American Chopper - Sr vs Jr

[Nitro Express]

I actually had the opportunity to inspect one of their corporate themed bikes; The Microsoft chopper. It was a piece of shit. More than Half the "custom appointments" could be purchased by anyone right out of the JP cycles catalog. The truly custom built parts fit so poorly that they either were visibly out of line, or were jury rigged to make fit.
Even the O.C.C. data plate was on crooked. The seat didn't even fit the frame.

What is more gay than a Microsoft chopper? An Apple chopper maybe with an Apple sticker and some of those Grateful Dead bears on it. I bet they even made an IBM chopper.

So basically O.C.C. made the Microsoft chopper about as good as Microsoft makes their software.

[ZahZoo]

The parallels to the dysfunctional aspects of Van Halen run real close with this show... Only difference is you have the Ed & Al charater rolled up into Paul Sr... a lost Mikey character... with a cast aside creative genius...

[Diamondjimi]

Used to watch the original show for a while, then after a while each episode seemed just like the last one.
The Tuttle's are a bunch of dysfunctional meatheads.

[SparkieD]

I met Paul Sr, Paulie, Vinny, and Cody at a gas station during MB Bike Week a few years back. All of 'em were super-nice guys, especially Vinny and Sr, who was completely smitten by my little (then 4 y/o) girl. Just as I had always suspected, he's a teddy bear underneath that hard-ass exterior.

[kwame k]

The parallels to the dysfunctional aspects of Van Halen run real close with this show... Only difference is you have the Ed & Al charater rolled up into Paul Sr... a lost Mikey character... with a cast aside creative genius...

spot on assessment!

[kwame k]

We were talking about the "feud" between Sr and Jr.............the general consensus among my jaded friends is it's fabricated for ratings. Yes, Sr sued Jr but in reality they stopped being bike builders and became actors/celebrities several years ago..........IMHO, there's nothing real in this reality show.

[chefcraig]

We were talking about the "feud" between Sr and Jr.............the general consensus among my jaded friends is it's fabricated for ratings. Yes, Sr sued Jr but in reality they stopped being bike builders and became actors/celebrities several years ago..........IMHO, there's nothing real in this reality show.

It's just so damned contrived. Even the death of a roofer at PJD was played for pathos, as if how it affected the company was a great tragedy. Of course it was, but you'd think that someone could have mentioned the deceased by name at some point. Instead, Junior calls in his preacher, Senior waits several days to get in contact and only then while on camera. To me, that was the tipping point. This show is a thoroughly joyless affair, which is cynically grinding out footage with little if any regard to how morally bankrupt the whole enterprise has turned.

[kwame k]

It's just so damned contrived. Even the death of a roofer at PJD was played for pathos, as if how it affected the company was a great tragedy. Of course it was, but you'd think that someone could have mentioned the deceased by name at some point. Instead, Junior calls in his preacher, Senior waits several days to get in contact and only then while on camera. To me, that was the tipping point. This show is a thoroughly joyless affair, which is cynically grinding out footage with little if any regard to how morally bankrupt the whole enterprise has turned.

Fucking spot on assessment, dude........brilliant!!!!!!!!

[Nitro Express]

The parallels to the dysfunctional aspects of Van Halen run real close with this show... Only difference is you have the Ed & Al charater rolled up into Paul Sr... a lost Mikey character... with a cast aside creative genius...

A lost Mikey character. LOL! I think the Paul Sr. is the only one who can manage money and some work discipline. Jr. is too lazy and unfocused and that is the big difference between Daddy and son.

[GAR]

I actually had the opportunity to inspect one of their corporate themed bikes; The Microsoft chopper. It was a piece of shit. More than Half the "custom appointments" could be purchased by anyone right out of the JP cycles catalog. The truly custom built parts fit so poorly that they either were visibly out of line, or were jury rigged to make fit.
Even the O.C.C. data plate was on crooked. The seat didn't even fit the frame.

Sounds to me like it has been tinkered. On the show, they line these things up perfectly. AND I have seen them on the show ordering from the catalogue too, so that's nothing new. I thought this was common knowledge?

Swingarms, forks, gauges.. lines, all that stuff is cheaper to order. Their specialty is the integration.

But what I don't understand about Junior is how he leases a building, gets his lifts and tooling in there but he has no production planned - I don't get it!

Couldn't he have figured out how to import a small line of bikes he could mod and upgrade; build a small line himself of "Paul Jr." superbikes-on-a-budget that you get 2 or 3 engine options but everything elses' the same..

I just don't know why a guy goes off on his own, and THEN sits down to discuss custom theme-bikes for advertising? He blew that K of C opportunity bigtime - he should have just assumed the sale and went "okay we're building the bike, need your signature here" or.. -OR- just built that thing as his "first bike" prototype instead of building his "black widow 2" thing.

He would have finished the bike in time for approval from the K of C's logo-approver guy. Unless they were just lying to his face, shifting the blame in denial of an actual budget. The looked like broke old bastards to me anyways.

[lesfunk]

It wasn't tinkered GAR. The guy who brought in the shop to sell was the original owner. He was some software guy from Microsoft who won the bike in a company raffle and just wanted to dump it for cash. He never even rode it.
If it was tinkered, somebody took an awful lot of time just to fuck things up. I've spoken to several other people on the HD forums who have seen their work and all have similar stories.
The only thing I can say in their defense is that the Microsoft bike was an older build and their quality may have improved since. I doubt it though.

[GAR]

Out of curiosity the past week in talking to some builder friends of mine it is as you say, these guys build cheap stuff.

And they're quick to point out how superior they are compared to "OCC" - here in SoCal, our builders do motors a certain way, frames, bosses and flanges by themselves and file and dress the welds a certain way - after basically being lectured to death on the subject I have to concede by comparison SoCal builders are way better, and it doesn't take a whole lot of skill to better the OCC builds..

One guy goes "you could probably build better theme bikes" but bikes ain't really my thing, I have plenty of timetraps as things are now.

[chefcraig]

For anyone still interested at this point, Discovery is cashing in on what little interest the show still has by starting the new "season" tonight at 9PM (EST), followed by the interview show that was run last week. This appears to have been a last minute decision, as the ads for the show only started running last Friday, and most printed tv guides do not have either program included. Even YAHOO's daily tv listings makes no mention of the new show.

[chefcraig]

Orange County IDA questions Teutul's plans for new Choppers HQ

TIMES/HERALD RECORD

TOWN OF NEWBURGH — The owner of Orange County Choppers is planning to build what appears to be a new headquarters next to the company's current headquarters, which is in foreclosure. And to members of a local economic development agency being asked to provide tax breaks for the project, the proposal doesn't pass the smell test.

Washingtonville planner Robert Daly presented the project to the Orange County Industrial Development Agency at its Wednesday meeting on behalf of a company called G&M Orange LLC. The owner of G&M Orange is Paul Teutul Sr., owner of Orange County Choppers.

The project calls for a three-story, 25,000-square-foot building on 2.3 acres at the intersection of Route 17K and Crossroads Court, next to the Choppers' current headquarters. Features include manufacturing and fabrication space, retail space, a 20-seat café, offices and warehouse space.

Preventing a foreclosure

The lender that financed Orange County Choppers' current headquarters, GE Commercial Finance Business Property Corp., filed a foreclosure action against the business in November, alleging it missed mortgage payments. Choppers has two mortgages through GE, one for $11 million and one for $1.5 million.

IDA board members suspect Teutul plans to move into the new building and abandon the current one to foreclosure.

"Don't we then become a party to avoiding a foreclosure?" board member Mary Ellen Rogulski asked. "Moving from building A to building B could probably be a way for a business to protect their business from a creditor."

Decision could cost area jobs

IDA Chairman James Petro at first seemed to favor the project, saying that if the IDA did not provide tax breaks, Orange County Choppers might leave the area, costing the region jobs. And then there's the national attention — and tourism dollars — the Choppers have brought to the region.

Petro ultimately acknowledged the project created at least the appearance of inappropriateness.

Planner tries to hide connection

The IDA gave the Choppers a package of tax breaks to build its current headquarters — which opened just three years ago. Last summer, the board approved a 10-year PILOT, or payment in lieu of taxes, for a restaurant the Choppers planned to build next to the headquarters.

During Wednesday's meeting, Daly attempted to conceal the connection between the new project and the Choppers.

"G&M Orange is not Orange County Choppers," he insisted.

"What is the product the company will produce?" board member John Steinberg asked.

"Fabrication of motorcycles," Daly replied.

Steinberg refined his question.

"Is this going to compete with the existing facility?"

Daly said no, and ultimately acknowledged Teutul was the principal of G&M Orange.

GE spokesman John Oliver declined to comment, except to say the company was proceeding with the foreclosure. Neither Teutul nor his lawyer returned calls seeking comment.

History of woes with creditors

This is not the first time the family behind the Choppers have been accused of dodging creditors.

Teutul Sr. and his sons Paul Teutul Jr. and Daniel Teutul were accused of engineering the bankruptcy of another family business, O.C. Iron Works Inc., in 2005 to avoid paying the company's creditors.

Two years later, the bankruptcy trustee filed a complaint saying the Teutuls systematically moved the assets of the steel-fabrication business to a new company with a similar name, then had O.C. Iron Works file for bankruptcy.

Daniel Teutul and the iron company agreed to pay $500,000 to settle the complaint. The two Pauls agreed to pay $50,000.

[Nitro Express]

What a scumbag. It's no different than a athletic team owner telling a city build me a new stadium or we will move the team to a new city. Honestly, it's a bike shop and due to the economy people aren't blowing $100,000 on a custom chopper like they were in the easy credit days. I never thought Orange County Choppers were all that great. They are pretty much made from off the shelf parts. Unless you are bending and welding your own frame and hand hammering out your own tanks, you are just a assembler doing some custom work here and there.