so i wanna get a bike, lookin for a cruiser, you guys know a good place to find an old cheap bike? i found an old harley on craigslist but i think the guy sold it before i got a chance to get over there and get it. cycletrader only has like brand new harleys and custom choppers for $20,000. i definatly wanna get somethin to chop. if you guys can help me out at all id appreciate it.
Do you want to do a stretched frame chopper, or a bobber?
I like the shorter wheelbase bikes, so you can actually ride them around town. Best one ever, the Exile Rat Bike.
You should check into Metric bikes, there is a bunch of solid V-Twin platforms that you can have for a lot cheaper than a Harley. You don't have to run a v-twin, or a 'standard' 45* something like a 60-65 degree V or even a 90 would be baller. This bike is running a Yamaha XS650 parallel twin.
Then one of my favorites, the Ducati Chopper.
-- Edited by Raoul Duke at 12:27, 2007-03-16
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“Faster, faster, faster, until the thrill of speed overcomes the fear of death...”
– Hunter Thompson
How much do you want to spend on the bike alone? The thing with the bike world, is that there are a million options, all seperated by genre and price. You say you want a cruiser, but what sort of price. And are you looking for just looks? or ride comfort? or performance? All questions you need to ask yourself.
that exile bike is sick, i'd love to have somethin like that. i was thinkin a stretched frame and raked a little bit. the bike is mainly gonna be used on my 45 minute commute to work and probably anywhere else i'm goin without andrea. so i definatly want somethin decently comfortable, i don't have a whole lot of money so somethin super cheap, and i don't care about looks. somethin loud and primered would suit me fine.
Well, do you want American V twin? Or metric? That's another huge decision, and will vastly sway the prices. No matter what people say about Harley's, they do cruise well. And I've seen mid-late 90's 1200cc Sportsters go for 3500. I mean hell, some pipes, some 'de-chrome' action, and you'd be good to go. Or, break the mold and go for something like what Ian posted, the XS. While amazingly cool, keep in mind this isn't something you are going to be able to just slap together like a Harley. It will take fab work, and may in the end cost more. And no matter what you do, you cannot beat the Harley sound, and the parts support. Metric cruisers are all well and good, I like them, strong, smooth, but they lack the meat and potatoes. They are almost too perfect and sorted, that's just my opinion. I don't mind a bike with some quirks, I would seriously consider a Sportster, 1200 is plenty quick, super simple, reliable(most of the time), and with a set of pipes, well, the neighbors may not care for you anymore. But, in the same regard, everyone and their mother has one now a days.
But to go about taking a bike, say an XS, and turning it into a custom chop, well, it's a lot of work, like huge amounts. I say, for a first bike(am I right in saying so?), start with something simple, that you can have fun with right away, keep it, and then get another project bike to tinker with. You don't want to start work on frames right off the bat, start riding first, then it will push you to finish the chop.
And honestly, Harley's aren't all that bad, I am usually a strong advocate against them, but the Sportster is a nice middle ground, no, it's not actually 'sporty' in the sense that it corners like a Ducati, but it's everything you need, and nothing you don't(read: storage unit on wheels). I like them, and might even buy one some day. And as the ones I mentioned above are reaching rock bottom, you really can't lose money, I have heard plenty of stories about people buying Harley's for X amount of dollars and then selling them a few years later for more than what they paid, that simply can't be beat.
