American Motorcycle Dealer AMD 228 July 2018 | Page 14

Europe’s last choppers?
Legendary Swedish long-fork chopper
designer and builder Hogtech says it
has arrived at a dramatic crossroads.
“The countdown has started. Hogtech
will manufacture 10-15 new Swedish
Style A-Choppers in the next few years.
Then it’s over. Forever. Now we are
entering the final stretch,” says Sam
Madsen.
Hogtech has manufactured its classic
choppers since 1982. Like so many
businesses in our industry, Peder
Johansson and Sam Madsen are
driven by passion for riding and run the
company with the interests of riders
and desire to ‘Keep The Flame Alive’.
Their primary driving force is the
authenticity of their designs and the
ability of their bikes to “eat the miles”
in most conditions and deliver years of
riding enjoyment for their customers.
Doing so has never been easy of
course, but now, finally, Peder and Sam
are having to face the realities of the
21st Century and are staring the
endgame in the face.
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“From 2017, all newly manufactured
motorcycles had to meet the
requirements of the Euro 4
environmental class” explains Peder
Johansson.
“This means, among other things, that
the conventional breathing
carburettor equipped engine is
doomed to disappear in favor of
injection. Taken with the requirements
for ABS brakes and other
developments, it is the end for the
classic slim and stylish Swedish
chopper as we have always known
and loved it.”
But Hogtech has one last Ace up its
sleeve.
As part of the transitional provisions in
the EU rules, the company has the
discretion to build and deliver 10-15
registered and ready-made choppers
in the next few years that have still
been built according to the old
regulations.
“We call them ‘The Last Choppers’,”
said Sam Madsen. “An epoch is now
AMERICAN MOTORCYCLE DEALER - JULY 2018
Sam Madsen (left) and Peder Johansson
going to the grave. The classic and pure
design Swedish-style Chopper has
basically looked the same for 60 years
- the last examples are now set to
become collectibles, but we hope they
end up being owned and ridden by
active chopper enthusiasts who share
our passions.
“A chopper should run; that has
always been our philosophy,” says
Sam. “The adjustments required for
Euro 4 would make the production of
Hogtech choppers more difficult, but
above all it would be like making a
completely different motorcycle.
“Just the electronics alone that would
be required to meet the new
compliance standards would make
production and type approval more
difficult. And putting ABS brakes on
the front wheel of a chopper is a
chapter by itself,” says Peder
Johansson.
The decision to shut down the
production will see Peder and Sam
waving the inevitable white flag of
surrender to one of the major and most
influential of motorcycling genres, a
unique style and set of design and
engineering values that has influenced
generations of builders, customizers
and riders worldwide since the 1960s.
Sam says there will be a final series of
individually numbered motorcycles
rolling out of the Hogtech but
although the word is already out in
Europe, Sam and Peder have not yet
decided how to manage the sales
process in order to try and ensure that
they do become treasured and hard-
ridden machines.
If you are planning to visit INTERMOT
Customized this year (October 3-7,
Cologne, Germany), be sure to come
by Hall 10 where Peder and Sam will
have bike in the AMD World
Championship of Custom Bike
Building - who knows, for the last time
maybe?
www.hogtech.se
www.AMDchampionship.com