Orange County Choppers (OCC) is an American motorcycle manufacturer and lifestyle brand company based in the town of Newburgh, located in

Orange County, New York Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798. Orang ...

, that was founded in 1999 by

Paul Teutul Sr. Paul John Teutul (born May 1, 1949) is the founder of Orange County Choppers, a manufacturer of custom motorcycles and the focus of the reality television series ''American Chopper''. Teutul first appeared on the show with his sons Paul Teutul ...

The company was featured on '' American Chopper'', a

reality TV show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

that debuted in September 2002 on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...

. The series moved to Discovery Channel's sister channel TLC in 2007. Following cancellation of the Discovery series, the company was also featured on ''Orange County Choppers'' on the CMT network in 2013. ''Orange County Choppers'' returned to

in March 2018.

History

In the late 1990s, Paul Teutul Sr. began manufacturing custom motorcycles as an extension of his steel business (OC Iron Works), and in 1999 he founded Orange County Choppers. The company's first bike, "True Blue", was debuted at the 1999 Daytona

Biketoberfest Biketoberfest is an annual motorcycle rally held in the fall in Daytona Beach, Florida since 1991 or 1992. In 1992 it was known as "Daytona Fall Tour"; in 1993, it started to be called Biketoberfest, and is now known as the "little brother" of th ...

. In late 2020, the decision was made to close the Newburgh location and build a new facility in Pinellas Park, Florida, adjoining Bert's Barracuda Harley-Davidson. The new location, named OCC Road House & Museum, will include a bike-building shop and retail section, museum, restaurant, billiard hall, and concert pavilion. The building opened in late June, 2021.

Key on-air personnel

* Josh McMann – CEO *

– former owner/CEO * Jason Pohl – senior designer

Former on-air personnel

Paul Teutul Jr. Paul Michael Teutul (born October 2, 1974) is one of the stars of the American reality television series ''American Chopper''. He started working for his father ( Paul John Teutul). Teutul was the chief designer and fabricator. Prior to this, he ...

– former minority owner/chief designer and fabricator * Vincent DiMartino – mechanic/assembler (resigned in 2007) * Cody Connelly – mechanic/assembler (resigned in 2007) *

Michael Teutul Michael Joseph Teutul (born November 26, 1978) is an American television personality who appeared on the reality programs "Orange County Choppers" ''American Chopper'' and ''American Chopper: Senior vs. Junior''. Early life He is the younges ...

– assistant general manager * Jim "JQ" Quinn – engineer/machinist * Rick Petko – designer/senior fabricator

Bikes

OCC is known for building custom theme bikes featured on '' American Chopper''. Additionally, OCC launched a limited edition production line of motorcycles in July 2007, priced beginning at $31,000. One of OCC's most popular bikes is The Fire Bike, to commemorate the New York firefighters who lost their lives on 9/11. The bike itself has been modeled after a fire truck, and a steel rivet that came from the collapsed World Trade Center is mounted atop the bike's gas tank. Paul Jr. stated that the bike was named "343", the number of New York firefighters who died on 9/11. The popularity of ''American Chopper'' led the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Si ...

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 The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...

, complete with Air Force symbol rims, riveted gas tank, Raptor exhausts and rear view mirrors in the shape of jets.

Music

Orange County Choppers held a series of free music performances within the retail store. P.O.D., Candlebox,

Saliva Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can ...

, Red, 10 Years,

Fair to Midland Fair to Midland was an American alternative metal band based in Texas. They produced two self-released albums before signing to Serjical Strike, Serj Tankian's vanity label at Universal Republic. There, they released their only major record labe ...

, and Framing Hanley have performed. On April 25, 2009,

Smile Empty Soul Smile Empty Soul is an American rock band, originally from Santa Clarita, California, United States. It was started in 1998 by Sean Danielsen (vocals and guitar), Ryan Martin (bass), and Derek Gledhill (drums). Following the departure of Gled ...

and Earshot performed to celebrate the decade of the company's work. Additionally, OCC in October in conjunction with RED/Sony released a classic rock compilation CD featuring some of Paul Sr.'s favorite songs titled ''OCC Rocks''. The CD also includes original music from The OCC Band, which features four of the shop's employees.

Black Label Society Black Label Society is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1998 by guitarist/singer Zakk Wylde. To date, the band has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, one EP, and three vid ...

performed a concert in the retail store to promote their album ''

Order of the Black ''Order of the Black'' is the eighth studio album by American heavy metal band Black Label Society. It was released in North America on August 10, 2010, through E1 Music. In New Zealand and Australia, it was released by Riot Entertainment (with ...

''.

Orange County Choppers MotoCoaster

The MotoCoaster is a

Zamperla Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. is an Italian design and manufacturing company founded in 1966. It is best known for creating family rides, thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin-operated rides commonly found in ...

built motorbike themed roller coaster installed at

Darien Lake Six Flags Darien Lake is a 1,200-acre (4.86 km2) amusement park and resort located in Corfu, New York, off of Interstate 90 between Buffalo and Rochester. Six Flags Darien Lake features a theme park, water park, campground and lodging. It ...

theme park in Darien Lake, NY. It was the first motorbike roller coaster to be installed in the United States, though the

Pony Express The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders. It operated from April 3, 1860, to October 26, 1861, between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pike ...

, a similar model of coaster with horse themed trains, was erected Knott's Berry Farm. The MotoCoaster is the same model as the prototype located outside Zamperla's factory in Italy. The MotoCoaster opened in May 2008 with Orange County Choppers securing the

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of ...

. The MotoCoaster is located near the Darien Square area of the park, between Boomerang and Twister. Orange County Choppers built a custom motorcycle inspired by the ride and the park. The coaster was originally named the Orange County Choppers Motocoaster when it first opened in 2008. However, the name was changed to the MotoCoaster in 2010 after the naming rights with OCC expired.

References

;Other sources * * * * * * * *

External links

*
Orange County Choppers
on CMT {{Authority control Motorcycle manufacturers of the United States Companies based in Orange County, New York American Chopper Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1999 CMT (American TV channel) original programming Buildings and structures in Newburgh, New York 1999 establishments in New York (state)