Billy Lane, owner of Choppers Inc., lives, eats, and breathes choppers. Since securing a secret cache of Easyriders magazines as a young boy, Billy has equated choppers with freedom. By the time he earned an engineering degree from Florida State University in Tallahassee, he had already established himself as a promising young chopper builder. An appearance on the very first episode of Discovery Channel's Monster Garage led to a starring role in Biker Build-Off and growing fame as a chopper builder with both artistic vision and technological innovation. In this autobiography, Billy shares his life story, from running with gangsters in Miami as a younger man to becoming a celebrity chopper builder who is mobbed by fans everywhere he goes. Inside stories on his most famed bikes are included, as well as Billy's thoughts on those who inspired and helped him on the road to becoming a famed chopper artist and television star. The book is full-color, giving ample room for the reader to view Billy's incredible creations, featured in stunning photography by Michael Lichter. Billy's bikes are works of art on multiple levels, combining the fine art of sculpture with the pop art of incorporating found objects into the work. But they are also technological tours de force, featuring engineering that is nothing short of astounding. But there's more to life than just choppers, according to Billy. There are women, too. There's no doubt about it - the sexy lines of an old school chopper, its curvy hips, narrow waist, and voluptuous torso, are the same lines found on a beautiful woman. In addition to stories of his great bikes, the self-professed "Ladies' Man" of chopper builders shares behind-the-scenes stories and photos of his other true love, whether they were long-time girlfriends, strippers, other colorful characters in his life, or the fans who demand his autograph on their body parts at biker shows throughout the U.S.Billy Lane is the ultimate insider's look at the lifest

Billy Lane Chop Fiction: It's Not A Motorcycle Baby, It's A Chopper!

Engineering & Transportation

Lichter, Michael

Holmstrom, Darwin

Lane, Billy

Automotive

Motorbooks Intl

In MemoriamWe all were saddened to learn of the recent death of master chopper artist, Larry Desmedt, or "Indian Larry" to all knew him. As fate would have it, we at Motorbooks had decided months ago to feature one of his beautiful creations on the cover of this new book. We are honored to be publishing a book that celebrates his life and work, both so sadly cut short. Our condolences go to his family, friends, and to anyone in the chopper community lucky enough to have known and worked with Indian Larry. When a motorcycle has been built from the ground up, stripped of anything not needed for speed, power, and striking looks, and draped in rich colors and chrome, it has been transformed into a chopper. What was once considered an outlaw ride has now become a luxury item and a mainstream obsession. In Choppers: Heavy Metal Art, author and biker Mike Seate explores the many styles of choppers and bobbers and the builders behind them. The book is divided into several sections based on style or type of chopper, with each section devoted to the builders who follow a similar style and philosophy. Some builders are established names in their field, while others are up-and-comers rocking the chopper world with their far-out ideas and new spins on a classic style. Photographer Michael Lichter, who has photographed choppers for Easyriders and several other magazines for nearly three decades, provides stunning studio images of the featured machines as well as portraits of their creators.Featured Builders Include:- Matt Burris- Larry Currick- Arlin Fatland- Al Gaither- Roger Goldammer- Don Hotop- Jesse James- Kendall Johnson- Kai- Brian Klock- Billy Lane- Indian Larry- Donny Loos- Rick Sairless- Russell Marloe- Pat Matter- Arlen Ness- Corey Ness- Mike Pugliese- Kim Suter- Mark Warrick- Paul Yaffe- Hank YoungAbout the AuthorMike Seate is a journalist living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He began riding motorcycles at the age of 16, and 24 years later has still not bothered to learn how to drive a car. His columns on city living appear three times each week in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and he has written hundreds of feature stories and opinion columns for various motorcycle enthusiast publications. Mike has written a number of books for MBI, including How to Build a West Coast Chopper, Outlaw Choppers, and Jesse James: The Man and His Machines.About the PhotographerMany factors make Michael Lichter's photography distinct, such as his technical mastery, his attention to detail, and his drive for perfection. Few other people see the world as Michael does, and no one else captures that vision on film the way he does. Michael began taking pictures and working in the darkroom at the age of 13. In 1978, Michael started doing commercial photography in Boulder, Colorado. By 1980, Michael had worked his passion for motorcycling into his photography career. His work began to appear in Easyriders magazine. Soon Michael found himself in the beds of pickup trucks during rainstorms, photographing packs of bikers on the roads around Sturgis, South Dakota. Michael is the author and photographer of the best-selling book Sturgis, and is the photographer of Billy Lane: It's Not a Motorcycle Baby, It's a Chopper!

Choppers: Heavy Metal Art

Seate, Mike

In the beginning, there was Arlen Ness. Before Jesse James, Billy Lane, and the battling Teutuls, Arlen Ness started the business of building celebrity choppers. He is a long-time custom motorcycle builder whose bikes combine the artistic and the extreme. These rolling sculptures have been covered in motorcycle and even hot rod magazines for decades as Arlen Ness built a worldwide reputation as an innovator and sought-out builder of themed custom bikes. This book traces the growth of the Arlen Ness reputation, business empire, and custom bike resume and features stunning new photography of all the bikes in Arlen’s personal collection, over 50 in total.

Arlen Ness: The King of Choppers

Ness, Arlen

Chica. Jerry Covington. Cory Ness. Dave Perewitz. Mondo Porras. Jesse Rooke. Roland Sands. These are the Lucky Seven, chopper builders whose bikes have forever changed the face of the custom motorcycle world. And, thanks to the popular Discovery Channel show, Biker Build-Off, the builder's own faces have become as recognizable as the motorcycles they build. In Top Chops: Master Chopper Builders, you are taken inside the world of these artisans of kinetic metal, providing the ultimate behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of a master craftsman's chopper shop. These fascinating builders are creating rolling works of art, captured in stunning photography by Michael Lichter. Included are one-of-kind photos from their personal collections, chronicling their start as young enthusiasts to top-chop builders today. Forward written by Billy Lane.

Top Chops: Master Chopper Builders

Nichols, Dave

A photographic chronology of some of the fastest, most stylish, and most individualized bikes in motorcycling history. Originally used as a slur against riders who used hopped-up motorcycles to travel from one transport café to another, café racer describes a bike genre that first became popular in 1960s British rocker subculture - although the motorcycles were also common in Italy, France, and other European countries. The rebellious rock-and-roll counterculture is what first inspired these fast, personalized, and distinctive bikes, with their owners often racing down public roads in excess of 100 miles per hour ("ton up" in British slang), leading to their public branding as "ton-up boys." Café Racers traces café racer motorcycles from their origins in the mid-twentieth century all the way into modern times, where the style has made a recent comeback in North America and Europe alike, through the museum-quality portraiture of top motorcycle photographer Michael Lichter and the text of motorcycle culture expert Paul d'Orléans. Chronologically illustrated with fascinating historical photography, the book travels through the numerous ever-morphing and unique eras of these nimble, lean, light, and head-turning machines. Café Racers visually celebrates a motorcycle riding culture as complex as the vast array of bikes within it.

Cafe Racers: Speed, Style, and Ton-Up Culture

d'Orleans, Paul

Motorbooks

Harley-Davidson combines transportation and lifestyle, inseparably linked to the ideas of freedom and adventure. Born to Be Wild is an homage to this attitude, began in America and embraced by the world. The recordings celebrating the Harley motorcycle allow you to immerse yourself into the Harley experience and enjoy the phenomenon that transformed its humble orgins to become an international sensation. Music CDs: Four CDs with biker classics pay a musical tribute to the legend.

Born to Be Wild: Harleys, Bikers & Music for Easy Riders

Arts & Photography

Stein, Michael

Photography & Video

Edel Classics Gmbh

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Lichter, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.