Bobbing means cutting. The original bobbers were road bikes with the front mudguard binned, the rear one cut short, and every bracket, rack and running board thrown away to make the bike lighter and faster.
It is the oldest custom style there is, and it started for the most practical reason imaginable: riders coming home after the war wanted their bikes to go quicker and had no money, so they removed weight. The look is a by-product of that arithmetic.
A modern bobber usually means a solo sprung seat, a short or absent rear mudguard, minimal lighting and a hardtail or a hardtail-looking rear end. That last decision is the one worth thinking hardest about, and we have written about why.
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