1972 Troublemaker's Chopper - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article

Description

1972 Troublemaker's Chopper - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article
Original, vintage magazine article
Page Size: Approx 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm)
Condition: Good
Kerwin Abbey is an instigator.
He’s been instrumental in
fighting New York’s helmet
law, in loud screaming about the way
chop riders get screwed by insurance
companies, and in trying to make sure
that the Feds don’t pass bike laws as
stupid as some of the states have.
Of course, if you’re a chopper rid-
er in Hampton Bays with a beard
and long hair, you’re either an insti-
gator or you get ground under.
It isn’t that Abbey is a knight in
shining armor—it’s just that he likes
to jam in peace. He’s tired of get-
ting the shaft from anybody who
seems to think he knows anything
about scoots.
He rides a ’58-engined rigid frame
Hog, chopped in the traditional style.
The bike is currently down for a
cleanup and an update on the styling.
Abbey said it’d probably end up as a
low-rider chop when back together.
According to Abbey, his bike is
“proof that choppers live forever. It’s
been in some stage of being chopped
since 1961.”
Abbey picked up the bike three
years ago. At the time, it was par-
tially chopped, and the Sporty front
end had been tacked on.
Before any work was started,
Abbey sat down and figured out just
what he wanted in a scoot. Beard
or no, he’s a bit of a traditionalist,
so he decided to put together a tra-
ditional chopper, still one of the most
distinctive things that can be done to
a hawg.
When he had his ideas together.
Abbey disappeared into his garage.
After all the parts had been neatly
stacked in piles, the frame got an inch
kickout.
For simplicity, he cut out the sec-
ond top frame rail, and then rein-...
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