3d Chop Shop

Editors' ReviewDownload.com staffNovember 30, 2005This Flash-based program helps you design your dream motorcycle, though this demo is a bit more limited than we'd like. 3D Chop Shop's polished interface displays a large rendering of the chopper in the middle of the screen, with buttons that let you zoom in on particular parts of the bike. Unfortunately, this demo includes only one stock body template and won't let you save, capture, or print the customization fixes you make. Easily accessible drop-down menus let you choose new parts for your bike, including headlights, handlebars, fenders, and wheels. You can of course change the color scheme of your bike or apply a few bundled designs, but some of the more advance paint-job options also are inaccessible until you register. On the plus side, the app creates an HTML page containing all your custom parts, complete with links to a motorcycle parts company. We should note 3D Chop Shop's extensive memory requirements and high CPU load may bog down older systems, so you may want to save this one for a more powerful machine. Gear heads who've always dreamed of designing their own choppers will potentially enjoy this program, but we wish the trial version gave you more than just a taste.