I love choppers. Like, I really love them. They are so unique in so many different ways that, with a trained eye, you can pretty much tell which region of the country a certain bike came from. Growing up as a skateboarder, skating was the same way and some of you may be able to relate that.
East coast style was significantly different than West coast style, and for the most part, still remains that way. So let’s talk about a regional chopper style. Let’s talk about arguably the best known form of it: Frisco style chopper (that's short for San Francisco, California, by the way).
I’ll start out by saying that everyone has an opinion, you can argue this all day long, but this is my opinion on the matter.
Frisco style chopper in 60s
What is a Frisco Style Chopper?
A Frisco style chopper is a type of custom motorcycle which lends itself nicely to stripped down style. Frisco bikes were characterized by having long low frames and highly raked front ends. Generally, high mounted gas tanks, high mid foot controls, lots of ground clearance, and thin. Go fast and look good doing it. Frisco bikes were purpose built. Of course they were trashy and cool looking, but they also functioned well.
This custom chopper has custom Frisco chopper flair despite having a low frame and raked out front end
What makes a Frisco style bike? 60s Style Skinny Chopper Features
- The gas tanks: When it came to the gas tanks, more often than not, they had a low tunnel or no tunnel so they sat up high on the backbone.
- High foot pegs: Another neat thing about the Frisco style chopper was the high foot pegs. A lot of the time, you’d see some super high mids, if any pegs at all. Boot heels resting on the engine cases, bad boy status right there. The reason? Ground clearance. In a super sharp turn, the first thing that’s going to scrape are your pegs. If you eliminate that obstacle, the restriction of your lean goes away. Once again, bad boy status.
- Ground clearance: Speaking of ground clearance, Harley Frisco bikes stereotypically had longer than stock front forks with no rake to the neck. This caused the bike to jack itself up, adding a lot more space between the frame and the pavement. Maybe that’s where the wild bend that your swap meet kickstand has come from?
Say what you will, or listen to what your buddy that’s an “expert” and only rides GSXRs says, but a bike that has that setup is unlike anything you’ve ever ridden.
The 60s Frisco Style Skinny Chopper Features
How is the Frisco Style Gas Tank Designed?
The fuel valve was moved as far back as it could, and the filler neck was moved as high up as it could. This allowed you to use the full capacity of the gas tank, filling it right to the brim and using every drop with the petcock at the very rear. Harley-Davidson Sportster gas tanks were a common choice. This era and style is where the now-common term Frisco Sportster Gas Tank came from.
The purpose being to get as much fuel as you can, while maintaining the skinny factor of the bike. As you can imagine, a flat-bottomed tank with those modifications sitting on top of a Harley Frisco style backbone could add up to an extra half gallon of gas, or more. Go farther and no more worrying about your bike not starting due to the location of a factory petcock and the angle of the San Franciscan hill you parked it on!
I’ve also heard that a reason for this was so your carb didn’t starve on one of the gnarly downhills when gravity made all of your gas move to the front of your tank. It makes sense to me. Keeping your bike narrow lets you slip between cars and generally ride wherever you want.
The Frisco fuel tank is designed to take advantage of every drop of gas
Are Frisco style choppers hard to ride?
I have personally built choppers that are a minimum 6” over with no rake, and I can tell you that zig zagging through cars and avoiding potholes becomes significantly easier.
Custom Frisco chopper on the street
Purpose-built, performance-minded, narrow and nimble. That’s the best way I can sum up the legendary 60s Frisco style chopper.
Politics aside, go through a brief history of chopper motorcycles, if you want a good look at who did it the “textbook way”, take a look at the HAMC from the 1960’s style choppers through the 1980’s. Guys like Jimmy Souza, Armond Bletcher, Sonny Barger, Cisco Valderrama, and Rooster were all pioneers of said style if you need perfect reference.
Words by: Nick Resty, Haints CLCD
Frisco Style Chopper Photos
Frisco style chopper by Nick Resty • Photo by: David Carlo
Frisco style chopper - Photo by David Carlo
Harley Frisco Style - Photo by David Carlo
60s Skinny Style Choppers
Frisco style chopper - Photo by David Carlo
Frisco style chopper - Photo by David Carlo
Frisco style chopper - Photo by David Carlo
Frisco style chopper - Photo by Mikey Revolt
Frisco style chopper - Photo by David Carlo
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