Help: Motorbikes, hogs

adam

I don't know much about them so I am hoping you can point me in the right direction.

I'm looking to do a highpoly take on Ben Throttle's bike, seen her: http://www.dropbox.com/gallery/17188/1/Ben%27s%20Bike?h=b5de72

What are some real-world bikes I can Google for reference?

What do I call those pouches on his rear wheels?

What else should I know about hogs?

Purplepaint

Look at pretty much every Harley Davidson Motorcycle for reference. The bike he's riding looks like a stylized Old Harley Shovel head (maybe pan head) with "ape-hanger" style handlebars.

clicky

Harley America

We just called the pouches located near the real wheel "bags" or "rear-bags" and I have heard a few people call them "saddle bags" nothing to fancy there.

Hogs are generally as LOUD AND AGGRESSIVE LOOKING AS POSSIBLE, however there is many types of hogs, its all personal preference. The general color schemes I have seen a lot are: #1 the All black style of the bike where generally EVERYTHING is black, from forks to rims and the engine (my personal fave). #2 CHROME, EVERYTHING CHROME (much like my fathers bike). Another is the mixed and very passive style where there is a little bit of chrome, and some black, generally this is more stock or when people aren't sure which way to go.

There is also TONS of aftermarket parts companys that you can grab style from. (don't have any websites off my mind, but i'll look into it)

I worked at my local Harley retailer so I'll help ya as much as i can.

Also if you have a Harley retailer near by stop in and look around, just don't get suckered into buying anything

Ask em for a parts catalog if they have a spare, or take a peak through one, couldn't hurt.

Tom Ellis

The bike in the pic is based on a chopper. While a Harley would give you some decent ref for the primary motorcycle parts, a Harley is just a brand of Cruiser bike, of which there are many others; Indian, Suzuki Intuder, Triumph Thunderbird to name a few.

Your best bet would be a chopper builder website.

www.westcoastchoppers.com have a load of great pics and in their online store you'll find parts for sale which should give you plenty of good ref.

Xoliul

Cool that you're doing this research instead of just diving in You should have a look at these:

http://www.carbibles.com/suspension_bible_bikes.html
-You need to understand the idea's behind the suspension if you want to animate it and look believable. At least look at the pics and try to understand how it moves.

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/motorcycle.htm
-easy read, should show some basic principles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-twin_engine
-worth having a look. I tried to find some sort of major component chart for you, but can't find any.


Personally, I wouldn't look too much at chopper builders like OCC and so. They always build the same boring, flimsy looking things that are just in no way original anymore. I prefer the look of factory built choppers and harley's over those things, since they at least put some effort in using a bit more advanced engineering (since those things will actually be ridden instead of be on display).
Here's a website I always enjoyed looking at, random pick from the archive:
http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2006/05/10/radial-engine-powered-motorcycle/
There's a whole bunch of "top picks" from their archive on the side there, a few gems in there that can definitely serve as reference.

And another very cool reference site would be this one:
http://www.wrenchmonkees.com/bikes.html
they don't build choppers mostly (a few kind of are), but they are IMO the coolest custom bike builders in the world at the moment. Definitely a great inspiration on how they cobble things together but give the bike an attitude at the same time.

Tom Ellis

Fair points Xoliul but there is a difference between a 'Cruiser' and a 'Chopper'.

Cruiser - Genre of motorcycle. Like sportsbike, motocross bike etc. Stretched out, comfortable big, loud bike, a la Harley, Indian etc etc.

Chopper - Custom built/altered bike based on a frame of any particular cruiser.

The term 'Factory built 'chopper'' is really a contradiction in itself.

The reason I suggested chopper sites is that the bike in the original post is clearly a chopper, and to sell that fact, you will want to include custom parts. Such as the wild exhaust or the 'Ape-Hangers' Purplepaint mentioned. Neither if which are often found on a factory bike.

Xoliul

Oh fair enough, I generally don't care that much about that type of bikes, so I'm not really familar with the terms.

You're right about the custom parts, but those are merely visual things and aren't hard to figure out. My post was aimed more at understanding the mechanics.

Purplepaint

Creation is correcto!

However many many many many choppers use the old school harley look for basis, while there are other brands such as indian, and even honda now all use the old school harley look as a ref.. Thats why the first brand that came to mind is harley for myself. Sure you can get a honda that looks bad ass. But then you start it up and it sounds like a scooter.

But yes that bike is definately based on a chopper type of bike.


Edit: I realize i may of looked like a snob here, so i apologize that was never my intention