While litigation is still going on between Paul Teutul Sr and his son, and although they no more talk to each other, both will be back together in a new TV show called “Paul Senior Versus Paul Junior” on August 12th on TLC.
So, how is it possible? Separate film crews not exchanging any information between them are shooting Paul Senior at OCC and Paulie at his new design & bike shop. So, father and son are each building a bike and the producer is going to mix 2 shows into one. As everybody already understood, “America Chopper” was never a series about custom motorcycles but a reality show about a family building bikes with trash can throwing and door slamming as supreme forms of entertainment. Since father and son now work a few miles away from each other, what will be now the spicy part of the new TV show?
I don’t know for sure, but I am afraid that involvement from the viewers is going to be created via a contest of the type “Vote For The Best Custom Motorcycle”. It’s the part worrying me because TLC is the number one women’s network with series like “Kate Plus 8″” and many other shows centered around conjugal, aging and childbirth matters. Nothing of course against women voting for a motorcycle, but Paulie has already a huge fan base (and sign a lot of autographs) of women the age of his grandmother…So, I am afraid again of what will be the perception by the public at large of what is considered a good custom motorcycle. Because, as you know, many people believe everything they watch on TV…
Ahhhhhhh don’t you just love it when a plan comes together?
Over & Out,
Jeff
Just when we though we had been spared…
The show will be a flop, especially after that sad airing they called “Season 6”. Sorry, but that gold mine was depleted long ago.
Today if you get on any network you are doing good. TLC, Discover it doesn’t much matter. People don’t care where something is aired as long as they can hear or watch it.
As for the premise I think there are a lot of people who want these guys to succeed regardless of what many in the Bike world say. A lot of non riders I speak to like these guys because they have gotten to know them over the years. Many viewers have visited the shop/store or seen them at a County Fair and have a real connection with the Teutuls much like many enjoy watching their favorite late night talk show host, day time soap opera, TV drama or reality shows like survivor.
I predict they will do ok and will get at least one season out of it possibly more. Just my 2 cents.
Cyril,
RE:
“… I am afraid again of what will be the perception by the public at large of what is considered a good custom motorcycle. Because, as you know, many people believe everything they watch on TV…”
Hell, what about the public’s perception of Builders…..???
The people who buy OCC T-shirts are certainly not going to be buying custom motorcycles any time soon. What they “consider is a good custom motorcycle” is totally irrelevant.
-nicker-
It’s because they think it’s a top motorcycle that they consider the builder as top and the reason why they buy the tees, sometimes with the motorcycle and/or the face of the builder printed on them.
The power we posess is to turn the channel …… ” CLICK “
My only question is, who gets Mickey the family fuck-up? Sr. or Jr. It’s a good thing Jr. has Vinnie again or he wouldn’t have any one to do the work for him. Sr. has to have given some raises out to keep the others from leaving. This beers for you Mickey!
Mikeout
In my city everytime we talk about motorcycles everyone knows OCC, and if i try explain that in the world of custom bike builders, there are other builders much better then this guys they hard belive it.
In my opinion they have good workers, and whid good workers and tools, build an theme bike isn´t very dificult, just transport the theme to the bike.My credits goes to the employers.
To me an good builder have is style, autentice, originality , taste and hard work.
All the best.
P.S- OCC start me seek.
Correction not “seek” but sick.
Maybe after this show runs it’s course Sr. could knock up Kate then they could do a show called Sr. and Kate plus thirteen. It could be like the Brady Bunch on steroids. Sr. could yell at the kids and kick the dog. I think it may be a winner.
With this crap show, plus dog the bounty hunter, parking wars, bait car, those crab fisherman, operation repo, cake boss, bridezillas etc, ad nauseam I’m finally canceling my cable TV. (Please excuse the caps in advance.)
HEY YOU TV PRODUCING MORONS!
I ONLY WATCH TV TO ESCAPE REALITY!
Let’s draw a parallel.
OCC may have more influence down the road with young people than one may assume.
Look how Pop culture influenced present enthusiast. Motorcycling was much different before these movies came out.
Here are some movies that we bought into and they are humorous now.
> Hells Angels on Wheels
> The Wild One
> The Wild Angels / Hell’s Belles
> Beyond the Law
> Angels Hard As They Come
>Outlaw bikers and Company With “Joe Namath ” LOL
> Angel Unchained / Cycle Savages
> Hell Ride with Larry Bishop What!
> Rebel Rousers Jack Nicholson YO HO
> The last Riders Erik Estrada TOON
What does anyone care if they have a show again? If you don’t like it don’t watch it. Me? I am jealous. I wish a network thought what I did or my relationship was worthy of a show and I could sell merchandise supporting it.
The reality–from what I know of Paul and Paul during the years I knew them–is they do like motorcycles a lot. That a show came out of their desire to be well known in the industry is great–they worked hard to get their.
From the very first bike build off we all should have known a tv producer doesn’t get what a motorcyclist likes…they get what the larger number of viewers get. However, the more people that get excited about bikes the more that can get sold….and the more jobs the industry can offer….so good luck Paul and Paul
Howard
I believe in god.
Yet my faith waivers.
My prays have not been answered.
All I ask is “when will they go away?”
OCC rocks , thats why I bought a 35K chopper ! I draw a crowd where ever I go ………………………………..
Howard…..I’d buy your t-shirt and watch your show. Now that would be reality TV………A show about the guys( I can think of several others as well) that know their stuff and are passionate about bikes. Maybe next year. Keep smilin’ and maybe we’ll cross paths at Sturgis. I’m taking part of the class out to show their bikes.
-Darin
please make them stop.
Howard Kelly. I respectfully disagree with you. I heard your reasoning before where it is argued that OCC helped sell more motorcycles. I have a question for you. In 2005, OCC announced that they were mass producing custom bikes, showed 2 or 3 models. The largest number of dealers they got was 2, 1 in the US and 1 in Canada. How many of these OCC production custom bikes have you seen? I bet zero. Maybe they sold 5 or10? If it was a sucess they would have bragged about it. No? So, how do you explain that their TV show is selling more bikes if they were not able to sell theirs? The only contribution of the Teutuls is to their own bank accounts, to the Discovery/TLC number of viewers and to a handful of Asian tee-shirts/caps companies. In addition they made people think that all builders look and act like these fools, which is quite damaging for the motorcycle industry as a whole. Please, answer.
Excellent, Robbie
Robbie
Firstthanks for approaching this discussion with civility. Now let’s look at the big picture of the motorcycle industry. OCC Jesse James Arlen Ness Matt Hotch are all well known builders but they don’t base their business on bike sales, it’s based on accessories and apparel. Each new rider that the OCC show or the Wild Hogs movie inspired bought a bike–new, used , Harley or Honda and then they”customized it”. Now think backup to your first bike, changing anything Mae it feel pretty cool so any bolt on part they add makes them feel like it’s an occ bike. Ask Cyril how many more bolt on parts he designed and sold during that crazy 2000 to 2004 period.
So OCC bikes specifically no…inspiring things that are or were good for the industry, by all means
Howard
I agree with Fuji
drain….hope we do meet
These guys gay’d up the industry. damn when will it end.
I personally own a movie poster from every single movie mentioned above.
They were all mediocre films, & made with minimal budgets to exploit a genuine American phenomenon.
Hence your comparison is relevant & valid.
Did the stereotypes from these cheap films make you proud to ride a motorcycle.
If it did, you & me are different.
Hi all!
I confess that watching American Chopper and Monster Garage on TV and DVD over here in New Zealand gave me many laughs (after all, these shows are packaged as entertainment), but it also re-awakened my interest in choppers and custom bikes after 30 years! And, now I’m happily riding a bike that that I customized myself – making many parts but buying others.
So, thank you Pauls Snr & Jnr, Vinnie, Rick, Jason, Mikey, Jesse and friends!
P.S. ALL of your bikes incorporated much creativity, and I found some inspiration and motivation in each. Kia ora!
P.P.S. I’ve seen a couple of road-ridden OCC-made choppers over here in the last couple of years.
Oh, yes … my other inspiration and motivation came from Tom Zimberoff’s books – “THE ART OF THE CHOPPER”, Vols I & II. Awesome!
Just wish they would bring back BBO.
http://tvbythenumbers.com/2010/06/30/american-chopper-senior-vs-junior-brings-motorcycle-madness-to-tlc/55856
“In the battle between old and new, the father-son duo vie to see who can produce the most innovative choppers – with Sr. focusing on cutting edge technology while Jr. taps into his roots, building more traditional creations.”
Translation: Who can stick the most weird sh*t on an otherwise run-of-the-mill chopper.
To quote a fellow Cyrilhuze poster,
” WHERE IS A CELEBRITY PLANE CRASH WHEN YOU NEED IT “
I must confess I will be watching the show when it airs. It’s kind of like slowing down for an accident on the highway, you know the scene will be bad yet you just can stop yourself from trying to see what happened.
Additionally, just by the numbers of responses, it is easy to see how much emotion, good or bad, there is for these two. I am sure Cyril can speak to how much greater the comment volume is when the subject involves the Teutels. Whether we like it or not these two reality celebrities have made a mark on the thing we love the most, motorcycle culture. As historians write about this period in motorcycling history, American Chopper and it’s impact on growing the industry will be mentioned.
I can’t say I am excited to think the Teutels may someday be the poster children for our passion over the last ten years but, as we all know sometimes luck is the greatest ingredient it the stew we all call success. And the Teutels sure do have a hell of alot of luck.
Howard Kelly has it right and most level headed builders will agree with this as well. I believe that OCC had /has more than 1 dealer in US and 1 in Canada. Please check your facts before making statements like that. I also believe those dealers sold a whole lot more than 5 or 6 bikes. I have ridden OCC “production” bikes and they are built better with much better parts than the other “production” bikes out there. The custom bike industry as a whole has slowed down but it has slowed down because of the economy not anything else. There are many,many people who would love to buy a bike such as the OCC production bike but because of economic reasons,are unable to do so at this time. The market will come back when the economy comes back.
There are those who speak crap about OCC and for the most part are just jealous and miserable individuals. There are those who are tired of seeing OCC,my suggestion is to turn the channel or turn the page,pretty simple.
To Howard Kelly. The custom motorcycle frenzy (at the time the customized Harley-Davidson frenzy) started in the mid 90’s when you had to wait 6 months to get a new HD model. It grew supported by the work of motorcycle art produced by some excellent top of the line builders like Ness and Huze. After-market parts sales grew exponentially. Expensive custom motorcycles became a status symbol of “I made it”. Cheap credit and real estate bubble made people (middle class and blue collars) overspend on their custom bikes. Those already in the business took advantage by creating custom parts and selling them. Yes, Cyril like many others must have made a ton of money. The show Motorcycle Mania with Jesse James made everybody and his brother want to own or build a custom motorcycle/chopper, when it was not starting their own custom chopper shop. It looked so easy on the TV screen. So, all this started before OCC. What I was saying was that the Teutuls took advantage of a market that others created. Their contribution to motorcycle design and building is zero. I don’t think anyone visited Ness or Huze asking for an OCC type bike (or I am sure they refused) The Teutuls became rich via clothing and TV fees. They didn’t really sell bikes, never conceived and sold their own custom parts. They never innovated in anything. It explains why they are so hated by an industry where many have talent, work hard, and didn’t receive a fraction of the money the Teutuls made. You know like me that those watching the show are not bikers, have never been, will never be (my cleaning lady is a fan of the show) So how come can you say that these people are going to buy bikes or custom parts? Even OCC didn’t realize that their show viewers were not bikers. Or they would not have tried to launch their own brand of production custom motorcycles. And we all know that they failed. Would anyone in the industry refuse to become OCC for hundred of millions as reward. Probably not. But, still the Teutuls contribution to custom building and parts sales is negligible.
Robbie
i disagree. Because OCC doesn’t sell parts doesn’t mean the excitement they created did not translate to other sales and part sales. Prior to the bump in the industry–which i watched closely as I was editor of Hot Bike during that time–custom motorcycles were not as accepted in the regular world.
I say whet they did helped–not created it–but helped
Robbie
We have been making frames for OCC for over three (3) years now and I can tell you that we have done over 500 frames mostly production models in that time. I can also tell you that those production models have all been built into motorcycles and sold. We receive dozens of phone calls from customers each week looking for a frame that they saw on the show and quite a few of those calls turn into sales so I would have to say that OCC has help sell motorcycles and motorcycle parts. I am also aware that OCC uses S&S motors,Baker transmissions, Mean Street front ends,HD primaries and the list just keeps going on. So you may not like them but believe me they are helping the wheel go round and round.
Are these guys ever going to go away? Who cares how OCC or the Teutuls do it.
OCC sucked once why give them the chance to suck twice?
Hope it doesn’t get in the way of shark week !
Thank you Howard, Jim C and Spencer for bringing some facts to bear on this issue which generates so many emotional responses. Over 500 frames in 3 years (which of course equals 500 bikes) is impressive. Both in Australia and in Britain the Teutuls drew huge admiring crowds. They truly are an international phenomenon. I’ve said it before, but nobody else has come near to reaching the audience they have and with re-runs scheduled for years and years to come, nobody else probably ever will. And overall, their impact has been overwhelmingly positive. Sure, the sleigh bike made me vomit my dinner and some others induced dry retching, and, as for Fat Mikey playing the piano or doing stand up – gimme a break. Here’s a tip; record the show like I do and fast forward through the bullsh*t. In between the crap there is some interesting stuff if you love custom bikes. And I do.
I feel Howard is correct & that Spencer’s numbers are right on. OCC uses Accutronix forward controls, handle bar grips, rear pegs, & several other items. OCC started building production bikes when several other OEM’s were on the way out because of the economy. When most of the other OEM orders slowed or stopped, OCC has stayed strong. We too have had new customers calling us to purchase parts because they saw OCC use Accutronix. It is my opinion that the show does help the motorcycle industry to some extent.
Where’s Skeeter Todd in all of this?
Doc R-
RE:
“…their impact has been overwhelmingly positive…”
At first i too like to watch OCC, simply because they were building scooters.
But very quickly it became apparent that the focus was on “moronics” not “mechanics.”
It was the intellectual equivalent of hold a conversation with a drunk.
Many of us don’t make a living at it, but build scooters for the sheer joy of creating stuff.
The question is, with whom would you rather be associate, guys like Arlen, Jeff, or OCC…???
From that perspective, the number of t-shirts or foot controls sold is simply irrelevant.
(IMHO anyway)
-nicker-
CLICK NUF -SAID
My customer: “So, do you watch that OCC show?” Me: “No” peace
The people that make Uni-bit step drills are going to be happy that Paulie is back in the shop. He is hands down the biggest user of these. No mis aligned hole exists as long as Paulie has a step drill in a high torque cordless drill motor.
Z z z z z z z z z – please wake me up if I snore.
Howard,Spencer,Troy-3 of the most connected guys in the industry telling you the facts about OCC and yet there are haters out there who when faced with the facts do not have the intelligence to accept the truth. The OCC Limited Production bikes are well engineered,built with quality parts,have a good warranty and are a lot of fun to ride.
The bikes that are built on TV,for the most part,are built for a purpose to advertise for a company or a charity. They are not meant to ride every day. I believe that it takes alot of imagination to take an idea as to what a company or charity are looking for and then turn those ideas into a bike. It is not an easy thing to do. The details that are on the theme bikes are extraordinary.
But hey,what do I know? 😉
Jim Corcoran (Jim C)
its time to put these cartoon character bike builders out to rest. enough already with the phoney BS.
i would love to f.xxxx the dogshit outta both of them
As I look down this list of comments. Both pro & con for OCC. I see what drives the whole show. Controversy. And as everyone argues back and forth, this disfunctional Tuetel family uses an armored truck to take thier checks to the bank.
In this decline of motorcycle sales ect, they are the only ones doing a custom motorcyle related show to the world. lets be glad there is atleast one show left!
Also, the show would have lasted as long as biker buildoff if they werent as confrontational and sometimes funny as they are. there is only a small tv market for just building bikes
after reading howards comments i can see why he is not in the industry anymore
I saw yesterday on Discovery Channel (I’m from Romania) a new episode from American Chopper (when the Sr build a blue motorcycle running with gas, and Jr build a BBQ grill and his new logo.
All show was an actor played. Nothing was real. The producers may go to Bajaj moto, to be inspired in motorcycle manufacture. (www.bajajauto.com)
Shame OCC, congratulation to TV producers.
Hey guys. The show ( American dysfunctional family ) long ago eclipsed whatever bike building was going on. I appreciate one thing about it, I used to think my family was screwed up. apathetic glider.
Wow! What a wide range of emotion is expressed here on this subject! This is why the OCC show has the popularity it has. No one is luke warm on the issue! Everyone has a passionate emotional response.
Howard Kelly, I have enjoyed your articles for years. You write very well, and have a great understanding of the market. Your comments here are well considered and insightful. Thanks.
OCC and the show are good for motorcycling. Anything that keeps our sport visible and in the news is good for all of us. OCC did not usually build the style bike I prefer, but that’s not the point. You love the characters or you hate them, or you love to hate them. Cyril builds some bikes that I love. Some, more than others. Billy has built a couple I would like to own. Matt has built some beauties as well. We all have a past with motorcycles. We have strong memories of times, rides, bikes and friends that ride them. When we aren’t riding, we talk about riding. When we aren’t riding, we pick up bike magazines, surf the web, and watch bike related shows on TV. Personally, I would like to sit Paul Senior down and explain to him how he has destroyed his own family relationships because of his own shortcomings, greed and emphasis on all the wrong priorities. I would like to show him that if he were a talented manager, he would be able to coordinate the talent in his enterprise instead of destroying his business through his own bull headedness and control issues. Of course I would like to kiss Michele Smith on the lips, but that isn’t going to happen either. (sigh) I sincerely hope that the new TV show and the family is a success, just as I hope all motorcycling will grow and prosper.
I live in Canada and my neighbour actually owns a production bike from OCC. He paid quite a price for it but he’s got the bucks, has three other choppers and loves riding them. The OCC bike is his absolute favourite.
I for one hope that the new show does quite well, that American Chopper stays on the air for many more years and that ultimately the family can settle their differences and move on with life. The program has been quite entertaining.
To all the douche-bags out there who moan and groan about this or that. Get over yourselves. The absolute majority of you probably don’t even own a bike or ride one. You couldn’t even put one together if all the parts were in front of you. All your moaning and groaning is crap and jealousy.
I can’t wait for American Chopper to return and will be watching it with great interest. I hope that Mikey, Vinnie, Cody and all the rest play major roles in the new show. It was a fantastic program for many years. Welcome back.
Oh, and thanks to those who are bringing it back to TV. The network, the producers and all those involved with it’s production!!!!
It’s great to see that this show’s popularity reaches audiences worldwide. When I was in Europe a few year’s ago (I live in the U.S.), I was a bit surprised to see how popular American Chopper was with several of my friends.
Anyone know if Vinne will be back with Jr?
Hey, as a biker there are like 50 shows about cooking something and we wonder why 5 year olds weigh 100lbs. now. there are how many shows about building bikes??? NOT ENOUGH. All the people flaming this show are probably the same people that still pay $60 for the new halio or guitar hero just because theres a new song or gun. So i say, “Dear lemmings why don’t you put down the cheese burger and actually join the army and go play soilder, buy a guitar and play, or watch a episode of American Choppers and then go pick up a wrench and build a bike.” Maybe you might not have to buy your pants at a special store
-Z
Vinnie is supposed to be back.
DOES SKEETER STILL USE SPEAKER WIR ON HIS BIKES ?
I can’t wait to see what Vinny and Paulie come up with. Their bike build will blow anything that Senior and OCC have built out of the water!
How is it that senior can a comment on national TV, that he and only he built OCC? Maybe I’m missing something, but I’ve never seen senior “attempt” to build anything other than “old school” bikes. Is he living in the past or what? Give credit where credit is due senior. I wonder if senior has ever watched the show because if he has, hopefully he would realize that the only bikes, custom bikes are bing built and designed by Junior. I have to wonder that our of all the bikes being sold, how many were designed and built by Paul Senior? Senior is good at making the environment unhealthy for any type of productivity. I have no idea how he keeps is employees I’m sure it isn’t because of the money he pays him. On 9/16/2010’s show, Senior built a ramp and shot a bike off of the ramp with the rider apparently being a dummey of Junior. “You Have Got To Be Kidding Me. This man needs help!! What is his problem? I think he knows that there is no way his shop can design and build bikes that the public wants and is running scared. Who is going to build theme bikes for senior, Rick? The old man needs to take a step back and re think his business. If Juniors work ethic is poor according to senior, it’s because of the example or lack of the senior sets. All I see senior doing is walking around with a coffee, ranting a raving, disrupting the shop, then going into his office slamming the door, and sittin of his fat (%^#) until he feels that it’s time to go out once again and begin the process over, and over, and over again throughout the day. I’t just a matter of time that senior fails and I hope that it’s on national TV. He’s the big mouth, and junior is just sitting back and watch hi father make an $^% out of himself on TLC.
Sorry for the spelling errors I didn’t spell check, but you all get the point I’m sure.
PAUL SR SHOULD GET OFF THE STEROID,BEORE HE HAS A HEART ATTACK. I BROKE MY LEG LAST MONTH RIDING AND BEEN CATCHING UP ON ALL THE OLD SHOWS AND REALIZED THAT HE IS MORE OF A PAIN WATCHING HIM, THEN MY BROKEN LEG. I FEEL BAD FOR VINNIE, BECAUSE HE HAS ALOT OF TALENT TO PUT UP WITH THE BULL AND I,M FINALLY GLAD HE LEFT. PAUL JR IS NO BARGAIN AS FAR AS SHOWING UP ON TIME AND WORKING WHEN HE FEELS LIKE IT. WILL SEE IF HE DOES THAT WITH IS OWN BUSSINESS. I WOULD RATHER WATCH JR AND VINNE DESIGNING NEWER STYLES OF BIKES THAN SR OLD CHOPPER STYLE. THE ONLY ONE LEFT WITH SR IS RICK, WHICH I WOULD LIKE TO SEE HIM LEAVE SR’S SHOP AND GO WORK FOR PAUL JR AND THAT WOULD MAKE AN OWESOME TEAM. PERSONALLY ALL THE BIKES LOOK GREAT THAT THEY BUILD, BUT I WOULD RATHER BE COMFORTABLE ON A BAGGER THEN A LOOKER.
Didn’t FARO start the deal with senior first . The economy went bad . FARO Canceled the bike until the ECONOMY picked up . Now the FARO worked a better deal with JR. and screwed senior? Sounds like FARO is more concerned about deals then being honorable . I don’t blame senior for suing FARO . You may want to check but I think FARO got sued before for dealing dishonestly paying off people in China . Also I think the amount was not disclosed . Maybe they paid off our government too . Sounds like they would screw anyone for their advantage . I am not sure I would personally invest . You never know what they may to behind your back
Its like an accident, wanting look away,but you have to look to see the gut,blood.glass
RICK SUCKS. SNAKE. WILL PRAY HE FAILS AT EVERYTHING. . TURN BACK ON THE OLD MAN.AFTER ALL HE DID FOR HIM.WILL NEVER WATCH SHOW AGAIN.NEITHER WILL CLUB