How to Build an Old Skool Bobber: 2nd Ed - Paperback

by Kevin Baas (Author)

Learn how to plan and assemble your own very Bobber or Chopper, from the man who teaches Chopper Building as a high school shop class. Kevin Bass starts the book with a discussion of Frames, Chassis Components, Brakes, Engines, Transmission and the Primary Drive. In each case he explains what to look for and what to avoid. The Engine chapter walks you through the various options available for power: Panhead, Knuckle, Shovel or Evo. Picking a transmission is more than just deciding between four, five and six speeds. Do you want the machine to be true old skool, with kick-only starting and jockey shift? Or are you a little more modern minded, looking for a simple five-speed with foot shift and a clutch lever on the bars? The final chapters include four, start-to-finish bike assemblies. Two with Evo power, one with a Panhead and one with an original Knucklehead. Each assembly traces the bike from bare frame to the finished and very rideable Bobber or Chopper. 300 photos, 100% color.

Author Biography

A man with great enthusiasm for old skool bikes, Kevin Baas is a full time shop teacher at Kennedy High School in Bloomington, Minnesota. Kevin comes to his chopper building abilities through his father, a man who built a Panhead chopper in 1970 - the first time choppers were cool. Kevin applied what he learned from his father and his own bike-building experiences and put together a bike-building shop class at Kennedy High. "I wanted the kids to learn how to build real motorcycles," explains Kevin. "Not kit bikes or cookie-cutter bikes, but bikes that regular people can build and afford." Kevin's Knucklehead is his own version of a real bike. "I brought it to class and let the kids put it together." Ultimately, Kevin Baas is the shop teacher we all wish we had in high school.