The Texas Chopper was the flagship of the Ironhorse motorcycle line. Many do not realize that Ironhorse made a number of different models (the majority of which are rigid frames) in their Fort Worth Texas facility. We are going to be featuring videos on many of the Ironhorse models in the coming weeks.
As I said, the Texas Chopper was the most popular of the Ironhorse models followed closely by their Legend model. Actually, these two models were both swinging arm suspension choppers. What really made them very popular was the distinctive classic chopper look, while providing a soft tail ride.
American IronHorse was an American motorcycle manufacturer that was founded in 1995 by Tim Edmundson and Bill Rucker. At one time, AIH was the largest factory producer of custom motorcycles in the USA. Their 224,000-square-foot (20,800 m2) factory was located in Fort Worth, Texas, and housed the complete manufacturing process under a single roof. Although most (305) parts for the bikes were made in-house, such as the seats and wheels, all American IronHorse motorcycles were built with S&S engines and were assembled in-house. In Spring 2008, American Ironhorse ceased production on all cycles and most company assets were liquidated at auction. William (Bill) Rucker sold his 45% interest in the company due to disagreements with the then current board of directors who desired to take the company public and Rucker wanted to keep the company private. AIH over the next 4 years had 5 CEOs attempting to replicate the success with Rucker enjoyed during his tenure, the final CEO Buck Hendricson run company during second bankruptcy after purchase by Textron Inc in bankruptcy court. Textron liquidated company in 2008 due to lack of operating capitol and a solid business plan to capture the failing custom bike market in 2008.
