Green Flamed Big Bear Chopper & Suzi
“You don't have a bike like this to just sit in the lounge — it should be ridden hard,” said Jai.
![Suzi with the Big Bear Chopper](http://i0.wp.com/www.ozbike.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Green-Flamed-Big-Bear-Chopper-Suzi-Ozbike_05.jpg?fit=1200%2C750&ssl=1)
I’VE BEEN riding dirt bikes my whole life. I’ve had six dirt bikes since the age of five and multiple pit-bikes but always aspired to get a Harley-Davidson. I never wanted a road-bike because I couldn’t trust myself; I have always ridden outside my ability.
One day I was looking on Ace Book and came across a standard-looking Big Bear Venom Chopper with heaps of engine work from Chicago, Illinois. I was unsure at first with the unfamiliar manufacturer and international purchase, but after hours upon hours of research, I was confident in the huge gamble. I was especially reassured in the brand when I found out Jesse James (owner of West Coast Choppers) owns a Big Bear Titanium.
After waiting nearly five months, it arrived on a pallet in 1000 pieces. The guys from Chicago had torn it down to avoid import approvals. Straight away, eager to make a start, my mate Joel Trigg shipped it to Victoria and started mocking it up, chopping, lowering fenders, shooting stuff off to paint; all while I was sitting back in sunny Darwin throwing money at bolt-on’s.
When the mock-up stage was complete, my mate Bruce Terry from Bruckybrushing, Ballarat, got straight into laying colour on all the tins from the cartoon blacked-out flames with a painted pinstripe in-your-face to a multiple layered green flame in the background. They were then flow-coated in clear and baked so none of his multiple layers of paint could be felt.
![Fuel tank on the Big Bear Chopper](http://i0.wp.com/www.ozbike.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Green-Flamed-Big-Bear-Chopper-Suzi-Ozbike_01.jpg?resize=689%2C470&ssl=1)
![The Big Bear Chopper engine](http://i0.wp.com/www.ozbike.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Green-Flamed-Big-Bear-Chopper-Suzi-Ozbike_02.jpg?resize=705%2C470&ssl=1)
![Suzi in a swim suit with the Big Bear Chopper](http://i0.wp.com/www.ozbike.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Green-Flamed-Big-Bear-Chopper-Suzi-Ozbike_03.jpg?resize=614%2C470&ssl=1)
The bike then went to my mate Rick Saville from A.E.S Automotive Electrical Services, Ballarat, for a full rewrite with minimal hidden wiring which came out great.
As this long drawn-out project was finally coming together with all the bits in the one spot, I thought I’d better book a flight for the third time down from Darwin to Melbourne to work on it hoping I could have it all back together in the short time-frame of a week.
Obviously, everything didn’t go as smoothly as I hoped. It came to fly-out-day and it still wouldn’t fire up. We robbed ignition and leads off a mate’s Harley, and with this being the last hope, we had one last try and it fired straight away — and did it sound tuff! There is nothing like the sound of a carbide V-twin with a cam and set of Frankie Serrano Designs 1.75-inch to 2.50-inch stepped pipes (FSD Exhausts).
The build was finally complete so I tidied up all the loose ends and arranged to get it picked up for its journey to Darwin.
When it turned up I obviously started riding it straight away. Excited as I was, after multiple shake-down rides I was struggling to get the power to the ground — breaking pulley bolts and studs, spinning clutches, and then breaking two belts. I’ve since fitted the chain conversion which is holding in there.
You don’t have a bike like this to just sit in the lounge — it should be ridden hard. The first and only show I have entered I got runner-up in the Shannon’s Hot Rod and Motorcycle Extravaganza for Best Modified Bike.
![Tai riding the Big Bear Chopper](http://i0.wp.com/www.ozbike.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Green-Flamed-Big-Bear-Chopper-Suzi-Ozbike_06.jpg?resize=608%2C470&ssl=1)
![Suzi sitting on the Big Bear Chopper](http://i0.wp.com/www.ozbike.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Green-Flamed-Big-Bear-Chopper-Suzi-Ozbike_04.jpg?resize=618%2C470&ssl=1)
I’d like to thank my cousin James Wren for his help; my mate Robert Berry from Shannon’s Insurance for insuring the build from start to finish; my mate Richard Cross from Alicross Engineering for the custom tune; Shane from East Coast Imports for getting it here from the States; Josh cook from the CHIEF group for the use of his workshop for the shoot; and Rick Benson for the photos. Thanks also to Suzi Van Engelenhoven for making the photos shine with her presence.
photos by Rick Benson; words by Jai