Orange County Choppers is an American motorcycle manufacturer and lifestyle brand based in Orange County, New York. It was founded in 1999 by Paul Teutul Sr., who had begun building custom motorcycles as an extension of his steel business, and it became known around the world through the television series American Chopper.
Orange County Choppers at a glance
| Founded | 1999, by Paul Teutul Sr. |
|---|---|
| Based | Orange County, New York; workshop in Newburgh |
| First bike | “True Blue”, Daytona Biketoberfest 1999 |
| Television | American Chopper on Discovery Channel from September 2002 |
| Workshop | $12 million, 61,000 sq ft building opened April 2008 |
| Later base | OCC Road House & Museum, Pinellas Park, Florida, opened June 2021 |
| Custom bikes | one-off theme bikes built for the show and for commissions |
| Production line | limited edition motorcycles from July 2007, from $31,000 |
| Famous builds | Fire Bike “343”, Air Force Bike |
| Founder | Paul Teutul Sr. |
| Chief executive | Joan Kay |
Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on Orange County Choppers. The records of the shop’s individual bikes were merged into this company article because none of them has a separate source.
History of the Orange County Choppers
A steel business and a first bike
In the late 1990s Paul Teutul Sr. began manufacturing custom motorcycles as an extension of his steel business, OC Iron Works. In 1999 he founded Orange County Choppers in Rock Tavern, New York, at 27 Stone Castle Road off State Route 17K, and the company later moved to 10 Factory Street in Montgomery, New York. Its first bike, “True Blue”, was shown at the Daytona Biketoberfest in 1999. The shop takes its name from Orange County, New York, where the company has its base.
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American Chopper and the Newburgh workshop
The reality television series American Chopper, which first aired on the Discovery Channel in September 2002, made the shop and its builders famous. The series moved to Discovery’s sister channel TLC in 2007 and, after the Discovery run ended, the company was also featured on Orange County Choppers on the CMT network in 2013. Orange County Choppers returned to Discovery Channel in March 2018. The success of the show paid for a new $12 million, 61,000-square-foot facility in Newburgh, at 14 Crossroads Court, which opened in April 2008. The company owned the property until 2011, but then surrendered the building to its lender, GE Commercial Finance Business Corp., to avoid foreclosure, and continued to lease about two-thirds of it. GE sold the property to BRE East Mixed Asset Owner LLC of Dallas in March 2016.
A move to Florida
In late 2020 the company decided to close the Newburgh location and build a new facility in Pinellas Park, Florida, next to Bert’s Barracuda Harley-Davidson. The new site, named OCC Road House & Museum, combines a bike-building shop and retail section with a museum, restaurant, billiard hall and concert pavilion; it opened in late June 2021. The old Newburgh building is now a self-storage facility, although its OCC signage can still be seen.
Theme bikes
OCC is best known for the custom theme bikes it built for American Chopper. One of the most popular is the Fire Bike, made to commemorate the New York firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11. Modelled after a fire truck, it carries a steel rivet from the collapsed World Trade Center mounted on top of its fuel tank, and Paul Jr. named it “343”, the number of New York firefighters who died that day. The popularity of the show also led the United States Air Force to commission a $150,000 Air Force Bike, first put on public display in March 2005. Ten feet long, the motorcycle is modelled after the F-22 Raptor, complete with Air Force symbol rims, a riveted gas tank, Raptor exhausts and rear-view mirrors in the shape of jets. In July 2007 OCC added a limited edition production line of motorcycles, priced from $31,000.
Beyond the workshop
The Newburgh retail store hosted a series of free music performances by P.O.D., Candlebox, Saliva, Red, 10 Years, Fair to Midland and Framing Hanley, and in October the company released a classic rock compilation, OCC Rocks, with RED/Sony. The shop also gave its name to the MotoCoaster, a Zamperla-built motorbike-themed roller coaster at Darien Lake, New York, which opened in May 2008 as the first motorbike coaster in the United States. OCC built a custom motorcycle inspired by the ride, and the naming rights expired in 2010, when the coaster was renamed simply MotoCoaster.
Design and features
- One-off theme bikes: the shop is known for custom motorcycles designed around a theme and featured in its television series.
- Television fame: American Chopper put the Newburgh workshop and its builders in front of a worldwide audience from 2002.
- Production line: a limited edition series of motorcycles was added in July 2007, priced from $31,000.
- Builders: the founder Paul Teutul Sr. was joined by his son Paul Jr., a former chief designer and fabricator, and by contractors such as Rick Petko and painter Ken Picozzi.
Orange County Choppers versions
- Fire Bike “343”: a tribute to the New York firefighters of 9/11, styled after a fire truck with a rivet from the World Trade Center on the tank.
- Air Force Bike (2005): a $150,000 commission for the United States Air Force, modelled on the F-22 Raptor and ten feet long.
- Limited edition production line (2007): series-built motorcycles starting at $31,000.
- MotoCoaster bike (2008): a custom motorcycle inspired by the roller coaster at Darien Lake.
All custom bikes of the shop are in the Orange County Choppers collection.
Sources
- Orange County Choppers, English Wikipedia: history, workshop, personnel, theme bikes, television, MotoCoaster