We make a chopper with our own hands. How to make a do-it-yourself chopper from a Ural

Do-it-yourself chopper, or maybe buy a ready-made motorcycle? This question is asked by many motorcyclists, especially beginners, who have long decided for themselves that they will ride not on a plastic sport, but on a real iron motorcycle, in which the sound of the legendary V-twin makes a solid sound, and not the sound of a squealing coffee grinder. In this article, which is more aimed at beginners in the interesting art of customizing, we will look at what it takes to make a proper chopper with your own hands, and how to make many details for it that will make it original enough and have a cool appearance.

It is not so easy to write how to build a chopper with your own hands, since there are a huge number of styles of customized motorcycles (customs), and their steepness directly depends on the number of banknotes, the skillful hands of the master and the equipment he has in the garage. And when reading about the construction of a particular custom, some novice customizer may simply not be able to pull it off, due to lack of funds and the necessary equipment. Or he may simply not like the style of some kind of custom, because there are a lot of styles.

Therefore, this article will not describe the construction of a specific custom of a certain style, and my recommendations in this article will be purely conditional, but still I hope it will be useful for beginner customizers. In addition, when building any chopper, a lot of nuances can arise that cannot be described in one article.

But for a more detailed explanation, when making some parts for the chopper with my own hands, I will put the appropriate link, by clicking on which the dear reader will be able to study in more detail and in detail the manufacture of some kind of equipment or some part of the chopper, and successfully apply this knowledge at home in the garage. And so we went.

What you need before you start making a chopper with your own hands.

The first thing to do before starting work is to decide on a budget. After all, the right chopper, which, in terms of workmanship and its steepness, can easily surpass a serial factory bike, requires certain investments of money. And the more these investments, the cooler the finished custom will turn out.

Of course, with certain skills in working with metal and the availability of appropriate equipment, tools and materials, you can make a decent chopper without big investments. But many novice motorcyclists don't have the skills, the equipment, or the right materials. And a significant part of the money will be spent on high-quality tools, materials and some devices that will be described below, and without which you can’t do anything with your bare hands.

And of course, the bulk of the money will be spent on the purchase of a donor motorcycle, without it in any way. After all, you can’t make an engine and a frame with a number and relevant documents on your own, even with super expensive equipment in the workshop (you can make a frame from scratch, only it will be numberless). Moreover, it will be possible to use some parts from some donor motorcycles.

This is the same engine, part of the frame with a number, front wheel(not always, but often used after revision), front fender (of course, also redone), front fork and other parts that, with certain skills and tools, can be changed beyond recognition.

To save a significant amount of money, a donor motorcycle can be bought in poor condition or broken, the main thing is that it has the documents in order and that the motor and the number on the frame are preserved after the accident. The engine, documents and part of the frame with a nameplate or a number on it are the main things you need to build a chopper, and everything else can be made on your own, or purchased from catalogs.

And after buying a donor motorcycle, before you start disassembling it, cutting it and doing something with it, of course, you must first re-register it for yourself, put it on record. This will help you avoid problems in the future.

The most common donor in most serious custom workshops are almost all motorcycle models of the legendary Harley Davidson brand. Since they are considered the most beautiful engine and the sound of its exhaust.

And the possibilities of tuning even old motors are not limited, and most of the catalogs are designed just for motorcycles of this more than a hundred-year-old American brand.

Moreover, some Harley models come from the factory with a springer fork, which is very popular when building custom in the now popular old school style (old school customizing) or bobber.

A little less popular motorcycles donors are choppers of four famous Japanese companies. And even though the motors of Japanese choppers are more technically sophisticated and more powerful than serial Harley V-twins, Harley-based custom ones are more popular, because in such an art form as customizing, motor power does not play any role, and most importantly is the manufacture of various details with jewelry meticulousness to the smallest detail.

In addition, modern Japanese motorcycle factories have still not been able to surpass the legendary and incomparable exhaust sound of the popular American V-twin.

Now one important circumstance should be taken into account when building a chopper - the more hand-made parts are hung on the chopper, the cooler it is considered custom. The days of catalogs have passed, and many even reputable custom offices abroad have become popular and have taken the lead in the world market precisely after the start of manufacturing exclusive parts on their own.

And those vehicles that win custom championships do not have parts from the catalogs at all, since every detail, from the soldered frame to the perimeter brake discs, is made by hand. For such custom cars, only tires are bought, and such devices are considered a work of art and cost a lot of money. In Russia, it is only now beginning to be understood, but most of the choppers of some custom offices are still hung with some purchased parts from the catalogs.

Although, of course, everything depends on the wishes of the customer, and many of them are not able to wait until each detail is made by hand, and many of us are not able to pay a lot of money for painstaking work.

Some choppers are based on Japanese inline-four donors, but they are not as popular as American or Japanese V-twin choppers, although there are quite interesting and high-quality devices. And an example of such a custom made from old and ancient Japanese motorcycle, shown in the video below the article. But the sound of their exhaust is certainly inferior to the legendary V-twin.

Choppers with British engines from Triumph or BSA are also less popular, although in the 60s and 70s of the last century they were no less popular than Harley engines.

With regard to donors based boxer motors domestic motorcycles, then at the dawn of the Russian bike movement they were very popular, and they are popular with low-budget workshops even now. But the hyped custom cantors have stopped working with them, as most wealthy customers are customizing more expensive and prestigious V-twin motorcycles for conversion.

But with a skillful approach and skillful hands, you can make a quite decent device with a domestic opponent (for example, as in the photo on the left), but it's a pity that such devices in most cases are designed only for exhibitions, since the owners of such devices may have problems with passing technical inspection. Although this problem is also solvable, if the owner of such an apparatus has papers with American presidents.

Tools and equipment for building a chopper.

Building a decent chopper with bare hands is impossible, and of course, before you start doing something, you should buy essential tool, which will be described below. And if you have skillful hands, locksmith skills and already purchased tools, it will be possible in the future to make useful equipment that will greatly speed up work with metal and make the result of these works much better.

And so, what you need to purchase in order to be able to build a chopper with your own hands:

Of course, the angle grinder, popularly referred to as the "grinder".

An electric drill (a screwdriver (wrench) with a set of bits, in the form of socket heads, will not interfere).

A set of drills and cutters.

A set of taps and dies.

Semi-automatic welding machine (an argon-arc welding machine is even better, and ideally both will not interfere).

Scissors for metal (preferably electric).

An electric jigsaw with a set of metal files will not hurt either.

Emery.

Bormashinka.

A set of wrenches and sockets with ratchet.

A set of special hammers and anvils for working with sheet metal (set for body (straightening) work).

The minimum tool that beginners should purchase at the initial stage was listed above. And for those who want to take the matter more seriously and greatly increase the speed of work and the quality of the work performed, they should gradually purchase or manufacture:

slipway.

English wheel.

A useful attachment for the English wheel.

Zigmachine.

Pipe trimmer.

Pipe bender.

Listogib.

Grinder.

Compressor.

By clicking on the links published just above, you can get acquainted in detail with very useful equipment (and how to make it), and without this equipment it is impossible to make a quality custom. And if it is possible, then a lot of time will be spent on work without these devices, and the quality of finished products will be significantly worse.

And one more thing - I strongly advise you to get acquainted with an adequate turner and milling machine operator at a neighboring plant, and preferably with those who are indifferent to alcohol. After all, most beginners cannot afford to buy and install a lathe and milling machine in their workshop, and they will be very necessary. Since most of the parts will have to be sharpened from scratch, starting with the gas cap and ending with longer axles, for wider wheels and their hubs.

The beginning of work on the construction of a chopper with your own hands.

After acquisition the right tool, buying a donor and its design, you should sketch out a rough sketch of the future custom and a work plan for the future.

And if you are planning to make a custom not in the style of a board tracker or cafe racer, or not as custom as in the photo on the left, then the most common operation that many customizers do at the very first is to expand the frame for a wider wheel. How to expand the rear of the frame to fit a wider wheel, I wrote here and of course those who wish can click and read.

And many believe that the construction of a chopper begins with the expansion of the serial frame, but it will be very difficult to expand its rear part to the desired size if there is no ready-made wider rear wheel. Therefore, it is highly advisable to first order or make your own wider wheel of the width and diameter you need. And how to make a wider wheel with your own hands, and moreover, no worse than at a motorcycle factory, I wrote

And the serial frame itself, in addition to expanding its rear part, will also need to be finalized. For example, in the steering columns of the frames of domestic motorcycles, there are still weak bicycle-type thrust bearings that wear out very quickly and the handling of the motorcycle, to put it mildly, is lame. And the first step is to replace these bearings with more powerful conical ones (such as in the wheels of the Dnieper and Urals, but one size larger).

To do this, the cups of regular bearings are cut off from the frame, and cups of a slightly larger diameter are welded in their place, into which the outer races of tapered bearings are subsequently pressed. I wrote more about this in an article about the geometry of motorcycle frames, and a link to this article is located below in the text.

The frames of modern imported motorcycles already have more or less normal bearings from the factory, but there are enough alterations on such frames. Since even imported serial frames are heavier and uglier than homemade frames, made from scratch, and most mass-produced frames (especially Japanese motorcycles) have to be cut off extra parts to lighten the weight.

Of course, there are a large number of types of frames (we read what frames are) and everyone chooses their own option for themselves. But now old-school style choppers are very popular, which have very light frames in the “hardtail” style (hard in translation), which do not have rear suspension and thanks to this they have beautiful classic lines of the triangular back. And these frames are the lightest.

And although it is quite uncomfortable to ride on such frames on our roads, beauty and style require sacrifice. Yes, and such devices are not designed for long trips, but for short rides around the city, or for moving the driver's body from bar to bar. And choppers with such frames are very popular now.

And the most common operation, when building custom old school style, is to trim the entire rear part, which has shock absorbers and after that a homemade hard part is welded on (see photo on the left) and at the same time the frame expands a little.

An example of such a finished converted frame is shown in the photo on the left. Although it is not necessary to expand the frame for old school devices, since usually the rear wheel is wider than 130 - 150 mm on such devices.

Much wider wheels are used on hi-tech choppers (or hyne-style frames - with a high steering column) and the width rear wheels on such devices reaches 360 - 400 mm.

Here, a more global expansion of the rear of the frame is required, and the rear wheel drive should also be moved to the side. In what way the drive of the rear roller is usually taken out to the side, I wrote in an article about reworking the rear of the frame (the link is above in the text).

As for the front wheel, here the style also determines its width, since, for example, wider front wheels are installed on bobbers (usually 130x90x16), and on classic choppers, the front wheel is much thinner, and has a width of only 80 - 100 mm and how The rule of thumb is 21 inches or more. Although now there are quite a few styles in which wheels can be of very different widths and diameters. Everyone chooses for themselves the size that matches the taste and of course the style.

By the way, you can make a spoked wheel much cooler than a regular factory one if you modify this regular wheel. It is necessary to carve a more exclusive hub from scratch (for more spokes and steeper brake discs), and squeeze out additional bumps on the rim to install more spokes (how to squeeze bumps is written in the article about making a wheel from scratch, link to the article above in the text ). And then the front wheel will not need to be bought, unless of course you want to install an alloy cast on your chopper.

Front fork.

The front fork can easily transform the look of any chopper, and is able to change not only the silhouette, but also driving performance your motorcycle. Although, again, when building a chopper, most customizers usually do not pay attention to handling and comfort, the main thing is the appearance, which determines the steepness of the chopper and from which a significant revival can arise in the gray city traffic.

Of course, in addition to the fork, the silhouette and ride quality of the motorcycle is affected by the angle of the steering column, and to be precise, the trail and rake, which should be taken into account when reworking the frame or making it from scratch. This topic deserves a separate article. The same article describes in detail the refinement of the frames of domestic motorcycles and the replacement of bearings with tapered ones.

The most popular type of refinement of serial forks is their lengthening with special inserts and replacing the traverses with wider ones, or simply polishing and chrome-plating the standard traverses. When lengthening the fork legs, so as not to lift the frame relative to the ground and maintain a beautiful silhouette and a small ground clearance, increase the angle of the steering column. That is, to ensure that after installing a longer fork, the ground clearance (the distance from the lower tubes of the frame to the ground) remains the same as it was.

But most often, the ground clearance (clearance) is lowered by a factor of two, and in addition to a stronger fork tilt, the rear end of the frame is also affected by the lowering (the shift of the rear wheel axle is higher than it was in stock). With all these works, it is very important to maintain a clear geometry of the steering column and the entire frame, and it is only possible to carry out such alterations correctly if there is a slipway (the link to the article about the slipway is above in the list of tools and accessories).

So installing an extended fork is not so simple and will entail a number of serious alterations to the frame itself and its steering column, taking into account the correct angles (rake and trail - a link about them a little higher, about the steering column angles).

But now old-school and bobber style motorcycles have become very popular, in which the fork (usually a springer) does not lengthen, or lengthens very slightly. But changing the angle of the steering column is often used on these devices as well.

Indeed, with a greater tilt of the steering column, even with a short fork, the silhouette of the custom is significantly improved (it becomes more rapid). At the same time, the ground clearance is only a couple of centimeters, and it becomes difficult to drive on such a device on our roads. But still, for many, this is not important, because beauty requires sacrifice.

In addition, many reputable customizers are not satisfied with the stock springer, and many make it even cooler (if you apply the skills of working with hot flexible metal and blacksmithing), and an example of such an exclusive fork is shown in the photo on the left.

It’s pointless to write about the choice of fork and which one is better and which is worse, since it all depends on the style, taste and what silhouette of your custom you want to end up with.

Chopper hanger.

Of course the frame, fork and wheels have important role in shaping the silhouette of a beautiful chopper, but no less important factor determining its steepness and the skill of the customizer is the custom hitch (tanks, fenders, glove boxes, oil tanks and all kinds of small details, popularly called "tsatski" or "goodies").

And it is the hinge that requires a lot of tools and equipment for its manufacture, as well as certain skills in working with sheet metal and skillful hands. And most of this equipment is designed specifically for working with sheet metal, that is, for giving a flat steel sheet a certain convex shape.

And without special equipment, the links of which I have published above, it is almost impossible to make something worthwhile out of sheet metal with your bare hands. And if it is possible, then a lot of time will be spent. Moreover, in the manufacture, an important circumstance should be taken into account, the more original and unlike the others the hinge parts are made, the cooler your chopper will be.

And there are a great many forms of tanks, wings and other parts of the hitch, and every time something new and different appears. But novice customizers, when building their chopper, should at first not chase complex shapes, but start with the simplest shapes.

In addition, style also plays an important role here, since, for example, old school (old school) choppers or bobbers require a simpler flat-bottom gas tank, as in the photo on the left (I wrote how to make such a gas tank here). And for custom techno (hi-tech) style, you can make a more complex tank (I wrote how to make a more complex tank with my own hands).

For so-called free-style choppers, a gas tank with a concave bottom, the manufacture of which I described, may be suitable. Well, for those who are interested to see how I made a more complex tank, then we watch the video below, which I published on my channel as a guide for beginners and in order to fill the gap on this topic on the Russian-speaking Internet. I have no secrets and I think it will be useful for beginners to watch this video, divided into three parts.

By the way, I have other videos on working with sheet metal on my suvorov-custom channel (on YouTube), and I hope that over time, as I have free time, I will try to publish more such videos, and in order not to miss new videos, do not forget to subscribe to channel.

As for the wings, of course, they, like the tank, should also fit in style. And for example, bobbers, or radical choppers, may not have a front wing at all, and the rear wing is usually very short. But still, it is better to make a wing for a chopper from scratch, since the alteration of some regular wing does not always coincide with the style of the future custom. In addition, an exclusive wing, made from scratch, will be one and only, and this will add to its coolness.

By the way, some exclusive wings, for example, as in the photo on the left, will not perform their main function of protecting against dirt at all. But after all, the main thing is a cool appearance, and protective functions are not important for many, since such devices are designed for exhibitions, or for traveling in dry weather over short distances (from bar to bar).

I wrote how to make a wing for a chopper using an English wheel on my own, and you can read how to make a wing without using an English wheel machine, but using a zig machine.

Well, it should be said a little about the glove compartments, which allow you to place the chopper electrician, or carry some kind of minimal tool. On some custom (for example, in the same old school style), a cool glove box or an oil tank is not at all difficult to make from a fire extinguisher body, a gas mask filter, or from a German gas mask case, but you never know from anything that already has the shape of a cylinder and will allow beginners to get by without rollers (to roll the sheet into a cylinder).

And such products will look not bad at all and, moreover, original, especially if the edges of the cylinder are cut off at a certain angle (for example, as in the photo). And the finished bodies of the above products will save time and effort on the manufacture of many original hinge parts from scratch. The main thing here is a flight of fancy, and of course skillful hands. This is what makes such an art form as customizing interesting.

And to hang a leather hinge on the chopper or not, everyone decides for himself. But on a long journey, it definitely will not hurt.

Well, under the article, I publish a useful and interesting video that proves that with skillful hands and a bright head, you can make an excellent custom even from an ancient Japanese motorcycle, and the engine of this motorcycle is not a twin at all, but an in-line four. But it does not spoil the look of the custom at all.

This video proves once again that you can make a unique custom even out of junk, and I hope that this video will be an incentive for beginners and serve as an impetus to start their further work.

Well, I hope that this article will at least help beginners to build a chopper with their own hands, and maybe in the near future, you will approach this interesting business more seriously and put it on stream, good luck to everyone!

From this instruction you will learn how to make a chopper bike with your own hands and at the same time quite inexpensively.

When assembling a homemade chopper, I tried to use as many components as possible from old bikes and unnecessary materials.

I used an old 25 year old Wisp Raleigh women's racing bike as the basis for a homemade chopper. In the end, I turned it into a very good cruiser.

What you need to assemble a homemade chopper:

Donor bike.
Welding machine.
I used a Clarke 105EN welder.
Steel pipes for the fork.
Must be strong enough not to bend under heavy loads.
Steel tubes to lengthen the frame after it has been cut.
It is easier to weld two pipes of different diameters than two pipes of the same diameter, and besides, the construction of pipes of the same diameter is less strong. Therefore, the diameter of the pipes must be either slightly smaller than the frame pipes (so that they can be inserted inside the cut pipes), or larger (so that the frame pipes can be inserted into them). Choose pipes of the same diameter only if you are a welding professional.
Several sheets of steel.
I used 1.4 mm thick steel sheets, which are great for cruiser plates.
New chains.
After increasing the frame size, the chain will need to be much bigger size. Buy two inexpensive chains and chain them together.
Pipe bending machine.
This is useful if you want to significantly change the frame angles without cutting the extension tubes at an angle.

So, let's get to work. Let's start assembling the chopper by making the fork.

Step 2: Making the chopper fork.

First we need to get a suitable fork.

First you need:

Dismantle the front of the bike - remove the handlebar, stem, steering column and unscrew the fork.
Position the bike so that the steering column is at the optimum height when riding. At this stage, don't worry about the corners. Measure the required fork length.
As you can see from the photo, I set the bike on the bench at about the required height and measured the distance from the top of the steering column to the front wheel axle. It came out about 1.22 meters. A decent size - we should get a long bike.
I was lucky - I found where you can buy good pipes - I bought a steel pipe 2.44 meters long for only $ 4.
Then, using an angle grinder, cut the pipe in half. Next, stand two pipes vertically and grind their ends with a grinder so that they become the same size (see photo above).

Step 3: Making dropouts for the fork.

At this stage, the fork for our homemade chopper is just two tubes. In this state, there is no way to install a wheel on it, so we have to do a couple of dropouts.

The photo above shows what we should get.

Fork dropouts must be strong. To make them, I used several steel plates about 3 mm thick, which fit perfectly.

Attach the dropouts from the fork of the bike to the steel plate as shown in the photo above. Mark the outlines along which you can cut out the dropouts for the chopper fork.

Using an angle grinder, cut out two blanks of dropouts from steel.

Since the angle grinder (shown in the photo above) does not allow you to cut parts with the required accuracy, the dropouts of the fork will differ slightly in size. I clamped the dropouts of the fork in a vise and trimmed the edges on the grinder.

The photo shows the dropouts after grinding. The smoother the surface, the better the contact with the wheel.

Clamp the two pieces together as shown in the photo above and cut out the axle sockets. Using this method, you will be sure that with an angle grinder you can cut two identical sockets. Don't rush - don't cut the socket too big so your chopper wheel won't pop out of the dropouts later. It is necessary to carve a socket of such a size that the wheel axle sits tightly enough in it. Gradually fit the wheel axle to the seat until it fits perfectly. It is necessary to achieve an exact match without backlash, as I did (look at the photos below).

Next, weld the dropouts to the fork. To keep the dropout in the fork, I used a magnetic holder. When I welded the dropouts, I made a mistake - I placed them right in the center of the pipe, although they should have been welded closer to one of the edges. I only noticed my mistake during a test ride when the wheel spokes began to scrape across inside fork pipes. Luckily I had another wheel that fit better, but anyway, please note my mistake.

Lightly weld the dropouts to the fork as shown in the photo above. Check if they are installed correctly. When you are sure everything is good, weld the dropouts securely. The time spent earlier on making smooth edges should now pay off handsomely.

Step 4: Making the fork top.

So, we already have a fork in the form of two pipes with dropouts welded to them.

To thread the top of the fork, we need a few nuts, bolts and washers. I bought a pack of M10 bolts, nuts, and some cheap M10 washers (10mm diameter). This kit is quite inexpensive and can be found at any hardware store.

Assemble the bolt, washer and nut. Weld each face of the nut to the washer.

Remove the bolt so that only the nut with the welded washer remains.

Finally, weld the washer to the nut in the manner shown in the photo above. Now you have a strong enough mount on the top of the fork that we can screw the bolt into.

Step 5: Do-it-yourself chopper fork (the first stage of manufacturing).

To summarize, we have two pipes with dropouts welded on one side and a nut welded on the other.

We continue to manufacture a fork for a homemade cruiser.

Cut off the legs of the fork from the old bike. Try to make the base as flat as possible.

Using a piece of cardboard as a template, draw a semicircle around the tubes of the new fork as shown in the photo above. Outline the shape of the crown for the new fork with a marker. Using an angle grinder, cut the crown along the traced outline. Do not rush - it is very important to achieve the most correct form.

Attach the wheel to the dropouts. This will set the required fork width. Next, position the crown stem between the fork tubes. If at the previous stages you did everything carefully, then the stock with the crown will fall exactly into place. Using another piece of cardboard, mark and cut out three holes for the three pipes to pass through. This will give us a cardboard template that we will use to make the base plate and the top plate. Trim the cardboard so that it has a nice, neat shape.

We make the base plate. Using the cardboard template, cut out the sheet steel plate. For this purpose, I used a sheet of steel 1.4 mm thick, on which I marked two external holes (through which the legs of the fork go). Using an angle grinder, cut the steel sheet as shown in the photo above to make a base plate. Weld the base plate to the fork crown. Work carefully, try not to let the particles of molten metal get on the bearing race!

Next, we need to make a takeaway. You can simply cut off the top of the existing stem. I decided to make a stem from scratch, as I already had a steel pipe that perfectly matched the inside diameter of the fork stem.

Using an angle grinder, cut one end of the pipe at a 45 degree angle as shown in the photo above.

Shorten the tube as shown in the photo above to fit the stem bolt and wedge. Everything, the manufacture of a homemade takeaway is finished. You can skip these steps if you just cut off the top from the existing stem.

Install the new stem onto the fork stem as shown in the photo above. Once again place the stem and crown between the legs of the fork. Ask someone to help you keep everything together. I just fastened all the components with a belt. The top head tube nuts should be about one inch below the top of the fork.

If you did everything right and centered the base plate well, then weld it to the fork.

Step 6: Do-it-yourself chopper fork (second stage of production).

So, we have two fork tubes welded to the stem and crown. Next, we need to make the top plate with which we will connect everything together.

To cut the required shape from a sheet of steel, we need a previously made cardboard template. Mark the centers of the two legs of the forks and the stem bolt on the steel sheet. Since I used bolts with a diameter of 10 mm, I drilled a hole with a diameter of 15 mm in the center of the fork and a hole with a diameter of about 10 mm for the stem bolt. It does not matter if the hole diameter is larger than the diameter of the bolts, since we will still use washers during assembly.

Drilled top plate.

A plate bolted to the top of the fork. Ignore the clip that holds the bolt. We'll talk about him later.

So - the fork is ready. The tubes are welded to the base plate, which is in turn welded to the fork crown. We made the top plate and fixed it securely with bolts.

Homemade chopper with fork installed. The fork looks good, but in order to ride the bike, we will have to seriously modify the frame, which we will deal with in the next step.

Step 7: DIY chopper frame (first assembly step).

First, think carefully about what you are going to do with the frame. For a long time I could not decide what I could turn my frame into, but in the end I got a good frame for a chopper.

Frame before cutting (inverted).

After trimming, the bottom bracket is closer to the front of the bike. Next we need to lengthen the frame.

The photo above is shown after cropping. Now there is no way back. I want to keep the double top tube, which would look great on a homemade chopper. So I cut it as close to the rear hub as possible.

The next step is to make a layout. new design frames. It is very important to install the wheels in order to measure the required frame height. To create this layout, I propped up the bottom bracket and lengthened the frame with some thin tubes. I noticed that the dual top tube is too low, so I had to bend the top tube a bit to get the saddle to the right height. If you accidentally break the top tube, for example, split at the weld, then you will have to use welding to repair it. I actually accidentally broke the frame and solved this problem with welding.

I was completely satisfied with the shape and design new frame so my next step was to lengthen the frame by installing two steel tubes between the bottom bracket and two tubes running down from the seat tube.

To properly cut the two pipes, I had to use measurements from the layout. Since the angle of the down tube was changed, a slight bend had to be created next to the bottom bracket. To do this, I had to use a pipe bending machine. The photo above clearly shows why the bend was needed.

At this stage, the seat tube is not attached to anything - it just dangles. Here we are going to deal with it further - we will fix its lower part.

Using a piece of cardboard as a template, I made a sheet steel plate which I placed under the seat tube and welded the plate to the top of the horizontal tubes. In this way, I increased the strength of the connection of the two new pipes to the rear pipes. Then I welded the seat tube to the plate.

Now let's turn our attention to the top tube. Again, the top tube is just dangling - it's not attached to anything yet.

I made another plate out of sheet steel. This is not shown in the photo, but I used an angle grinder to make a socket in the seat tube, into which I inserted a steel plate and then I welded it to the seat tube. In this way, I increased the strength of the joint and reduced the load on the weld. I then welded the top two tubes to the steel plate.

Step 8: Do-it-yourself chopper frame (second assembly step).

The next step is to attach another steel tube between the bottom bracket and the top tube. This will change the location of the seat tube, which is now directed towards the rear of the frame.

The photo above shows how, using a cardboard template, I made a plate from a sheet of steel and welded it to a new steel pipe. It took only a few tries to get the right angle, so try to weld only lightly so that in the future it will be easier to break, grind and re-weld if something happens.

Determine the correct length of the pipe as accurately as possible so that it does not touch the carriage axle if it is too long. Also make sure that the tube goes into the carriage, but not too far.

Fully welded frame for homemade chopper.

Step 9: Making the Chopper Saddle

I'm going to take full advantage of having a dual top tube and put a saddle on it.

The saddle will be a simple construction of boards, foam and leather.

I bolted two boards together and drilled holes in the wood to the plate below. I fixed the saddle well with bolts and nuts.

Using a heavy-duty construction stapler, I attached the foam to the wood.

Using a stapler, I attached the leather to the saddle.

Step 10: DIY chopper wheel.

The next step is to install the steering wheel.

The steering wheel can be installed in three different ways:

Use an existing steering wheel.
In my case, it was, which was not suitable for installation on a chopper.
Make your own steering wheel.
If you have steel pipes, then you can make a handlebar with a pipe bender or by cutting and welding pipes into the required shape.
Use a different steering wheel.
I found some old steering wheels, which I decided to use.

First we need to make a clamp.

I used a removable lock from a donor saddle.

The photo above shows the saddle mount mounted on the handlebar. It turned out pretty well, so we will use this design.

Weld the saddle clamps to the top plate.

Weld the clamp from the saddle to the top plate and install the handlebar into the mount.

We now have a fully adjustable handlebar mount.

Step 11: Brakes for the homemade chopper.

If you're going to use the same wheels that came with your bike, you shouldn't have any problems at this stage.

I wasn't happy with the 27" wheels that came with the bike, so I decided to switch to the more stable 26" wheels for the . At the same time, I had to change the brake suspension a little.

When welding, always cover with a wet cloth so as not to damage it with the welding machine.

I figured out where to install the caliper brake and welded a plate onto the rear triangle stays. Please note that the mounting hole is not centered, which was due to errors in the calculation of the dimensions of my frame.

Before final welding, check the correct installation and normal work caliper brake.

Welded plate and installed caliper brake.

I used a spare brake lever that I took from another bike.

Step 12: Chopper assembly and testing.

Build your bike and take it for a test ride.

I decided to abandon the existing system and turn the bike into a .

I bought a single speed adapter online for $24 that just replaced my existing gearshift system.

Since the bike is now much longer, I had to purchase two inexpensive chains ($2 each) and chain them together.

Photo of a homemade chopper.

Step 13: Finishing up the chopper.

Disassemble the bike. Using a sander and a sanding disc, clean the bike of spatter and welding drips.

Paint the frame and fork. At the same time, be careful - protect the bearing rings and all threaded places from paint. To avoid paint streaks, apply paint in several thin layers.

Step 14: Additional changes to the chopper design.

I got a bit bored with the bike so I decided to make some changes.

I disassembled the bike and cut off the back.

Step 15: Aligning the Back.

I cut off the back of a small mountain bike.

It was from a full suspension bike, so I used an angle grinder to sand down the extra frame parts.

Step 16: Installing lower extension pipes.

I cut two pipes and welded them on to lengthen the frame.

Step 17: Homemade chopper is ready.

I welded two more long pipes on top. Then I painted and assembled the bike.

Now the rear wheel is equipped with a foot brake, so I no longer need the old rear brake, cables and levers.

I hope you found this DIY chopper assembly tutorial helpful!

97% of all domestic Ural motorcycles are exported to many countries of the world. And only three percent are sold in Russia.

Time moves inexorably forward. And with its course, everything in our life changes. But for more than seventy years, the Ural motorcycle has remained unchanged. You will not be able to feel all the pride in the domestic motorcycle factory Irbitsky if you have not been driving this motorcycle. Since 1957, the plant has been producing motorcycles and pleases its customers with their excellent quality.

The model range of Ural motorcycles is constantly replenished. And there is no better motorcycle among domestic motorcycles today. Not only in the territory of the former Soviet Union these bikes are popular. Our motorcycle is known in the countries of America and Europe, Australia and Africa. The inhabitants of Iraq and Iran love the Urals.

Since 1960, the plant has been tuning its motorcycles. Most of the details have been upgraded. The tuning model of Ural motorcycles has raised the bar for the quality of these products. Together with foreign partners the lineup motorcycles are constantly being improved.

Ural motorcycle tuning has made this technique very expensive, and only true fans can afford to buy it. With a cradle, eighty percent of motorcycles are produced. The plant produces not only road models. There are models designed for cross-country and road-ring competitions. Back in Soviet times, models that were intended for patrolling were modernized. Instead of cradles, they are equipped with a machine gun and a launcher carrier.

The history of the Ural motorcycle is very rich. This bike has become a classic. Great respect for those people who assemble this equipment, and pride in our industry.

If you own a Ural motorcycle, and its appearance does not suit you, and you constantly look at foreign beauties, do not despair. You can improve your vehicle. Most often, they buy a domestic motorcycle just for the sake of the shell, and everything else is redone.

Tuning Ural will take you a lot of time, but it is a very exciting process, and the result will exceed all your expectations.

Before you get started, check out the internet for all the upgrades and photos of the bikes.

Having decided, you can start working. First, we remake the back of the frame.

We need to expand the pendulum.
Cut seat tubes.
We weld curved pipes with a diameter of 28 mm, no less. This is not only a beautiful decor, it is also an amplifier-kerchief.
To make the suspension softer, rear shock absorbers must be installed at an angle.
When the rear wheel is wide put in place, make sure that the rubber clutch works without distortion.
The footrests need to be moved forward, your feet will be more comfortable.
The frame needs to be extended by ten centimeters.
The engine moves back.

Maybe in this case the landing will be wrong. But for each motorist, it has its own, individual.

After completing all the work, pick up the workpiece, you can from the stroller, for the rear wing. If you want it to be deeper, you can cut out plates from it and butt weld it to the wing.

Let's start with the tank:

With the help of a grinder, remove the glove box.
Also remove the neck and tunnel.
A wedge is cut from above the tank.
Two halves are welded at the back. And the neck and tunnel are welded.
To keep everything hermetically sealed, use epoxy.

Now we work with the seat:

It is necessary to cut the base from two millimeter steel.
Place thin foam under it.
The finished design can be covered with either suede or leather.

The steering wheel needs to be simple. Everything is cut from a single piece of metal. This is a handle, clutch lever, brakes. For the mirror stand, cut blanks from eight-millimeter steel. Mirror housings can be bought at the store or you can make them yourself in the form of a sphere.

Silencers are displayed on the right side.

Weld the left exhaust pipe without bending.
The right tube remains standard, but it needs to be shortened a little in the upper part so that the leg does not melt.
The seams are cleaned, polished and chrome plated.
To get a chopper sound, you can insert valve springs from a car into the mufflers.

Engines in the Urals can be forced. With proper operation, its power increases to forty-two horsepower.

Ural tuning video

Choppers became popular in post-war America. In order to somehow stand out among the faceless masses, the mobilized Americans came up with the following. They decided to remove everything superfluous from their motorcycles.

It all started with massive wings. Most motorists completely parted with these details. The tank to reduce the weight of the motorcycle was made minimally capacious. They also abandoned the double seat. On motorcycles, a single seat on springs was left. The steering wheel for choppers was made high.

Chopper from the Urals can be made. To do this, you need to find a spoked and narrow rear wheel. Rubber should be size 130-150. Larger is not needed. The size of the wheel will determine where you need to change the rear of the frame. Two welded-on v-frames will replace the standard swingarm.

For the seat, a standard “frog” from a rarity model, for example, the K-750, will look great. Be sure to raise the "spine" part of the frame. The part of the frame that goes down to the engine from the steering column is supplemented with spacers to make them look longer.

With a telescopic fork, the stays can be welded in to make them longer, or they can be completely remade. Extended feathers will require the installation of an additional traverse. This will give the structure the necessary rigidity. The front wheel must be larger than the standard, but thin. Front brakes are not needed.

Mirrors and turn signals are removed - they are not used in choppers. Silencer - only with forward flow. The footpegs need to be moved forward - this is not discussed. Thus, having completed all the necessary work, you will turn your Ural into a stunning chopper.

Motorcycle ignition systems are designed to ignite the mixture in the engine cylinders. On the Ural motorcycle, the system is constantly being upgraded. Mechanical ignition has its drawbacks and significant ones. The Yekaterinburg company offered electronic ignition for the Ural motorcycle, which was accepted by the manufacturer.

Ural motorcycle tuning in the photo

Choppers were originally variants that were redesigned for street racing. However, later they began to be mass-produced and they turned into a separate type of motorcycle transport.

The first of them appeared in the thirties of the twentieth century. But the biker movement became really popular after the war. Since a large number of identical motorcycles were produced, individual originals wanted to stand out, and they began to create exclusive models.

Chopper: characteristic features

Most of all, the chopper differs from other motorcycles in its elongated and high steering wheel. The hind wing is deep while it is absent, and some do not have the front wing either. Another insignia is the wide rear wheel, or more correctly, the Great Wide Wheel. That's what bikers call it.

Choppers have a small tank and a characteristic low landing. Fast driving is not for them. Therefore, there is no smell of aggressive dynamics here. This motorcycle is high-status and designed for maximum comfort, not for high-speed rallies.

You can also note soft shock absorbers and high torque, when you can safely, without straining, ride on high revs. His closest "brother" is considered a cruiser.

"Ural": do-it-yourself chopper

Such a motorcycle is far from a cheap pleasure. And you can’t forbid living beautifully, because you want to show off shockingly! Therefore, converted choppers appear on our roads, which not only are not inferior to factory vehicles, but are also brightly individual and original.

The easiest way is to make a chopper out of the Ural. It already has everything you need. You just need to work with the rear wheel and lengthen the handlebars. Anyone who is tech savvy will be able to accomplish these tasks. Often they make not only a chopper from the Urals, but also from the Dnepr, Izh and Minsk. Everything you need is borrowed from VAZ or ZAZ.

The rest depends on imagination and possibilities. Today you can also purchase chrome parts: fenders, exhaust pipes or overlays - and turn an ordinary Ural into a completely exclusive thing.

Budget

So, let's take a closer look at how to make a chopper out of the Urals. The first thing to do when deciding to remake is to count all necessary materials. Of course, when there is a skill in working with metal, as well as equipment, then everything is greatly simplified. But, as a rule, novice motorcyclists do not have any of this, so the bulk of the money will go to the material and, of course, to the “donor” motorcycle with all the necessary documents.

How to make a chopper out of Ural: step by step instructions

Frame

This part is very important on any motorcycle, because the type and appearance of transport depend on it. For a chopper, the frame is slightly lengthened and widened for the rear wheel.

At the back, the length is usually increased by five to fifteen centimeters, depending on the bike itself. Ahead, the need for lengthening arises in order to get an "American fit". Then the control of the brake system and the gearbox is transferred to the rod located in front of the motor. But in the case of, for example, the Ural Volk, this will not be necessary, since it has already implemented just such a design.

The rear wheel is best used no wider than two hundred and ten millimeters so that you do not have to move the driveshaft.

Front fork offset

This alteration is used quite often, but it is treated ambiguously. The fact is that an increase in inclination of more than thirty-three degrees leads to a significant deterioration in the handling of the motorcycle. Therefore, such a change should be approached with the utmost caution.

Other improvements

Sometimes cups are installed under tapered bearings, the saddle line is lowered (if the frame was lengthened), the front pipes are lengthened, and so on.

If it is necessary to weld pipes, first of all, it is necessary to achieve the strength of the seam. Therefore, it is advisable to pre-train in order to learn how to work with electric welding.

The problem can also arise with the evenness of the frame. This should be taken very seriously and only after the wheels roll track to track, you can cook it.

In case of inconsistencies at the assembly stage, you should not resort to a sledgehammer. Failures happen quite often, but it is best to be patient and ensure that the initially real assembly matches the prepared drawing.

In extreme cases, you can leave the work in the hands of professionals. Then the stylish "Ural-chopper", the photo of which you see, will be at the finish line for you too.

What you need before you start making a chopper with your own hands.

Of course, with certain skills in working with metal and the availability of appropriate equipment, tools and materials, you can make a decent chopper without large investments. But many novice motorcyclists don't have the skills, the equipment, or the right materials. And a significant part of the money will be spent on high-quality tools, materials and some devices that will be described below, and without which you can’t do anything with your bare hands.

This is the same engine, a part of the frame with a number, the front wheel (not always, but often used after revision), the front fender (of course, also redone), the front fork and other parts that, with certain skills and tools, can be changed beyond recognition.

And after buying a donor motorcycle, before you start disassembling it, cutting it and doing something with it, of course, you must first re-register it for yourself, register it, and I wrote how to do it correctly (the legalization of a home-made bike is also described in detail there ). This will help you avoid problems in the future.

To do this, the cups of regular bearings are cut off from the frame, and cups of a slightly larger diameter are welded in their place, into which the outer races of tapered bearings are subsequently pressed. I wrote more about this in, as well as in an article about the geometry of motorcycle frames, and a link to this article is located below in the text.

The frames of modern imported motorcycles already have more or less normal bearings from the factory, but there are enough alterations on such frames. Since even imported stock frames are heavier and uglier than homemade frames made from scratch, and most stock frames (especially Japanese motorcycles) have to be cut off extra parts to lighten the weight.

Of course, there are a large number of types of frames (we read what frames are) and everyone chooses their own option for themselves. But now very popular choppers in the old school style, which have very light frames in the style of "hardtail" (translated rigid), which do not have a rear suspension and therefore have beautiful classic lines of a triangular rear end. And these frames are the lightest.

And although it is quite uncomfortable to ride on such frames on our roads, beauty and style require sacrifice. Yes, and such devices are designed not for long trips, but for short trips around the city, or for moving the driver's body from bar to bar. And choppers with such frames are very popular now.

The front fork can easily transform the look of any chopper, and can change not only the silhouette, but also the ride quality of your motorcycle. Although, again, when building a chopper, most customizers usually do not pay attention to handling and comfort, the main thing is the appearance, which determines the steepness of the chopper and from which a significant revival can arise in the gray city traffic.

Of course, in addition to the fork, the silhouette and ride quality of the motorcycle is affected by the angle of the steering column, and to be precise, the trail and rake, which should be taken into account when reworking the frame or making it from scratch. This topic is worthy of a separate article that I wrote, and I advise you to read in detail about the angles and geometry of the frame. The same article describes in detail the refinement of the frames of domestic motorcycles and the replacement of bearings with tapered ones.

The most popular type of refinement of serial forks is their lengthening with special inserts and replacing the traverses with wider ones, or simply polishing the standard traverses. When lengthening the fork feathers, in order not to lift the frame relative to the ground and maintain a beautiful silhouette and low ground clearance, it should be increased. That is, to ensure that after installing a longer fork, the ground clearance (the distance from the lower tubes of the frame to the ground) remains the same as it was.

For so-called free-style choppers, a gas tank with a concave bottom, the manufacture of which I described, may be suitable. Well, for those who are interested to see how I made a more complex tank, then we watch the video below, which I published on my suvorov-custom channel as a guide for beginners and in order to fill the gap on this topic on the Russian-speaking Internet. I have no secrets and I think it will be useful for beginners to watch this video, divided into three parts.

Of course, beginners should first try to make a simpler classic tank, and as they gain some experience, move on to more complex products. But still, when making a more complex tank, in the video just below, there are some tips that I hope will be useful to novice customizers.

By the way, I have other videos on working with sheet metal on my suvorov-custom channel (on YouTube), and I hope that over time, as I have free time, I will try to publish more such videos, and in order not to miss new videos, do not forget to subscribe to channel.

And if you can still do without a leather hitch, then you can’t do without a seat. But I described how to make a seat for a chopper with my own hands from scratch, and it describes two options for making seats, with a plastic base and with a metal one.

This video proves once again that you can make a unique custom even out of junk, and I hope that this video will be an incentive for beginners and serve as an impetus to start their further work.

Well, I hope that this article will at least help beginners to build a chopper with their own hands, and maybe in the near future, you will take this matter more seriously and make this exciting activity your main source of income, success to everyone!

Also on topic

The principle of "here and now" and its application What will happen if you live here and now

I fell in love with the teacher “What to do?

How do people treat me quiz

Can't talk to people He can't talk to people

What to do if there is no strength