# Why is it called a "chopper"? **URL:** \ **Category:** General Discussion\ **Created:** [July 22, 2021, 11:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201 "2021-07-22T23:57:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 9:06pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/21 "2021-07-23T21:06:42Z")
> [@bing](#): > > Saw one today at the gas station with the high handle bars. As he drove away it just always seemed to me that your arms would get tired on those high grips. Didn’t look very comfortable. With the extreme ape-hanger handlebars that I have seen on some bikes, I find it hard to believe that the rider’s hands wouldn’t be numb after 30 minutes or so. ---
**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 9:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/22 "2021-07-23T21:12:43Z")
Here’s the final word on ape-hangers: when my son was young, a group of his friends came over with their bikes, just learning. The kid with the ape hangers could not keep his bike going straight. Cased closed! 😄 ---
**Author:** ![weekend-warrior](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/weekend-warrior/32/26122_2.png) [@weekend-warrior](https://community.cartalk.com/u/weekend-warrior)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 9:20pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/23 "2021-07-23T21:20:15Z")
![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/6/0/60f250b0c1de68e33353b37183b14790bd381d9d.jpeg) now those are ape hangers. LOL ---
**Author:** ![VDCdriver](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/vdcdriver/32/48514_2.png) [@VDCdriver](https://community.cartalk.com/u/VDCdriver)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 9:22pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/24 "2021-07-23T21:22:30Z")
> [@weekend-warrior](#): > > now those are ape hangers … and I refuse to believe that someone could ride like that without his hands going numb in fairly short order. ---
**Author:** ![weekend-warrior](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/weekend-warrior/32/26122_2.png) [@weekend-warrior](https://community.cartalk.com/u/weekend-warrior)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 9:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/25 "2021-07-23T21:25:16Z")
I dont think he can really ride like that period. thats crazy and dangerous. ---
**Author:** ![Renegade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Renegade](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Renegade)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 9:26pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/26 "2021-07-23T21:26:25Z")
That looks like a accident looking for a place to happen. 😆 ---
**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 9:58pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/27 "2021-07-23T21:58:09Z")
> [@Renegade](#): > > That looks like a accident looking for a place to happen. Heh heh. Notice he is just sitting there and not riding. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![B.L.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/848f3c/32.png) [@B.L.E](https://community.cartalk.com/u/B.L.E)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 10:01pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/28 "2021-07-23T22:01:21Z")
I never got handlebar whips. Maybe to whip the bike for more passing power? ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2021, 11:38pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/29 "2021-07-23T23:38:14Z")
I can’t tell if the pic of the yellow/purple Harley is a good Photoshop job or a staged stunt. Either way, that bike is garbage and if real is a fatality accident waiting to happen. There would be no leverage on the handlebars so one pothole or bump and it would be all over. Not to mention those sans muffler straight pipes blasting at ear level. It’s an Evo motor so ditch the bars, pipes, and that hideous sissy (polite term) bar on the back and it’s feasible. Both fenders need to have 4 or 5 inches lopped off on the bottom. Bottom the bike on a rough road and the accident scenario rears its ugly head again. ---
**Author:** ![B.L.E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/848f3c/32.png) [@B.L.E](https://community.cartalk.com/u/B.L.E)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 12:14am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/30 "2021-07-24T00:14:41Z")
One thing I really like about sport and traditional motorcycles is that when a bump is approaching, you easily stand up on the footpegs. Hard to do on bikes where the footpegs are way up in front. There’s a reason serious off road bikes don’t look like choppers. ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 3:21am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/31 "2021-07-24T03:21:58Z")
Many Harley riders add pegs up front. They’re called highway pegs and are designed to let the rider stretch their legs a bit. Not advisable in city traffic though. Most Harley tourers have running boards for the normal riding position but those can present a problem too. I laid my Shovelhead dresser down one time and the left footboard folded up on my boot. So there I was flat on my back in the rain in rush hour traffic being dragged by one leg at 40 MPH… I got knocked loose when the bike hit the back of a BMW and which then led to the 800 pound bike doing a somersault into the next lane… ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 11:30am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/32 "2021-07-24T11:30:31Z")
I would guess the yellow Harley pictured was built just for display on the show circuit. Much like some of the extreme custom cars George Barris built. Many other cars built for the show circuit, George Barris was just the first name that came to me. Likewise prototypes built by auto manufacturers for the car show circuit. Back to bikes, one I saw at a local watering hole, rear fender and molded in saddles bags 1/2 inch off the pavement. I thinking how can that work. Then the rider got on, it lifted, had hydraulic suspension. ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 3:05pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/33 "2021-07-24T15:05:23Z")
Just an FYI, but in regard to extended forks and raked frames there is something called “trail” involved. From the side, if one draws an imaginary line straight down through the axle center line to the ground and another line through the front tubes to the ground the distance between the 2 points is the trail. Raking the frame and/or extending the forks increases the trail and that aids higher speed handling. In 1940 Harley used a 28 degree neck angle on the frame. This did not last long as some bikes were developing speed wobbles and especially cop bikes at high speed. There was a number of accidents and injuries. The standard wheels were 18" with 16s being a first year option. The 16s were problematic with the 28 degree angle. Next year HD increased the angle to 29 and that resolved the problem. Basically the trail was increased a tiny hair. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 3:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/34 "2021-07-24T15:40:13Z")
I had one of those Playboy bikes. It was fun and great for wheelies. ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/35 "2021-07-24T15:43:46Z")
It may be a real bike, but only a trailer queen. ---
**Author:** ![Rod-Knox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Rod-Knox](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Rod-Knox)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 4:57pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/36 "2021-07-24T16:57:31Z")
Before they were called “ape hangers” they were “goose necks.” And the 2 chopped Harleys I drove long ago handled well and were comfortable to drive on open highways with light traffic. Suicide clutches and hand shifting took some getting used to. ---
**Author:** ![weekend-warrior](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/weekend-warrior/32/26122_2.png) [@weekend-warrior](https://community.cartalk.com/u/weekend-warrior)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 5:03pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/37 "2021-07-24T17:03:42Z")
I thought goose neck referred to down tube and the rake of the fork? ---
**Author:** ![Purebred](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/purebred/32/46796_2.png) [@Purebred](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Purebred)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 5:12pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/38 "2021-07-24T17:12:01Z")
My brother had a suicide clutch Harley. He was a pack rat, never got rid of anything, except the Harley! I found that out when I wanted to buy it and restore the bike. I think it was Ex-Highway patrol. ---
**Author:** ![circuitsmith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/circuitsmith/32/40376_2.png) [@circuitsmith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/circuitsmith)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 5:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/39 "2021-07-24T17:42:16Z")
> [@weekend-warrior](#): > > I thought goose neck referred to the rake of the fork? Nah, it’s the top piece of the larger saxophones. ---
**Author:** ![ok4450](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ok4450](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ok4450)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2021, 6:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201/40 "2021-07-24T18:40:22Z")
Regarding that yellow/purple Harley I would hate to think that adding brake fluid for the front caliper would require a step ladder and become a 2 person brake bleeding job. Should be a real hoot. Hit a bump and due to the stretch the hand rolls around to full throttle… 😬 I agree with Rod Knox that the so-called suicide clutches take some getting used to but I caught on pretty quickly. In less than a week it was second nature but it will certainly keep you on your toes in traffic. There’s a lot of arm and leg movement along with planning ahead… I actually ran my old suicide clutch Harley through a 1/4 mile several times. Bike rated at 30 horses but that’s a real stretch. Ran close to 20 seconds both times which ain’t bad for a worn antique with a suicide clutch and hand shift. [Previous page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201.md?page=1) [Next page](https://community.cartalk.com/t/why-is-it-called-a-chopper/178201.md?page=3)