I decided to put out a few more photos from the vintage bike show while I slog through the bulk of them. Here's one of my favorite bikes from the show.Bobbers are in right now, a rebellion I think, against the over painted, over chromed, billet barge choppers that have been the fashion for the last several years
The bobber was really the first stage of the evolution of the chopper from a stock bike and it's good to see riders and builders making a rebellous statement against the over priced machines that have lately come to represent custom motorcycles in the mind of the public.
Bobbers were always about individualizing a bike, making it different as a matter of self-expression, not merely following a fashion trend. I don't know, maybe bobbers are the new fashion trend but the rawness of the bikes probably makes it less interesting to those more concerned with fashion than building an "Up yours!" bike. Too, most bobbers seem to have a solo seat so looking for fender fluff obviously isn't the first priority as it seems to be for sanitized custom bike guys.
At the vintage bike meet last Sunday one of the more interesting machines on display and one that attracted a lot of attention was the bobbed '46 Harley WL put together by Clay Forrey. Forrey not only managed to capture what a bobber is all about but using brass and copper for a lot of the assorted bits managed to raise the raw image of the bobber to a nice bit of in-your-face art.More excellence:
To cap it all off the bike was for sale and not with a pretty sign sitting next to it, Forrey took a magic marker and wrote the "4 Sale" and his phone number on the tank. You won't see that sort of subtle brilliance on a lot of bikes. I wish I had the money to spend and the butt and back to sit on that brass seat. Well done, Clay Forrey even if you probably don't give a rat's butt what I think.A few more for your viewing pleasure.
Details count. It takes more than a cut down bike and a rattle can of flat black paint to make a bobber.
(I believe technically this bike is made from copper rather than brass but there are likely some brass parts on it.)
More bobber photos here.
7 comments:
Yes sir, that bobber does have some brass balls!
Ride on,
Torch
Nice pictures. And couldn't agree more about the current state of "customization". Give me the stripped down look any day. For Sale sign on the tank was a nice touch too.
Thanks for sharing.
Kinda gives me some ideas for my Shovel. Which I need to get my lazy arse back to work on.
What a work of art! However, as much as I like the concept of everything the builder did, I think it would be nicer, if it were done a little less raw, like the frame looks like crap, Etc.. Just my opinion. Still a beautiful bike.
IIIIIIIIIII... LIKE IT! Very cool just as is. Spunkalicious. I'm gonna snag some of those shots for my own personal enjoyment...if that's ok with you.
Sassy brassy bobber bike. This is one of the few bikes I have seen in awhile that has given me any kind of thrill. Thanks!
There's something about the "rawness" of this bike that's appealing. 4 Sale and phone number on the tank is like the artist's signature.
Indian Larry would have loved this bike!
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