Harley or Chopper
Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 21,736
Likes: 17,573
From: Driftless Area
Big Dogs are notorious for electrical problems, and the company is out of business. They sell (or not) for 30 cents on the dollar. If you wanna put one in the garage, pick a good spot, because it will be there a lot.
I have a Big Dog Chopper and although it is nice and fun to have it can sometimes be a pain in the ***. I wouldn't suggest it being your only bike, but if you are keeping the SGS it could be a good addition to the garage.
I would get a Big Dog before I got a AI and I wouldn't get the K9 or the Ridgeback, I would get the older Chopper. I put chopper in bold because that is the actual model name.
I think they made the Chopper until 2003 or 2004, and then started making the K9. The reason I would stay away from the K9 is because the K9 and Ridgeback use manufacturer specific parts whereas the Chopper parts are interchangeable with most softail parts.
I would get a Big Dog before I got a AI and I wouldn't get the K9 or the Ridgeback, I would get the older Chopper. I put chopper in bold because that is the actual model name.
I think they made the Chopper until 2003 or 2004, and then started making the K9. The reason I would stay away from the K9 is because the K9 and Ridgeback use manufacturer specific parts whereas the Chopper parts are interchangeable with most softail parts.
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Advanced
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 85
Likes: 1
From: SE CT
I have a Big Dog Chopper and although it is nice and fun to have it can sometimes be a pain in the ***. I wouldn't suggest it being your only bike, but if you are keeping the SGS it could be a good addition to the garage.
I would get a Big Dog before I got a AI and I wouldn't get the K9 or the Ridgeback, I would get the older Chopper. I put chopper in bold because that is the actual model name.
I think they made the Chopper until 2003 or 2004, and then started making the K9. The reason I would stay away from the K9 is because the K9 and Ridgeback use manufacturer specific parts whereas the Chopper parts are interchangeable with most softail parts.
I would get a Big Dog before I got a AI and I wouldn't get the K9 or the Ridgeback, I would get the older Chopper. I put chopper in bold because that is the actual model name.
I think they made the Chopper until 2003 or 2004, and then started making the K9. The reason I would stay away from the K9 is because the K9 and Ridgeback use manufacturer specific parts whereas the Chopper parts are interchangeable with most softail parts.
Last edited by ChickinOnaChain; Mar 7, 2017 at 06:51 PM.
Not from what the previous guy said, but just a variety of things.
I hardly ever had any problems with mine, but when I did need it serviced or worked on it could be a chore. I live in a very rural area though. A lot of mechanics/technicians just don't want to work on it, and the one that does is always backed up. Also the tires are more expensive. You have to pay a little more attention to the parts you order from places like J&P, they say what Harley is an exact fit and most of the time you can go by the Softail rule, but every once in a while you have to do some trial and error. Just things like that mainly.
I never had any electrical problems with mine. I have heard they were some isolated problems with the newer ones, but again the Chopper was made before that wiring/control module was introduced.
One thing that RHPAW said that is correct is you can get them for about 30 cents on the dollar, and to me that is a positive. You can get the Chopper with the S&S 107 for about the price of a used S&S 107, and you're not out much money.
Road Captain
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 714
Likes: 126
From: Westchester cty. NY
I rode a K9 in 2008 before they closed up and I loved that bike. It looks like you are correct and they are back in business and they are claiming to have fixed the bugs with their electronics. I belong to bigdogbiker forum and someone outside the company had developed a module that replaced what they were using and it solved all the unreliability problems, so if you have a older model, there is a fix. They do have a good deal of proprietary parts, and that adds to their uniqe looks. It looks like they are not going anywhere, they were still selling parts even when they were not making bikes. If I had a bagger and not a Breakout, I would be considering a new K9.
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Seasoned HDF Member
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 11,226
Likes: 3,049
From: St.Louis Mo.
big dogs ridge back and their k9 had some frame problems and they were recalled to repair the frames. i know a guy that had a wolf, biggest piece of crap i've ever seen. it had the TP engineering engine in it and it was pure junk. if i were going to buy a big dog bike it would be the pitbull. and then i would rip all the wiring off of it and wire it correctly. if you can spin wrenchs you can make one of these be a good motorcycle, plus you can get them cheap.
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Tourer
Joined: Jul 2015
Posts: 294
Likes: 18
From: Idaho
I had my 04 chopper for 10 years. It was a great bike, with very few problems. Plenty of 300 to 700 mile day rides on it. The bike always started and never let me down. The only problem I had on a trip was the speedo going out. I did have to replace my ECH around 5 years ago. And had to teflon the rear pulley because is squeaked going down the road when I first got it. But I've heard lots of people who had issues of some kind on a regular basis. I probably got lucky, but I had a great bike. Sold it last May after buying my Street Glide, which I bought the August before. I figured it was time to get something different and it was the only bike I kept longer then a couple years. Reason for selling was, I didn't have time to ride one bike let a lone two. I think the big dog was a smoother ride then my 14 street glide. The new owner had an ultra and him and his wife said the same thing. The 107 is the better motor over the 117 that was used in the 2005 and newer. No restrictions and flat out hauled ***... My buddies K9 couldn't keep up.
Tourer
Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 480
Likes: 349
From: Wilmington, NC
I had a Big Dog Mastiff for 15 years. Was only able to put 13 thou miles on it because it had electrical failures every other week. Replaced 10 starters. Small electrical fires. At 80 on the freeway everything shut off, almost killing me, because a turn signal bulb went out. Had to buy a trailer to tow it home every week.....and I had one of the good ones. Talk about a piece of ****. Electrics worse than Lucas. AIH is no better. Junk bikes, but do use good parts, just don't work well together. Check out their forums. No one is talking about rides they take, just problems they are having. Cost a lot of bucks so folks who have them try to convince themselves that they are "hot rods" which should be unreliable.