With the chopper craze of the early 00's came a slew of new builders. Most sucked but somebody had to cover every Tom, Dick and Harry that used the word chopper in it’s business name. So came quite a few new magazines, tv shows(God help us) and the like. But one magazine came along that had been there before, Street Chopper.
The March/2007 issue has a beautiful tribute shovel built in honor of the late Johnny Chop. Clean lines, rigid frame and simple paint would make Johnny proud. The most unique article is on the Underground World of Rat Bikes. Love ‘em or hate ‘em their numbers grow everyday. Kind of like a disease but better. The rat bike is an untamed beast. Utilitarian in nature, the rat bike stands out from a crowd with it’s total disregard for being hip. Crappy paint, rusty wheels, duct tape as a structural member, the rat bike apologizes to no one. The article by Mark Masker is entertaining but I’m not quite sure if he appreciates the rat bike or loathes it. He give different examples from the plain rough to the quite odd. Again I’m just sure if he loves them or hates them. I guess in the end it doesn’t matter to the rat biker because he doesn’t care.
There is some coverage of the new line of bikes from Big Bear. Can you call it a chopper if it’s bought from a company? I don’t know. There is a feature on Sean Kinney(of Alice In Chains) Sportster rigid. What was once dull went od green and came out all the better. It’s nice to see a ‘rock star’ shy away from the OCC-style crap.
www.streetchopperweb.com
