Chooper vs Bobber vs Street Fighter

[degrom]

So many works...

Can someone explain what the difference is between the lot?

[degrom]

What makes a Street Fighter a street Fighter?

Is a SV1000 a Street Fighter? What about a Buell?

Chopper,bobber... Isn't a bobber a short chopper?

[scumdog]

Chopper: Stretched, raked, blinged and built for style rather than function, originally the most custom built bike.

Bobber: a more stripped down older style shorter wheelbase, tend to use standard frame, rake etc, less blinged (generally) version of chopper (in essence the grand-daddy of choppers).

Street Fighter: Generally later model stripped down and built for handling and 'go' and the least blinged of the lot. Most are bigger non-US bikes.

If the bike your looking at is factory made then it could be called/described how ever the marketing people want to call it....
My 2-cents worth of dribble.....

[Motu]

What the Scumdag said - the terms chopper and bobber have become reversed.The first chops were stripped down Harleys to get them down as light and manoeverable as a British bike - small solo seat,no front guard,front guard to rear,foot boards removed,hand clutch,maybe 19in wheels.That look seems to now be called a bobber.To race against the British bikes they had to be smaller again,these were the KR and XR Harleys and that gives us another custom - the streettracker.

[Ixion]

Was it not that originally a chopper was a bobber that had had the frame "chopped", ie a section cut out to allow the steering head to be raked out ? Whereas the bobber retained standard geometry.

[degrom]

Chopper: Stretched, raked, blinged and built for style rather than function, originally the most custom built bike.

Bobber: a more stripped down older style shorter wheelbase, tend to use standard frame, rake etc, less blinged (generally) version of chopper (in essence the grand-daddy of choppers).

Street Fighter: Generally later model stripped down and built for handling and 'go' and the least blinged of the lot. Most are bigger non-US bikes.

If the bike your looking at is factory made then it could be called/described how ever the marketing people want to call it....
My 2-cents worth of dribble.....

Now that makes sense.

I get the feeling that bobbers were the first editions of the street fighter we know today.(Just back then...)

I think that Street Fighter building is a step up from Choppers/Bobbers and needs a lot more skill to produce.

Are there any Street Fighter builders in New Zealand?

[Motu]

The streetfighters would be desended from Cafe racers - these were what the English did,they stripped and modified their bikes,some just ordinary machines to emulate the race bikes they saw at the road race tracks.

[R6_kid]

a streetfighter is a street/race bike, generally with no front or side fairings (occasionally just a belly pan), with a custom front light mount. In the extreme terms they are highly modified aesthetically but maintain the standard frame and running gear of the original bike.

My friend is currently riding a 2006 ZX-10R 'Streetfighter' that looks quite the biz, was a real simple job, bought it as a crashed bike and fixed it up, painted it etc, looks like the GR Busa but in Bleck not fluro yellow.

[El Dopa]

'Bobbers' were called bobbers becuase the only real way to get a performance improvement on your bike in the 1950's was to get rid of all the excess weight. Companies didn't offer aftermarket performance bolt-on bits and bobs. A popular womans haircut at the time was the 'bob' - a haircut with all the extra length and weight removed. Hence 'bobbing' your bike. Hence 'bobber'.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobber

The definitions of 'chopper and 'bobber' used to be more interchangeable, but have somewhat solidifed so that 'chopper' tends to refer to bikes with raked and lengthened forks, and 'bobber' tends to refer to bikes where the frame geometry has been left alone, but where the bike has been stripped down to the bare essentials - no front guard, no radiator, no pillion seat, rear fender cut down, etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chopper_%28motorcycle%29

'Streetfighter' comes from guys who used to crash their expensive sports bikes and not be able to repair all the plastic fairings. So they tore the broken ones off, stuck a set of MX bars on, and turned the bike into a nasty naked 'ooligan bike. Generally, the parent bike has to be a big, powerful bike. An SV1000 isn't a streetfighter, but they can be turned into excellent streetfighters. Factory bikes aren't streetfighters, and you have to do quite a bit of custom work before you can honestly claim to have 'fightered your bike - you can't just slap on a couple of aftermarket bits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streetfighter

[degrom]

Now that's the best explanation for a Bobber I have ever heard!!!

The Street Fighter also makes sense...

Thanks for that.

[Darkman]

some pics...1.chopper 2. street fighter 3. bobber

[Coyote]

I'm planning to turn one of my RG's into a streetfighter much like this one. Only with a bigger tail and a bikini fairing

[degrom]

some pics...1.chopper 2. street fighter 3. bobber

LOL... That Bobber is a non-stopper!!!

[Bonez]

Didn't street fighters originally come about by sprotbike riders falling off all the time and getting pissed off with the horrendous cost of replacing fairings?

Edit- I see El Dopa beat me to it. Bit slow this morning.

[Waylander]

I'm planning to turn one of my RG's into a streetfighter much like this one. Only with a bigger tail and a bikini fairing

That's one bastardized R1.

[Motu]

LOL... That Bobber is a non-stopper!!!

It was pretty common for early chops to have no front brake.There are a couple of reasons - early Harleys,like those that used springer forksoften had no front brake,so a chopper using those forks would have no front brake either.Up until the late '60's a race bike in the US was a flattracker,and they have no brakes either...no front brakes is a Yank thing - their trucks often don't have them either.

[degrom]

Okay... So now I have a new question.

Where does a cafe racer come into the picture?

[Motu]

The streetfighters would be desended from Cafe racers - these were what the English did,they stripped and modified their bikes,some just ordinary machines to emulate the race bikes they saw at the road race tracks.

Ton up boys,see my sig.

[degrom]

Ton up boys,see my sig.

Sorry for that... Thanks,I see the light now!

[Coyote]

That's one bastardized R1.
The guy got it as an insurance write off and spent a year and a half fixing it up. I don't like the tail but it does show just how good the R1's engine looks

This is a pretty neat site on Streetfighters. Parts, Forum (yet to join), How To's and a member's gallery: http://www.streetfighters.com.au/

[Waylander]

The guy got it as an insurance write off and spent a year and a half fixing it up. I don't like the tail but it does show just how good the R1's engine looks
Yea the engine looks good. Rest of it looks like shit. But good on him for trying lol.

[Paul in NZ]

The problem all custom bikes have is they generally belong in an 'era' and in my very humble opinion should strive to be evocative of that era. (within the bounds of common sense)

Bobbers and retro rods are making a come back because the association with roots rock n roll and the yearning for simpler times. Cafe racers the same...

Bloody good fun

[N4CR]

My friend is currently riding a 2006 ZX-10R 'Streetfighter' that looks quite the biz, was a real simple job, bought it as a crashed bike and fixed it up, painted it etc, looks like the GR Busa but in Bleck not fluro yellow.

YOU CALLED? Gr's busa is black again, it changes colour often.

<img src=http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=50331&stc=1&d=1168232343>


A streetfighter is supposed to be a rather customised and modded sportsbike without fairings, it has in the last few years been stretched by definition to a naked sports bike that's been crashed as such and had some lights and other stuff put on it to make it go again, simply using stock lights/fittings does not count! Often they have high rise bars. Late 80's gixxer 1100's and the like were popular due to frame/engine combo.. look very good and go well when prettied up and modded to hell!

Check my profile for a shot before it was road legal.

[degrom]

YOU CALLED? Gr's busa is black again, it changes colour often.

<img src=http://www.kiwibiker.co.nz/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=50331&stc=1&d=1168232343>


A streetfighter is supposed to be a rather customised and modded sportsbike without fairings, it has in the last few years been stretched by definition to a naked sports bike that's been crashed as such and had some lights and other stuff put on it to make it go again, simply using stock lights/fittings does not count! Often they have high rise bars. Late 80's gixxer 1100's and the like were popular due to frame/engine combo.. look very good and go well when prettied up and modded to hell!

Check my profile for a shot before it was road legal.


Now that looks good!!! Number of horses?

[N4CR]

Now that looks good!!! Number of horses?

First ghost rider movie (gr1) was 417bhp, then it was further modified to 499hp+. That picture was taken at ellington straighliners speed festival in britain by a fellow kiwibiker. GR's busa recently set a speed record of 439km/h in sweden and made national tv (i'd say with the fairings) verified by 4 different LIDAR gun setups, don't know if it is official (eg guiness etc), probably not as the world speed record is still 260mph or 418km/h for a road legal street bike http://www.mrturbo.com/news/yancy.html

GR is most probably Fredrik Lindner from the Swedish wheelie team (looks and posture same) with the world record for high speed wheelies... 346 kmh. He was the one who crashed on nuremburg ring late '06 while 'ghost rider' was supposedly filming.


Specs and equipment:
ENGINE:
1298cc
McXpress racing turbo kit with everything + much more & bigger
Port & Gas Flow Cylinder Head
JE low compression pistons
Steel rods
Johnson race crankshaft
Kent cams, high performance camshafts
Laminova watercooled oilcooler
NBN hudraulic steel clutch line
TTS gearbox with 15% higher speed on 6 gear
Front sprocket, 17-19
Rear sprocket, 32-38
BODY:
Fuel tank, GSX-R1000 K2
Race seat, GSX-R1000 K2
Rear light, GSX-R1000 K4
Front light, Derbi senda
Carbon front Mudguard, vented
Carbon heelplates
CHASSI:
Special made frame by Andersson turbo system
Öhlins special made front forks
Öhlins rear damper
Öhlins steering damper
ISR dual 6-piston radial-mount calipers in front
ISR 6-piston caliper in rear
ISR dual full floating 320mm discs in front
ISR 240mm disc in rear
ISR radial master cylinder and lever
ISR clutch lever
Race brake pads in front and rear
NBM hydraulic steel brake lines in front and rear
Harris adjustable yokes triple bolt bottom fixing
Harris footrest kit with adjustable footpeg position
Renthal handlebar
PVM forged magnesium 10-spoke wheel in Y-spoke design, front and back
PERFORMANCE:
Power, 499bhp on the back wheel
Topspeed, enough even on one wheel
Performance, 0-300km/h 9.1 second



Beauty or a Beast??

http://www.ghostridermovie.net
(http://www.ghostridermovie.net)http://www.swt-racing.com
http://www.swedishfreestylefestival.com/ (http://www.swedishfreestylefestival.com/)

In french mind you..
http://www.turbobusa.net/forum/index.php?topic=944.msg27048

[Colapop]

That's a 'busa?? That's the nicest one I've seen. Usually with all the fairings and crap they look 'too big' (bulbous) nice without all that though.

[El Dopa]

Okay... So now I have a new question.

Where does a cafe racer come into the picture?

Caff racers were a Euro variant of the '50's bike scene. Both the US and Euro bikers used what they had, or could get hold of cheaply. In the US, this meant ex-army harleys, which they 'bobbed'. In Europe and especially the UK, it was mainly Nortons and Triumphs.

Roughly speaking, the US has a lot of long, straight roads, so high speeds for long distances were the go. A longer wheel base (from longer forks and raked neck) is more stable at speed, but doesn't handle corners well. But that wasn't a problem on their roads.

Euro/Brit roads are narrow and twisty, so the caff racers tend to reflect that - they're built for those conditions - handling and speed. The racers used to take a powerful (for its day) Triumph engine, and stick it in a lightweight Norton frame - the 'Triton'.

I've seen a few old photos of caff racer where they've done a few other mods - lowered clipons and similar.

I think that the 'caff' part of it comes from racing between cafes and milk bars on the north circular ring road in London, which used to be open late (for long-haul truckers), and therefore made great hang-outs for juvenile delinquents on bikes. Look up 'Ace cafe' on google.

And, Wikipedia is your friend.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cafe_racer

[Bonez]

Have a gander here if you want to see some nice old school custom jobs-
http://www.ace-cafe-london.com/php/f2_4.php?part=1

[Motu]

The racers used to take a powerful (for its day) Triumph engine, and stick it in a lightweight Norton frame - the 'Triton'.



Yes,the word is ''caff'' not the oh so gay caffay.

The Norton ''featherbed'' was much heavier than the Triumph,and the Norton engine was better in many respects too - the Norton frame was used for it's handling,the Triumph engine for it's backyard tuneability.

[Paul in NZ]

Yes,the word is ''caff'' not the oh so gay caffay.

The Norton ''featherbed'' was much heavier than the Triumph,and the Norton engine was better in many respects too - the Norton frame was used for it's handling,the Triumph engine for it's backyard tuneability.

All true... I always thought my Norton Atlas to be about the best british bike i ever owned and would have another in a flash if i could find one at a decent price.

There is considerable dedate about cafe racers and Tritons.... However popular opinion that I've read from people alive during the time was thus....

One of the most popular forms of entry level motor racing was formula junior which was basically a 500cc motorcycle engine in a small race car. (Cooper started in the class and made one of the best kits). The 500cc Manx Norton was possibly the best race engine but Nortons would not sell just a bare engine - you had to purchase a whole Manx Norton. During the 50's there was a fair few Manx Chassis minus engines when all of a sudden Triumph introduces the T120 Bonneville which was the GSXR of it's day. triumph also had the all alloy T100 (500cc) which was lighter and spun up faster than any of the other twins on the market... While the pre unit triumph chassis was OK provided it was well maintained, in terms of pure performance the all welded Norton frame was lightyears better and a genuine Manx chassis (totally different) was another whole step up again...

It was not long before some clever lad looked at an old Thunderbird donk and realised just how easy it was to bring up to T120 specs and slot into a featherbed chassis (the open twin cradle Norton frame is possibly the easiest chassis in the world to drop wierd engines into) and tritons started appearing on the clubmans ccts. When Dave Degens beat the factory stuff on his Triton in the 1965 (I think) Barcelona 24 hour race and could build you a replica - the legend firmed up and the Triton layout became 'established'.

In the day - most home built bikes were bloody awful things and nothing like the flash as Tritons we see today but thats maybe not a bad thing...

[Motu]

Like YZ125's in the '80's,they used them in karts and there were complete YZ's minus engines going begging....trouble is they had a right side chain and not much would fit.

I remember Len Perry walking me around the canyons of his used parts inventory - ''There's a Featherbed Norton frame,brand new,never been used.You can have it for $75'' I told the grumpy old sod that was far too much.My Triton was lashed together from old parts,and the guy who built it always laughed when he saw it,he never expected it to stay together.

[Paul in NZ]

When I cafe'd the Atlas I collected a complete spare rolling chassis complete with short cct manx (replica) tank and central oil tank etc etc to build a Triton but when I buggered off to the UK I had nowhere to store it and wanted the cash - sold the lot for $200.... shit......

sigh......