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Orange County Choppers

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Orange County Choppers
Company typePrivate
IndustryMotorcycle manufacturer
Founded1999
HeadquartersMontgomery, New York, USA
ProductsMotorcycles
Websitewww.orangecountychoppers.com
Orange County Choppers store near Montgomery, New York.
File:OCC-FIREBIKE.JPG
OCC's Signature Fire Bike.

Orange County Choppers (OCC) is a custom motorcycle manufacturer founded by Paul Teutul, Sr. and Paul Teutul, Jr. in 1999. The company is featured on American Chopper, a reality TV show that debuted in September 2002 on the Discovery Channel, which has contributed to the company's quick rise to fame.Until 2007 when Discovery Channel's sister channel TLC took over the broadcasting.

Many are under the mistaken belief that the company is based in Orange County, California; rather, it is based in the county of the same name in New York state. In fact in one of the episodes of American Chopper, Paul Sr. was shown getting a tattoo on his left arm with the designation OCC New York in order to clear this very point. OCC's production facility was initially located in the hamlet of Rock Tavern, but has since moved to nearby Montgomery. The company also operates a retail store nearby, at Scotts Corners.

OCC started as a sideline to the family's steel manufacturing enterprise, Orange County Ironworks, which was founded in the 1970s. In the late 1990s, Teutul Sr. began manufacturing custom motorcycles as an extension of his steel business, and in 1999 he founded Orange County Choppers. The company's first bike, "True Blue", was debuted at the 1999 Daytona Biketoberfest.

One of OCC's most popular bikes is The Fire Bike, which was designed by Paul Teutul (Paulie) Jr, to commemorate the New York firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11. The bike itself has been modeled after a fire truck, and an actual steel rivet from the World Trade Center has been integrated into the bike itself, mounted atop the bike's gas tank. Paulie is noted as stating that the bike was themed "343", the number of New York firefighters who gave their lives on 9/11.

The popularity of American Chopper led the United States Air Force to commission a $150,000 "Air Force Bike", first put on public display in March 2005. The motorcycle is ten feet long and is modeled after the F-22 Raptor, complete with Air Force symbol rims, riveted gas tank, Raptor exhausts and rear-view mirrors in the shape of jets. Air Force recruiters commissioned it as a public outreach tool. American Chopper now airs on TLC.

The Company has recently started to build a new shop called OCC World Headquarters and has put the recent shop on the market for $1,900,000. You can view the progress on the new shop at www.constructioncam.com/occ/

Staff

Themed Choppers

On Air themed bikes

Black Widow Bike, Firefighter Bike, Liberty Bike, New York Jets Bike, POW/MIA Bike, Comanche Bike, Cody's Old School Project, Mikey's Blues Bike, Jet Bike, Senior Old School Bike, Snap-On Bike, I, Robot Bike, Christmas Bike, Dixie Chopper Bike, Lance Armstrong Bike, Mikey/Vinnie Bike, Carroll Shelby Bike, David Mann Bike, Junior's Dream Bike, Davis Love III Bike, Lincoln Mark LT Bike, Police Bike, CAT Bike, Gillete Bike, NAPA Drag Bike, Shuttle Tribute Bike, Jorge Posada Bike, Rick Dream Bike, Paul Jr. Military Auction Bike, Paul Sr. Military Auction Bike, FANtasty Bike (Made four different styles of bikes for four different fans of the show), Senior Vintage Bike, Wendys Bike, Sunoco Bike, Bill Murray Bike, LUGZ Bike, Billy Joel Bike, Eragon Bike, Go Daddy Chopper, Flow Chopper, Make A Wish Bike, 'Build-off' Paul Jr. Bike, 'Build-off' Paul Sr. Bike.

Off Air Themed Bikes

Solidworks Bike, Army Chopper, Pez Chopper, Big Gulp Chopper, Cherokee Nation Bike, Air Force Chopper, Learjet Chopper, Airgas Chopper, Criss Angel Ultimate Mindfreak Bike, SpeedCo Chopper, Riptide Bike, Flower Bike, Reeve Chopper, SLR Chopper, Werner Trucking Bike, Hemi Chopper Bike, Miami Heat Chopper, SealMaster Bike, Bass Pro Shops Bike.

Senior Old School Series

10- Up old School, Greeny, Maroon and Gold, Orange Bobber, The Blue Bomber, Little Red, Old School Vette, Orange Knucklehead, Pitchfork, Triumph Flames, Sunshine.

Production Bikes

Web, Greenie, Splitback, T-Rex Softail, T-Rex Rigid.


See also

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