Orange County Choppers

From Free net encyclopedia

(Difference between revisions)

Revision as of 19:55, 1 April 2006
Tronno (Talk | contribs)
img format
Next diff →

Current revision

Image:Orange County Choppers logo.jpg Image:Orange County Choppers store.JPG

Orange County Choppers (OCC) is a custom motorcycle manufacturer founded by Paul Teutul Sr. and Paul Teutul Jr. in 1999. The company is also featured on American Chopper, a reality TV show that debuted in September 2002 on the Discovery Channel, and contributed to the company's quick rise to fame.

Many are under the mistaken belief that the company is based in Orange County, California; rather, it's based in the county of the same name in New York. OCC's corporate offices were initially located in the hamlet of Rock Tavern, but have since moved to nearby Montgomery and are in the process of moving yet again to even bigger premises. The company also operates a retail store nearby, at Scotts Corners although this may well be incorporated into part of the new complex.

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 Bike Oktoberfest.

The popularity of American Chopper led the United States Air Force to commission a $150,000 "Raptor Bike", first put on public display in March 2005. The motorcycle is ten feet long and is modeled after the F/A-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.

[edit]