A bobber is a custom motorcycle

Custom motorcycle

A custom motorcycle is a motorcycle that is highly stylized or which treats aspects such as frame geometry, engine design, or paintwork in an unusual way compared to standard manufacturing. Custom motorcycles are unique or individually produced in a very limited quantity, as opposed to "stock"...

 that usually has had the front fender removed, the rear fender

Fender (vehicle)

Fender is the US English term for the part of an automobile, motorcycle or other vehicle body that frames a wheel well . Its primary purpose is to prevent sand, mud, rocks, liquids, and other road spray from being thrown into the air by the rotating tire. Fenders are typically rigid and can be...

 "bobbed" or made smaller, and all superfluous parts removed to make it lighter.

History

The bobber was the earliest simple and stripped down custom motorcycle hand-built by individuals with mechanical skills and often part of the early biker clubs scene before there were any such thing as choppers

Chopper (motorcycle)

A chopper is a type of motorcycle that was either modified from an original motorcycle design or built from scratch to have a hand-crafted appearance. The main features of a chopper that make it stand out are its longer frame design accompanied by a stretch front end...

. It is a style of custom motorcycle which took shape in the 1940s and 50s, generally thought to have been started by returning WW II American servicemen working on ex-military motorcycles and inspired by lighter European motorcycles they had seen and ridden.

The bikes reflected their owners and were often homemade but today there are many companies that create such vehicles. The style has also influenced motorcycle manufacturers such as Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson

Harley-Davidson , often abbreviated H-D or Harley, is an American motorcycle manufacturer. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, during the first decade of the 20th century, it was one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression...

.

The style continues to be favored by some to this day. Hybrid styles have emerged such as as a "bobber chopper" and retro-bobber.

Bobbers vs. choppers

Bobbers are related to choppers in that they represent a minimalistic

Minimalism

Minimalism describes movements in various forms of art and design, especially visual art and music, where the work is set out to expose the essence, essentials or identity of a subject through eliminating all non-essential forms, features or concepts...

 approach where the motorcycle is stripped of parts or accessories not needed but bobbers generally leaving the characteristics of the stock frame.

The principal difference between a bobber and chopper

Chopper

Chopper may refer to:* Helicopter* AK-47 as used in street slang/rap lyrics. Prolific in New Orleans rap, where the city is known as "Chopper City"* Attacking Chopper, the table tennis style* Thompson submachine gun...

 is that bobbers are typically built around unmodified frames. Chopper frames are often cut and welded into shape. Bobbers also often lack most of the chopper's aesthetic characteristics such as chromed

Chrome plating

Chrome plating, often referred to simply as chrome, is a technique of electroplating a thin layer of chromium onto a metal object. The chromed layer can be decorative, provide corrosion resistance, ease cleaning procedures, or increase surface hardness.-Process:A component to be chrome plated will...

 parts and elongated forks

Motorcycle fork

A motorcycle fork connects a motorcycle's front wheel and axle to its frame, typically via a pair of triple clamps. It typically incorporates the front suspension and front brake, and allows the bike to be steered via handlebars attached to the top clamp....

. Thus, bobbers are fairly easy to create from stock motorcycles and are generally hand built.

The term chopper started to be used from the late 1960s onwards, for motorcycles whose frames had been customized to have a greater angle at which the front suspension protruded with smaller fuel tanks and tall handlebars called ape hangers. For many owners, the difference between bobbers and choppers doesn't come down to what's on the motorcycle but what isn't on it and whether it has a short front end or a long front end, stretched suspension defining it as a chopper.

Whereas customized motorcycles can be extremely expensive, bobber builders tend to adopt an economical approach involving old, second hand, recycled parts and hand machined items redolent of the period before the mass-market motorcycle accessory industry had developed.