Orange County Choppers
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| Orange County Choppers | |
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| Type | Private |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Montgomery, New York, USA |
| Industry | Motorcycle manufacturer |
| Products | Motorcycles |
| Website | www.orangecountychoppers.com |
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. In 2007, Discovery Channel's sister channel TLC took over the broadcasting.
A new international headquarters designed to combine their production and retail facilities was constructed in the Town of Newburgh and opened April 24, 2008.
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 up this very point.[citation needed] 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 in Montgomery, New York, another store at the Palisades Center Mall in West Nyack, and a season kiosk at the Woodbury Commons Outlet Mall in Central Valley, NY.
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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
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[edit] Staff
In September 2007, Vincent DiMartino and Cody Connelly left OCC and American Choppers for undisclosed reasons. The two have since started their own bike shop, V Force Customs in Rock Tavern, New York not far from OCC's original shop. [1]
[edit] Bikes
OCC is best known for the bikes featured on American Choppers where bikes are built around a theme or, increasingly, for specific corporate or celebrity customers. The company has built custom bikes long before beginning the Discovery Channel show. Additionally, OCC launched a limited edition production line of motorcycles in July 2007, priced beginning at $31,000. These bikes include design elements originally developed for bikes featured on the show.
The range of standard production bikes will be extended to meet worldwide (with particular attention to Canada and Europe) legislation for motorbikes over a couple of years. This means that the bikes will be sold commercially outside the USA for the first time.
[edit] Orange County Choppers MotoCoaster
The Orange County Choppers MotoCoaster is a Zamperla Motocoaster installed at Darien Lake. The MotoCoaster is Darien Lake's first launched coaster, and is Zamperla's first motorbike roller coaster to be installed in the United States, though a different model with horse theming is being installed at Knott's Berry Farm at the same time.
The coaster being installed is the same one that has been prototyped outside Zamperla's factory in Italy.
The roller coaster was announced in January 2008 and opened on May 3, 2008.
The MotoCoaster is located near the Darien Square area of the park, between Boomerang and Twister.
The ride is named after Orange County Choppers, which will build a custom motorcycle inspired by the ride and the park.
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