Bobbers are pure motorcycling. They’re what happens when you take everything you can off a velocipede and strip it to its basics. These seven 2023 factory-fresh bobbers prove that less can be increasingly and reduce motorcycling to just you, your bike, and the wind.
Sure, the origins of the bobber name are lost in history, and it could come from the “bob job” movement from racers in the 1940s, or the bobbed tail squint of later bikes, or plane “bar hopper.” But major manufacturers have zeroed in on the trend and these bikes are bobbed surcharge that you can buy right off the showroom floor.
2023 Triumph Bonneville
When most of us think of bobbers, we think of something that looks like the 2023 Triumph Bonneville Bobber. It’s basic, it’s stripped down, and it’s low with a single seat. The Bonneville Bobber though gets its grunt from the Bonnie’s T120 motor, which ways you get a1200cc 79 horsepower and 77.4 lb.-ft (104 Nm), a pair of chromed frazzle pipes, wire wheels, and that’s well-nigh it.
The Bonneville Bobber for many is the essence of a bobbed-tail bike, with a simple fender, no rear seat, and no place to stash your phone or gear. It’s a pure stripped lanugo velocipede for solo riding.
Indian Chief Bobber
Some will say the big Chief Bobber is not a bobber because, well, it has a fender. But, this is a solo machine, one that strips all of the touring gear off and reduces the Chief to its basics. The blacked-out Dark Horse version has mini-ape bars, forward controls, and woebegone fork and shock covers. The Chief gets a big motor, too, a 1818 cc (111 ci) air-cooled mill that makes a whopping 108 lb.-ft (146 Nm) of torque. Speaking of that big motor, it’s air cooled, one of a dying successors of V-twin bikes that don’t need an oil cooler.
New for 2023, the Chief gets a new slipper clutch with a larger friction zone. You moreover get the Ride Command system that lets you connect your phone to your velocipede and a Bluetooth helmet system.
2023 Scout Bobber
The 2023 Indian Scout Bobber, like its worthier brother the Chief, strips the Scout of all of the stuff you don’t need. Instead, you get chopped fenders, a lower bar, a custom looking side-mount license plate holder, and that’s well-nigh it. The Scout Bobber comes with Indian’s 1133 water-cooled V-twin that makes 93 horsepower (73 kW), with two giant Gatling gun exhausts exiting on the right.
The Scout is smaller and nimbler than the Chief, and for many, that handling is a huge bonus. We wouldn’t recommend the Scout Bobber for a long-distance tour, but then none of these bikes are really designed for long-haul rides.
2023 Duacti xDiavel
When you say Ducati, most of us don’t think “bobber.” But, there’s no reason the xDiavel isn’t one. It is a stripped-down solo-seat velocipede with no real creature comforts or provisions for touring. It’s just faster than most other bobbers, thanks to its 1,262 twin-cylinder Testastretta engine that makes 160 horsepower (119 kW).
We like the Dark version, in all black, that seems to get at the essence of the bike. In all black, it just screams “I’m going alone.” The xDiavel moreover handles increasingly like a sport velocipede than any upright bobber has any merchantry doing, but the traction tenancy and variegated ride modes will help you alimony the shiny side up.
2023 Maeving RM1
The Maeving RM1 is a variegated take on a bobber. This British, hipster-styled, all-electric velocipede is designed for municipality dwellers looking to have some fun on their daily commute. Its top speed is just 45 miles per hour, and it has a limited range. But, it has a steel frame and brushed-aluminum soul work that requite it a real sense of quality.
The Maeving is clever, though. It comes with one or two batteries that slip into a storage spot under the “tank.” You can pull a shower and slip it into a charger that plugs into the wall. For those of us who don’t have wangle to a street charger this is genius, and it lets suite dwellers tuition overnight.
2023 Harley-Davidson Street Bob
The Street Bob is the archetype Harley bobber. It has all you need on a bike, and not much more. With its bobbed fenders, upper mini-ape bars, and bobbed fenders, it looks like a summery custom right off the showroom floor. The new 114ci (1,868 cc) Milwaukee-Eight engine stays true to Harley tradition with pushrod-operated overhead-valves, but it moreover makes it the most powerful Street that Harley has overly made.
Harley moreover makes the Fat Bob and the Sportster S, which many will moreover say are Bobbers. The Fat Bob has the new Softail frame and a Milwaukee-Eight 114 mill as well. To our eyes, however, the Street Bob with its solo seat option, traditional shocks up front (the Fat Bob and Sportster have inverted forks) and archetype lines makes us want to hop on and throne off into the distance.
Curtiss The 1
Curtiss’ The 1 is certainly an interesting all-electric art-piece bobber. The 1 has an 82kW (110 horsepower) motor that makes 200 Nm (147.5 lb.-ft) of torque. But the Curtiss isn’t well-nigh numbers, it’s well-nigh eyeful and engineering. The electric tube motor is liquid cooled, for example, and it drives the rear wheel by a stat webbing belt.
The visitor is named for aviation and motorcycle pioneer Glenn Curtiss, and its prefab aluminum chassis certainly looks airplane inspired. But, unlike planes, The 1 is fully willowy right lanugo the wheelbase, the rake, the trail and the ergonomics. If you want a quicker-steering velocipede or a long-haul cruiser, it’s no problem.
After a couple of years of teasing us, Curtiss recently opened the order books. The visitor is prepping the bikes for wordage in late 2023. But, be prepared to pay for this marvel. The Curtiss 1 starts at $120,000, or $150,000 if you segregate to legation your own custom Curtiss.
