The Soekoe Seventies Chopper
Building a motorcycle from scratch is one thing. Building a chopper around a 110cc engine, right here in South Africa, takes things in a rather different direction…
You’ve heard about the Soekoe range, we took some of their creations racing with a mix-match of results, Right Here.
At the 1000 bike show, we encountered another one of their interesting creations: The Soekoe Seventies Chopper, the first of what could become a very interesting collection of hand-built motorcycles. With its stretched frame, towering bars, fat tyres, acres of chrome and that rather tasty green metal-flake finish, it certainly looks the part.
This certainly isn’t a one-off exercise just to see if it could be done because they already have orders for more, with each chopper destined to have its own identity.
Engine
Tucked neatly into that hand-built frame is a 110cc, four-stroke, 4-speed Lifan single-cylinder engine with a centrifugal clutch.
The engine is compact enough to sit neatly inside the frame without overpowering the design, leaving the custom work to remain the star of the show.
And there is something wonderfully honest about seeing that little four-stroke donk sitting there in the middle of all that metal, chrome and paint. This isn’t trying to pretend it is a Harley-Davidson. It is a Soekoe, and it is doing its own thing.
The Frame
This is where the Soekoe really starts to separate itself from the average custom build:
The frame was built completely by hand, and getting those flowing lines right was no simple task.
Every tube and curve had to work together to create the long, low chopper stance while still giving the bike somewhere to put its engine and wheels.
And once you start looking closely, you realise just how much work has gone into keeping everything clean.
Front Suspension
Now this is where the old-school chopper vibe really kicks in. Soekoe has gone with what is correctly called a springer fork, rather than the telescopic setup you would normally find on a motorcycle.
The design takes its inspiration from the Schwinn Sting-Ray/Krate-style springer forks of the old days. Instead of the fork legs simply sliding up and down through telescopic tubes, the main fork remains rigid while a pivoting linkage and external coil spring do the work.
The spring sits proudly up at the fork crown, making them part of the bike’s overall look rather than something hidden away. It is a wonderfully old-school solution, and on the Soekoe it fits the seventies chopper theme perfectly.
The Handlebars
There are no exposed cables, wires or levers cluttering up the bars. The control cable disappears inside the handlebar before emerging neatly underneath it.
It’s a small detail, but it makes a massive difference to the finished look. With a bike this visually simple, messy wiring would stick out like a sore thumb. Soekoe has managed to keep the bars looking almost impossibly clean. The white grips are a classy touch.
Fuel Tank
The fuel tank is one of our favourite touches. Rather than sitting above the engine where you’d normally expect it, the custom made chrome tank is tucked neatly under the seat. The fuel line runs through the frame adding to that wonderfully clean custom appearance.
Wheels and Tyres
The wheels are another big part of the bike’s personality: Spoked rims, polished hubs and chunky rubber give the Soekoe Seventies Chopper a combination of classic motorcycle and custom-bicycle styling. The rear tyre is particularly beefy, while the front wheel stretches out in front of the bike, helping to create that unmistakable chopper stance.
The proportions are what make it work. Despite the tiny engine, the bike doesn’t look like a toy. It has a proper presence.
Brakes
There is plenty of polished metal on display, with the rear braking hardware neatly incorporated into the design rather than simply being bolted on as an afterthought.
And that is probably the thing we like most about this build. It all looks hand made rather than just a bolt on job.
Unique:
They are building to order but: No two choppers will look the same.
That means every owner gets something genuinely individual, and from what we’ve heard about some of the ideas already being thrown around at Soekoe, the bikes that follow this one could get seriously interesting. That’s all we are going to say for now.
So, while this green machine might be the one that gets the ball rolling, keep your eyes peeled. There are more choppers coming out of the Soekoe doors, and if this first one is anything to go by, the future is going to be rather cool.
A South African First?
If Soekoe gets the Seventies Chopper through the homologation process, it could become one of the very first South African-built motorcycles to be homologated for road use. That is a pretty special milestone for a hand-built bike
But – What Is the Soekoe Brand?
The Soekoe brand is the brainchild of Desmond Soekoe, a man who has been messing around with things on two and four wheels since he was 13. After spending 23 years in the mining and manufacturing industry, Desmond eventually decided that the corporate world wasn’t where his passion was anymore. He wanted to build things.
That passion started at home where Des had been building and tinkering with cars and motorcycles. Things really started moving when he decided to build his first motorised bicycle.
One bike became another, and then another. Before long, what started as a personal project had turned into Soekoe Motorised-Bicycle Co.
The early bikes were based on imported bicycles, but Desmond wasn’t happy with the quality, so he started working with local manufacturers to produce frames to his own designs. Other components, including tanks, handlebars and forks, were also manufactured locally, with the South African content of the bikes increasing as the business developed.
Today, Soekoe describes its machines as handcrafted petrol and electric moto-bicycles, with custom-built frames, handlebars, seats and accessories. The company operates from Fisher Hill in Germiston, where the workshop and assembly operation live under the same roof.
And this is perhaps the important bit for our Seventies Chopper.
Soekoe has never really been about building something ordinary.
The earlier machines were heavily influenced by the motorcycles and motor-bicycles of the early 1900s, with the company also getting involved in old-school board-track-style racing. We actually visited Soekoe a few years back and got to see the workshop and some of the hand-built machines for ourselves.
Now the company is taking that same hands-on approach in a completely different direction.
The Seventies Chopper is the first step into something new, and judging by the ideas already being thrown around for future builds, it certainly won’t be the last.
Do us a favor and check out the video, not only about the Soekoe Seventies Chopper, but the history of Soekoe from Desmond himself.
