@@PCgamerChannel Right. OCC Choppers are clearly not daily riders. OCC never made a Bike better than the original 9/11 Fire Engine and Black Widow bikes either in my opinion. That 9/11 Bike was made when the Country was all about "United We Stand" remember when people drove around with flags on their cars? sigh
I remember putting a bicycle together one xmas eve for my 5 year old niece with my dad and we were both drunk. It was like an episode of OCC with the two of us shouting at each other.
Can u imagine working at that place where the owner comes in and tells you that you’ll be working on the “Tampax Tampons” bike one week and then the Gerber “Baby Food Bike” the next.
The fact that they set up an art gallery for him was hilarious, it looked like it was filled with a collection of kids primary school pictures that you put on the fridge at home.
Kind of how professional wrestling in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s went from a fun “good guys vs bad guys” thing you could lose yourself in to a soap opera.
OCC bikes are all loathsome. I lived in NJ at the time and went to their shop. I was amazed at how poorly the finish was up close. Welding blebs were painted over-WTF? I would imagine you could ride them about 5-10 miles before saying "Uncle". Pissing blood from kidney injury doesn't sound too sexy. If you bought one for $85,000 and it's now worth $ 9,000, well that's quite a nice return on investment-LOL. Good-bye OCC and good riddance.
I hated this show. The bikes were corporate billboards…everything a Chopper isn’t. the family squabbling was disgusting. Glad these dudes and their show is history.
These bikes should never be allowed on public roadways. They have so many pointed pieces of metal that I can imagine you’d ever survive a wreak without getting empaled in multiple locations
Lots of stories online about how bad those bikes are. I remember one episode (Wendy’s theme bike, maybe?) where they built a battery box to the exact dimensions of the battery, not taking into account the change in thickness due to paint/powdercoat. When the problem became apparent, they didn’t build another battery box. They beat the battery into the existing box with a rubber mallet. Good luck getting it out when it’s time to replace. It was at that point I realized I was watching a giant joke.
It became clear to me that OCC was a clown show when Paule Jr. cut out a large part of the lower frame of the military bike because the gearbox didn't fit. It's clear that the bikes were purely show bikes that would never be driven on the street. But to then stand up and call yourself a great motorcycle builder was a real joke when you couldn't even make your own frames.
You're right on all of them! They were fugly, but what really made them unrideable was their 'fool frames'! Otherwise known as rigid frames, or kidney killers. Instead of hiding a monoshock softail system with a swingarm in it, noooo, make the marks pay $70 large for a fool's frame! Did you really pay $10 large to beat up your bike!?
@@TheDesmoto No it just takes a man that is more concerned with his own ego, than actually enjoying a comfortable SAFE riding bike. For a man to own and ride one of those, he either has an ego issue, or simply enjoys pain and suffering or some combination of both ego and pain.
Years ago I stopped at their newly built showroom on I-87. I thought "wow, these guys are way over extended". Now I think it's some indoor go-cart track and arcade. They had their 15 minutes (maybe fifteen years), but it was over fifteen years ago. There is a reason why Honda has sold 100 million Cubs.
The senior never managed to make the transition from being a pure show bike producer to a manufacturer of serious motorcycles. To do this, he would have had to employ people who knew how to build a good motorcycle, but his inflated ego did not allow that.
I watched and enjoyed this show before I got my first bike. Now that I have some riding under my belt, I can definitely see why riders have a low opinion of these choppers. As works of art (or corporate billboards), they are arguably fine. As functioning vehicles, give me a pit bike or a scooter instead.
I lived near Newburgh, NY and we passed these guys on their bikes all the time. Once, we passed several of them and you could hear the bikes rattle as they hit bumps in the road. I would never have one.
I’ve owned two of their bikes and had all the same issues with both. Junk to ride had electrical issues even though there isn’t many electrical items on the bikes. Batteries always dead no matter what. Underpowered and can go about ten minutes in a tank. I was lucky enough to buy an Indian Larry bike at an auction and it is fantastic for what it is. Larry could build real bikes
I think that after the Discovery series made them so popular it became a case of "The Emperor's New Clothes". Usually the company or organization that commissioned the bike saw the bike for the first time when it was revealed at a big public event with news media present. They couldn't admit on camera that they hated the bike. They are thinking, "This is horrible" but saying aloud on camera, "This Bike is better than we expected!".
I agree with that, but I also remember a lot of the episodes were creating bikes for charities and big events. They weren't often made for a single person, and most the people that had these bikes made weren't bike people at all. These bikes are cool to people that aren't into motorcycles😂
This is exactly the vibe I got with almost every reveal. The bikes were completely unrideable and only good as art meant for the garage. Most were hideous and went to people who weren't motorcyclists but just trying to be trendy in a rich and pretentious kind of way.
There was one episode where OCC had to build a motorcycle for Billy Joel. The man is a motorcycle fan and knows his stuff, so he was very disappointed with what OCC delivered.
I watched the show a lot, it was fun, but it seems like a lot of times they just took a standard chopper and stuck a bunch of crap on it that matched a theme, but that was the point I guess.
I actually use to love watching this show back in the day. I stopped watching when Jason became a part of the show cause he was really annoying and I hated his bike designs. I only watched it mainly because of Vinnie, Rick and Jr. I agree with you though, these bikes are the drizzling shits.
All of OCC Choppers were Horrendous ... Comissioned by companies to build custom bikes for their brand , so they could write it off on the tax bills ...
Some of these bikes are so cheap now you can just buy it for the SS engine and transmission and some had nice open primaries and rebuild a much more practical bike. They all have low miles.
I remember seeing the 7/11 bike for sale at a car show. The guy won it in a raffle or something and was trying to get rid of it because it was so ugly. It’s got a Big Gulp as the gas tank. I’d love to meet the fool that eventually bought it.
Your title suggest that OCC built a "good bike" at some point. They never made any bike, they put parts together and they did that like a 3 year old. The only good use for any OCC bike is a boat anchor.
I thought all the the bikes they did were pretty awful with one exception.. The old school bike they did for Cody. To me, it had the right look for a chopper.
I was shocked to read that many of the OCC bikes don’t run and most have found there way to a scrapyard. I’m not a fabricator or builder but I do have commonsense. When you read about the tens of millions manufacturers spend on R&D before releasing a bike how did OCC put these things together in such a short period of time and how were they allowed to sell them.
Let's not forget the GEICO bike. It wasn't totally finished when they delivered it and never finished. I can be seen on the last few videos on the "Bikes and Beards" channel.
I'm 66 and my father was a motorcycle fanatic. Me not so much. He rode British bikes triumps, BSAs, and notons. He thought choppers were a impractical silly gaudy looking things.
I never really cared about the bikes. The Story line was compelling. Father Son duo reach incredible heights doing what they love but are too incombustible (see what I did there) to work together. The Bikes just seemed like a Bunch of ordered parts hacked together with a fancy paint job on top. IMO
The worst part is not the look of them, the motorcicles were (most of the times at least) poorly build, not tune up, unrideable, slow, etc. If they want a billboard/exposition motorcicle thats fine, but make it good and rideable, and don't call it "custom super unique bike" if you just assembly or modify a couple of componnents.
I used to watch this, I even got sucked back in when they tried to do the reboot. I agree with most of the comments. The show would have been SO much better if they focused on how the bikes were designed & built instead of all the fake deadlines & manufactured drama. The absolute worst bike they did (surprised it didn't get a mention here) was the Christmas bike. Look it up and see if you agree. One of my favorite builds was the Lincoln bike. I don't consider any of the bikes they built for the show to be REAL motorcycles; they're just examples of rolling art. Like with ANY art form, it's mostly about personal taste/preference. I'd take an original vintage bike over ANY chopper all day long.
Eragon bike was cool for the local blacksmiths they brought into the build, the insane axe down tube piece, the awesome nubby paint, and seat made by the legendary paul cox
I actually like the hockey bike, & I'm not even a hockey fan...it looks like it would be the most ridable bike out of any of them... I also like that it's a bagger... I like to travel... long as the bike would stay running...my favorite chopper they ever made was the one with the chrome spider webs on it...none of the choppers were meant for practical riding... they're built to be looked at... that's why they depreciate so much...
"reality tv" was a scam from the very beginning. the part of this show that I laughed at. was how whenever there was one of those monolgue sections of the show. they all spoke exactly alike. same cadence, same rises and falls in pitch. it was crystal clear they were being coached, and a tell of how much of a production it truly was. the commanche bike was my favorite. it was the only one that I thought brought the design together with cohesion. like alot of others pointed out, the rest were just hodge podge mess of design elements to make a rolling billboard.
I wasn’t there but I always theorized that it started as a serious minded show then at some point the tension broke through and somebody blew up at somebody. The producer looked at it and thought, that’s TV gold, I ain’t no way I’m cutting that. And then it just got to where they scripted that in and all reality shows followed suit. Consequently, all these reality shows all suck - Wheeler Dealers being the sole exception I can think of.
I started watching American Choppers to see the bikes they built. Then all the fighting between Paul Sr and Paul Jr started... that's when I looked for something else to watch.
My favorite OCC bike was the Snap-on Tool Bike. Beautiful art, real tools used on the bike, straight bar...bu like all OCC Choppers, uncomfortable and unrideable.
I loved this show,but if I was asked which one of these bikes you showcased ,would I want? The NHL Bike for sure. I’m a huge original 6 fan,and it’s a normal looking bike
Paul Jr. has many of the bikes he made in a showroom. He bought them back from original owners, second owners, etc. It seems no original owner considers the bikes as assets. It's been said the main reason anyone bought them was as part of their company's advertising campaigns. They were apparently always intended as write-offs.
I bought a big bear chopper kit. Many years ago. Paid $23000. for the kit. Didnt even give me speedometer.Came in a refridgerater box. Instructions werte non existent on how to build. Gave a dvd on how to build similar bikes. Not mine. The parts that should have been chromed. Werent.Ha to spend an additional $5000.On incidentals. After doing bondo on the tank and frame molding and prime and paint and building the bike myself. And dealing with wrong parts and missing parts. Finally got the bike together after a year. Riding it. What a piece of shit. I had almosy $30000 in it. And built it myself. Rode this dangerous piece of shit. Only close to home. For 4 years. Ended up trading it to harley for $10000, On a street glide.
I've ridden motorcycles for over 20 years. I can only guess that whatever mystique choppers may have, come from two places: the movie "Easy Rider", and this notion that chopper riders are THE bad-asses of motorcycling, because they're essentially riding deathtraps (no front brakes, no rear suspension and a turning radius only slightly smaller than most supertankers). The Yankees bike did have some nice touches to it, and the NHL bike was cool, but I don't know if I would chunk over the change for one of them.
If you grew up in the 90s? But that show didn't air till 2003. And the first reality tv show was Mtv's The Real World. So right out the gate in the first 15 seconds you're totally off base.
This is sort of a trick-question, IMO. 1. They pretty much kept building the same bike over and over (95% were ultra-high-neck, impossible to ride bikes. The only distinguishing elements were some tacky screw-on parts thrown in to match the current theme). 2. They all looked ugly AF.
I liked the Statue of Liberty byke. Or, at least, I liked the copper plating. You just don't see copper plating on much. Looks good but the upkeep would be horrendous. Unless you like green.
I've worked on a couple of there bikes years later. Lots of broken parts and frames. But if you only got a few weeks to make them , of course they would have some problems.
Found your channel recently and subscribed Just before it hit 2000. I feel special like just getting on the ground floor of a promising business or some stocks before it blows up! Your channel is good, sure it’s going to go somewhere👍
The actual design and build process was interesting to watch. However choppers just look horrible and even more ridiculous when you see someone on one.
Most of their design is what I call cake decorating… it’s not really design at all. Take a chopper, choose some colours and a tank and then just stick cheesy crap on it like you’re decorating a cake. Good design has an idea that follows through the entire form and function of the thing… it’s not just decoration.
Paul Sr. Now lives in Brooksville Florida right down the street from my brother. I ran into him last year while visiting from Baltimore. He actually really nice. We used to watch the show and the bikes always seemed cheesy.
I like the Golf chopper.. the last one. I have built a few of these myself and it is not easy to do. If you are building the bike from nothing up to something and fabricating your own mechanisms . I have always loved the chopper look as long as it isn't too extreme.
It’s incredibly easy to do. What “mechanisms” exactly are you “fabricating?” I’ve fabricated plenty of metal with an eng wheel. Custom pipes, frames etc. And installed plenty of “custom” off the shelf components and of course built engines. But fabrication of mechanisms? What’s that? A “mechanism” like a gauge?
I got ripped apart for complaining about OCC bikes, because as I was told, "They weren't meant to be ridden, they were meant to look cool." As if this is a tangible explanation. So an OCC bike is ostensibly an art piece shaped like a motorcycle never intended to be enjoyed or to be ridden. Uh.....huh.
To me the perfect chopper would have everything not really needed gone, low to the ground, loud, light, fast, no long ass forks, no ape hangers and rear suspension.
@@ericchapman399 I use to ride a lot when I was younger...a Sportster, and a '80 80. When I was a kid I had some bikes that would be collectors items today. Had a '67 650 BSA. I don't ride today because of all the idiots on the road. Got nothing against choppers brother.
I don't mind the old-school looking long bikes but in my opinion the best look for a "chopper" is something with a lil extra rake and forks just a couple inches longer...think Harley Davidson and the Marlboro man...kinda in between a chopper and a drag bike lol
The definition of chopper used to mean a cycle (usually military surplus) that had anything unneeded to operate removed/chopped off. These things are antichoppers.
I watched about 4 episodes of American Chopper and quickly figured out they were building really expensive paperweights. I would rather ride my old Kawasaki 125 CC cruiser, than anything these clowns built.
This show definitely misrepresented biker culture. All of these to anyone who rides motorcycles would call these hideous. And a big part of motorcycles is they’re cheaper, cheaper to work on cheaper to buy, cheaper to ride than drive a car. Taste is some nice pin striping and maybe some cool airbrushed art.
I grew up in Rapid City, SD, 25 minutes from Sturgis, SD home of the world famous Sturgis Rally. My family never rode motorcycles but i always rode dirt bikes, my moms good high school friend is Brian Klock of Klockwerks customs, out of Mitchell, SD. Through all that i naturally became a huge fan of OCC as a kid. My birthday is at the start of August which means every year the Rally happens over my birtthday. one birthday my parents left me with a babysitter that night because they were going to a concert at the Buffalo Chip, i cant remember what concert but they had backstage passes and happened to run into paul jr and vinny. my parents told them how i was a huge fan and that it was my birthday. vinny took the work biker hat with a bent upright bull of his head, grabbed a silver sharpie and signed that hat then gave it to my parents and paul jr gave my parents the occ sunglasses off his face. that was still the coolest birthday gifts ive ever got. of course being the wild, careless little shit i was i think those pieces were lost to the sands of time.. thinking about it really makes me want to dig through my parents storage unit thats been untouched for 15 years
The truth is 90’s and 00’s choppers are down right ugly. But 60’s and 70’s choppers like the movie Easy Rider are perfect examples of choppers done right. Bikes that custom and yet functional. Anyone who thinks that you can do long distance riding on a chopper has clearly never ridden one before.
I love that Jay Leno absolutely hates his Orange County Chopper and doesnt ride it. Most of these bikes arent made to really be ridden, just looked at.
OCC was a friggin joke. They used bargain basement boat anchor engines that often broke apart. Some looked cool, but that was it. They scammed anyone who spent a dime on them.
If you really notice when OCC tests rides the bikes before delivering them. They go 40mph maybe 50mph because they are very uncomfortable you’re tail bone is the suspension! and no way a pleasant ride experience so just a quick ride and that’s it.
I stopped watching mainstream chopper media when Jesse James lost to these fools on a build off. Paul and Senior pulled their stuff off a shelf and welded crap onto the bike. Jesse built his bike from tube steel. He just said it was time to build a bike and then just built one out of raw material.
Personally I hate choppers it's the worst thing you can do to a bike I had a go on my sister's boyfriends and thought it was just dangerous to ride and incredible uncomfortable
They were like the people buying them… superficial. To each their own. 10,000 people trailer their bikes to Sturgis, ride them at walking pace to the Main Street and stand there talking for 4 days. As long as someone gets paid to build it.
How Ferrari didn't step in to prevent the Ferrari bike from being made is one of life's greatest mysteries
They were too busy laughing to file a cease and desist.
I bet they were like, let's see what crap they're going to churn out with this
@@dowjonesizethey weren't small at all back then, licensing was just a lot less legally defined back then as it is now.
@@Okthen-jc2yihave you guys ever heard of satire
@@dowjonesize is that a joke ?
$100,000 for a bike with a stock Evo, no suspension, and no gauges. ALL of their bikes were crap.
Well Said, all the bikes were basicly the same shape and just tarted up??
The Geico Bike takes the cake.
Yup, and they weren't built to be driven. It's just for show
@@PCgamerChannel Right. OCC Choppers are clearly not daily riders. OCC never made a Bike better than the original 9/11 Fire Engine and Black Widow bikes either in my opinion. That 9/11 Bike was made when the Country was all about "United We Stand" remember when people drove around with flags on their cars? sigh
I remember putting a bicycle together one xmas eve for my 5 year old niece with my dad and we were both drunk. It was like an episode of OCC with the two of us shouting at each other.
Did you throw any chairs?
Can u imagine working at that place where the owner comes in and tells you that you’ll be working on the “Tampax Tampons” bike one week and then the Gerber “Baby Food Bike” the next.
The biggest running joke was letting mikey think he was an artist when his art looked like a blind child had done it 😂
oh yeah der duh der that's so funny, like it wasn't all scripted.
The fact that they set up an art gallery for him was hilarious, it looked like it was filled with a collection of kids primary school pictures that you put on the fridge at home.
bahaaaa Vinnie couldn't put batteries in his wife's dildo correctly
😂😂😂😂😂😂
Mikey is a far Superior artist compare to Hunter Biden😅😅😅
The worst American Chopper Motorcycles?....All of them.
Oc choppers all suck. But there are other amazing bike builders that build functional bikes
Perfect.... Exactly
There are people who would argue that worst OCC bike would be the one that They bought..😢😢😢
Yes sir
None rideable just chrome and gold plating harley crap
It went from a chopper show to a soap opera. The 56 chevy bike and the gto bike they did was horrible.
Best description ever. If you had issues with your own father, you hated this show!
It started as a soap opera. It was designed as a soap opera by reality TV producers.
Kind of how professional wrestling in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s went from a fun “good guys vs bad guys” thing you could lose yourself in to a soap opera.
All the bikes they built were not meant to be ridden. They were to be worshipped by people who don't ride.
@@AgentJayZmost people knew OCC was just a comedy show. 😅
OCC bikes are all loathsome. I lived in NJ at the time and went to their shop. I was amazed at how poorly the finish was up close. Welding blebs were painted over-WTF? I would imagine you could ride them about 5-10 miles before saying "Uncle". Pissing blood from kidney injury doesn't sound too sexy. If you bought one for $85,000 and it's now worth $ 9,000, well that's quite a nice return on investment-LOL. Good-bye OCC and good riddance.
Were they all hard tails? I can't imagine riding a hard tail.
@xpusostomos as far as I know. Every last one was a hard tail.
I hated this show. The bikes were corporate billboards…everything a Chopper isn’t. the family squabbling was disgusting. Glad these dudes and their show is history.
Yep! And the bikes had the lowest displacement and were the worst chopper you could buy.
@@ryanreedgibson catalogue crate motors every one of them
You've got to admit, they set the standard for decades of reality TV to follow!
@@rockets4kids I guess. But that sure as hell aint saying much.
@@tylerdurden6335 that's pretty much my point here. all reality tv is/was drek.
Paul Sr. trying to look tough on these circus bikes always made me cringe. The OCC era was a complete embarrassment to chopper history.
They were selling an image, a fantasy, and then , their market woke up.
Absolutely
These bikes should never be allowed on public roadways. They have so many pointed pieces of metal that I can imagine you’d ever survive a wreak without getting empaled in multiple locations
Lots of stories online about how bad those bikes are. I remember one episode (Wendy’s theme bike, maybe?) where they built a battery box to the exact dimensions of the battery, not taking into account the change in thickness due to paint/powdercoat. When the problem became apparent, they didn’t build another battery box. They beat the battery into the existing box with a rubber mallet. Good luck getting it out when it’s time to replace. It was at that point I realized I was watching a giant joke.
I recall a bike, the rider's forward view was directly into the cap on the fuel tank.
I love when they put a huge headlight right in the center of vision. Seeing stuff is for p*ssies.
In general I don't want a one off bike because it will never have the thought put in that a production bike does
It became clear to me that OCC was a clown show when Paule Jr. cut out a large part of the lower frame of the military bike because the gearbox didn't fit. It's clear that the bikes were purely show bikes that would never be driven on the street. But to then stand up and call yourself a great motorcycle builder was a real joke when you couldn't even make your own frames.
I never really understood the whole thing about making motorcycles that were supposed to look like things that weren’t motorcycles.
It was a show documenting how america had lost its way and was so far in the weeds that it lost its soul and became a joke
Ya know,nomally a build like this takes 6-8 weeks..but we have to get it finished in 25 minutes!!😂😂
You're right on all of them! They were fugly, but what really made them unrideable was their 'fool frames'! Otherwise known as rigid frames, or kidney killers. Instead of hiding a monoshock softail system with a swingarm in it, noooo, make the marks pay $70 large for a fool's frame!
Did you really pay $10 large to beat up your bike!?
Solid rear frames, no shocks, ridiculous fork angles that made these ugly bikes virtually un-rideable. Quite frankly they were all crap.
You just aren’t man enough for a rigid. I don’t particularly like occ bikes but each to their own.
@@TheDesmoto No it just takes a man that is more concerned with his own ego, than actually enjoying a comfortable SAFE riding bike. For a man to own and ride one of those, he either has an ego issue, or simply enjoys pain and suffering or some combination of both ego and pain.
“You just aren’t man enough…”
🤣🤣🤣 you don’t even know me. That’s hilarious. 😂
@@vincedibona4687You don't enjoy torturing yourself? Pfft. You, you, less than a man! 😂
The Ferrari chopper was from the 'Paulie Jr. left to do his own thing... which was lots of coke and designing BBQ grills! *Allegedly
Years ago I stopped at their newly built showroom on I-87. I thought "wow, these guys are way over extended". Now I think it's some indoor go-cart track and arcade. They had their 15 minutes (maybe fifteen years), but it was over fifteen years ago. There is a reason why Honda has sold 100 million Cubs.
Checked it out a few days ago. Just an empty building and a security car parked in for all I know.
The senior never managed to make the transition from being a pure show bike producer to a manufacturer of serious motorcycles. To do this, he would have had to employ people who knew how to build a good motorcycle, but his inflated ego did not allow that.
I watched and enjoyed this show before I got my first bike. Now that I have some riding under my belt, I can definitely see why riders have a low opinion of these choppers. As works of art (or corporate billboards), they are arguably fine. As functioning vehicles, give me a pit bike or a scooter instead.
If it is from OCC it's probably junk
I lived near Newburgh, NY and we passed these guys on their bikes all the time. Once, we passed several of them and you could hear the bikes rattle as they hit bumps in the road. I would never have one.
I used to drive through Newburgh on my way up to the Catskills. Never saw them.😂
I’ve owned two of their bikes and had all the same issues with both. Junk to ride had electrical issues even though there isn’t many electrical items on the bikes. Batteries always dead no matter what. Underpowered and can go about ten minutes in a tank. I was lucky enough to buy an Indian Larry bike at an auction and it is fantastic for what it is. Larry could build real bikes
Ok so your only consideration for good vs bad in this list is looks? I suppose that is fair since all OC bikes are uber-expensive un-rideable junk.
Yep that’s about all there is to go on. They all have the same problems riding wise they are awful
I think that after the Discovery series made them so popular it became a case of "The Emperor's New Clothes". Usually the company or organization that commissioned the bike saw the bike for the first time when it was revealed at a big public event with news media present. They couldn't admit on camera that they hated the bike. They are thinking, "This is horrible" but saying aloud on camera, "This Bike is better than we expected!".
I agree with that, but I also remember a lot of the episodes were creating bikes for charities and big events. They weren't often made for a single person, and most the people that had these bikes made weren't bike people at all. These bikes are cool to people that aren't into motorcycles😂
This is currently happening on Gotham Garage right now.
This is exactly the vibe I got with almost every reveal. The bikes were completely unrideable and only good as art meant for the garage. Most were hideous and went to people who weren't motorcyclists but just trying to be trendy in a rich and pretentious kind of way.
@@todddunbar176 I just looked up Gotham Garage and it says most of the cast are actors and models.
There was one episode where OCC had to build a motorcycle for Billy Joel. The man is a motorcycle fan and knows his stuff, so he was very disappointed with what OCC delivered.
I watched the show a lot, it was fun, but it seems like a lot of times they just took a standard chopper and stuck a bunch of crap on it that matched a theme, but that was the point I guess.
stock frame, stock engine, no suspension, lose wires and a lot of bling bling thrown onto it
I actually use to love watching this show back in the day. I stopped watching when Jason became a part of the show cause he was really annoying and I hated his bike designs. I only watched it mainly because of Vinnie, Rick and Jr. I agree with you though, these bikes are the drizzling shits.
Jason sucked so bad
Yea something about that dude rubbed me the wrong way. Didn't he get arrested for beating his wife?
Exactly, that Jason was unbearable
They didn’t craft anything they just bolted things together
Jesse and Billy formed sheet metal in to shapes. Paul and the crew hired people and reworked mounting brackets and bolt holes,
Yep. That should've been big clue.
Thats all they did agreed these are not everyday rides so stupid.
At first it was just Pauli and his friend who put the motorcycles together. Later they made the tanks, handlebars, etc. themselves.
Piles of junk. I had a 9 feet long 1967 Triumph chopper in the 90s. Rode it back from where I bought it, and promptly sold it again.
All of OCC Choppers were Horrendous ... Comissioned by companies to build custom bikes for their brand , so they could write it off on the tax bills ...
Some of these bikes are so cheap now you can just buy it for the SS engine and transmission and some had nice open primaries and rebuild a much more practical bike. They all have low miles.
I remember seeing the 7/11 bike for sale at a car show. The guy won it in a raffle or something and was trying to get rid of it because it was so ugly. It’s got a Big Gulp as the gas tank. I’d love to meet the fool that eventually bought it.
Your title suggest that OCC built a "good bike" at some point. They never made any bike, they put parts together and they did that like a 3 year old. The only good use for any OCC bike is a boat anchor.
I thought all the the bikes they did were pretty awful with one exception.. The old school bike they did for Cody. To me, it had the right look for a chopper.
I remember that one. It did look cool. Didn't Sr. Try to get him to give it back? That was why he quit?
he never got the bike and had to fight em for it@@gsxerwhite
Every time I watched what they were building I was in absolute amazement...that anyone in their right mind would want one of those bikes.
I was shocked to read that many of the OCC bikes don’t run and most have found there way to a scrapyard. I’m not a fabricator or builder but I do have commonsense. When you read about the tens of millions manufacturers spend on R&D before releasing a bike how did OCC put these things together in such a short period of time and how were they allowed to sell them.
From what I've read, most of the bikes were crap.
Those over the top Frankenstein creations are not practical by any stretch of the imagination but each to his own.
Let's not forget the GEICO bike. It wasn't totally finished when they delivered it and never finished. I can be seen on the last few videos on the "Bikes and Beards" channel.
watch the bearded mechanic's video on that bike. he ended up working on it after the videos you mentioned.
It still don't run
@@RSKindred "these things were built on broken chairs" the whole video is a treasure trove of great quotes.
I'm 66 and my father was a motorcycle fanatic. Me not so much. He rode British bikes triumps, BSAs, and notons. He thought choppers were a impractical silly gaudy looking things.
I would never buy one of OCC's custom bikes. They are clearly deathtraps.
I never really cared about the bikes. The Story line was compelling. Father Son duo reach incredible heights doing what they love but are too incombustible (see what I did there) to work together. The Bikes just seemed like a Bunch of ordered parts hacked together with a fancy paint job on top. IMO
The love child of Clifford and a Preying Mantis?.. I was pissing myself laughing!
Choppers and reality TV. A perfect match.
The worst part is not the look of them, the motorcicles were (most of the times at least) poorly build, not tune up, unrideable, slow, etc.
If they want a billboard/exposition motorcicle thats fine, but make it good and rideable, and don't call it "custom super unique bike" if you just assembly or modify a couple of componnents.
I used to watch this, I even got sucked back in when they tried to do the reboot. I agree with most of the comments. The show would have been SO much better if they focused on how the bikes were designed & built instead of all the fake deadlines & manufactured drama. The absolute worst bike they did (surprised it didn't get a mention here) was the Christmas bike. Look it up and see if you agree. One of my favorite builds was the Lincoln bike. I don't consider any of the bikes they built for the show to be REAL motorcycles; they're just examples of rolling art. Like with ANY art form, it's mostly about personal taste/preference. I'd take an original vintage bike over ANY chopper all day long.
I had to fix an OCC bike- the rear suspension had collapsed, ripping out the rear lights wiring- such crap, quality on a zero . . ,.
All of OCC's bikes looked like crap...expensive crap.
All the bikes were a JOKE😂😂😂😂
Eragon bike was cool for the local blacksmiths they brought into the build, the insane axe down tube piece, the awesome nubby paint, and seat made by the legendary paul cox
MOST OF THEIR BIKES WERE JUNK AND UNSAVE.
I actually like the hockey bike, & I'm not even a hockey fan...it looks like it would be the most ridable bike out of any of them... I also like that it's a bagger... I like to travel... long as the bike would stay running...my favorite chopper they ever made was the one with the chrome spider webs on it...none of the choppers were meant for practical riding... they're built to be looked at... that's why they depreciate so much...
"reality tv" was a scam from the very beginning. the part of this show that I laughed at. was how whenever there was one of those monolgue sections of the show. they all spoke exactly alike. same cadence, same rises and falls in pitch. it was crystal clear they were being coached, and a tell of how much of a production it truly was.
the commanche bike was my favorite. it was the only one that I thought brought the design together with cohesion. like alot of others pointed out, the rest were just hodge podge mess of design elements to make a rolling billboard.
They never did make a bike that didn’t look stupid.
I wasn’t there but I always theorized that it started as a serious minded show then at some point the tension broke through and somebody blew up at somebody. The producer looked at it and thought, that’s TV gold, I ain’t no way I’m cutting that. And then it just got to where they scripted that in and all reality shows followed suit. Consequently, all these reality shows all suck - Wheeler Dealers being the sole exception I can think of.
Aaaand 65hp performance
That’s it? I would have thought they had decent power.
I like when a custom bike is also usable but not a big fan of really long forks or hard tails that kill your back.
Take harley a bad handl7ng bad stopping bike stock.and make it worse, then triple price. Idiots buy these
I started watching American Choppers to see the bikes they built. Then all the fighting between Paul Sr and Paul Jr started... that's when I looked for something else to watch.
My favorite OCC bike was the Snap-on Tool Bike. Beautiful art, real tools used on the bike, straight bar...bu like all OCC Choppers, uncomfortable and unrideable.
Yep. I got the limited edition Snap-on chopper Snap-on box in 2005. Still looks good now.
Good looking bike but not at all practical.
A buddy used to describe them as cake decorators, strapping and bolting garish
sh*t on what they claim are motorcycles. 😂
They are un-ride-able, if that's a word. I had a home made one in the 70's and it almost killed me several times. ...and girls won't get on them🥴.
I never noticed how unstable these bikes are. You can see even the people that built them are struggling to ride them at 45 mph.
I always had a lot of sympathy for Rick.
The Ferrari bike was an absolute joke on so many levels
I loved this show,but if I was asked which one of these bikes you showcased ,would I want? The NHL Bike for sure. I’m a huge original 6 fan,and it’s a normal looking bike
Paul Jr. has many of the bikes he made in a showroom. He bought them back from original owners, second owners, etc. It seems no original owner considers the bikes as assets. It's been said the main reason anyone bought them was as part of their company's advertising campaigns. They were apparently always intended as write-offs.
I bought a big bear chopper kit. Many years ago. Paid $23000. for the kit. Didnt even give me speedometer.Came in a refridgerater box. Instructions werte non existent on how to build. Gave a dvd on how to build similar bikes. Not mine. The parts that should have been chromed. Werent.Ha to spend an additional $5000.On incidentals. After doing bondo on the tank and frame molding and prime and paint and building the bike myself. And dealing with wrong parts and missing parts. Finally got the bike together after a year. Riding it. What a piece of shit. I had almosy $30000 in it. And built it myself. Rode this dangerous piece of shit. Only close to home. For 4 years. Ended up trading it to harley for $10000, On a street glide.
I've ridden motorcycles for over 20 years.
I can only guess that whatever mystique choppers may have, come from two places: the movie "Easy Rider", and this notion that chopper riders are THE bad-asses of motorcycling, because they're essentially riding deathtraps (no front brakes, no rear suspension and a turning radius only slightly smaller than most supertankers).
The Yankees bike did have some nice touches to it, and the NHL bike was cool, but I don't know if I would chunk over the change for one of them.
If you grew up in the 90s? But that show didn't air till 2003. And the first reality tv show was Mtv's The Real World. So right out the gate in the first 15 seconds you're totally off base.
This is sort of a trick-question, IMO.
1. They pretty much kept building the same bike over and over (95% were ultra-high-neck, impossible to ride bikes. The only distinguishing elements were some tacky screw-on parts thrown in to match the current theme).
2. They all looked ugly AF.
I liked the Statue of Liberty byke. Or, at least, I liked the copper plating. You just don't see copper plating on much. Looks good but the upkeep would be horrendous. Unless you like green.
The bike was cleared cloated so it would not turn green
It's in a humidity controlled glass case at the Stature of Liberty.
I've worked on a couple of there bikes years later. Lots of broken parts and frames. But if you only got a few weeks to make them , of course they would have some problems.
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Hey thanks! That's a really encouraging thing to read. 🤙
I enjoyed the show, but the most hideous bike was the Cadillac thing, designed by a drunk 3year old, a real shocker!
The actual design and build process was interesting to watch. However choppers just look horrible and even more ridiculous when you see someone on one.
Most of their design is what I call cake decorating… it’s not really design at all. Take a chopper, choose some colours and a tank and then just stick cheesy crap on it like you’re decorating a cake. Good design has an idea that follows through the entire form and function of the thing… it’s not just decoration.
I’ve been riding for 56 years and I wouldn’t be caught dead on one of their bikes. They were realistically junk.
Didn't Jesse James call them "cake decorators".
Paul Sr. Now lives in Brooksville Florida right down the street from my brother. I ran into him last year while visiting from Baltimore. He actually really nice. We used to watch the show and the bikes always seemed cheesy.
I like the Golf chopper.. the last one. I have built a few of these myself and it is not easy to do. If you are building the bike from nothing up to something and fabricating your own mechanisms . I have always loved the chopper look as long as it isn't too extreme.
It’s incredibly easy to do. What “mechanisms” exactly are you “fabricating?” I’ve fabricated plenty of metal with an eng wheel. Custom pipes, frames etc. And installed plenty of “custom” off the shelf components and of course built engines. But fabrication of mechanisms? What’s that? A “mechanism” like a gauge?
I kind of like the headlight on the Ferrari bike. It looks like something right out of a video game
I got ripped apart for complaining about OCC bikes, because as I was told, "They weren't meant to be ridden, they were meant to look cool." As if this is a tangible explanation. So an OCC bike is ostensibly an art piece shaped like a motorcycle never intended to be enjoyed or to be ridden. Uh.....huh.
Nothing they built was rideable. Everything they did was junk
All their "choppers" sucked, but by far THE WORST was that stupid P51 Mustang bike they built during the build off challenge against Jesse James!
You forgot to mention that everything that came out of OCC was unrideable, poor quality, trash. Pretty metal work, absolutely awful bikes
To me the perfect chopper would have everything not really needed gone, low to the ground, loud, light, fast, no long ass forks, no ape hangers and rear suspension.
@gregorygolden1296 Sounds a lot like you are not really a chopper fan at all
@@ericchapman399 I use to ride a lot when I was younger...a Sportster, and a '80 80. When I was a kid I had some bikes that would be collectors items today. Had a '67 650 BSA. I don't ride today because of all the idiots on the road. Got nothing against choppers brother.
I don't mind the old-school looking long bikes but in my opinion the best look for a "chopper" is something with a lil extra rake and forks just a couple inches longer...think Harley Davidson and the Marlboro man...kinda in between a chopper and a drag bike lol
I grew up right there. The bikes are cartoon junk and the father is one of the most arrogant people I ever met.
The definition of chopper used to mean a cycle (usually military surplus) that had anything unneeded to operate removed/chopped off. These things are antichoppers.
Motorcycles for me are made to be ridden, for others to be showed. To be showed, they have to be perfect.
I watched about 4 episodes of American Chopper and quickly figured out they were building really expensive paperweights. I would rather ride my old Kawasaki 125 CC cruiser, than anything these clowns built.
The 90s ?
That show came out in 2003
Even during the chopper era.. I hated this show.
Fact. Jesse James had the first real American Chopper Show.
He sure did. Jesse is a real bike builder.
@@stevedewsnap2128 True . But he's such an unlikable d-bag.
This show definitely misrepresented biker culture. All of these to anyone who rides motorcycles would call these hideous. And a big part of motorcycles is they’re cheaper, cheaper to work on cheaper to buy, cheaper to ride than drive a car. Taste is some nice pin striping and maybe some cool airbrushed art.
I grew up in Rapid City, SD, 25 minutes from Sturgis, SD home of the world famous Sturgis Rally. My family never rode motorcycles but i always rode dirt bikes, my moms good high school friend is Brian Klock of Klockwerks customs, out of Mitchell, SD. Through all that i naturally became a huge fan of OCC as a kid. My birthday is at the start of August which means every year the Rally happens over my birtthday. one birthday my parents left me with a babysitter that night because they were going to a concert at the Buffalo Chip, i cant remember what concert but they had backstage passes and happened to run into paul jr and vinny. my parents told them how i was a huge fan and that it was my birthday. vinny took the work biker hat with a bent upright bull of his head, grabbed a silver sharpie and signed that hat then gave it to my parents and paul jr gave my parents the occ sunglasses off his face. that was still the coolest birthday gifts ive ever got. of course being the wild, careless little shit i was i think those pieces were lost to the sands of time.. thinking about it really makes me want to dig through my parents storage unit thats been untouched for 15 years
The truth is 90’s and 00’s choppers are down right ugly. But 60’s and 70’s choppers like the movie Easy Rider are perfect examples of choppers done right. Bikes that custom and yet functional. Anyone who thinks that you can do long distance riding on a chopper has clearly never ridden one before.
I love that Jay Leno absolutely hates his Orange County Chopper and doesnt ride it. Most of these bikes arent made to really be ridden, just looked at.
I agree about the eragon bike, Paul jr keeps having to look side to side as he cannot look ahead as the headlight is in the way.
OCC was a friggin joke. They used bargain basement boat anchor engines that often broke apart. Some looked cool, but that was it. They scammed anyone who spent a dime on them.
If you really notice when OCC tests rides the bikes before delivering them. They go 40mph maybe 50mph because they are very uncomfortable you’re tail bone is the suspension! and no way a pleasant ride experience so just a quick ride and that’s it.
I stopped watching mainstream chopper media when Jesse James lost to these fools on a build off. Paul and Senior pulled their stuff off a shelf and welded crap onto the bike. Jesse built his bike from tube steel. He just said it was time to build a bike and then just built one out of raw material.
Jesse james is far superior. I don't understand how these assholes could ever win. Monster garage was a much better show also.
It was a popularity contest, and Jesse James is more of an obnoxious asshole than the Teutuls.
Personally I hate choppers it's the worst thing you can do to a bike I had a go on my sister's boyfriends and thought it was just dangerous to ride and incredible uncomfortable
They were like the people buying them… superficial. To each their own. 10,000 people trailer their bikes to Sturgis, ride them at walking pace to the Main Street and stand there talking for 4 days. As long as someone gets paid to build it.