Well if bigger is better on a bagger, why not on a more traditionally outrageous chopper? I think it really does fit the chopper modus operandi better and, if done right, it doesn’t lose its end-to-end chopper flow like a bagger does to its big wheel pulling a pile of bodywork behind like a trailer. A big front wheel (and a corresponding size rear wheel that you can still see) can float in the airiness of a raked-out and extended front end without looking quite as cartoonish in my opinion. It just makes perfect sense and it’s a great way to revitalize big wheel bad boy choppers of days gone by.

 

   Who would have guessed that upping the wheel size ante on a chopper might be the spark they needed to get back into the custom game again? Not me, that’s for sure, but I do like it in a choppery way. One person who not only guessed correctly, but capitalized on it with this knockout of a bike was none other than Richard Wright of Richard Wright’s Chop Shop in Lexington, South Carolina. Barnett’s Magazine Online has featured Richard’s work previously where he showed he wasn’t afraid to take the road less traveled with a radical Victory bagger and an all-out chopper bagger. It’s not that he can’t or won’t build you a “normal” big wheel bagger (oh he will, just try him), I like to think that Richard is always trying to shake things up a bit without trying to shake things up. It just happens when you break down the normal walls of custom bikes.

 

  Richard’s chopper ode to Jimi Hendrix called Purple Haze is as shocking as Jimi was playing a guitar with his teeth or dousing it with lighter fluid and setting it on fire. Like Jimi’s insane guitar playing, Richard’s obviously a showman too and knows what will capture your attention and hold it. Hey, he got me and I’m a bit jaded after seeing millions of Jack Cofano’s beautiful bike photos. Like Jimi, Richard’s not just about being a P.T. Barnum-like showman as he hits all the right notes too in this ground-up build.

 

   Since there’s no Harley bagger frame to whack and weld to fit a big front wheel onto (and it sure wouldn’t be a pretty thing if a stock frame was all exposed anyway), Richard had to start from scratch with his own frame design. The rigid frame he eventually came up with is chopper light-and-airy with striking lines that are sure to bring the chopper kid out in you. It’s almost like the 124-inch S&S engine is sitting in the basement of a chopper with all the air space over it. It all looks right to me with a bit of danger thrown in like a good chopper should have. I love what Richard did with his upper engine mount that at first glance doesn’t seem like it should work, but I can only assume it does as old Richard likes to beat the piss out of his bikes and they have to be built for that. It takes a big-inch engine mount to a whole other place with a delicate horizontal piece that ties into the front and rear frame tubes just behind the skull-topped hand shifter.

 

   The high, radically-raked neck wisely sprouts a beefy inverted fork that’s been extended 22-inches to house the front wheel. A regular old, telescoping fork would probably flex beyond belief and provide little or not travel if it were extended as much as Richard’s, so the strength of the inverted tubes, even at this extension, comes into play here. Plus, on an ultra modern version of a traditional chopper like Purple Haze, an extended springer might work fine, but just would look a bit out of place.

 

   I’ve got to give Richard credit for not jumping on the “who needs brakes on a custom bike?” bandwagon. He’s not only got a decent set of stoppers front-and-rear, but a pretty damn cool master cylinder mounted on the bars. Speaking of bars, when I first saw Jack’s photos I wasn’t sure it even had bars until I noticed the low, almost hidden bars. I have no idea if they’re the least bit comfortable in conjunction with the seat, hand shifter, and foot control placement, but they sure do look cool and badass at the same time. Cool and badass is what a chopper is all about isn’t it?

 

   Another thing I give Richard kudos for is his bodywork. The tank is just a beauty of form and fits and flows on this bike like it supposed to. Same goes for the rear fender which is really nothing more than a clean-shaped rear fender doing what it’s supposed to ─ fending off road shit. But what I really like is his unwillingness to jump on another popular bandwagon of the “no front fender crowd.” Actually, it’s too easy to just eliminate that piece of bodywork, but it takes style and being clever to incorporate one so beautifully into a chopper of all things. It does provide a forward point for paint and that ties the whole thing together cohesively. He’s made it so it doesn’t stand out like it’s a mandated requirement of a state’s DMV and actually looks quite elegant.

 

   One thing Richard has going for him is years and years in the paint booth for both cars and motorcycles and he doesn’t fail to deliver again. The purple metal flake has enough sparkle and undertones of color that it’s almost like looking at stars in a Montana sky if the sky was purple with layers of clear instead of Mother Nature’s boring old pitch black. Accented with just the right touch of classy white pinstriping, there’s Old School, New Scholl, and No School (Yay!) combined in one dazzling ode to Purple Haze. Maybe you didn’t know, but Jimi was a wicked car freak and would have appreciated this paintjob on his cars or his guitars. How do I know that? Hey, just guessing, but from what I’ve seen of Jimi’s vehicles, I think I’m not just pissing into the wind here.

 

  Obviously I like what Richard’s done here and I hope that this is a trend that we’ll be seeing more of in the future. Richard’s all set on this one, but I’m sure it won’t be his last. All I ask is that any 32-inch front wheels stay in the box. Sometimes bigger isn’t always better.

 

  For more information on Richard Wright’s Chop Shop, you’re going to have to check out his Facebook page as builder websites seem to be going the way of the 21-inch chopper front wheel. Both may be on the endangered list for all I know.