“Keep The Rubber Side Down”

It’s Sunday, and that means it time for another definition of biker terms!  If you have a suggestion for a definition, send it to me at  rickslark@yahoo.com, and I will try to fit it in.  OK, here’s this week’s definition.

“Bobber”:  A bobber is a motorcycle that is customized by removing all extraneous and non-essential parts from the motorcycle. This is done to increase performance (higher power to weight ratio) and to increase handling (lower unsprung weight over the axles). The bobber was originally built in the late 1940s and 1950s by servicemen returning from WWII who were looking for a little excitement. The bobber-style motorcycle is the forerunner of the more modern chopper-style motorcycle.

The word “bobber” likely gets its name from women’s “bobbed” hairdos that were popular around the time, characterized by short hair that falls above the shoulder.