What is it that drive men to pour everything they have into designing and building Harley motorcycles? it is the fame, fortune, or a bevy of hot chicks?? I don’t know about other custom Harley builder, but i can tell you that as far as Mike Toupin is concerned it is the pure love of motorcycles that drive this master craftsman in churning out his award winning one of a kind Harley designs and custom paint.

For as long as i have known Mike Toupin, his shop has been jam packed with bikers seeking the artistic touch of Chopper Design Group for full custom chopper designs to mind blowing custom paint to adorn their already bad ass custom bikes. Ask any of these biker why they would wait up to 2 months to meet with Mike to consign a motorcycle build design or custom paint job, and the answer will be the same; they want nothing but the best and are willing to wait as long as it takes.

Ok so yeah, i am sure if you have been around the custom motorcycle industry for any length of time you have probably met one or two custom designers that have a solid reputation for turning out high quality work, but what you probably didn’t know is that Mike Toupin built his reputation by painting most of those designers choppers. Making him the “go to guy” if you want award winning paint!

Mike is not one of those designers who jots ideas and sketches on paper until he comes up with a design. each new design is all about flow from one spark, a rough idea which how “Bobb-It” was born.

I was in the shop one afternoon when pinstriper Dennis Jones dropped by with the kraftech frame that is the heart of “Bobb-It”. Within 2 hours Mike had pulled the king sporty tank down from a shelf, grabbed a few other parts and had them piled around the frame. The next day a rough mock was under way and the front and rear fenders were being shaped. towards the end of what would be a 2 month build, the fenders, gas/oil tanks, and frame would go back to Dennis Jones shop for hand pin striping, lettering and custom straight razor design.

I watched Bobb-it grow from a dingy pile of parts into the custom bobber that won first place at the 2011 Easy Riders bike show in Los Angeles. It is truly the tiny details of the design that make an award winning custom motorcycle, and it is no small feat building a crafty custom because you have to do it for under $10,000.00 in parts, and many of the parts on Bobb-It were custom made. It wasn’t until the bike was fully painted and reassembled for the last time that the full beauty of this design was evident.

Not the kind of man to rest on his laurels, Mike is hard at work on 2 more truly unique custom Harley designs, and you can rest assured that these new creations will be just as mind blowing and one of a kind sexy as Bobb-It, Nervous Wreck, and Diamond back are! Stay tuned for more!

Oh yeah Bobb-It is for sale too! Serious Inquiries can be send to our contact form

What do you say about a custom chopper builder who consistently turns out award winning Harley Choppers? Right Fucking On! For over 40 years Mike Toupin has been pouring blood, sweat, tears, and loving inspiration into every custom motorcycle he builds and this was clearly evident at the 2011 Easy Riders Bike Tour at the Los Angeles Convention Center with Bobb-It taking 1st place in the crafty custom category!

This category was designed to show the younger crowd the kind of custom motorcycle you can build for under $10,000.00 in parts, and although there is defiantly a lot of leg work involved in searching swap meets and bike shows to gather the parts for the build, the end result is certainly worth all of the hard work.

Bobb-It was only a pile of parts and a few rough ideas when Mike and the fellas at Chopper Design Group began the initial design process; starting with an 80 inch 1999 Evo motor and 5 speed trans joined to a Krafttech rigid frame with a 38 degree rake this new creation rapidly began to take shape with the addition of redesigned Dyna forward controls, GMA hand controls, hand made fenders and a king sporty tank. The power plant was was show polished, and completed with adjustable push rods, Mikuni carb, and Dyna 2000 I ignition & coil set. Bobb-It sports a smooth molded frame with sexy Kandy pagan gold paint, kandy tangerine scallops and purple pinstripes.

This award winning design is proof that anyone can build and ride a one of a kind custom Harley without breaking their bank or selling their soul to the motorcycle gods, and while many in pursuit of a more exotic custom design should also rest assured that their needs and dreams are in good hands with Mike and the rest of the crew at Chopper Design Group. In addition to their 1st place win at the Los Angles Convention Center, a photo shoot is under way as a featured bike in an up coming issue of Easy Riders magazine, so be sure to grab a copy!

Mike Toupin is a dedicated custom painter/designer that believes in sharing his knowledge and helping other builders. “if we don’t pass on our knowledge to the younger crowd, then the true art of custom motorcycle design will soon disappear” said Mike Toupin when asked what is the most important aspect of custom Harley design industry. “i guess you could say we have to give it all away in order to keep it” said Mike.

Mike Toupin and his crew are hard at work working on 2 new designs that are to be debuted in the next few months, and you can be sure that these new custom creations are sure to blow your mind! Oh and in case you didn’t know, The Bobb-It is for sale, and serious inquires can be directed to our contact form.

It seems that custom bike fever even affects children… Enter one cool ass custom painted kids trike! One of Mike friends brought in his kids trike for some custom candy paint. I am sure he will need some cool grips and custom leather seat too…. damn better throw in some mirrors and maybe saddle bags?

There is some great personal pride in owning and riding a one of a kind custom Harley, and if you live to ride like we do, then I am sure you know what I mean. Almost every Harley rider started out on a basic stock bike and as time went on we made modifications that made our bike special and unique to us… Even the little things like a bit of chrome, or some new handle grips. Next we’re thinking about a set of air bags, or maybe a new bad ass paint jobs with some cool graphics…you know what i mean…. The more this love of the Harley lifestyle grew in us, the more we wanted our bike to reflect our dedication to our lifestyle.

Building custom Harley Davidson Choppers is truly a one of a kind skill that takes many years of dedicated hard work to master, and while there are many custom Harley builders out there… only a few will ever elevate the building and designing of custom Harley Davidson motorcycles to an art form…and this art form takes more than technical skills and understanding… it takes an insight that is built from hours and hours of blood, sweat, hard work, and the true love of the beauty of the Harley Davidson lifestyle!

Ride to Live and Live to Ride

We hope to see you soon at a Bike show near you!

Not many people know who Mike Toupin is… he isn’t on any reality TV shows risking life and limb for Television fame…. you won’t see him screaming and yelling at his son on some yuppie biker show…But bikers who live the biker lifestyle to the fullest in Southern California know he is the man to see if you want the sweetest paint job, or want a one of a kind a custom built chopper!

Mike is the owner and founder of Chopper Design Group in La Habra California. For over 30 years Mike has lived been living the life riding hard, and painting and building custom Harley motorcycles. The Chopper Design Group isn’t one of those get rich overnight dreams, but rather a long slow upward grind to the ranks of the elite masters of custom Harley motorcycle design.

Chopper Design Group is dedicated to only one thing: Hand building only the finest Harley motorcycles with the sweetest paint jobs! You can’t put  price on quality, but the Chopper Design Group has the Midas touch when it comes to designing unique award winning Harley Davidson Choppers and Low Riders that are 100% hand built and painted American Hogs!

Mike’s Nervous Wreck is one of many examples of the true artistry that make Chopper Design Group the only choice of Southern California bikers. Featured on the cover of the June 2008 issue of Biker Magazine this slick and sexy 99ci 12 over Custom Street Bomb is a real head turner. Boasting custom hand made parts and a 5 stage Pearl and Candy paint job, Nervous Wreck makes grown men grimace with envy, and the babes beg to straddle the back end of this Milwaukee Vibrator!

To See more of Mike Toupin and Choppers Design Group, check back often. And if you want to get in touch with Mike you can click here or call him at 562-704-4007