Bobber motorcycle: photos and characteristics

Inexperienced bikers often confuse bobber and chopper motorcycles, which rightly causes a storm of indignation among their more experienced comrades. This unique style originated around the middle of the last century, and externally these bikes (if we talk about the “correct” custom ones) are usually stylized to resemble production models of pre-war times. Currently, serial models of this class are not produced, although some manufacturers are trying to flirt with a certain design, offering customers a slight stylization of the classic representatives of the bobber bike. However, any real “beaver” that you can see on the road, with a 99% probability, was built by someone’s skillful hands from a serial donor, eventually turning into an interesting custom.

The history of bobbers

Motorcycles of this class appeared even earlier than choppers, even before the Second World War. At that time, amateur racing on dirt tracks was very popular in the United States, and the participants in the races used mainly motorcycles made by Indian, Harley-Davidson, Cleveland and other similar brands. They were heavy, and in order to lighten them and thereby gain an advantage in power supply, the owners removed everything from them except what was needed for the actual process of movement. The front fender was usually discarded as unnecessary, the rear fender was cut to the middle, and even the kickstarter was often dismantled! And there were no electric starters at that time, so the first bobbers were motorcycles that started exclusively “from the pusher.” That is why the sissybar backrest took root on them, since the rider’s assistants pushed him out of his seat, resting against it. Choppers, however, also usually lost all the “optional” parts, but bobbers still have a number of differences from them. Here are the main features characteristic of bikes of this class:

• A fork with a slight reach angle , approximately like on classic road bikes;
• The seat is a la “ bicycle ”, usually spring-loaded;
• No front fender;
• Short rear fender;
• Low handlebars , like on road motorcycles;
• Backrest , most often mounted on a frame;
• Lack of passenger space.

How to make a bobber from the Urals or Dnieper

In the process of developing a bobber project from a domestic motorcycle, it is necessary to carefully think through all the details so that the custom turns out to be harmonious. A motorcycle usually goes through the following stages of modification:

1. The old bike is completely disassembled.
2. The frame is cut down and takes on a triangular shape.
3. All excess parts are trimmed and discarded.
4. Wide wheels are selected.
5. The front fender is removed, and the rear fender is made shorter.
6. The engine is rebuilt and polished.
7. The motorcycle parts are painted.
8. Other stylistic modifications are being made: seats, mirrors, etc.

The most labor-intensive part is, naturally, altering the frame and installing the wheels. But in general, Russian customizers do all the work during the winter and spend about 60,000 rubles on the whole process. However, the cost may increase if you buy some special tuning elements.

What to build a custom from

What is the right bobber? All its main features are described above, and good examples to follow can be seen in photos on the Internet. The choice of a specific donor depends solely on your tastes and your budget; if you wish, you can build a custom one even from a Chinese moped. Although most often customizers opt for serial cruisers, which ultimately turn into bobbers. But there are successful examples built from classic bikes, as well as retro motorcycles.

Bobber History

The style dates back to World War II, but in the United States. At that time, many soldiers were returning from the war, and many wanted to find a new way to get an adrenaline rush. Since then, people began to found clubs, mass races and long rides began. During that period, a new style appeared, which was called Bobber. The owners of such a motorcycle wanted to have a fast and most beautiful bike that would help them out both in everyday life and in racing. As a result, the bike received general characteristics - a stylish iron horse with lightweight and the ability to use it for most purposes.

The main feature of the style is, of course, the lightening of the details. That is, the heaviest elements of the motorcycle were replaced with lighter analogues. These included the headlights, seat, gas tank and battery. Minor parts are the front wheel, windshield, rear suspension, muffler, speedometer, horn, etc. Simply removing any of these parts will not work, but with lighter weight your iron horse will get increased maximum speed and dynamics. If you have unnecessary fasteners, if possible, you can simply remove them.

If we go back to history, during the 40s soldiers had very heavy and not so powerful bikes. They wanted more, so they decided to increase the specifications without changing the engine. The lightweight design was an excellent option. Any bulky model could be tuned; Harley Davidson bikes were the most modernized. You can also make the Ural in Bobber style. The Ural bobber, the photo of which can be seen below, shows that Soviet motorcycles are well tuned.

Bobber style Ural

If you are a fan of IZM equipment, we recommend that you look at the new Ural motorcycles, which have already won hundreds of fans not only with their style and simplicity.

As a result of all the manipulations with the bikes, the riders managed to create one of the best tuning styles to date. The motorcycle equipment had a stylish design, increased performance and better safety . Some compare this style to choppers, but in reality choppers are more about style and a special appearance, while bobbers are primarily designed for sporting purposes. The most important features of the style are:

• reduced level steering wheel;
• frame with short fork;
• wide wheels, sometimes different in size;
• strict appearance;
• single seat.

Every year this style gained momentum, some changes began to be made, the motorcycles performed well on difficult roads, and even with the advent of high-quality tracks, the bike was still in demand. Unfortunately, today there are a number of excellent motorcycles with light weights and powerful engines, so the popularity of the Bobber style has declined. At the moment, if you want to do such tuning, then mostly for a better appearance and compliance with the classic style of the last century. Modern bobbers are made with a large chopper-style fork and a different muffler.

The most popular motorcycles that are converted to the Bobber style are:

1. Kawasaki Vulkan;
2. Honda Shadow;
3. Ural;
4. Yamaha Dragstar.

Gas tank

Buying a bobber motorcycle will be quite problematic for the reason that their cost may be inflated. Therefore, an excellent option would be to install the main elements of the bike yourself. So, previously the equipment could boast of excellent fuel characteristics, but for the racers this parameter was not so important, and they believed that the tank volume should be reduced.

Thus, for short trips and just racing sessions, a tank of 7-12 liters will be enough. In the photo you can see very small volumes, but here it’s up to the owner to decide. But the main thing is that the Bobber style requires a small fuel tank.

Seat

If you plan to match the Bobber style as closely as possible, the first step is to replace the bulky seat with a smaller and lighter one. This type of seat is called a flatbread because it is small and suitable for only one person.

But if you wish, you can make it more beautiful, decorate it with various paintings and lacing. Some owners find this seat uncomfortable and unsuitable for travel.

Bobber style frame

The main task of the frame is to lighten it. The first thing you will think is that the lightweight frame design will make the bike vulnerable and short-lived. But this is not so; with the right selection, you can install a durable and reliable structure. Modern style involves the use of many materials, including aluminum, steel and even special alloys. The strength will remain the same, but the weight will be significantly reduced. Of course, the price of a bobber motorcycle with alloys will be high, but it's worth it.

Serial bobbers

Full-fledged bobber motorcycles are not currently produced. But there are models more or less similar to them, like the Yamaha XV950 Bolt or the Harley-Davidson Sportster in some available modifications. These are very interesting models, despite the fact that they are only distantly related to the class being described. But everyone who wants to have a real bobber must still build it themselves, or, in extreme cases, buy a ready-made custom one, since there are no other options anyway.

Firework. While I was sawing iron in the garage, a bunch of questions constantly arose for which there was no place to look for answers, a lot of information on how to stick a kilometer-long fork into the Urals, and how to make it shorter was apparently considered nonsense. Maybe it will help someone. In 2011, I realized that it was time to act and I couldn’t save for a Japanese. There wasn’t much choice, so without any unnecessary worries I went and bought an ’88 Ural from under my grandfather. This is what it looked like (on the left, yeah), in general, taking it from your grandfathers is the best option, even if he didn’t really pay attention, the worst thing that could happen to a motorcycle would be a ride with a bag of potatoes across a field, and not trying to accelerate it to 120, like young rural bikers. In general, here and there, in September I rolled out, went to a couple of local events, broke down, was repaired, rattled around the city center at the gunpoint of mobile phones, apparently exotic, in December I unhooked the stroller and rolled into the garage. Riding a heavy motorcycle on snow and ice for the first time in my life, on bald tires, and with a passenger, is generally hardcore, fortunately it’s not far away. In principle, there was no initial construction plan, there were thoughts about “simpler-better”, “lower-pi@zhe” and so as not to be a collective farm. Somehow, of course, I started making “bobber-type” things, but with the collective farm, how will it work out. To begin with, I disassembled everything to zero, put the engine aside, that will come later.

The Ural itself is quite high, I didn’t want to leave it that way, it seems to me that this excessive clearance often spoils nice devices. The road to the fields was blocked for me, so I decided to make a “drop” without any remorse.

There were two options. The first is a frame from the Dnieper or Ural of the old model. differences from the “stool” frame in the back, which is more on theme. With such a frame, short shock absorbers were needed, the original ones are 310 mm long, about 250 are needed, with them the pendulum will be parallel to the ground. Pros: minimum welding, less chance of bumps or missing dimensions. cons - documents, numbers, etc. The second option, which I decided to adhere to due to various circumstances, is to overweld the existing frame. The pipes sticking out at the back simply haven’t been cut off yet, so it’s easier to carry. In general, the rear part has been overcooked, the upper mounting points of the shock absorbers have been moved higher, relative to the standard geometry. 50mm inserts were welded into the front duplex, this gave two effects: it became lower in front of itself and the fork angle increased.

The rear wing was mounted on a pendulum, the shock absorber travel is quite large and otherwise it would have been necessary to lift it higher, but this is no longer the case. An important point is that the hole for the cardan has been enlarged so that it does not rest against it on bumps. It’s also worth boring it to the left, since the engine is positioned in the center (on klyasychs it is shifted to the right), the cardan now moves closer to the left edge of the hole.

Then the assembly began slowly. The tank is from a 49-Izha, painted old school. I bought a finder headlight from a Buran snowmobile and installed the optics from the low-beam six. I bought an opposed steering wheel with struts. Polished the fork legs. Stopper from the Chinese on the market, turn signals from eBay.

The exhaust is a temporary collective farm, polished stainless steel water pipes, seamless. At the end there is a car nozzle. In winter I’ll put up needles against demons.

So, out of quiet sadness, I turned on the electrician, turned the ignition key under the tank, filled it with Benin and... silence, while they sorted things out - the freshly purchased ignition coil turned out to be dead. Rolled out already in July. On the technical side, there is a ninth pair in the gearbox, K68 carburetors are drilled according to Feng Shui, the filters are temporarily Chinese zeros. the rest is in the family.

Well, to smooth out the impression from the terrible photos on the mobile phone (well, don’t drag a camera into the garage) and regarding the terrible wheels - there are rims in chrome, they are waiting for normal tires. something like this.

In the Urals it is necessary to kill beavers

— Whatever the attitude of individuals to hunting, in Russia it has strategic importance and a deep history in regions such as the Sverdlovsk region and the Urals as a whole. The indigenous peoples of the Far North, for example, survive through hunting and fishing.

Main news on the topic

People from all over the world are demanding that Evgeny Kuyvashev ban beaver killing competitions

Unfortunately, the level of training of hunters in Russia is extremely low, and, as a result, two thirds of hunters are engaged in poaching. Literacy needs to be improved through education and personal example of more experienced hunters. Beginning shooters must learn the rules under the supervision of rangers.

The purpose of the beaver hunting event, which we have planned for October, is to teach competent and humane hunting. We use traps that comply with regulations and are recognized as “humane” internationally. These are frame traps with two springs that catch the animal by the head, and the animal falls asleep in the trap literally in a matter of seconds. He does not suffer, as zoo radicals imagine, does not bite off his paws, and does not wait for anyone. This remained somewhere in the 19th century and has nothing in common with modern trap hunting; this cannot be done.

To be honest, beaver hunting is not popular. Nobody needs fur now. In the North, the fashion for sable and marten remained, but the beaver was forgotten and ceased to be of interest to hunters. Because of this, it multiplies and clogs up rivers. We had a lot of salmon fish - salmon, grayling - now they can’t get up the rivers, there are fewer and fewer of them. This is due to beaver dams, which are five meters high and 20–30 meters long. The forest is flooded, littered, and it is impossible to walk through it. Where they used to pick mushrooms is now a swamp.

The beaver hunt will take place in a specially designated area, in the Revdinsky hunting estate. Trap hunters will arrive, a maximum of ten people. Everyone has a mining permit. There will be no mass harvesting - one beaver for each. This is less than 10% of the number of animals that can be removed from nature.

I’ll explain how the limit is determined: each hunting farm has a huntsman service that counts the animals on the farm’s territory. Reports on this are submitted to the Department of Wildlife Protection. There they analyze the data and determine the limit of animals that can be removed from nature so that there is no threat to the species and there is a prospect of reproduction. The hunting enterprise, according to these figures, sells licenses to hunters to hunt animals.

Therefore, the number of participants is limited - if a hundred people come and kill all the beavers, then nothing good will happen. The beast must be fruitful and multiply, benefit nature.

I am now receiving threats on social networks from zoo radicals. They write obscene language and threaten the family. At the same time, only women write; not a single man said anything bad about me.