Tips for Building a Custom Bobber Motorcycle

What is a custom bobber motorcycle?

Bobber motorcycles are almost ridiculously easy to put together. Unlike a chopper, building a custom bobber motorcycle requires you to do little more than remove unnecessary parts from the bike until you get the stripped-down custom look of a bike that was cobbled together by hand. Similar to the concept of a "rat rod," it doesn't matter what bones you use to build the bike. It stands on its own as a basic, stripped-down way to move yourself from point A to point B.

What bikes can be bobber motorcycles?

Practically any bike can be modified into a bobber, from today's fuel-injected large-displacement bikes to the cafe-racer style motorcycles popular in the 1960s through the 1980s. There are, however, a few bikes that more easily led themselves to the creation of a true bobber. Any motorcycle that utilizes a parallel-twin engine, whether it be a Triumph or an old Honda, is the perfect starting point for your bobber motorcycle. If you prefer American-made motorcycles, the Harley Davidson Sportster is an ideal candidate, in spite of its more advanced V-twin engine.

Building the Bobber Motorcycle

Once you've got the bones for your bobber motorcycle project, it's time to start tearing into the guts of the bike. First to go has to be the front fender. Sure, it's useful for keeping spray off you and the rest of the bike, but because the goal of building a bobber motorcycle is to lighten the bike as much as possible, it's got to go.

When you've got the front fender extricated from the bike, it's time to take a close look at the rear fender. This is a bit tougher. You don't want to remove the whole fender. That would allow water or other debris to hit and potentially damage the internals of the bobber motorcycle that are protected by the fender. Instead, find the spot where the fender attaches to the rearmost part of the bike's frame. Use tin snips or a cutoff wheel to cut the back portion of the fender off of the bike at this point, and then use sandpaper or a file to clean up the cut.

Getting down and Dirty with the bobber motorcycle

Now that the basics are out of the way, you've got to decide what on the bike doesn't need to be there. Usually, there are a handful of parts that you can remove, ranging from side covers to badges and even some chrome bits that serve no other purpose but to provide a shiny surface for onlookers to stare at themselves in. Because all they really do is add weight, they're counterproductive when you're putting together your custom bobber motorcycle, so ditch 'em.

Once you've got the extraneous parts out of and off of your bike, take a step back and admire your handiwork. You've just created yourself a top-knotch, low-buck bobber motorcycle.

Sources:
Custom Choppers Guide: Build a Bobber: www.custom-choppers-guide.com