Traveling with the Discovery Channel® affords me many unique opportunities. The latest of my journeys was a Biker Build Off between Hank Young and Chica. You would think that filming a bike builder who spoke only broken English was a bad idea, but lucky for us, Chica had an outspoken translator of sorts – his right hand man Johnny Chop. Don’t get me wrong, Johnny doesn’t speak a lick of Japanese, but somehow the two have a curious bond with words that make it seem like they have been friends for years. Chica, who sometimes looked at us perplexed when asked questions, merely had to glance at Johnny, who would change a word, inflection, or sometimes nothing at all and a response was elicited immediately. Since Johnny took on the responsibility of answering for Chica during most of the filming, I thought a little talk was in order. Instead of a boring ol’ interview, I got an often candid, thoroughly enjoyable, honest chat with Chica’s main man Johnny Chop.

How long have you been working with Chica?

You wanna laugh? About six months.

What would you say your job title is?

Boss! Ha ha ha! No, I don’t like the term boss, I’m one under Chica, his right hand man, head fabricator. Basically Chica is ultimate and I’m underneath him.

Do you have any background in the industry?

Oh yes, absolutely. I’ve been around forever, I’m old. Yeah. I’ve been doing street rods for about the past ten years, a few bikes, cars primarily. About four years ago I had my own shop where I did a lot of bikes and cars. When I closed my shop I worked for another shop for two years. Uh and that was just bikes. Then I came here.
How did you hook up with Chica?

I’ve always dug his sh*t. Saw him at a bike show at Newport Beach; bugged him and he called me. But I knew about Chica from shows. The first time I paid attention to Chica was at a Pomona Easyrider bike show in 02. We entered a contest and I won third place best of show and he won second place.

Are you so in tune with Chica that you can freely answer for him?

Absolutely! It’s pretty much been like that ever since we met. He’s one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met but the language barrier is difficult sometimes. But we connect on a certain level. Maybe it’s telepathic? He likes playing the silent guy I think.

Do you share the same views on building and bike styles?

Yes, I mean we have extremely different views. But I have two sets of views, I agree with everything he does, almost everything, so it’s really comfortable for me to work here. But I have my opinions and my own ideas that I don’t interject. We shoot each others ideas down all the time.

Do you help with the whole build or concept?

He definitely comes up with the first ideas and designs. That’s his deal. I don’t usually step on that. He does the initial design, and once the groundwork is laid out for the design of the bike, he shows me or sketches what he wants and then I put my own twist on it. And its pretty close to what he wants. He digs what I d
and vice versa and it works really well. We do have the same opinion on a lot of stuff.

How many bikes do you build a year?

Not enough. This year we will probably do about seven or eight bikes.

Is he popular in Japan?

Yes, he’s getting there. He is in a lot of Japanese magazines. It’s just through him being here in the U.S. though not from being in Japan. Yeah, I think he is about as popular in Japan as he is here.

How long has he been in America?

Like 11 years.

How long has he been building bikes?

About 13 years but he has been working on bikes longer. He worked at a service shop in Japan.

Why did he come to America?

He had a job offer to build bikes here and it fell through, so he had to open his own shop. He has been at our current location for eight years.

What builders do you or Chica respect in the industry now?

Chica always said that his main influence early on was Arlen Ness. Early Arlen Ness. My influences were just the guys that would jam around central valley California. All these crazy hellions that ran around, and a few mechanics that worked at my dads shop. As far as builders go I’d have to say I like Sugar Bear, and I don’t wanna sound cliché but Billy [Lane] in the last few years. And I don’t know, I’ve never really paid that much attention to what people do. I look at sh*t other people do, but I’ve always done my own thing. I’ve definitely always had my own twist on everything.

What do you think about old school becoming popular?

I think its f*ckin ridiculous. I’m only 32 years old so its not like I was around when old school was new school. I hate labels more than anything. I mean I would never even call myself a biker, but a motorcycle enthusiast. I think the term old school is stupid for one thing. These guys calling their Softail Evo bikes old school is absolutely a joke and it’s just a marketing label. People are getting sick of these long, wide tire, billet, shiny bikes, and are coming back to the basic stuff. The whole old school thing is not old school, its what’s going on now.

What do you think about the new fat tire trend?

I’ve built fat tire bikes, but I was never really totally groovy with it. I think bikes should handle well and I think you should build bikes that you can ride. Fat tire bikes just aren’t the best handling bikes in the world. I hear they are making a 340 tire now.

What’s the point? That’s stupid what are they gonna pave driveways with it? I like 200’s, they are about as wide as I would go. I think they’re cool and they still handle okay. I don’t know, I just don’t have much of a comment on wide tires; I think they are a waste of time.

Do either of you have any official schooling?

No.

What was the first bike you built?

A 48 pan head. I bought it in boxes and I taught myself how to work on it. I never had a Harley till like eight years ago. My parents were not down with bikes. I guess my first bike was a triumph when I was 22. I’d been dragging cars home since I was 15. Choppin them up in the driveway, driving the neighbors and my parent’s crazy. That is where I got my nickname.

Since you were chosen for one of the new Biker Build Off’s, and you are going to get a lot of media exposure, how big do you plan on getting before you say forget it, its not real anymore?

I’m already feeling like that. It’s so phony so frustrating. But what am I gonna do. I’m not gonna pass it up.

What about Jesse James?

I don’t take anything away from him; people talk sh*t about him all the time because they’re not him. I think that Jesse James can step up to anybody in the industry and he can build a better bike than they can. Because he’s a craftsman, he can do anything he says he can do, to the absolute highest quality in the industry. His designs are great his quality is great. And that’s what I can appreciate.

What did you think about your Biker Build Off experience?

My experience with the whole Biker Build Off thing was a breeze, I had a f*cking ball. There were a few chaotic moments, but I can’t wait till it comes out.