always liked this one
This is Big Joe's Cobra. I notice that Finney had posted a photo already. Thank you.
Tracychop
Nice pics WREX. I think they may be from Seth Efrica????? (sorry about the accent!)
I always wanted to ride one of them!!
cheers
Neil
kiteman
I'm with Finny's concept of choppers. Modern day choppers are pure metal-art. You might include OCC but I think there are many others with much better design skills. I understand "nobody" 's dislike of the term "choppers" but I'm afraid he's out of date! Words in the English language change over periods of time and "chopper" is one of those terms.
Ask a man in the street what a "bobber" is and he won't have a clue. Ask him what a "chopper" is and he'll point to an OCC style custom bike. That's just the way it is. Nobody, if you want an argument you're in the wrong room!!!
The really serious piss-off about this is that it's basically impossible to be a custom bike /chopper builder in Australia due to over-the-top (ADR) design rules.
Surely, if a motorcycle can be road legal in USA it can be road legal in Australia.
WHY do we have to have such antiquated laws here? Are we really that much smarter/more intelligent than Americans?
Do they have figures to prove that the US chopper/custom bikes are dangerous??
Long live artistic design and custom builders like Scotty Cox. Bugger the fun-police.
Australia is the best country in the world but sadly with the most over-regulation.
The emphasis should be on the OLD !!!
Totally agree with you Kiteman.
Our chopper The Cobra has been in the process of being 'registered' now for 4 months.
It was first presented to the engineer on the 4th April 2008.
It failed the noise test. It must not go over 80 decibels open throttle!!!!
Even with the motor turned off rolling past, coupled with tyre and general road noise it reached 79 decibals at times.
Then we presented The Cobra again.......passed...Yipee. Oh another fee too.
Then we are informed 2 weeks later that it has to go back as RTA have now changed the standard on the brakes. the brakes were changed and the bike went back again for another inspection.
Passed again!
Well since then 10 weeks have passed and NO WORD.
This is why YES you do see these choppers that are mantle pieces but for us who build choppers to ride it is a long, pain staking, patience grinding and EXTREMELY expensive venture.
We should had just bought a $58,000 Screaming Eagle that would had been much cheaper.
Nobody appreciates a Chopper until you have built one yourself. And the Cobra is not a KIT BIKE!
Every nut and bolt was personally hand picked by Big Joe to build it.
Most people can build a kit bike but not many can sit behind a computer or on the phone and hand pick every component that makes up every aspect of that bike.
So due to these over-rated discrepencies that are not justified in any written hand book or guide THE RIDEABLE REGISTERED CHOPPER IS A DYING BREED and we are mad about it!!!!
It will KILL our industry!
(thats right there is NOTHING WRITTEN to tell you about ALL the details of what and how they expect your ICV to look and SOUND .....only a very general guide-----2 wheels ,frame, and motor....we will check the rest when you front for your inspection!!!!!!!!!)
Don't get me wrong about the engineers, even for them the boundaries are changed constantly and if your bike has not yet had its papers stamped and approved at the 1st stage, The Engineer and some thing new comes up...its back there again.
Oh and did I mention that it then has to go over the PITS...RTA INSPECTED and then if it reaches that far ...then Blue slipped. WOW!
Oh and after all that yes they RTA can do spot inspections and recall your ICV vehicle for another inspection.
Welcome to our world!
Now do you all appreciate the TRUE ICV CHOPPER not Chopped Harley come Chopper...(eg:1982 Chopped Harley...We'll use the old frame and number)
Yes The Real thing!
We may one day have a 2008 ...oh maybe 2009 Registered Custom Chopper. Definetly not 1982 Chopped Custom Harley.
Well thats my bitch for the day but it needs to be said!
Tracy, sounds like you've had a very normal time of it for anyone who wants to be DIFFERENT!
Sadly, we live in the best country in the world but with the dumbest over-restricted nanny regulations. Now I'm not a particularly great fan of the USA but I do reckon that if THEY can allow a custom bike to be road registered then the chances are that they did check a couple of things first!
If it's safe in a country of 280 million then why the f**k does it become suddenly dangerous if you want to own one in Australia!??
It appears that OUR road regulators think that they are much more intelligent than the US ones. I wonder if they can back that up with any serious evidence.
As for complying an individual home built custom...........no chance!!!
It reminds me a little of another over-regulated place... Singapore.....not to mention China!
I was on a train there 20 years ago and noticed that all the teenagers and young people generally were very smart, neat and tidy. All had immaculate clothes and neat haircuts. Not one of them was wearing beads.... or had dreadlocks...or carried a guitar....... None of them looked DIFFERENT. The system seemed to have brainwashed them into looking "corporate/successful". So.... what then happens to music, poetry, art, free thinking, individuality etc etc....
Some of us want to be innovative. It seems to be OK in Oz if you are a traditional artist with oil paint but not if your medium happens to be sheet metal!
I take my hat off to custom bike builders wherever they may be. They are true artists and are probably valued more by the people in the street than the toffy-nosed chardonnay-drinking poncy poofy painter types!!
I feel better now. Time for another beer.
