Orange County Choppers
Orange County Choppers (OCC) is a custom and production motorcycle manufacturer based in Orange County, New York, that was founded by Paul Teutul, Sr., and Paul Teutul, Jr., in 1999. The company was featured on American Chopper, a reality TV show that debuted in September 2002 on the Discovery Channel, which has contributed to the company's quick rise to fame. In 2007, Discovery Channel's sister channel TLC picked up the series in the United States and Canada. A new international headquarters designed to combine their production and retail facilities was constructed in the Town of Newburgh and opened April 24, 2008.
OCC's production facility was initially located in the hamlet of Rock Tavern, it then later moved to nearby Montgomery before moving into its new headquarters in Newburgh. The company also operates a seasonal kiosk at the Woodbury Commons Outlet Mall in Central Valley, NY.
History
OCC started as a sideline to the family's steel manufacturing enterprise, Orange County Iron Works, which was founded in the 1970s. In the late 1990s, Teutul Sr. began manufacturing custom motorcycles as an extension of his steel business, and in 1999 he founded Orange County Choppers. The company's first bike, "True Blue", was debuted at the 1999 Daytona Biketoberfest.
Key Personnel
Former staff
Sheet metal fabricator Mike Campo left on good terms in 2006 to seek new artistic work. In September 2007, fabricator/chief mechanic Vincent DiMartino and mechanic/assembler Cody Connelly left OCC and American Chopper. The two have since started their own bike shop, V Force Customs in Rock Tavern, New York not far from OCC's original shop. They also work closely with Paul Jr. Designs.
Minority owner/chief designer and fabricator Paul Teutul, Jr. was fired from the shop in late 2008. In January 2009, TLC served a notice of default due to Paul Jr.'s absence. Paul Jr. then returned to OCC briefly as a contractor, but left for good in April 2009. Paul Sr. then exercised a contractual option to purchase Paul Jr.'s 20% share in OCC and subsequently filed a lawsuit to force the buyout. After determining the language of the contract is too vague to allow Sr. to force the sale, the appellate court ruled on behalf of Paul Jr.
Paul Jr. started a new motorcycle design company, Paul Jr. Designs (PJD). After a one year non-compete clause ended, Paul Jr. opened a motorcycle shop in April 2010. TLC then commissioned a 7th season titled American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior which features both OCC and PJD.
Bikes
OCC is best known for the bikes featured on American Chopper where bikes are built around a theme or, increasingly, for specific corporate or celebrity customers. The company has built custom bikes long before beginning the Discovery Channel show. Additionally, OCC launched a limited edition production line of motorcycles in July 2007, priced beginning at $31,000. These bikes include design elements originally developed for bikes featured on the show.
The range of standard production bikes will be extended to meet worldwide (with particular attention to Canada and Europe) legislation for motorbikes over a couple of years. This means that the bikes will be sold commercially outside the USA for the first time.
One of OCC's most popular bikes is The Fire Bike, which was designed by Paul Teutul Jr., to commemorate the New York firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11. The bike itself has been modeled after a fire truck, and an actual steel rivet from the World Trade Center has been integrated into the bike itself, mounted atop the bike's gas tank. Paul Jr. stated that the bike was named "343", the number of New York firefighters who gave their lives on 9/11.
The popularity of American Chopper led the United States Air Force to commission a $150,000 "Air Force Bike", first put on public display in March 2005. The motorcycle is ten feet long and is modeled after the F-22 Raptor, complete with Air Force symbol rims, riveted gas tank, Raptor exhausts and rear-view mirrors in the shape of jets. Air Force recruiters commissioned it as a public outreach tool.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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