History of the Bobber

What is a Bobber Motorcycle?

A bobber is a motorcycle that usually has had the front fender removed and the rear fender “bobbed” or made smaller. This style of custom motorcycle took shape in the 1950s and continues to be built today. Bobbers are related to choppers in that they both represent a minimalist approach where everything is stripped from a bike that is not readily needed. This includes the characteristic rigid frame and shortened rear fender. A modern slant on this are the bobber style motorcycle kits that are becoming extremely popular. You can now combine the styling of a bobber, but with modern high tech motorcycle parts. The Lo Boy motorcycle kit is a great example of this synergy.The bobber motorcycle came before any other type of custom motorcycle that we see today. When servicemen started returning to the United States from overseas after World War II, they wanted bikes more like the European bikes they had seen. Also, the men had learned many mechanical skills that they wanted to start putting to use. The men started forming biker clubs and eventually started tearing into their bikes and removing the fenders to make them seem lighter like the European bikes. Before there were any such thing as a chopper or even a chopper bobber there was a simple bike, the bobber. These bikes became very custom and said a lot about the owner of the bike because they were the one doing the work on the bike. Usually the backyard mechanic started by taking off the fenders. As we know today the first customization of the bobber came from the average person and the WW II vets. Today there are many companies that will do the work for you and create beautiful choppers. They will also cost you more money than doing the work yourself.There is controversy over the true look of a bobber. Some say a true bobber must have small fatbobs, floorboards, a bobbed stock rear fender (usually cut at the rear fender hinge), stock exhaust, and stock handle bars—anything that is called a bobber that doesn’t follow these standards is determined to be a short chop or custom motorcycle, not a bobber.

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