineering industries that
supported the USAF and Navy, there was a high concentration of skilled
engineers and fabricators who could turn their hand to anything mechanical.
Many opened tuning shops, producing performance enhancing parts for Dry
Lake speed freaks or quarter mile drag racers.
There were many AMA (American Motorcycle Association) clubs that
organized competitive events such as hill climbs or dirt track racing. It was not
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uncommon for amateur bike racers to ride to the
event and strip off the fenders and lights from
their machines, reducing weight in order to further
enhance the bikes’ performance. Afterwards they
would reassemble their bikes and ride home.
There were those who considered this a
hassle, so their bikes were permanently modified
ready to race. These early ‘chop downs’ or ‘bob
jobs’ were characterized by the absence of front
fenders and lights, a severely chopped away rear
fender and definitely no screens or bags. These
‘bobbers’ cut a fine dash on the street since they
were faster between stop lights than the stock
bikes of the day. This style of bike was favoured by the more rowdy element,
who formed clubs such as the ‘Booze Fighters’ and ‘Galloping Gooses’. These
club members liked nothing better than to hit the bars, race in the streets and
pick a rumble with anyone who got in the way. This kind of action was usually
centred around official AMA events, Hollister 1947 being one of the most
infamous examples.
The AMA swiftly banned such rowdy clubs from their events, giving rise
to the term ‘Outlaw Club’. The cut down style of motorcycle became
associated with the hooligan element and to ride one became an anti-
establishment statement. Check out the extras and their bikes who appeared in
the background of the movie The Wild One; Brando rode a Triumph, but the
rest of the cast rode bobbed Harleys and Indians. Note also the customized
dress of the riders, each one sporting a different combination of ex-service
gear, hats and jeans. Lee Marvin’s flying helmet, leather jerkin and striped
sweatshirt contrasted with Brando’s peaked riding hat, leather jacket, Levis,
and engineer boots. Brando’s style became formulaic rebel attire while
Marvin’s was true ‘one percenter’ in its individual nature. Choppers in the sunset: Weston-super-Mare beach, England.
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For many people the most familiar Harley custom bikes are the long
forked choppers made world famous by the 1969 movie Easy Rider. The
evolution of this radical style is somewhat shrouded in mystery.
It was common practice for each customizer to utilize forks of the
military XA because they were longer than stock springer forks. In the mid-
sixties the first biker magazines appeared and custom bikes were
photographed as special features. Von Dutch, the legendary pinstriper and
Hot Rod artist, had a theory that photographers who used wide angle lenses
from a low viewpoint often exaggerated the lines of the bike, causing the bikes
to appear much longer, due to distortion, than they actually were. Potential
customizers studied these features and built bikes to reflect what they
perceived to be the style of the day. It is an interesting theory that may explain
the development of the long fork fashion, which was hardly a performance
enhancing feature since the long forks made the bike difficult to control. Easy
Rider was responsible for exporting the chopper style to the wider world
beyond the shores of the USA.
In the Bay area of San Francisco, a number of individuals such as Arlen
Ness, Bob Dron and Ron Sims were in the process of developing new styles
of custom Harley, including the Bay Area Low Rider, or ‘Digger’ as it was
known in common parlance.
In the 1970s the custom bike show scene developed, which introduced an
element of competition. This was the time when Harley customizers entered
the realms of art. Painters such as Jeff McCann and Horst took air-brushing,
pinstriping and gold leaf work into new areas, while engravers, more used to
embellishing firearms. transferred their skills to decorating cylinder heads and
crankcases. Flames, fantasy art and gold plating, as well as bodywork
moulding, created custom bikes far removed from the early bobbers.
Exponents of the art, such as Arlen Ness, recognized an opportunity to
offer a customizing service to bikers by selling off the shelf custom parts. And
so an industry was born and 30 years later Arlen and his son Cory remain
major influences.
After a brief hiatus in the late 1980s, the Harley custom scene revitalized
with the advent of the CNC machine that could mill parts out of billet
aluminium. This new age of computer assisted design relaunched the Harley
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custom scene. Pure chopper enthusiasts were not impressed by the resulting
‘Billet Barges’ that became popular, but, like it or not, that was development
and technology in action.
The early- to mid-1990s were characterized by ‘Luxury Liners’, custom
Harleys which had extensive bodywork, elaborate paint and, of course, as
many billet parts as could be fitted. Even Ness’s chopper bikes had large
‘Taildragger’ fenders fitted fore and aft. Such Luxury Liners, or ‘Billet Barges’,
were the complete antithesis of the early bobbers that were decidedly more
about go than show.
Inevitably there would be a backlash, and it came as the 1990s drew to a
close when the custom scene rediscovered the long forked chopper. Die-hard
traditionalist chopper builders such as Pat Kennedy never stopped building the
‘Swedish Style’ chopper, but new Chopper shops sprang up all over the USA
almost overnight. The chopper renaissance was fuelled by the success of Cable
TV shows such as Biker Build Off, Southern Chopper and American Thunder.
Chopper builders became television stars, even appearing on the Jay Leno
Tonight show, watched by millions. Companies such as Bourgets Bike Works,
American Iron Horse, Extreme, Ultra, Surgical Steeds, Titan and countless
others exhibit their chopper ranges at all major biker events, each displaying
inventories worth millions of dollars. This thriving scene shows no sign of
diminishing at the present time, but in the event of an economic downturn,
casualties will be inevitable.
This mass production of so-called custom bikes has initiated a new
counter culture of individual bike builders intent on getting back to the one-
off rolling art style of custom bike. The new direction is often described as the
‘Old School’ movement, influenced by the 1940s bobbers and even the board
track racers of the 1920s. Some of these retro builders use the old knuckles
and flathead motors, but companies such as Panzer and S & S can supply
newly manufactured knuckles, pans and flatheads, which look authentic on the
outside, but employ modern technology to afford these motors a reliability
that they did not enjoy back in their heyday.
There has never been a time when so many different custom styles co-
existed simultaneously, providing a photographer such as myself with a wealth
of fascinating material to shoot.
A classic California-style chopper.
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‘The Gambler’.

Arlin Fatland, master bike builder and proprietor of 2Wheelers motorcycle shop, Denver, Colorado.
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Old School Knucklehead chopper.

An Old School Knucklehead chopper in action at Daytona Beach.

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A UK-built Battistini custom bike on location in Barcelona, complete with optional Spanish accessory!

Paul Bairstow with his 45ci Flathead, London, England.

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A 1980 ‘Digger’ style lowrider at rest in Boulder, Colorado.

A fine example of a Sputhe-engined chopper photographed in Swindon, England.

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‘Caz’ Carroll’s classic-flamed 45 chopper, Wirral, England.

‘Flathead’ Phil’s WL45 chopper.

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Traildragger custom Harley from 2Wheelers custom shop of Denver, Colorado.

Streetfighter-style softail at Daytona Beach, Florida.

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Hot-Rod Kev’s purple panhead.

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An immaculate example of an Old School Knucklehead chopper.

Krazy Horse panhead chopper.

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A portrait of Scottish Charlie, hardcore chopper rider. A detail of the work produced by Lou Falcigno of C&L Hog Shop.
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Moving metal sculpture: ‘Simply the Best’, a hi-tech German custom bike. A customized V-Rod.
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Xzotic Cycles Springer.

Generator Shovelhead chopper, Colorado.

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From the workshops of Grandeur Cycles of North Carolina, a turbocharged lowrider.

Nebraska chop.
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A modern variation of a retro-chopper, courtesy of Grandeur Cycles.

Like all responsible riders, Russell Mitchell of Exile Cycles always keeps a close eye on following vehicles, especially those with lights on the roof.
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Clive Mayes’ Panhead chopper. V-Rod trike on the road near Cardiff, south Wales.
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An impressive example of a lowrider form Cleveland Custom Cycles.

Sixties-style Panhead chopper.

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A couple of examples of bikes built by Phil Piper’s UK-based Choppershack workshop.

All the bling you could ever want – Christmas Tree Glide, Hard Rock Café, London.
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French artist Francois Bruyere owns this ‘Conquistador’, Marseille, France.

California-style Panhead built by its Danish owner, Stefan.