Big Dog Chopper Vs. American Ironhorse Texas Chopper
Big Dog Chopper vs. American Ironhorse Texas Chopper
When custom becomes standard
CALVIN KIM
THE JAPANESE HAVE TECHNOLOGICALLY ADVANCED HYPER-bikes, the Italians have functional rolling sculptures and us? Well, we have choppers.
No niche in motorcycling evokes more responses. Some good, some bad, but none ambivalent. I was one of the detractors, a naysayer, if you will. So when Chief Edwards offered this assignment to me, I reluctantly agreed. I mean, c’mon, these aren’t real bikes, are they?
Fast-forward one week. I found myself at Lifestyle Custom Cycles in Anaheim, California, and there before me was an electric-blue American Ironhorse Texas Chopper. My first reaction startled me. All the chrome, the vast expanse of fork, the front wheel way, way in front of the bike, the little ittybitty seat and that huge rear tire. This thing actually looked
kinda neat. I hopped on the bike and assumed the position.
To the “regular” motorcyclist, choppers have a funny seating position. Sit on a low chair, stretch your legs out in front of you, with your boots about three feet apart and toes to the sky. Slouch your back and raise your arms out at shoulder width and eye level. Then have your best friend come up to you and push you off the chair. It’ll be surprisingly easy to do.
Okay, I was too critical; I hadn’t even ridden the thing yet. So I took the next step and started it up. The 111-inch S&S motor sprang to life and rumbled underneath me. All the chrome and polished bits shook in unison to the waves of sound that emanated from the 2-into-l exhaust! Truly a wonderful thing, so far at least.
Fast-forward another week. This time, I’m in Pomona, at V-Twin City. After riding the Texas Chopper, I thought I knew all I needed to know about choppers. Stiff clutch, snappy throttle, no ground clearance and uncompromising suspension. But boy, did they attract attention! So when the Big Dog Chopper was pushed out of the garage, it was the little things that got my attention. The Ironhorse had the appearance of having off-the-shelf components, whereas it was obvious Big Dog went the extra step to make sure it built a cohesive bike.
One of the first things you’ll notice comparing the two bikes is their size differential. No one will deny that the Big Dog is a big bike, but it’s noticeably shorter than the American Ironhorse. After you get over the size, the difference in build-quality is apparent. The Big Dog is the more polished of the two, and even though they have similar S&S engines, the custom exterior treatment on the Big Dog lends it a more finished look. Tidy ignition-coil and air-filter covers, neater sparkplug lead routing and custom hand controls all contribute to a well-thought-out look and feel.
The American Ironhorse, on the other hand, has relatively bland-looking controls, a generic air-filter cover and sloppy sparkplug lead routing. Most parts, in fact, look like they came from a catalog. It does, however, have dual-disc front brakes that perform noticeably better than the Big Dog’s single-rotor setup.
Though both have six-speed transmissions, belt drive and CDI ignition systems, the 117-inch motor in the Big Dog felt less rushed than the Ironhorse. It was obvious that the characteristics of the two motors were different, and dragstrip and dyno testing proved that. The motor on the Texas Chopper feels like it revs quicker and has more topend. A run on the dyno proved that: 114.6 horsepower at 4900 rpm and 122.6 foot-pounds of torque at 4950 rpm beats the Big Dog’s 99.2 bhp at 5100 rpm and 110.2 ft-lbs. of torque at 4050 rpm. Yet, it was slower in the quarter-mile, a lot louder and comes with a chorus of popping sounds on deceleration. The transmission is also vague, but we blame a sloppy linkage for that.
Curiously, whenever Assistant Editor & Daredevil Extraordinaire Mark Cemicky would get a good launch on the Ironhorse, it would die!
“I think there’s a floatbowl or electrical problem,” he said, “Halfway through the run, the bike would quit and then start back up again as I crossed the lights.”
Which brings us to an important point: The Big Dog has undergone some actual R&D and refinement. That means it can be ridden like a normal motorcycleformal” being a relative term...
BIG DOG CHOPPER
$29,500
Ups Bling In this duo, Honda-esque refinement Hey look, you can actually turn the thing! Light clutch
Downs Assembly-line looks Unique but unresponsive switchgear Big motor needs better front brakes s there such thing as a compact chopper?
Handling is not really a subject that chopper riders dwell on. For one thing, raked-out front ends, 6-footlong (or more) wheelbases and rear weenies wider than most car tires generally do
not contribute to a nimble-feeling motorcycle.
That’s what makes these two machines very surprising. They actually are relatively light on their feet. To a point, that is. Of course, they don’t lean very well when you really push them, especially the Texas Chopper in left turns (a sidestand fix is in the works). When you need more lean, you have to physically countersteer against the handlebar and “lift” the wide rear tire up onto the side of its profile. Not exactly confidence-inspiring.
The Big Dog, on the other hand, is quite the opposite.
First, the handgrips are lower and closer to you, meaning you can put direct pressure on the bars. Second, the fork isn’t as raked out or as long as the Texas Chopper’s. Just looking at the two bikes side by side makes that fact obvious.
A lot of this handling business is almost a moot point because the suspension pieces of both machines are so unrefined-at least by “regular” bike standards. Freeway expansion joints at anything more than 60 mph and it’s Back Pain City. Tallish slab transitions result in your butt coming off the seat and catching some air, despite both bikes being equipped with swingarms and hidden rear shocks. If you apply any amount of front brake, the forks compress to their stops.
No, these vehicles are only designed to do one thing, and be really good at it: Be utterly pimp-tastic. And they both do the job nicely. Visually, the American Ironhorse, with its extra-raked front end and paint job does have a slight edge over the Big Dog. The Dog, on the other hand, has the Ironhorse beat on rideability and fit-and-finish.
But do you really spend $30K on a factory-built chopper for rideability? In the case of the Texas Chopper, guest-tester Brent Avis felt the answer was no. ,
“You have to see who buys these things, guys who want to show off and look cool,” he said. “They don’t care if you can’t turn left. The unfinished pieces make it look garage-built, which in this segment adds credibility.”
And the Big Dog?
“Compared to the Ironhorse, the Big Dog is like a Honda! It doesn’t do anything for me. The Ironhorse speaks to me because of its super-stretched fork and snappy motor. Plus, it looks so much meaner. If I’m going to play a role, I want to play it well.”
Brent, you’re a good friend, but whatever you do on your own time is strictly confidential, my man.
In the end, it basically boils down to what you want these factory choppers to do. If you’re a rider, the Big appropriate machine. Want to impress your friends? The American Ironhorse is your
AMERICAN IRONHORSE
$30,800
Ups Bling-Bling Custom homebuilt attitude Gets compliments, even when stranded on the side of the road! Wonderfully snappy motor.. Downs the carb starves Stranded on the side of the road (blame a batch of bad batteries) Lack of refinement Turning left Popeye clutch
