Ah America, where you not only have an option of buying a V8-powered production motorcycle, but you even have a choice of brands. Ask someone to name a V8 motorcycle company and odds are they’ll answer “Boss Hoss” and that’s not surprising as Boss Hoss definitely made the first usable production V8 bike and still is turning them out today. But, like everything else, sometimes outrageous power just isn’t the only criteria and that’s where V8 Choppers comes in with a Chevy engine surrounded in high-style chopper looks and finish that’s worthy of the a participant in the legendary Oakland Roadster Show. Head honcho of V8 Choppers and a really down-to-earth guy, Stan Hughes, explained what his company is all about. “I understand where my guys are coming from. All they’ve had to look at is the Boss Hoss up to this point. Boss Hoss did their thing and created a market for it and they did well doing it. Not to cut them down or anything like that as they’ve done a fine job, but I never looked at one and wanted it. I combined the V8 power with a little more fit and finish, a little more style, and a little more motorcycle-looking. Well as close as I can with a car engine,” said Stan laughing at the V8 zaniness of it all.

From my own experience and a lot of seat time, the Boss Hoss is surprisingly a competent motorcycle even with a small-block Chevy (or even the rarer big-block version) stuffed into a frame. The Boss is definitely an imposing and interesting sight, but I don’t think it would ever be considered a looker, more Wild Bill Gelbke Roadog than sleek chopper. And, that’s where V8 Choppers comes in with a raked out, more traditional chopper style with fit and finish that has to be seen in person to appreciate. This wasn’t just a V8-powered motorcycle, but a V8-powered chopper.

My first glimpse of the super-high state of finish made me wonder if this bike just might be a ringer sent out to impress potential dealers and customers, but when the second bike rolled out of the V8 Choppers’ trailer, I could see that this was their standard level of fit and finish (Stan laughed about my initial trepidation and assured me it was a “standard” bike). The welds on the frame and bodywork were show quality and the paint was buy perfecto. Everything from controls to bodywork to wiring to components was of the highest quality and nothing looked like it had spent time on a freighter crossing the Pacific. “I act like I’m building every bike for me,” said Stan. “The customer? They usually don’t know the difference between an American alternator and a Chinese-made alternator ‘til the Chinese-made alternator fails.”

Stan’s been a very busy guy in an industry that’s seen its heyday and he attributes it to his desire to build not only a quality product, but one with style. “Years ago I heard a speaker say, ‘If you can make your customer say WOW! you’ll not only get new customers, you’ll keep your old ones.’ So I simply try to make my customers say WOW! whether it’s the fit and finish, the product, or the service end of it,” he said. “That works for me because I’ve been swamped through the downturn in the economy and we’re just trying to figure out what we’re gonna do when it turns around! We just added 8,000sq.-ft. to our shop and we’re still trying to figure out how to keep up. Being very picky doesn’t make you as much money per unit, but it keeps you busy. And, if it keeps you doing what you love, then it’s all worth it at the end of the day.”

One reason why Stan’s staying a busy guy is the great reception V8 Choppers’ new trike models are getting. With three new and different models, the Sport Trike, the Touring Trike, and the Hot Rod trike, Stan’s positioned his company to ride the wave of people looking for three wheels instead of two. “We’re really a bike company, we just got into trikes for market sustainability. But, if we’re going to do them, we’re going to do them over the top,” said Stan. “The neat thing about a trike, though, if you pull up on a V8 bike it immediately intimidates certain people, it’s a bigger, heavier machine than we’re used to seeing in bikes. But, when you put that same motor in a trike it doesn’t intimidate even the smallest girl. It’s totally rideable.” So much so that even Stan’s a trike convert now. “I wasn’t really into trikes until I rode one of ours and realized I could utilize all my V8 power on it, light the tires up at will or I can just ride it normally and not have to put my feet down. It’s really kinda fun!” Stan said laughing at the idea of smoking up a set of tires almost as big as rolling stock on the back of a Dodge Viper. Check this YouTube video out and you’ll get what Stan’s talking about with his recent trike infatuation. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMcB0EMOPVs&list=PL74042D58DC4325D1&index=4&feature=plpp_video)

With engine packages ranging from a measly (!) 300hp on up to 520hp and beyond if you ask nicely, V8 Choppers has a bike or trike sure to satisfy any power junkie. There’s not only a choice of standard options available for either bikes or trikes, but I don’t have any doubt that Stan will try his best to accommodate anything your silly little heart desires. The one-speed automatic tranny is all this baby needs and even if you’re incapable of handling a clutch and gears, if you can turn a throttle, you can ride a 520hp motorcycle. Ain’t life in modern America great?

Stan summed up his whole approach to what makes V8 Choppers a great choice for power hungry, but discerning customers saying, “We’re just real people. We’re here in Oklahoma and I’m just a country boy. I grew up on a dairy farm and started riding bikes when I was eight-years old. It’s just always been my passion. I learned one time, somebody said, “If you chase your dream and do what you love, you’ll never work another day. It’s true, I work all the time, but I never feel like I do. We’re not interested in being big at all, we’re so not. We’re interested in doing a good job and like I said, making the customer say WOW! If we do that right, we’ll have plenty of money and it’ll be all right. Happy’s better than being rich. We’ll just work harder.”

Be sure to check out Monday’s upcoming feature story of what it’s like to actually ride a motorcycle with a 520hp V8 sitting in your crotch. All I’ll say now is that the term crotch rocket takes on a whole new meaning for me and it doesn’t involve plastic race-replica fairing-equipped bikes.