This was eye-opening. I realize on all these chopper/hot-rod type shows they never emphasize the safety or performance.They emphasize stuff like how the hood ornament is actually the flusher mechanism from a space shuttle toilet, or something like that.
While I always knew that these shows were looks first, everything else second (because lets face it, all choppers and hot rods are inherently compromised for actual transportation purposes, that's just not their thing*, and basically all cars made before the 90s, and a lot even back then, are horrific for safety by today's standards, with no way to fix them), there was one specific moment that I remember, that hammered it home harder and made it impossible to ignore: I was watching Fast & Loud, and they went to put in a larger engine in a car. All good, until they notice that the oil pan interfered with the cross member at the front. I've read about such issues before in magazines, where people had actually put time and effort into their build, and often they'd either figure out ways to move the engine around, or make a custom oil pan to alleviate the problem. One guy converted the engine to use a dry-sump system. What did the Gas Monkey Garage guys do? They cut out portion off the cross member, so that the engine fit. Just cut it out. From the part that literally keeps the left and right side of the car together. I don't think they even added anything to maintain structural integrity. So uh yeah, dangerous, to the max. *If they were actually good, manufacturers would still make them like that.
As a kid I was a huge fan, I was raised in Rapid City, the largest city in the Sturgis area. My birthday is August 8th, which is pretty much always right in the middle of the rally. On my 9th Birthday my parents left me with a babysitter so they could attend some concert at the rally. Turned out my parents would meet the OCC guys backstage at the concert that night and tell them how i was a huge fan, and how they felt bad to be missing my birthday to be there, well the OCC guys made sure to make i still had a great birthday, Paul Jr gave my folks the OCC sunglasses he had been wearing, and Vinnie gave them a well loved biker flat bill with the tip all bent up and signed it. So no matter how the show has aged I got nothing but love for those guys. That was a pretty cool birthday gift.
I'm really amazed anyone could ever think OCC bikes were of any value on the road. It was pretty clear from the show that most of their builds were not designed to be functional. They were display toys. It was even more obvious in late seasons when most customers were companies that commissioned some eye-catching bike with their logo for a charity auction event.
Jesse James, for as demonized as he became, was the first to say it. When they did the "biker buildoff" with OCC (Father vs. Jr. Vs. Jesse James), Jesse said at the end that at least his bikes could be ridden.
@@maxxxmodelz4061 Thanks. I knew some other bike builder had said that in another show but I couldn't recall which one. And if I remember well he participated twice and on his second run he said that this time he was not facing clowns.
@@christianbarnay2499 Yeah, he literally disliked OCC it seemed. I remember how he was making fun of Jr. for making a "rivet" bike. Jesse said, "I remember my first time making a rivet bike". LOL. Which was true, Jesse did make a bike like that, except he did all the rivets by hand, not a machine.
I remember most of the bikes they made on the show being revealed at big show rooms and conventions. I always thought they were more display pieces than rideable bikes.
@@cafe405Well i can walk on Jimmy Choo's and be fine not a sprint of course. But if i buy a 80K chopper (i can get a Ducati for that) it better be super comfy while riding it.
Such a relevant comment - for 90% of guys. Maybe when I've earnt enough I could own one. I seem to remember being super uncomfortable/awkward riding that particular chopper tho, so maybe I'm biased to not owning one. Edit - maybe he should've never met his hero (or ridden it).
I worked on Main St in Daytona Beach for Bike Week during the height of the 2000's chopper craze. These were the bikes that got all the attention by 90% of the crowd.... but there was always a few bikers in the corner grumbling about why these bikes were terrible and how they hated all the OCC clone companies getting all the attention while good builders were ignored. Turns out they knew something most of us didn't. Paying $80k (or winning but having to pay taxes on) for a terribly uncomfortable motorcycle was a bad investment.
I was caught up in that era, I watched all the chopper build shows. Even then I thought the vast majority of those things were ridiculously impractical, it was interesting. I rode Yamaha cruisers at the time as I was unwilling and unable to drop the type of coin it took to buy a Harley. The last bike I bought was a 97 Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe. I took it down to the frame and built a single seat low rider bagger, took me two years. i was super proud of the end results but kept it only for a couple of years then sold it. My wife thought I was crazy that I sold it after putting so much work into it. What she didn't understand was that all the fun and satisfaction was in the work.
That's exactly it, everybody knew it was impractical but they were still an inspiration. In some way it was similar to a bob Ross painting, they just had better marketing. Don't get me wrong because I love Bob Ross but his paintings were also not museum quality but still amazing because of the story. Same goes for these bikes, I still have a soft spot for them, but they're not worth the price but I always knew that
@@parkjustin1797 You knew how to spell all that but you did not know how to spell "you", all those times that you attempted to?🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
The only bike I saw built on that show that I wanted was the simple orange chopper they built for that kid that worked there for a while. Simple and tasteful, unlike the silly things they built on the show, especially in the later years when they were doing the "tribute" bikes that were always ridiculous.
I remember watching those Orange County chopper shows. Those bikes were only made to look at. Some of those bikes were so dangerous. Nothing like having pointy objects sticking off the motorcycle in every direction to kill you.
I remember watching OCC with my dad. He would always laugh and say that these guys aren’t building a bike. They were tack welding bits and pieces of metal to the pre fabricated frame and tank then assembling them. As much as he hated Jesse James, he respected that he actually built things from the ground up. If I was gonna pay 80K for a chopper, I’m buying something Indian Larry built, he was the best in my opinion.
Your dad was totally right. I don't want to know how a OCC Chopper behaves in a curve. I allways had to lough, when the old man was sitting on the bike during the test ride and taking about comfort, while jumping up and down on the seat. These bikes are show bikes, nothing else. Good looking, nice ideas, but nothing to ride with.
Indian Larry was cool but I just watched a Biker Build Off he was in on and I didn’t see him doing any kind of fabricating that was blowing my mind. He mostly bought parts out of a catalog and put a cool paint job on it.
Fun fact when I was a youngin the motorcycle club me and my dad were in traveled to New York to see their shop. Paul Jr.'s whole crew came out to greet us. We all got pictures and chatted for a while. Actually a pretty nice guy. His father, not so much.
When I was a teenager I'd watch American Chopper, my older brother had a DVD of it. Eventually I learned to realise "Wait, what? They don't make their own frame or handlebars or other such things? They just bolt together some kitset parts and then weld a bunch of tacky crap to it?" My brother, an accomplished welder even commented that they could have used some additional experience there too! It's like handing a kid a model of a motorcycle, some sheets of paper or cardboard, and a hot glue gun. It's difficult to respect a craftsman when 90% of his work is outsourced.
I had a neighbor that had an OCC bike, it was a nightmare. The only thing the bike was good at was sitting in a man cave with lights on it to look cool and have everyone talk about it. It was also good for a photo session with pretty girls around it. He paid big money for it, and in the end he had to almost give it away, I think he got around 7K for it. His wife was ready to divorce him over the whole thing.
If anyone could watch that show 5 times and not realize that they just watched 5 of the same bike being built, with every single other episode being more of the same bike, with the only thing changing being the paint job to tie into some corporate sponsor theme... then that anyone would have to be a heavy derp. As the show was just that, parts bin bikes, all the same... with sponsor paint. The actual appeal of the show was the awkward family drama... Like going to your best friends house as a kid and having their parents open the F up on them, you could get that same feeling over and over again, just by tuning in. And Discovery knew what kinda social experiment they were running... and it wasn't one about bikes, lol.
I worked for Caterpillar when they had an OCC bike built for them. I watched the show regularly and I was excited to be able to see one of their bikes up close. I was so utterly disappointed when I got close and was able to examine it up close. It looked like hot garbage. It was only remotely impressive if you stayed about 20 feet away. I remember the paint looked sub-par, some of the welds looked messy, there were some other details I found disappointing but I can't remember them all right now. I wish I'd just stayed back and didn't have my image shattered.
Same! I think it was back in 2005 (I think 🤔), working for Ziegler Caterpillar out of Bloomington Minnesota, the chopper visited our location on its promotional tour or whatever it was, and seeing it up close and in person,.. I 100% felt exactly the way you described! Utterly disappointing, completely lackluster excuse for a motorcycle (not to sound harsh)
When I was 18 I just had to have a classic car. My dad warned me that I didn’t have enough money to maintain such a car, “it’s going to nickel and dime you until you’re broke”. But I didn’t listen because I knew better. In 24 months I almost gave the car away. Three months later we went to the local Datsun dealer and bought a car that lasted me 10 years with almost zero upkeep.
I had the misfortune of seeing another OCC bike up close at my local HD dealer when that show was at its peak. The mechanics were al gathered around it shaking their heads at the extremely poor build quality (leaking gas tank, rats nest electrical, oil leaks, etc.). Let’s face it, none of those bikes were ever meant to be actually ridden and were made to be displayed in the lobbies of their corporate clients. I for one am very glad that show (and others like it) have come and gone.
Visibly poor build quality even defeats their purpose as decorative sculptures. I guess it’s a good thing that they had their heyday in the standard definition TV era.
I never understood why a company should buy and expensive bike to put on display. Thinking about it it is way of pure promotion and the bikes are just not roadworthy. A single owner will use it at some point but not a large organisation.
I worked occasionally near OCC. It was funny to see their transformation as the show became more popular. On my first trip, I wandered into an open garage bay where Vinnie was putting a bike together, he was very nice. Then, they roped off an area where t-shirt were sold by their wives. I stopped by one afternoon,and the kid, was loading five bikes onto their tractor-trailer for a show. I helped him get the Fire Bike up a ramp into the trailer. He could barely reach the forward controls, and they didn't have anyone helping him, crazy. Then, they build the new shop/restaurant right off the NY Thruway. If you are in that area - pass on OCC (if they are even still open) but rather go to the awesome Motorpedia Motorcycle museum nearby, it's a gem!
I realized they were a joke when Jesse's show was on during the same era. What sealed the deal for me is Paul Jr is doing a build and he goes and cries,I shit you not: we don't have a tank on the shelf this is going to hold us up getting one. Meanwhile the week before I'm watching Jesse pound one out from a flat piece of sheet metal because he wanted a particular shape. Now, what he did to my girl Sandra was wrong and he's a dickhead scumbag for that ,but the man does have fab skills. He's a little bit like the Axl Rose of fabbing bikes. He's a dick, but he can get away with it because he's pretty good.
The best choppers are the ones you build yourselves, and I find the the best of them are built starting from a stock machine, with form and function kept in mind. Ergonomics are key to comfort.
I remember my uncle buying a chopper someone had built back in the early 80's way before Jesse James and OCC. I was used to riding Japanese bikes, I had a Kawasaki KZ400. The first time I rode his chopper it felt like someone had cut a International tractor in half and lowered it. Total death trap on the road. 60mph felt like 120mph, and my lower back was sore for 3 days lol
@@Frieghtliner1975 Yes, please tell us more about how tough you are, internet tough guy. The story about when you single handedly took down Bin Laden is my favorite.
The bit about the “person who gets chosen” to go on a show is absolutely correct. I personally know someone who auditioned for one of those rising music star TV shows. This guy was an amazing amateur singer, and had the choice of an angel. Audition time? Nope, didn’t get very far. He didn’t have a “tragic” or “interesting” backstory. He had too normal a life, not dramatic enough with no “story”.
@@RaptorJesus You could also say they went with a lesser candidate because they could push some blah blah agenda with their backstory, which is secondary to the whole point of the show, but who's splitting hairs.
American Chopper got me through a tough time when I lost my job back in 2010. It got me interested in motorcycles, but I enjoyed the drama and the cool looking bikes. I never had any thoughts on ever wanting to own one, bc I knew they looked like they were just for show and not one you'd ride.
I loved watching American Chopper back in the early 2000's, but I could tell back then those bikes were nothing but eye candy. Rich people buy bikes like that so their friends know they're rich.
On a rigid you're supposed to air down the rear tire to about 15-20 PSI, it's not much "suspension" but it helps. Also, mid controls on a rigid are important, help get that ass off the seat when you go over speed bumps, or cracks, or pebbles. Hard to do with forward controls. Couple spine saving (or just less damaging) techniques.
What about tire wear from improper air pressures? Wouldn't that cause unwanted wear? Or you could just Buy a bike with Rear Shocks like anyone who wants a comfortable ride. I never gave a shit about how good a bike looks it is and always will be about my comfort. can a human ride the Bike for 10 hours and still walk afterwards. If not it's worthless for anything Other than catching some Idiots eye.
@@lucienfury2606 Wear is not an IRL issue. The best thing to do for those interested in choppers is ignore everything after the classic era which ended in the 1970s. Long bikes can be quite comfy done right (sprung seats worked fine when most US roads were dirt, that rigid seat in the featured bike is retarded on a good day) but that one was not.
This programme inspired me as a child to become a motorbike mechanic. Barely a year into my training and I was questioning every step taken in the series. So much electrical slovenliness, absolutely no ergonomics and the unsprung mass must be immense (probably rides like a family home). Too bad for the beautiful workshop actually
I recently got into building bikes, and I remembered this show so I went back to watch it, just to see what I can learn from it. The answer: basically nothing. Shame, it could have been a great series.
I wouldn't worry about the unsprung mass, more the dynamic loading on the wheel rims and hubs, that appear to have their designs framed by tyre size/bearing size and appearance no thought on the stresses not just from riding but braking and road conditions, pot holes etc
I used to watch the show, never could understand how those clowns got more money for 100 bucks worth of metal tubing, a little motor and two wheels than what my 2,000 sqft home costs. Suckers born every minute I suppose.
@Boe Jiden because I voted for him but didn't need to go to his rally's like the Trump people. Was he every really under audit? He cheated on every wife and played more golf than attending church to give thanks to the almighty.
Custom built to do one thing extremely well: cruising at 35 mph on a recently paved not in public use road for two to maybe three miles with no one else present using a go-pro to record this amazing accomplishment where the rider is wearing full leather, helmet, gloves and a parachute.
I used to love the show. I remember one time a customer (don't remember who) wanted a bike that was actually fast. OCC said something along the lines of "we don't usually build fast bikes." They ended up just bolting a super charger on it. That's when I thought to myself "oh these bikes are crap and are only for show."
My neighbor took out a home Equity loan and bought one of their bikes for 60k. He had the bike for a month and noticed there was rust on a seam on the handle bars. He took the bike back and they told him chrome wasn’t covered in the warranty. About a month later riding around greenwood lake NY he rode over a few bumps and the left handle bar broke off. Some how he was able to stop without crashing. He never was able to collect and that bike was nothing but trouble. The only good thing that happened it was trailered with other bikes to Daytona for bike week and it was stolen from in front of his hotel. He lost 10k from the insurance but he is alive.
Great video. (love how the headlight lens isn't parallel to the ground) I've had the "pleasure" of getting to work on a couple of these OCC bikes and I can say you are 100% correct about them. They're really not meant to be ridden, just looked at.
@@MyRegardsToTheDodo Could you show me a supercar using a bone stock, of the shelf anemic motor producing a whooping 65HP please? I'll wait... If you're about to be impractical, be fun to drive at least. By fun I mean great handling, stoping power, steering precision, power, speed, you name it.
No surprises here. Just watching their process of designing and building bikes it was obvious they were driven by style with almost no consideration given to rideability or handling. I watched them build a bike with the tank so high, the rider had to ride it leaning to one side to see the road. Crazy.
John Garcia - RUclips is like a boat builder that drills holes in your hull then when their product becomes a complete piece of shit they offer a premium version by filling up all the holes they just drilled. Typical ass wipes.
A few years ago I had an itch to buy a Harley, or cool-looking Victory, semi-looking chopper with extended fork (but nothing like OCC's). Scratched the itch with a one day rental of a 1200cc BMW. Rode scenic mountain roads around Stanley/Sun Valley, Idaho. Had a great time. Returned it to Boise which required me to ride on Interstate 84 for thirty miles. Buffeted by winds, 80-mph trucks, bugs crashing into my face shield, and the knowledge that a slick spot, flat tire or wrong move could end it all in an instant....not fun. Lesson learned: cost me $200 instead of $20k, itch gone.
When American Chopper show up in Poland I was 14. Now I agree that it was reality shows, but then it was something that inspires me. Now, 18 years later, I have my own workshop where after work I'm relaxing building stuff. I thing that everything started when I was watching "American Chopper"
They didn't make motorcycles at OCC. They just assembled them, had frames already made, . Jessie James made motorcycles completely from scratch even the frame.
I appreciate your brutal honesty. I use to love American Chopper, and this speaks volumes to how that company did business..... a stock 1340 evo in a 80k chopper?!😲
Many wise words in the video & comments. Here in the UK I bought a Skull Choppa (sic) bike in 2006. The original build was… not bad, twin 6 pot front brakes, lotsa performance upgrades to 1900cc. Next owner got the fenders cut down stupidly and had a real crappy grey paint job. I spent the purchase price again for my fix-ups and enjoyed it for about 5 years… encompassing some interesting discoveries about the bad electrical wiring.
In 2018, Paul Sr. filed for bankruptcy. Plus, Page Six reports he did so a mere days before the American Chopper reboot aired on TV. There have certainly been ups and downs for the founder of Orange County Choppers, but through it all, the shop manages to stay afloat
@@dopeytripod I mean the only reason they were on the air was for the drama, the personality (an abrasive ass), and just enough mechanical know-how to shit a bike out once a week.
The thing about reality tv shows vetting contestants for their charisma and engaging backstory is so true. Even on like American Idol, _every single contestant_ comes up with a ham-fisted underdog story “growing up my little sister had autism, and it was really hard, and that’s how I knew it was my mission to sing good on tv” haha
Back in the day when OCC was a popular TV show & people were having custom bikes built I never understood why some would have one built with no suspension.
Might be an age thing. The original chopper (Captain America from Easy Rider) was an underpowered hard tail with lousy brakes, so that was what people were looking for when they got old enough to be nostalgic and had enough money for custom builds (although it somehow defeats the purpose to pay a lot of money for a supposed symbol of authenticity and a simpler time). The bike in the movie was of course just old and from a time before suspension was really a standard feature. But the attitude persisted for quite some time - I remember that some people actually got angry when HD began mounting their engines on silent blocks, because having some semblance of comfort was apparently treason to the chopper ethos (but then I ride a Honda, so what do I know).
Hard tails react much more predictably in thr corners. Imagine you're coming through a fast corner, leaned over, and you hit a dip. Your suspension compresses, a peg hits the ground and you wreck. That's at least how my friend, who rides a hardtail, describes it.
@@CourageTheCowardlyDog266 Now imagine coming throught a fast corner and hiiting a pothole without suspension. The wheels start bouncing and you go straight in the ditch.
@@CourageTheCowardlyDog266Your friend would have a valid point if every road were paved glassy smooth like a race track. But ultimately suspension _helps_ with evening out the feedback on the inevitably uneven roads we encounter daily.
Dream vs reality, sometimes what you want is stupid..... and painful. Looks cool though. I liked most of their bikes, but they mostly looked the same. Spider bike was the best in my opinion.
Yep this is what I expected. Looks over any kind of function and looks that only one out of a 1,000 riders could say are great. My sales manager bought a custom from one of the big names. Oil filled frame and all that jazz. Broke down on every ride and I think it caught on fire as well. Paid over 20 grand 15 years ago or so. Felt so bad for him. Good guy.
I remember seeing Jessi James on a road trip with a hard tail he build. You could see him not trying to grimace after every little bump sent electric shocks up his spine.
Could you imagine being some guy watching the show back when it was popular convincing his wife to let him buy an OCC chopper, spending $80,000 on his "dream bike" and when he gets it it is a slow, dangerous, garage queen that he never rides so he decides to finally sell it and now he can't even get enough for it to buy a "nice" Harley?
You can get a bitchin older FXR or Dyna for 8k. I have a few saved on craigslist and facebook marketplace currently. WAY better bikes than this pile. But yeah, I don't think he bought the bike, pretty sure they made it for him for free/a giveaway/tv show content.
I mean, if you're wanting the most cost efficient motorcycle, having one with spikes all over it is a pretty good option. No insurance fees cuz no one will insure you, no medical fees cuz you'll just be dead when you crash. Hell, no funeral fees because they won't be able to peel you from the frame that's gored your body. Reality, Choppers are like a fashion show; The designs look cool and serve to build ideas for the real world. Some people actually ride these, some people actually wear fashion show clothing. Most don't
You should do the following to that bike: 1) Install a front brake. 2) Put a swingarm suspension on the back. 3) Put a Screamin' Eagle motor in it. 4) Put a cover on that damned open primary. 5) Give it a nice paint job.
In hindsight as I remember from my years of watching American Chopper, their focus was building theme bikes and they were just getting into production bikes toward the end of the show. Since they were focusing on building show bikes, I wouldn't expect them to put in a monster of an engine because the bike was built to look good and rarely ridden. It would make sense that they would go a bit cheap and put in a stock engine. If the bike was a production bike and not a theme bike, then it would make sense to put in a more powerful engine if the customer wanted a certain degree of performance out of their bike.
you do understand that at bike shows we arent just looking at paint & chrome right? this thing is a jake & made on a minimal budget & barely looks better than that horrible "factory chop" honda sold years ago..
Yeah i build a wardrobe from ikea im a builder too. Technically speaking probably slightly more advanced for being able to put that flimsy warddrobe together. Quality of the products is very compareable tho.
Take it to a frame guy, get them to put a rear suspension section on; possibly graft on the back half of the Honda Fury? Maybe get a real seat while you're at it. You'll still have most of the looks, but something rideable. I don't know what to do about the front brake, with that rake it's never going to be very effective. Oh, and let me redesign the paintwork, I do graphic design so I've got a few ideas. Then you could just, like I don't know, give it to me. Probably not, but it was worth a shot.
My father hated Paul senior for the way he was always yelling at his sons & employees, but I told him he acts exactly the same way towards me and my brother. We ended up both going our own way.
I say, fix the brakes, find a “comfortable” seat that kinda matches, swap the evo for a 1400 Harley engine, reduce the number spikes, then drive to OCC to show them your improvements.
fix that bike right, and I'll ride it myself to OCC, and tell them this is the way they should have built it. Put some brakes on it, and a decent seat. I'll video tape the highlights of the ride there, and their expression when I tell them they did it all wrong. I'll even sigh a release so you guys are not responsible for me or anything that happens.
"This is like your opinion maaan..."... Groms are state of the art compared to this $80K pile of junk, and you could buy about 20 of them for the original price this OCC turd on wheels
That’s exactly the way I always thought those bikes would be. Exactly. I didn’t watch the show a lot, but when I did… the bikes looked uncomfortable, impractical, and underperforming. Just very stylish. If you’re into that.
What gets lost in the great debate about OCC is that the moment they penned the TV contract they ceased to be a bike builder and became an entertainment business. Why would you expect a ratings driven TV show to produce practical, let alone safe, custom bikes. OCC bikes are what they are, shiny objects whose sole purpose is to mollify the masses.
Their sole purpose was not to "mollify the masses". I would suggest you look up the word "mollify" for reference. The sole purpose of the show was to make money for the producers. The principals of OCC were fabricators who I'm certain enjoyed their work, the fame, and in no small measure: the money. That they made shitty bikes in terms of practicality and quality is without question; mostly hardtails with little engineering involved. They had the opportunity to create much more sophisticated and higher quality bikes, but they chose not to, and that is a shame.
So basically what you are saying is that just because they penned a contract that all their bike engineering expertise went straight out of the window? Oh.......OK m8 whatever you say. Owned a OC chopper have you? Bought one have you?
I miss my chopper even though it always tried to kill me. Clutch cable snapping sending me across an interstate both lanes into a dollar general lot before the back brake slowed it down enough to kill it. 7 out of 10 rides you would have to retrieve parts that rattles off. The screws in my vice grips would always be backed off and loose in my tool bag. The part that was fun was learning how to fix anything with minimum tools and parts in the dark and making it home alive. It finally died when the welds on the frame broke at 45mph dropping the frame onto the road and I rode it into a ditch and was able to just step off it. Good times.
@@Comm0ut I bought it used and still miss that bike so much. I like my new but I can’t have them all. This was my first harley coming from the metric world. Never needed to check welds and stuff before. I learned rapidly.
I saw two OCC choppers on display at Roar to the Shore in Wildwood NJ. As soon as I was up close I could tell they were junk. I looked carefully at all the components and saw the welds (being a certified welder for 45+yrs) and thought wow. Never ever would have bought one good video thanks, I think you show is one of the best out there. But I'm still bummed at you for moving out of PA. but hey you got to do what's right for you and your family so Good Luck.
OCC did build the bike the contest winner said he wanted. The results of the request is to be careful what you ask for - you might just get it. The majority of the bikers I know would not ride, and definitely not build, a rigid bike for anything other than garage art.
I applied to be on that episode with a pinball themed bike that had elements of pinball in the design including a playable mini pinball machine inset in the gas tank. I didn't get picked even after completing 20+ pages of application paperwork. The bike you bought was called "Corporal Punishment" in homage to its hardtail, there was also a three wheeled trike for a paraplegic and some gal designed a bike to round out the series.
Gets pulled over by the cops. Cops: "You know it's illegal to use your phone while your riding"? You: "I'm not on my phone, I'm playing on my pinball machine". 😁
I'd like to have a chopper built by army Becker. He was the original bike builder to the stars . I remember stopping by his shop one day back in the early mid 1990s. Their was a punk up learning how to build bikes (Jessy James) . Army got away from building bikes for Hollywood because his wife wanted a drag bike. They were at a trade show and he said if they won the door prize he'd build her a bike . They won and last I heard in the late 1990s she was rank #2 in the world for dragbikes . Arly is a mechanic and actual biker.
In the show they always talk about a multiple point turns when they test ride. A lot of that was riding down the street through all the gears and then doing a U-turn.
Options, 1. Part it out 2. Build suspension seat like Soft-Ride Bicycles, carbon fiber beam spring, bigger seat pan to prevent slide 3. Move head tube & shorten forks, add 2nd disc up front + #2 4. Part it out as the pilot for your new Discovey Channel series, "Why'd You Do That?!"
They have an OCC bike at the Hard Rock in Biloxi, it’s been there a long long time and still no one has won it, it’s a beautiful bike and if I won it I’d ride it.
Saw this show as a kid and remember something about a guy designing his own bike. I thought the show was good and the bikes seriously cool. Then I grew up and found counting cars and saw what a cool bike that you can ride and enjoy looked like. And now OCC bikes look more like yard/garage art to me rather than custom motorcycles.
Back when OCC got so big everyone thought they wanted an open primary, a rigid frame with no suspension, a ridiculous rake and a fork length to make turning damn near impossible, no front brakes, a motor from a lawn mower, body work and a seat designed to kill its rider and likely a fuel tank that’ll have you visiting every gas station along the way. Nah, I’m good. I do like the aesthetics, even if it’s a little overdone on the spikes, but we all know this is a garage, grass and show bike. It’s basically those little soaps your mom has in the bathroom that you’re not really supposed to use but sometimes you do.
Ahhh...yes. The cheesy little, overly scented soaps. You just took me way back. I can smell them now. I genuinely thank you for this trip back in time. Yeah... Edit- I usually don't like or dislike anyone's comments but I liked yours simply because of the soap thing. Although I do agree with you too.
Well, I have never been a fan of Choppers. I know how much design work is put into the steering of every bike, and the answer always comes out to a head angle of 71 degrees, even one degree either side is frowned upon.
I always loved the show, mainly because my dad and I would go at each other like senior and Jr when I was younger, Full disclosure: it was 90% my fault 😅, and I loved the whole building process of taking raw materials and building a work of art. The only disappointment is to find out that OCC bikes where first off way over priced for a bike with zero suspension, no tachometer's, way underpowered and a belt drive that could rip flesh away from your left calf.
Years back the city I lived in had a motorcycle show. Snap-On tools sponsored it and brought the S-O Tools bike to it. Guys that worked for them told me they'd take my motorcycle over the one OCC built for them to travel around the country to "show-off". They ended up awarding me with a 1st place trophy 🏆 . I was on a motorcycle, I couldn't carry it home. So I handed a 3 ft trophy to a little kid that was there with his mom. Lol
There's a OCC chopper in the town where I live. A guy ended up winning it in a lottery and then it got bought and sold a million times. One of my friends had it for a while and he said he couldn't afford to pay for registration on it because it was valued at 80k and in Nebraska you have to pay a huge percent of the value of the vehicle which was over $1000 a year just to ride it.
Let me get this straight, on your vehicle registration you have to pay a percentage on the value of the vehicle, not what you actually paid for it to register it each year ?
@@jasonvoorhees8545 it's stupid. Essentially if you drive a pile of crap 30 year old beater it's $20 for registration. I bought a brand new truck though for $43k and every year I had to pay $700 for the state of Nebraska to "allow" me to drive it on their roads. The amount you have to pay goes down over time. I think if the vehicle is 15 years or older it's $20
Georgia had the same thing. i think it was called Valorem tax. They had no vehicle inspection, so older cars would pay less then newer cars. it was a annual tax you had to pay just to drive your vehicle.
Ha ha! Lots of haters for OCC! I remember them being called “cake decorators” on the forums back in the day! I lost interest once they just built “themed bikes”! I half expected the “Martha Stewart Themed Chopper” to be an episode! 😳 Looks like you grabbed one at a great price...now knock of those sprinkles & turn it into a desirable chopper! 👍
@@BikesandBeards Guess I must have missed it! Lost the will to live around the time of the “Davis Love The Third” golf chopper! 😳 Hopefully you guys can turn this into something worth riding! Best of luck! 👍
I loved the show, enjoyed the cool paint jobs but always knew that my stock 03 Heritage Softail was a better bike. Now I really did like some of the bikes that came out of West Coast Custom. For this bike get it some suspension at least, add a break booster to the front break .... take a bunch of pictures then launch it off a cliff.
I would put the engine and transmission in the bike sitting on my front room. I started building it over 25 years ago. When my wife passed away i stopped the build pretty much. Now I have time to finish it and rebuild the XLCR I love to ride.
When I was 18, I built a hard tail 74 with a magneto and an extended springer front end. Once you got it started, it ran great so long as you didn't have to turn or stop. But it gave me hemerroids, so despite what a pos that bike actually was, I had to sell it. I bought a new Triumph so stopped being so cool, but the roids went away never to return.
My Harley mechanic has one. It's a Big Dog I think. He rides it maybe 500 miles a year to shows and whatnot. He says it's really uncomfortable to ride but a nice conversation piece at shows and in the front of the shop. That's what he bought it for.
I mean at that end of the day that's all OOC bikes were, just show pieces. I remember the episodes where they'd build bikes for like movie premiers and special events and what have you. That's all they made. They didn't make bikes to ride, they made bikes to look at. They're crappy bikes that look nice. they're built to put on display and look at. that's it. And the only reason OOC got to that point is because Jessie James and West Coast Choppers didn't want to do the show. So OOC is and was always runner up in the "nice to look at, not to ride" category.
He could have made a laminated poster of a life-size naked lady for much less money. It would have sparked MUCH more conversation, gotten him MUCH more attention(and customers) and he never would have had to ride the POS.
You are a shame to your name. I would explain why a chopper is cool, even if certain states outlaw them... but, you just wouldn't get it. No one expected that much from you.
@@Frieghtliner1975 No, choppers are fcking stupid. If you want to have fun on the road, then get a sportsbike. A Kawasaki Ninja does what a chopper does x3 with better mileage, 2x speed, better look and 1/10 the sound. Anyone who thinks riding a stupid looking, slow noisemachine with a door-handle moustache and a potbelly is a certified idiot.
In the late 1970s and 1980s I had a 1958 Panhead in a Jammer hardtail frame with a 10" over Springer; no front brake. I road it for about 12 years. In 2002 I had back surgery for 3 ruptured disks. Coincidence?
OCC bikes were quite cool looking, but they lacked smoothness when riding. They were built metal against metal. No rubber cushions to ease the vibrations.
They never rode their own bikes to any rally. They rode them on a trailer. Closed the door. They didn’t ride their bikes at the rally. They build deadly trophies. I really love the spiked impalers on the handlebars.
They came out to my home town bike rally in like 2012ish and they rode in the bike parade with their choppers. They had their choppers shipped here, and the parade was only like a mile long bike ride but they at least rode them for that 1 mile lol
I’ve owned rigid choppers/bobbers in the past. A good set of seat springs can really make an improvement in the ride. A chopper isn’t about horsepower though. It’s about the feeling of being on a machine most would be afraid to ride.
OCC made some of the most embarrassing “choppers” ever. They aren’t even choppers. Choppers were motorcycles that were “chopped”. That means taking things off the bike. OCC would add about a half ton of decorative crap on their “choppers”. They looked like something Liberace would ride.
@@smashdogg1241 My source for the origin of the chopper comes from Hunter S Thompson’s book “Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga”. That’s a pretty early source and it comes directly from the motorcycle club itself. If you have a better source, I’d be willing to listen.
Same sorta thing has happened with other vehicle things like like rat builds for cars and utes they use to be rusted out shit boxs with good motors now they are hot rods with extra steps
This video brought back memories of me in the UK all those years ago staying up late on a night to watch OCC. I was obsessed with that show. I even had an OCC flag on my wall (with the logo) and I had plans of passing my motorcycle test and trying to get one imported into the UK. None of that ever happened though. 🤣
That entire bike should be WAY more tucked in, and compact. The rear wheel is way too far back. It's all so stretched and lanky looking. Too much empty space.
Glad to know it wasn't just me thinking that. That and the build times were a damn joke. Yes, you can build a custom bike in a couple weeks, not arguing with that one. But it's going to have issues created by the nature of rushing the work. It's why I own a Bourget, not an OCC, and why my wife has a WCC Diablo. Both took months to build, and were issue free from day one. My friends who went through OCC and PJD, nothing but issues. Not fun to deal with, when the builder is 5 states away, even with a warranty.
@@kevinfox500 I can imagine the Warranty Department is just Senior on the other end of the line screaming “What are you, f*ckin’ NUTS??!!! Stop being such a G*ddam P*SSY!!!”
This was eye-opening. I realize on all these chopper/hot-rod type shows they never emphasize the safety or performance.They emphasize stuff like how the hood ornament is actually the flusher mechanism from a space shuttle toilet, or something like that.
Clever user name
They're built for show. Not for safety, performance, or comfort
While I always knew that these shows were looks first, everything else second (because lets face it, all choppers and hot rods are inherently compromised for actual transportation purposes, that's just not their thing*, and basically all cars made before the 90s, and a lot even back then, are horrific for safety by today's standards, with no way to fix them), there was one specific moment that I remember, that hammered it home harder and made it impossible to ignore:
I was watching Fast & Loud, and they went to put in a larger engine in a car. All good, until they notice that the oil pan interfered with the cross member at the front. I've read about such issues before in magazines, where people had actually put time and effort into their build, and often they'd either figure out ways to move the engine around, or make a custom oil pan to alleviate the problem. One guy converted the engine to use a dry-sump system.
What did the Gas Monkey Garage guys do? They cut out portion off the cross member, so that the engine fit. Just cut it out. From the part that literally keeps the left and right side of the car together. I don't think they even added anything to maintain structural integrity.
So uh yeah, dangerous, to the max.
*If they were actually good, manufacturers would still make them like that.
As a kid I was a huge fan, I was raised in Rapid City, the largest city in the Sturgis area. My birthday is August 8th, which is pretty much always right in the middle of the rally. On my 9th Birthday my parents left me with a babysitter so they could attend some concert at the rally. Turned out my parents would meet the OCC guys backstage at the concert that night and tell them how i was a huge fan, and how they felt bad to be missing my birthday to be there, well the OCC guys made sure to make i still had a great birthday, Paul Jr gave my folks the OCC sunglasses he had been wearing, and Vinnie gave them a well loved biker flat bill with the tip all bent up and signed it. So no matter how the show has aged I got nothing but love for those guys. That was a pretty cool birthday gift.
Sounds about right. Paul Jr and Vinnie are great guys. Did Sr give you anything? just curious.
I'm really amazed anyone could ever think OCC bikes were of any value on the road. It was pretty clear from the show that most of their builds were not designed to be functional. They were display toys. It was even more obvious in late seasons when most customers were companies that commissioned some eye-catching bike with their logo for a charity auction event.
- I want a CLEAN bike.
- OK, lets remove everything that make it usable and add some spikes.
Made for a Parade.
Jesse James, for as demonized as he became, was the first to say it. When they did the "biker buildoff" with OCC (Father vs. Jr. Vs. Jesse James), Jesse said at the end that at least his bikes could be ridden.
@@maxxxmodelz4061 Thanks. I knew some other bike builder had said that in another show but I couldn't recall which one. And if I remember well he participated twice and on his second run he said that this time he was not facing clowns.
@@christianbarnay2499 Yeah, he literally disliked OCC it seemed. I remember how he was making fun of Jr. for making a "rivet" bike. Jesse said, "I remember my first time making a rivet bike". LOL. Which was true, Jesse did make a bike like that, except he did all the rivets by hand, not a machine.
I remember most of the bikes they made on the show being revealed at big show rooms and conventions. I always thought they were more display pieces than rideable bikes.
they totally were
Exactly you don't buy Jimmy Choo shoes and then wonder why your 100m runs are slower and your 10k runs are impossible.
@@cafe405Well i can walk on Jimmy Choo's and be fine not a sprint of course.
But if i buy a 80K chopper (i can get a Ducati for that) it better be super comfy while riding it.
Yet idiots still bought them
@@deeznutz8320you can get almost 3 ducatis for that
When I was 8 I was in love with choppers. Now I can see why, I was 8.
Big wheels made all us kids love choppers 🤟🏻🇺🇸😜
😂😂
hahahaha
Ha nerd I was 2 when I broke my dads toe with a wrench from O.C.C
Such a relevant comment - for 90% of guys. Maybe when I've earnt enough I could own one. I seem to remember being super uncomfortable/awkward riding that particular chopper tho, so maybe I'm biased to not owning one.
Edit - maybe he should've never met his hero (or ridden it).
I worked on Main St in Daytona Beach for Bike Week during the height of the 2000's chopper craze. These were the bikes that got all the attention by 90% of the crowd.... but there was always a few bikers in the corner grumbling about why these bikes were terrible and how they hated all the OCC clone companies getting all the attention while good builders were ignored. Turns out they knew something most of us didn't. Paying $80k (or winning but having to pay taxes on) for a terribly uncomfortable motorcycle was a bad investment.
I was caught up in that era, I watched all the chopper build shows. Even then I thought the vast majority of those things were ridiculously impractical, it was interesting. I rode Yamaha cruisers at the time as I was unwilling and unable to drop the type of coin it took to buy a Harley. The last bike I bought was a 97 Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe. I took it down to the frame and built a single seat low rider bagger, took me two years. i was super proud of the end results but kept it only for a couple of years then sold it. My wife thought I was crazy that I sold it after putting so much work into it. What she didn't understand was that all the fun and satisfaction was in the work.
That's exactly it, everybody knew it was impractical but they were still an inspiration.
In some way it was similar to a bob Ross painting, they just had better marketing.
Don't get me wrong because I love Bob Ross but his paintings were also not museum quality but still amazing because of the story.
Same goes for these bikes, I still have a soft spot for them, but they're not worth the price but I always knew that
How much did you make off the Yamaha when you sold it? Did you ever make a video on it?
Yes , all the fun is in making the baby , not maintaining the baby.
@@parkjustin1797 You knew how to spell all that but you did not know how to spell "you", all those times that you attempted to?🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
The only bike I saw built on that show that I wanted was the simple orange chopper they built for that kid that worked there for a while. Simple and tasteful, unlike the silly things they built on the show, especially in the later years when they were doing the "tribute" bikes that were always ridiculous.
me and my mom would watch this show when i was a kid. She even drove me up to there store in ny. RIP mom
I remember watching those Orange County chopper shows. Those bikes were only made to look at. Some of those bikes were so dangerous. Nothing like having pointy objects sticking off the motorcycle in every direction to kill you.
I remember watching OCC with my dad. He would always laugh and say that these guys aren’t building a bike. They were tack welding bits and pieces of metal to the pre fabricated frame and tank then assembling them. As much as he hated Jesse James, he respected that he actually built things from the ground up.
If I was gonna pay 80K for a chopper, I’m buying something Indian Larry built, he was the best in my opinion.
Idk that Rick guy was a good fabricater
@@4G63Tpower I forgot about Rick. He was a good dude and a talented fabricator.
@@tmartin3151 Then he went away in the name of drama
Your dad was totally right.
I don't want to know how a OCC Chopper behaves in a curve.
I allways had to lough, when the old man was sitting on the bike during the test ride and taking about comfort, while jumping up and down on the seat.
These bikes are show bikes, nothing else. Good looking, nice ideas, but nothing to ride with.
Indian Larry was cool but I just watched a Biker Build Off he was in on and I didn’t see him doing any kind of fabricating that was blowing my mind. He mostly bought parts out of a catalog and put a cool paint job on it.
Fun fact when I was a youngin the motorcycle club me and my dad were in traveled to New York to see their shop. Paul Jr.'s whole crew came out to greet us. We all got pictures and chatted for a while. Actually a pretty nice guy. His father, not so much.
When I was a teenager I'd watch American Chopper, my older brother had a DVD of it. Eventually I learned to realise "Wait, what? They don't make their own frame or handlebars or other such things? They just bolt together some kitset parts and then weld a bunch of tacky crap to it?" My brother, an accomplished welder even commented that they could have used some additional experience there too! It's like handing a kid a model of a motorcycle, some sheets of paper or cardboard, and a hot glue gun.
It's difficult to respect a craftsman when 90% of his work is outsourced.
I had a neighbor that had an OCC bike, it was a nightmare. The only thing the bike was good at was sitting in a man cave with lights on it to look cool and have everyone talk about it. It was also good for a photo session with pretty girls around it. He paid big money for it, and in the end he had to almost give it away, I think he got around 7K for it. His wife was ready to divorce him over the whole thing.
Terrible bike, terrible wife.
@@dougbeard7624 ride wife, life good
@@melindakeszthelyi9534 auditioning?
Wow what a disgusting woman.
The wife was also from OCC?😊
What I like about the show was the building process, the welding, the fabricating, etc. I kinda knew back then that those bikes won't handle well.
Yeah, ya don't see too many of 'em racing at Laguna Seca or Willow Springs.
At the beginning they did show some of the fab process. But that didn't last long.
@@donellmuniz590 they'll be liable if the rider dies at the corkscrew. Haha
@@BigChuck525 in the end it became about family relationship dramas
They didn’t fab anything, it was fake
If anyone could watch that show 5 times and not realize that they just watched 5 of the same bike being built, with every single other episode being more of the same bike, with the only thing changing being the paint job to tie into some corporate sponsor theme... then that anyone would have to be a heavy derp. As the show was just that, parts bin bikes, all the same... with sponsor paint.
The actual appeal of the show was the awkward family drama... Like going to your best friends house as a kid and having their parents open the F up on them, you could get that same feeling over and over again, just by tuning in. And Discovery knew what kinda social experiment they were running... and it wasn't one about bikes, lol.
They did make some parts custom. Although they bought frames, they bought fuel tanks and many other parts.
Build the same bikes.........I saw that after sea. 1 ep. 4...........different decorations
Exactly
cake decorators
"...we've hit a major snag. I don't know if we'll get this bike done in time...!"
I still remember the golden sentence they said in EVERY single show : "This bike means a lot to me..." 😂
I worked for Caterpillar when they had an OCC bike built for them. I watched the show regularly and I was excited to be able to see one of their bikes up close. I was so utterly disappointed when I got close and was able to examine it up close. It looked like hot garbage. It was only remotely impressive if you stayed about 20 feet away. I remember the paint looked sub-par, some of the welds looked messy, there were some other details I found disappointing but I can't remember them all right now. I wish I'd just stayed back and didn't have my image shattered.
Fantasy can beatrap.
Orange county had to be more outrageous and quick for the cameras.
Same!
I think it was back in 2005 (I think 🤔), working for Ziegler Caterpillar out of Bloomington Minnesota, the chopper visited our location on its promotional tour or whatever it was, and seeing it up close and in person,.. I 100% felt exactly the way you described!
Utterly disappointing, completely lackluster excuse for a motorcycle (not to sound harsh)
It happens when drama is prioritized over construction quality._
@@primech-128bit that's a fact
@@HarlanDorman that was about the time frame if I remember correctly too. I worked for Caterpillar in Sanford, N. Carolina
When I was 18 I just had to have a classic car. My dad warned me that I didn’t have enough money to maintain such a car, “it’s going to nickel and dime you until you’re broke”. But I didn’t listen because I knew better. In 24 months I almost gave the car away. Three months later we went to the local Datsun dealer and bought a car that lasted me 10 years with almost zero upkeep.
Datsun🐱👍🏿
What kinda Datsun did you buy?
@@DrMcMoist210
@@bgjb-r1499 Not bad at all.
@@DrMcMoist mine was an old 72' datsun1200
I had the misfortune of seeing another OCC bike up close at my local HD dealer when that show was at its peak. The mechanics were al gathered around it shaking their heads at the extremely poor build quality (leaking gas tank, rats nest electrical, oil leaks, etc.). Let’s face it, none of those bikes were ever meant to be actually ridden and were made to be displayed in the lobbies of their corporate clients. I for one am very glad that show (and others like it) have come and gone.
Visibly poor build quality even defeats their purpose as decorative sculptures. I guess it’s a good thing that they had their heyday in the standard definition TV era.
Haha, and started for just long enough to rev the engine to rev limiter a couple times for the crowd :)
@@volvo09 rev limiter set @2800 as to not break welds,,
Agreed.
I never understood why a company should buy and expensive bike to put on display. Thinking about it it is way of pure promotion and the bikes are just not roadworthy. A single owner will use it at some point but not a large organisation.
I worked occasionally near OCC. It was funny to see their transformation as the show became more popular. On my first trip, I wandered into an open garage bay where Vinnie was putting a bike together, he was very nice. Then, they roped off an area where t-shirt were sold by their wives. I stopped by one afternoon,and the kid, was loading five bikes onto their tractor-trailer for a show. I helped him get the Fire Bike up a ramp into the trailer. He could barely reach the forward controls, and they didn't have anyone helping him, crazy. Then, they build the new shop/restaurant right off the NY Thruway. If you are in that area - pass on OCC (if they are even still open) but rather go to the awesome Motorpedia Motorcycle museum nearby, it's a gem!
That big fancy building is empty now.
Paul SR took the company to Florida
@@matthewcaughey8898 Orange County?
Jessie James said it best. Occ was cake decorators.
Ya for real I think they look cool but they don’t compare to other people in the bike community
I realized they were a joke when Jesse's show was on during the same era.
What sealed the deal for me is Paul Jr is doing a build and he goes and cries,I shit you not: we don't have a tank on the shelf this is going to hold us up getting one.
Meanwhile the week before I'm watching Jesse pound one out from a flat piece of sheet metal because he wanted a particular shape.
Now, what he did to my girl Sandra was wrong and he's a dickhead scumbag for that ,but the man does have fab skills.
He's a little bit like the Axl Rose of fabbing bikes.
He's a dick, but he can get away with it because he's pretty good.
Cake decorators or not, they put out a few bikes that were impressive. The POW/MIA bike comes to mind....
And they didn't do all the decoration, Nub painted for them. Dude is the real artist.
Totally agree 💯!!
The best choppers are the ones you build yourselves, and I find the the best of them are built starting from a stock machine, with form and function kept in mind. Ergonomics are key to comfort.
I remember my uncle buying a chopper someone had built back in the early 80's way before Jesse James and OCC. I was used to riding Japanese bikes, I had a Kawasaki KZ400. The first time I rode his chopper it felt like someone had cut a International tractor in half and lowered it. Total death trap on the road. 60mph felt like 120mph, and my lower back was sore for 3 days lol
Yes. Enjoy your Vespa. I hear they are super comfortable on your way to the market. Ya know... where you sell your Man Card.
Cool story. Is that what your boyfriend did?
@@Frieghtliner1975 na dude its because choppers are utter dog shit
@@Frieghtliner1975 Yes, please tell us more about how tough you are, internet tough guy. The story about when you single handedly took down Bin Laden is my favorite.
@@bigguy7353 . Fat guy on a scooter !! You funny.
The bit about the “person who gets chosen” to go on a show is absolutely correct. I personally know someone who auditioned for one of those rising music star TV shows. This guy was an amazing amateur singer, and had the choice of an angel. Audition time? Nope, didn’t get very far. He didn’t have a “tragic” or “interesting” backstory. He had too normal a life, not dramatic enough with no “story”.
Imagine that, they want someone on screen who'll be compelling.
@@RaptorJesus You could also say they went with a lesser candidate because they could push some blah blah agenda with their backstory, which is secondary to the whole point of the show, but who's splitting hairs.
I was always impressed how final adjustments on the custom bike required the right tap of a hammer on a shim.
American Chopper got me through a tough time when I lost my job back in 2010. It got me interested in motorcycles, but I enjoyed the drama and the cool looking bikes. I never had any thoughts on ever wanting to own one, bc I knew they looked like they were just for show and not one you'd ride.
I loved watching American Chopper back in the early 2000's, but I could tell back then those bikes were nothing but eye candy. Rich people buy bikes like that so their friends know they're rich.
Agree the fat tire Harley thing went away around 15 yrs ago and HD is on its way out.
so true
The Show was a Wank ,,, Watch one seen them all Australia
Aye! They're showpieces really if anything at all.
On a rigid you're supposed to air down the rear tire to about 15-20 PSI, it's not much "suspension" but it helps. Also, mid controls on a rigid are important, help get that ass off the seat when you go over speed bumps, or cracks, or pebbles. Hard to do with forward controls. Couple spine saving (or just less damaging) techniques.
What about tire wear from improper air pressures? Wouldn't that cause unwanted wear? Or you could just Buy a bike with Rear Shocks like anyone who wants a comfortable ride. I never gave a shit about how good a bike looks it is and always will be about my comfort. can a human ride the Bike for 10 hours and still walk afterwards. If not it's worthless for anything Other than catching some Idiots eye.
@@lucienfury2606 whatever floats your boat, dude.
@@lucienfury2606 i dont think the person who buys a chopper gives two shits about a poorly worn tire.
@@lucienfury2606 So your solution to "tire wear" is to buy another whole bike?
@@lucienfury2606 Wear is not an IRL issue. The best thing to do for those interested in choppers is ignore everything after the classic era which ended in the 1970s. Long bikes can be quite comfy done right (sprung seats worked fine when most US roads were dirt, that rigid seat in the featured bike is retarded on a good day) but that one was not.
This programme inspired me as a child to become a motorbike mechanic.
Barely a year into my training and I was questioning every step taken in the series.
So much electrical slovenliness, absolutely no ergonomics and the unsprung mass must be immense (probably rides like a family home).
Too bad for the beautiful workshop actually
I recently got into building bikes, and I remembered this show so I went back to watch it, just to see what I can learn from it. The answer: basically nothing. Shame, it could have been a great series.
their builds were more for show over performance.
I wouldn't worry about the unsprung mass, more the dynamic loading on the wheel rims and hubs, that appear to have their designs framed by tyre size/bearing size and appearance no thought on the stresses not just from riding but braking and road conditions, pot holes etc
I used to watch the show, never could understand how those clowns got more money for 100 bucks worth of metal tubing, a little motor and two wheels than what my 2,000 sqft home costs. Suckers born every minute I suppose.
@Boe Jiden 😄
Because there con artist
Because people with too much money are trying to buy a lifestyle image of someone that wasn't real to begin with.
@Boe Jiden because I voted for him but didn't need to go to his rally's like the Trump people. Was he every really under audit? He cheated on every wife and played more golf than attending church to give thanks to the almighty.
Plus a lot of the builds were promotional company bikes and companies were blowing money out their asses left and right to be marketed on the show.
Custom built to do one thing extremely well: cruising at 35 mph on a recently paved not in public use road for two to maybe three miles with no one else present using a go-pro to record this amazing accomplishment where the rider is wearing full leather, helmet, gloves and a parachute.
A bike is a lot like a woman, having a good looking one that you can't ride, is way worse than having one that rides well, but might not look so hot.
You just broke the internet by red pilling them!
I would say a sprung bobber (with grip) seat, brakes then uprate the engine with a tune and mod. And maybe remove the more dangerous spikes.
Lmao I CAN AGEA ON THAT !
Sounds like a guy that can’t ride them all so he settles
Perfectly said
I used to love the show. I remember one time a customer (don't remember who) wanted a bike that was actually fast. OCC said something along the lines of "we don't usually build fast bikes." They ended up just bolting a super charger on it. That's when I thought to myself "oh these bikes are crap and are only for show."
I remember that episode. If the only idea you have is to slap a blower in it to make it faster, you shouldn't be around engines.
I remember "Who rides that long anyway...." on one episode.
Sean trying to imitate the show gotta be the funniest thing I've seen all day 😂
There’s a lotta day left
@@j.wright5918 😂😂😂
Yeah he dont quite have the angry man down
LOL i gotta agree these guys are comedy gold
My neighbor took out a home Equity loan and bought one of their bikes for 60k. He had the bike for a month and noticed there was rust on a seam on the handle bars. He took the bike back and they told him chrome wasn’t covered in the warranty. About a month later riding around greenwood lake NY he rode over a few bumps and the left handle bar broke off. Some how he was able to stop without crashing. He never was able to collect and that bike was nothing but trouble. The only good thing that happened it was trailered with other bikes to Daytona for bike week and it was stolen from in front of his hotel. He lost 10k from the insurance but he is alive.
Great video. (love how the headlight lens isn't parallel to the ground) I've had the "pleasure" of getting to work on a couple of these OCC bikes and I can say you are 100% correct about them. They're really not meant to be ridden, just looked at.
They look good to a blind person!
Build me a road vehicle that's not suited fr d road plz.
Do that statement make any sense?🤔🤕
@@a.mckenna1574 A lot of supercars are built that way.
I think you mean perpendicular!
@@MyRegardsToTheDodo Could you show me a supercar using a bone stock, of the shelf anemic motor producing a whooping 65HP please?
I'll wait...
If you're about to be impractical, be fun to drive at least. By fun I mean great handling, stoping power, steering precision, power, speed, you name it.
No surprises here. Just watching their process of designing and building bikes it was obvious they were driven by style with almost no consideration given to rideability or handling. I watched them build a bike with the tank so high, the rider had to ride it leaning to one side to see the road. Crazy.
Why T.V. and Real Life never and shouldn't really get on.
Yea.... DUMB. Just like the Teutuls.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
😂
they should install a submarine periscope then..
RUclips is getting a little comfortable with the double ads.smh
John Garcia - RUclips is like a boat builder that drills holes in your hull then when their product becomes a complete piece of shit they offer a premium version by filling up all the holes they just drilled. Typical ass wipes.
If you pay for it you don't get adds.
Entitlement isn't an attractive quality.
ruclips.net/video/VPXeeoX2UAM/видео.html
RIGHT??? Holy crap every video I’ve seen this week has had a 2 ad intro.
It seem lately I would love to only get two, I had 8 adds in a 11 min video the other night.
A few years ago I had an itch to buy a Harley, or cool-looking Victory, semi-looking chopper with extended fork (but nothing like OCC's). Scratched the itch with a one day rental of a 1200cc BMW. Rode scenic mountain roads around Stanley/Sun Valley, Idaho. Had a great time. Returned it to Boise which required me to ride on Interstate 84 for thirty miles. Buffeted by winds, 80-mph trucks, bugs crashing into my face shield, and the knowledge that a slick spot, flat tire or wrong move could end it all in an instant....not fun. Lesson learned: cost me $200 instead of $20k, itch gone.
When American Chopper show up in Poland I was 14. Now I agree that it was reality shows, but then it was something that inspires me. Now, 18 years later, I have my own workshop where after work I'm relaxing building stuff. I thing that everything started when I was watching "American Chopper"
🐱👍🏿
They didn't make motorcycles at OCC. They just assembled them, had frames already made, . Jessie James made motorcycles completely from scratch even the frame.
Facts.
Way to regurgitate what Jesse James says. Get original thoughts my man. Be a man.
@@Buyajetfromstevemain you're telling someone to be a man and complaining to a complete stranger on RUclips. Who needs to be a man again?
It's just a shame that he was a world class prick.
@@Buyajetfromstevemain How can you be more original than the truth?
I appreciate your brutal honesty. I use to love American Chopper, and this speaks volumes to how that company did business..... a stock 1340 evo in a 80k chopper?!😲
They weren’t about performance, even a little. They never made a secret of that even in the show.
They didn't want to spend real money on that bike because they were giving it away to a fan who couldn't afford to buy one.
I wonder how anyone came up with that value?
Many wise words in the video & comments. Here in the UK I bought a Skull Choppa (sic) bike in 2006. The original build was… not bad, twin 6 pot front brakes, lotsa performance upgrades to 1900cc. Next owner got the fenders cut down stupidly and had a real crappy grey paint job. I spent the purchase price again for my fix-ups and enjoyed it for about 5 years… encompassing some interesting discoveries about the bad electrical wiring.
The best thing about that OCC pos ... it's not mine.
In 2018, Paul Sr. filed for bankruptcy. Plus, Page Six reports he did so a mere days before the American Chopper reboot aired on TV. There have certainly been ups and downs for the founder of Orange County Choppers, but through it all, the shop manages to stay afloat
@@dopeytripod I mean the only reason they were on the air was for the drama, the personality (an abrasive ass), and just enough mechanical know-how to shit a bike out once a week.
Your mom won’t let you have one. Please stay in your moms basement !!
I know why the guy took a few weeks to accept the $8000 offer. It's the only offer where the prospective buyer didn't come and test drive the bike.
@@dopeytripod More welfare for rich people.
“He had been designing it for years, it was his dream bike... not even sure why he’s selling it.”
Calmly explains that it’s a hard tail.
Designed it for years.?? Just a bog standard chopper, could build it a a couple of weekends..lol seen better BSA / Bonnie's in the 70s....!
Calmly explains it's a hardtail and basically a death trap
It was an 8 year old's dream lol
The original owner sold it because his entire spine was pressed into a singularity by the hardtail
Why I'm going soft tail for my custom project. And also trying to keep the costs reasonable.
I can imagine everyone giving each other high-fives and talking shit when they finished making that pile of shit
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
You have to wonder how these people think.
Do they even realize that they are making garbage?
@@dangrimes5078 low price parts high mark up
The thing about reality tv shows vetting contestants for their charisma and engaging backstory is so true. Even on like American Idol, _every single contestant_ comes up with a ham-fisted underdog story “growing up my little sister had autism, and it was really hard, and that’s how I knew it was my mission to sing good on tv” haha
Or "I was born at a very young age" (que the crying)
Back in the day when OCC was a popular TV show & people were having custom bikes built I never understood why some would have one built with no suspension.
Might be an age thing. The original chopper (Captain America from Easy Rider) was an underpowered hard tail with lousy brakes, so that was what people were looking for when they got old enough to be nostalgic and had enough money for custom builds (although it somehow defeats the purpose to pay a lot of money for a supposed symbol of authenticity and a simpler time). The bike in the movie was of course just old and from a time before suspension was really a standard feature. But the attitude persisted for quite some time - I remember that some people actually got angry when HD began mounting their engines on silent blocks, because having some semblance of comfort was apparently treason to the chopper ethos (but then I ride a Honda, so what do I know).
Hard tails react much more predictably in thr corners. Imagine you're coming through a fast corner, leaned over, and you hit a dip. Your suspension compresses, a peg hits the ground and you wreck.
That's at least how my friend, who rides a hardtail, describes it.
@@CourageTheCowardlyDog266 Now imagine coming throught a fast corner and hiiting a pothole without suspension. The wheels start bouncing and you go straight in the ditch.
@@CourageTheCowardlyDog266Your friend would have a valid point if every road were paved glassy smooth like a race track. But ultimately suspension _helps_ with evening out the feedback on the inevitably uneven roads we encounter daily.
@@CourageTheCowardlyDog266
Shoot. Clearly MV, Honda. Ducati had no idea how hard tails were superiosrs.
.
That’s a spine buster they were giving it away they built it as cheaply as possible.
YEZ ZIR
he said the guy specifically asked for this design
It is a mystery. It does appear to be very cheap and basic. But, that is what they guy asked for? Maybe they gave him a budget for his Dream Bike?
Dream vs reality, sometimes what you want is stupid..... and painful. Looks cool though. I liked most of their bikes, but they mostly looked the same. Spider bike was the best in my opinion.
Yep this is what I expected. Looks over any kind of function and looks that only one out of a 1,000 riders could say are great. My sales manager bought a custom from one of the big names. Oil filled frame and all that jazz. Broke down on every ride and I think it caught on fire as well. Paid over 20 grand 15 years ago or so. Felt so bad for him. Good guy.
But an idiot.
I remember seeing Jessi James on a road trip with a hard tail he build. You could see him not trying to grimace after every little bump sent electric shocks up his spine.
I remember when they decided to ride them to the bike show. One caught fire,
Parts fell off another one, could not make it 20 miles.
Could you imagine being some guy watching the show back when it was popular convincing his wife to let him buy an OCC chopper, spending $80,000 on his "dream bike" and when he gets it it is a slow, dangerous, garage queen that he never rides so he decides to finally sell it and now he can't even get enough for it to buy a "nice" Harley?
Sad
underrated savage comment of the week.
You can get a bitchin older FXR or Dyna for 8k. I have a few saved on craigslist and facebook marketplace currently. WAY better bikes than this pile. But yeah, I don't think he bought the bike, pretty sure they made it for him for free/a giveaway/tv show content.
@@JetCityHooligan I've got a clapped out fxr making way more power than this heep. Mine has 127 el bruto though.
Nice bikes around here in the 5s
I mean, if you're wanting the most cost efficient motorcycle, having one with spikes all over it is a pretty good option. No insurance fees cuz no one will insure you, no medical fees cuz you'll just be dead when you crash. Hell, no funeral fees because they won't be able to peel you from the frame that's gored your body.
Reality, Choppers are like a fashion show; The designs look cool and serve to build ideas for the real world. Some people actually ride these, some people actually wear fashion show clothing. Most don't
You should do the following to that bike:
1) Install a front brake.
2) Put a swingarm suspension on the back.
3) Put a Screamin' Eagle motor in it.
4) Put a cover on that damned open primary.
5) Give it a nice paint job.
I always suspected Orange County Choppers were crap and here is definitive proof.
I did enough shop welding to know these guys were complete hacks and simply makin stuff up. Zero thought to actually engineering or performance
@@michaeltaylors2456 It was always about beauty and it`s not a secret.
@@kaynest9014but most of their Bikes are ugly XD
i clicked thinking this was about buying a helicopter.
They always seemed to be designed with looks in mind rather than functionality. I quit watching the show after about three seasons.
In hindsight as I remember from my years of watching American Chopper, their focus was building theme bikes and they were just getting into production bikes toward the end of the show. Since they were focusing on building show bikes, I wouldn't expect them to put in a monster of an engine because the bike was built to look good and rarely ridden. It would make sense that they would go a bit cheap and put in a stock engine. If the bike was a production bike and not a theme bike, then it would make sense to put in a more powerful engine if the customer wanted a certain degree of performance out of their bike.
you do understand that at bike shows we arent just looking at paint & chrome right?
this thing is a jake & made on a minimal budget & barely looks better than that horrible "factory chop" honda sold years ago..
Yeah i build a wardrobe from ikea im a builder too. Technically speaking probably slightly more advanced for being able to put that flimsy warddrobe together. Quality of the products is very compareable tho.
Agreed 100%.
Take it to a frame guy, get them to put a rear suspension section on; possibly graft on the back half of the Honda Fury? Maybe get a real seat while you're at it. You'll still have most of the looks, but something rideable. I don't know what to do about the front brake, with that rake it's never going to be very effective.
Oh, and let me redesign the paintwork, I do graphic design so I've got a few ideas. Then you could just, like I don't know, give it to me.
Probably not, but it was worth a shot.
Too much work, just buy a Fury and be happy. :D
My father hated Paul senior for the way he was always yelling at his sons & employees, but I told him he acts exactly the same way towards me and my brother. We ended up both going our own way.
Who cares?
@@HF1.0 You're the only one who cares. Thank you!😮💨
@@HF1.0the person who took the time out of his day to type "Who cares?"
Hope you can make sure the trait does not pass down!
@@ronbelanger4113 Not having kids
I say, fix the brakes, find a “comfortable” seat that kinda matches, swap the evo for a 1400 Harley engine, reduce the number spikes, then drive to OCC to show them your improvements.
The one good thing about harley motors is they're easy to upgrade.
Is OCC still going?
@@georgeperkins4171 not so easy to upgrade as in has a lot to be improved
I can ride the wheels off a Japanese sport bike but this dinosaur scares me !
fix that bike right, and I'll ride it myself to OCC, and tell them this is the way they should have built it. Put some brakes on it, and a decent seat. I'll video tape the highlights of the ride there, and their expression when I tell them they did it all wrong. I'll even sigh a release so you guys are not responsible for me or anything that happens.
I’d rather ride a Honda Grom honestly
"This is like your opinion maaan..."... Groms are state of the art compared to this $80K pile of junk, and you could buy about 20 of them for the original price this OCC turd on wheels
The Grom would probably be faster too.
Emkurooooo
Take from someone who owns 3 bikes. Grom is THE best bike ever!!!
Dobar je to motor .
Dyno testing was a nice touch. Would like to see more bikes get dyno tested
The moment of truth
Dyno testing a pogo stick? too funny!!
Otherwise known as "the lie detector".
That’s exactly the way I always thought those bikes would be. Exactly. I didn’t watch the show a lot, but when I did… the bikes looked uncomfortable, impractical, and underperforming. Just very stylish. If you’re into that.
What gets lost in the great debate about OCC is that the moment they penned the TV contract they ceased to be a bike builder and became an entertainment business. Why would you expect a ratings driven TV show to produce practical, let alone safe, custom bikes. OCC bikes are what they are, shiny objects whose sole purpose is to mollify the masses.
Amen! Well said.
And people wonder why the govt FKS the public on the daily.
True, true!
Their sole purpose was not to "mollify the masses". I would suggest you look up the word "mollify" for reference. The sole purpose of the show was to make money for the producers. The principals of OCC were fabricators who I'm certain enjoyed their work, the fame, and in no small measure: the money. That they made shitty bikes in terms of practicality and quality is without question; mostly hardtails with little engineering involved. They had the opportunity to create much more sophisticated and higher quality bikes, but they chose not to, and that is a shame.
So basically what you are saying is that just because they penned a contract that all their bike engineering expertise went straight out of the window? Oh.......OK m8 whatever you say. Owned a OC chopper have you? Bought one have you?
I appreciated the nod to Talladega Nights with the hands rising for no reason part
I was trying to remember where that was from. Thanks for jogging my memory!
I miss my chopper even though it always tried to kill me. Clutch cable snapping sending me across an interstate both lanes into a dollar general lot before the back brake slowed it down enough to kill it. 7 out of 10 rides you would have to retrieve parts that rattles off. The screws in my vice grips would always be backed off and loose in my tool bag. The part that was fun was learning how to fix anything with minimum tools and parts in the dark and making it home alive. It finally died when the welds on the frame broke at 45mph dropping the frame onto the road and I rode it into a ditch and was able to just step off it. Good times.
Choppers don't have to be garbage. Kill switches solve the snapped cable problem. You built junk and got junk results.
@@Comm0ut I bought it used and still miss that bike so much. I like my new but I can’t have them all. This was my first harley coming from the metric world. Never needed to check welds and stuff before. I learned rapidly.
My idea of fun is galaxy apart. I mean chicks are fun.
@@jjohnson8977 until they take half your stuff. 😂
@@badkatrising3918 dic em and run
I wish I could get back every minute back I spent watching American chopper
Put it on a pole in the front yard and make it your new SRK sign.
I saw two OCC choppers on display at Roar to the Shore in Wildwood NJ. As soon as I was up close I could tell they were junk. I looked carefully at all the components and saw the welds (being a certified welder for 45+yrs) and thought wow. Never ever would have bought one good video thanks, I think you show is one of the best out there. But I'm still bummed at you for moving out of PA. but hey you got to do what's right for you and your family so Good Luck.
OCC did build the bike the contest winner said he wanted. The results of the request is to be careful what you ask for - you might just get it. The majority of the bikers I know would not ride, and definitely not build, a rigid bike for anything other than garage art.
They were all garbage dude…
When those guys built a motorcycle it was like a real estate agent painting a house for sale
Grow a pair and go ride.
@Stretchh fab Shut it tuff guy. I think we all ride here, and most of us aren't 18 on here iether. So save those type of comments for your old lady.
@@stretchhfab7315 i dont ride but no suspension sounds like you live in a place with nice roads
I applied to be on that episode with a pinball themed bike that had elements of pinball in the design including a playable mini pinball machine inset in the gas tank. I didn't get picked even after completing 20+ pages of application paperwork. The bike you bought was called "Corporal Punishment" in homage to its hardtail, there was also a three wheeled trike for a paraplegic and some gal designed a bike to round out the series.
Gets pulled over by the cops.
Cops: "You know it's illegal to use your phone while your riding"?
You: "I'm not on my phone, I'm playing on my pinball machine". 😁
There was a fourth bike as well, some black guy who had sold his original bike to pay for his mum's medical care. They built him a replica.
@@christopherdean1326 yep.
I'd like to have a chopper built by army Becker. He was the original bike builder to the stars . I remember stopping by his shop one day back in the early mid 1990s. Their was a punk up learning how to build bikes (Jessy James) . Army got away from building bikes for Hollywood because his wife wanted a drag bike. They were at a trade show and he said if they won the door prize he'd build her a bike . They won and last I heard in the late 1990s she was rank #2 in the world for dragbikes . Arly is a mechanic and actual biker.
FYI Becker built the bike for the twin peaks tv series . Then he got the Hollywood type builds .
the way you spelled 'jessy james'... kinda describes the way he talks lol great man, tho
In the show they always talk about a multiple point turns when they test ride. A lot of that was riding down the street through all the gears and then doing a U-turn.
Spring the seat
Do a decent brake job on it
Throw a 124 SnS in it
It’ll be sweet for a 4 mile Sunday ride to the local bar
Options,
1. Part it out
2. Build suspension seat like Soft-Ride Bicycles, carbon fiber beam spring, bigger seat pan to prevent slide
3. Move head tube & shorten forks, add 2nd disc up front + #2
4. Part it out as the pilot for your new Discovey Channel series, "Why'd You Do That?!"
The problem with parting it out is that it only has one part worth money: a bone-stock Evo motor.
They have an OCC bike at the Hard Rock in Biloxi, it’s been there a long long time and still no one has won it, it’s a beautiful bike and if I won it I’d ride it.
Saw this show as a kid and remember something about a guy designing his own bike. I thought the show was good and the bikes seriously cool.
Then I grew up and found counting cars and saw what a cool bike that you can ride and enjoy looked like. And now OCC bikes look more like yard/garage art to me rather than custom motorcycles.
Back when OCC got so big everyone thought they wanted an open primary, a rigid frame with no suspension, a ridiculous rake and a fork length to make turning damn near impossible, no front brakes, a motor from a lawn mower, body work and a seat designed to kill its rider and likely a fuel tank that’ll have you visiting every gas station along the way. Nah, I’m good.
I do like the aesthetics, even if it’s a little overdone on the spikes, but we all know this is a garage, grass and show bike. It’s basically those little soaps your mom has in the bathroom that you’re not really supposed to use but sometimes you do.
Ahhh...yes. The cheesy little, overly scented soaps. You just took me way back. I can smell them now. I genuinely thank you for this trip back in time.
Yeah...
Edit- I usually don't like or dislike anyone's comments but I liked yours simply because of the soap thing. Although I do agree with you too.
Well, I have never been a fan of Choppers. I know how much design work is put into the steering of every bike, and the answer always comes out to a head angle of 71 degrees, even one degree either side is frowned upon.
I always loved the show, mainly because my dad and I would go at each other like senior and Jr when I was younger, Full disclosure: it was 90% my fault 😅, and I loved the whole building process of taking raw materials and building a work of art. The only disappointment is to find out that OCC bikes where first off way over priced for a bike with zero suspension, no tachometer's, way underpowered and a belt drive that could rip flesh away from your left calf.
Shouldda got a Triumph.
The Rocket 3 is a thing of beauty.
Years back the city I lived in had a motorcycle show. Snap-On tools sponsored it and brought the S-O Tools bike to it. Guys that worked for them told me they'd take my motorcycle over the one OCC built for them to travel around the country to "show-off".
They ended up awarding me with a 1st place trophy 🏆 . I was on a motorcycle, I couldn't carry it home. So I handed a 3 ft trophy to a little kid that was there with his mom.
Lol
The snap on bike was damn impressive I saw it a couple times
Then everyone clapped
I know exactly what to do with it. Take it to sturgis during the rally and sell it at a auction.
And get laughed at
There's a OCC chopper in the town where I live. A guy ended up winning it in a lottery and then it got bought and sold a million times. One of my friends had it for a while and he said he couldn't afford to pay for registration on it because it was valued at 80k and in Nebraska you have to pay a huge percent of the value of the vehicle which was over $1000 a year just to ride it.
Let me get this straight, on your vehicle registration you have to pay a percentage on the value of the vehicle, not what you actually paid for it to register it each year ?
@@jasonvoorhees8545 it's stupid. Essentially if you drive a pile of crap 30 year old beater it's $20 for registration. I bought a brand new truck though for $43k and every year I had to pay $700 for the state of Nebraska to "allow" me to drive it on their roads. The amount you have to pay goes down over time. I think if the vehicle is 15 years or older it's $20
Georgia had the same thing. i think it was called Valorem tax. They had no vehicle inspection, so older cars would pay less then newer cars. it was a annual tax you had to pay just to drive your vehicle.
$45 in Ohio. Ish. It can vary a few dollars depending on location.
Dang that’s crazy. I live in California its outrageous here to.
Ha ha! Lots of haters for OCC! I remember them being called “cake decorators” on the forums back in the day! I lost interest once they just built “themed bikes”! I half expected the “Martha Stewart Themed Chopper” to be an episode! 😳 Looks like you grabbed one at a great price...now knock of those sprinkles & turn it into a desirable chopper! 👍
I thought it was an episode after the Gillette bike
@@BikesandBeards Guess I must have missed it! Lost the will to live around the time of the “Davis Love The Third” golf chopper! 😳 Hopefully you guys can turn this into something worth riding! Best of luck! 👍
@@BikesandBeards can you message me back on Instagram @_bowman21_
I think Jesse James coined the term cake decorators originally to describe OCC
@@Clearanceman2 I do recall OCC having a little feud with JJ so you are probably right. 👍
I loved the show, enjoyed the cool paint jobs but always knew that my stock 03 Heritage Softail was a better bike. Now I really did like some of the bikes that came out of West Coast Custom. For this bike get it some suspension at least, add a break booster to the front break .... take a bunch of pictures then launch it off a cliff.
Please stop spelling it "break".
It's 'brake'.
“More American than Chinese buffets” I love it
I would put the engine and transmission in the bike sitting on my front room. I started building it over 25 years ago. When my wife passed away i stopped the build pretty much. Now I have time to finish it and rebuild the XLCR I love to ride.
When I was 18, I built a hard tail 74 with a magneto and an extended springer front end. Once you got it started, it ran great so long as you didn't have to turn or stop. But it gave me hemerroids, so despite what a pos that bike actually was, I had to sell it. I bought a new Triumph so stopped being so cool, but the roids went away never to return.
Haha great story. I love my triumph
There are plenty of really cool COMFORTABLE bikes with practical features. The fact anyone bought an OCC still amazes me.
And henceforth the foul roids were banished from the land of Crackenberg!
You became way cooler with the triumph
Ah... but Triumphs have a cool factor all their own 😉
My Harley mechanic has one. It's a Big Dog I think. He rides it maybe 500 miles a year to shows and whatnot. He says it's really uncomfortable to ride but a nice conversation piece at shows and in the front of the shop. That's what he bought it for.
I mean at that end of the day that's all OOC bikes were, just show pieces. I remember the episodes where they'd build bikes for like movie premiers and special events and what have you. That's all they made. They didn't make bikes to ride, they made bikes to look at. They're crappy bikes that look nice. they're built to put on display and look at. that's it. And the only reason OOC got to that point is because Jessie James and West Coast Choppers didn't want to do the show. So OOC is and was always runner up in the "nice to look at, not to ride" category.
@@rozodru4790 I mean they even called their bikes ''show-bikes'' themselves didnt they? idk why everybody is hating on OCC now *shrug*
Plus they can write them off as advertising.
I’m sure you know your Harley mechanic quite well?
He could have made a laminated poster of a life-size naked lady for much less money. It would have sparked MUCH more conversation, gotten him MUCH more attention(and customers) and he never would have had to ride the POS.
I never understood why people would want expensive uncomfortable street bikes that aren’t even street legal in many states.
You are a shame to your name. I would explain why a chopper is cool, even if certain states outlaw them... but, you just wouldn't get it. No one expected that much from you.
@@Frieghtliner1975 No, choppers are fcking stupid. If you want to have fun on the road, then get a sportsbike. A Kawasaki Ninja does what a chopper does x3 with better mileage, 2x speed, better look and 1/10 the sound. Anyone who thinks riding a stupid looking, slow noisemachine with a door-handle moustache and a potbelly is a certified idiot.
@@ParleLeVu Yes, crotch rockets are superior...in the amount of riders they kill.
But seriously that is an apples/oranges comparison.
Image ,,, our number one goal in life
I just saw a bike Lime green, (nice paint!) in beautiful font. " ALL EYES ON ME"
We broke out laughing
In the late 1970s and 1980s I had a 1958 Panhead in a Jammer hardtail frame with a 10" over Springer; no front brake. I road it for about 12 years. In 2002 I had back surgery for 3 ruptured disks. Coincidence?
OCC bikes were quite cool looking, but they lacked smoothness when riding. They were built metal against metal. No rubber cushions to ease the vibrations.
Good for the spine. On long rides.
I translate your comment to mean they were Useless as transportation unless you want to have back surgery every few months.
They never rode their own bikes to any rally. They rode them on a trailer. Closed the door. They didn’t ride their bikes at the rally. They build deadly trophies. I really love the spiked impalers on the handlebars.
They came out to my home town bike rally in like 2012ish and they rode in the bike parade with their choppers. They had their choppers shipped here, and the parade was only like a mile long bike ride but they at least rode them for that 1 mile lol
I’ve owned rigid choppers/bobbers in the past. A good set of seat springs can really make an improvement in the ride. A chopper isn’t about horsepower though. It’s about the feeling of being on a machine most would be afraid to ride.
Definitely, my chopper is completely rigid, no suspension at all but my spring seat that I welded on there makes the biggest difference
Afraid... Embarrassed... Its a fine line really 🤷♂️
It´s a trailer queen, good for conventions or "meet & greets" or you can show it in your shop window as a dust catcher.
OCC made some of the most embarrassing “choppers” ever. They aren’t even choppers. Choppers were motorcycles that were “chopped”. That means taking things off the bike. OCC would add about a half ton of decorative crap on their “choppers”. They looked like something Liberace would ride.
That's not at all what a chopper is lol chopper means chopping the neck of the frame and giving it a rake in the front.
@@smashdogg1241 My source for the origin of the chopper comes from Hunter S Thompson’s book “Hell’s Angels: A Strange and Terrible Saga”. That’s a pretty early source and it comes directly from the motorcycle club itself. If you have a better source, I’d be willing to listen.
Congrats! you made asher LOL. The check will be in the mail
Same sorta thing has happened with other vehicle things like like rat builds for cars and utes they use to be rusted out shit boxs with good motors now they are hot rods with extra steps
"...that Liberace would ride..."
hahahahahahahaha Awesome!
This video brought back memories of me in the UK all those years ago staying up late on a night to watch OCC. I was obsessed with that show. I even had an OCC flag on my wall (with the logo) and I had plans of passing my motorcycle test and trying to get one imported into the UK. None of that ever happened though. 🤣
I didn’t like the proportions on most of OCCs choppers.
That entire bike should be WAY more tucked in, and compact. The rear wheel is way too far back. It's all so stretched and lanky looking. Too much empty space.
Exactly what I was thinking.
Yeah, the ones Sr built for himself looked stupid. The top tube was steeper than the Matterhorn. He could barely see over his gas tank.
Glad to know it wasn't just me thinking that. That and the build times were a damn joke. Yes, you can build a custom bike in a couple weeks, not arguing with that one.
But it's going to have issues created by the nature of rushing the work. It's why I own a Bourget, not an OCC, and why my wife has a WCC Diablo. Both took months to build, and were issue free from day one.
My friends who went through OCC and PJD, nothing but issues. Not fun to deal with, when the builder is 5 states away, even with a warranty.
@@kevinfox500 I can imagine the Warranty Department is just Senior on the other end of the line screaming “What are you, f*ckin’ NUTS??!!! Stop being such a G*ddam P*SSY!!!”
Choppers were such a fad, a 100k un-rideable motorcycle, that everyone despised once owning one.