Sixties motorcycle and sidecar. Finished pics pg 9.

[zenrat]

Wanting to add a second build to this GB that wasn't just another aircraft or paint whiff (not that there is anything wrong with them per se) I was browsing my stash when I came across the kit shown below which I bought thinking I could add to it a resin aftermarket set consisting of a Russian rider with a pig in the sidecar I had seen in the Airfix mag.  This plan had been stymied by the aftermarket set seeming to be a figment of my fevered imagination and being nowhere to be found.

Chopper and Sidecar 01 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

My plan for the GB is to build this as a late sixties chopper with a sidecar.  The sort of bike which is commonly seen in the background of the bikesploitation movies of the period.  Movies like Hells Angels on Wheels, Sisters in Leather, and The Glory Stompers.
Given its a 1/48 kit it'll be a delicate little build which will test my dexterity and patience.  Especially since I plan to switch the sidecar from the right side to the correct side and scratchbuild a new body for it.

Unmolested kit.

Chopper and Sidecar 02 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

[scooter]

For a minute when I saw the thread title, I thought it'd be something like a Huey or Wessex mounting the sidecar.

I'm guessing you're not going to attempt ape hangers or customizing the front fork.

[zenrat]

For a minute when I saw the thread title, I thought it'd be something like a Huey or Wessex mounting the sidecar.

I'm guessing you're not going to attempt ape hangers or customizing the front fork.

I've got a Bell 47 kit and you could possibly claim the "MASH" stretcher pods were a form of sidecar.   

Ape Hangers - possibly.  Bent wire could be used.
Extended forks could also be scratched up but aesthetically I feel they wouldn't look right without a skinnier front wheel and I can count the number of 1/48 motorcycle spare parts I have on the fingers of one foot.

[Gondor]

For a minute when I saw the thread title, I thought it'd be something like a Huey or Wessex mounting the sidecar.

I'm guessing you're not going to attempt ape hangers or customizing the front fork.

Not the only one 

Gondor

[Rheged]

I imagined a Wessex with a side  pannier too!  Motorbikes are out of my comfort zone, either real life* or in model form but I'm interested to see what you make of this kit.


* I do have a bike licence, but I haven't ridden one for 40 years,

[Charlie_c67]

For a minute when I saw the thread title, I thought it'd be something like a Huey or Wessex mounting the sidecar.

I'm guessing you're not going to attempt ape hangers or customizing the front fork.

Whereas I was expecting something more along the lines of this with a sidecar... 

https://theraleighchopperblogsteve.blogspot.com/2011/12/1972-uk-version-mk2-ultra-red-chopper.html

[Old Wombat]

https://theraleighchopperblogsteve.blogspot.com/2011/12/1972-uk-version-mk2-ultra-red-chopper.html

Memories!  

[Wardukw]

https://theraleighchopperblogsteve.blogspot.com/2011/12/1972-uk-version-mk2-ultra-red-chopper.html

Memories!  

I had one of those when uj was a kid..a yellow and black one ..memories to right Guy 😀😀

Knowing Fred like we do this is going to be a epic little ride 😎 🤟

[perttime]

"Chopper" ... I believe a long fork is needed to qualify a motorcycle as a chopper. At least nowadays, different rake angles and other details are adjusted to make the chopper actually rideable with the long fork.
As far as I can tell "Bobber" is the original term for a bike that was stripped of non-essential parts to make it perform better.
For racing purposes, there were/are board trackers, flat trackers etc, also modified or built for performance.

[zenrat]

In the sixties custom bikes were still evolving and the term "chopper" was applied (by the media and the general public) to any modified motorcycle ridden by what were generally referred to as "Hells Angels" (even though that name referred to one very specific motorcycle club originally from the Anaheim area IIRC).  Dirty greasy long haired bikers in other words.

If you watch one of the bikesploitation movies of the period and look past the (usually) fancy bikes the leading actors ride you will see in the background a motley ragtag collection of motorcycles which have been modified in a wide collection of ways with no coherent style. This is usually because in most cases the producers would recruit local bike gangs as extras and what you see is what they were riding everyday.
Back then "Chopper" as applied to bikes meant a bike which had been modified or chopped.  Sometimes that involved extending the forks.  Some times they even raked the frame as well.  Both those required money and some engineering knowhow and workshop facilities, things which were in short supply and so often modifications were limited to taking parts off and sometimes adding new ones from other bikes or from the growing aftermarket.
Sometimes the resulting creation looked OK and other times it might be safe to ride.
There used to be, in the Beaulieu Motor Museum in the UK, an example of a custom bike from this period.  It was an Ariel Square four with the forks extended by adding screw in "slugs", a standard frame, and a heap of tasteless bolt on chromed crap.  It was a laughing stock but it was representative of the era and someone was proud of it once.

As far as the term "Bobber" is concerned while it might have been used back in the day (or overseas), when I was knocking about in the biker scene in the UK in the 90's i never heard it used.  I've only started hearing it in the last ten years or so, but i'm not involved with bikers any more.


Here is the National Motor Museums "Chopper".  <shudder>

[perttime]

...

Here is the National Motor Museums "Chopper".  <shudder>
...

Extended fork without change in head angle. That has raised the front end of the frame. Looks as if the triple clamps might be sized so that you get a somewhat workable steering geometry.

[PR19_Kit]

Here is the National Motor Museums "Chopper".  <shudder>

Heavens, my Dad would have been horrified, he ran a 'proper' Squariel for a number of years, it was his pride and joy at the time.

[jcf]

There's a ton of customized R75 photos out there, from mild to extreme. You cannot view this attachment.

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This one is very nice.
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[loupgarou]

I'd prefer the second one. 
But the yellow one uses insects as fuel, given the position of the carburetor air intakes? 

[zenrat]

All very nice examples Jon.  Thank you.  Last one is closest to the vision in my head.

I made a start today.  Glued the engine halves together and started carving away extraneous plastic from the rest of it.  I removed the rear muguard mounted pillion seat and 50% of its support structure.