California based manufacturer of custom motorcycles Big Bear Choppers got its assets and trademarks (name and model designs) bought a few months ago by Simon Scott from Rage Hard Choppers. Simon Scott is an international businessman with interests in the USA, and Indonesia.
The new company, now in San Bernadino, CA continues to manufacture Big Bear Choppers motorcycles with Kevin & Mona Alsop being directly involved in the design and development of current and new models. I met with all 3 in Sturgis and they told me that Rage Hard Choppers was building 8 to 10 bikes a month and actively pursuing new dealers, here in the US and abroad.
Today, they announce that they have acquired two new dealers in the United States (OMG Motorsports from Gresham, OR and High Performance Cycles from Allentown, PA.) and are working on the launch of a brand new model. For more information on Big Bear Choppers, or to become a dealer visit Big Bear Choppers or call 909-478-7788. (bottom picture copyright Cyril Huze)
let the dooshbaggery continue!
Wow! Brave ‘business man’, let’s watch this one happen alllllll over again!
I’d still have sex w/ mona
Interestingly enough tomorrow Friday August 31st marks the 5th anniversary of the frame welds on the neck stem of my Big Bear Choppers Devil’s Advocate’s snapping and the entire front end separating from the rest of the bike while I was riding it on the highway at 65 mph and nearly casing a fatal crash!
It also started a firestorm of controversy as to who and what was to blame for this failure ending up with the NHTSA getting involved and Big Bear Choppers having to recall a total of 1152 motorcycles for faulty welding of which over 900 have never been repaired.
Add all that to what Big Bear Choppers did to customers just last November by taking full payments and deposits for bikes that they knew would not be delivered and you can see the total lack of integrity that these people represent!
Don’t be fooled by the “new” Big Bear Choppers under the Rage Hard banner, it’s the same old crew and the same old BS!
Are these guys Nigerian? No matter, there will still be people who buy their bikes and then cry about it on the interwebs.
I’ve always said it was Larry’s fault
J/K Larry…
Funny, I don’t see any “Rage Hard” signs or shirts or stickers or banners or anything? I wonder why?
They have got some balls!!
Nothings changed except the bait… 40 years ago I used to work repairing fiberglass products..showers ,tubs, boats and pools…That’s how I got to know these types of sharks.
The bait …. in ground fiberglass swinging pools with “lifetime warranties.”
The oinly thing was life time meant life time of the company not the product..every year these crooks would disolve the company and start up under a slightly different name…same address,telelpone number and crap product.
Safer than ripping off drug dealers I guess.
I still will never do buisness with either brand. Maybe ride by and laugh at them but, not do buisness there. I don’t know if I would say they will sell any bikes, but I will bet anyone here a Thousand bucks they will scam more people out of cash under a new banner of rage choppers, then go and hide out in Indonesia. Just my opinion. Yes they do have balls Shovelshot ,yes they do I bet she has the biggest of all I bet.
Good thing it wasn’t tax payers who bailed them out!
May Simon Scott and the Alsup’s get what they deserve in the end.
They actually showed their faces in Sturgis? Simon, does the word reputation mean ANYTHING to you?
With any company acquisition, the principles are usually required to oversee the transition during the payout period. That is one theory anyway. Its likely they are focused on emerging overseas markets to those none the wiser.
Respected custom builders knew this was opportunism at its worst, equal to or greater than the actual product itself.
So the Alsop’s got to wipe their hands clean and just walk away from all the debts and destruction they’d left behind with the previous Big Bear Choppers, and then start up at it again with the exact same name. Unbelievable!! Only in America…
If anyone deserves to go out of business it’s these guys. Hopefully just a matter of time. I see only the ignorant and uninformed doing any business with them.
Hey Simon, keep a eye on the back door. Things are already slipping out.
Scum! How in the hell do these dirt bags get away with ripping off people and then showing their faces on Cyril’s blog? I’d trust Cyril, but FatDog and Lady GagGag? No way! they belong in jail!
I see Mona’s still sportin that nasty weave .
Never trust a man with two first names
As I look at their website the theme from “THE STING” runs through my mind!
What happened to all the customers that Ordered and paid for bikes that were not delivered.
Wow…..just… wow! peace
Real bikers wouldn’t have let them get away with this…today’s bike riders are pussies!
Hopefully there are enough people out there spreading the word about these scumbags. If anyone deserves to fail in bizness and life for that matter it’s these pukes.
See what you started Larry.
I suppose since this is the United States of America and we are still capitalists (for now), the law protects them and gives then the right to do business. That said, if it were me, I would have found myself a little shop in a little town and built myself back up into something respectable. This industry isn’t forgiving enough for these guys to see the kind of success they seek without restitution. I was a Big Bear Dealer for years and although I never (nor were my customers) personally wronged…this company did not fight to stay alive in an honorable fashion. The brand is worthless IMHO and frankly I would be embarrassed to be a part of any of it. They should be do. Bottom line: this is a money grab!
Anybody wanna throw down $5 bucks that the building goes up in flames in 18 months after it fails? Maybe sooner when some pissed off person who was screwed by the asstralian and his hobbit comes back for their money.
The American way to do business.
Naw Brandon…he’s Australian, though every Aussie I know is a stand up guy.
Huh Huh,Rage Hard!
you said “hard”… huh huh…
Kevin is in Great Company. Look up on Google “50 Famously Successful People Who Failed At First”
Not everyone who’s on top today got there with success after success. More often than not, those who history best remembers were faced with numerous obstacles that forced them to work harder and show more determination than others.
Business Gurus
These businessmen and the companies they founded are today known around the world, but as these stories show, their beginnings weren’t always smooth.
Henry Ford: While Ford is today known for his innovative assembly line and American-made cars, he wasn’t an instant success. In fact, his early businesses failed and left him broke five times before he founded the successful Ford Motor Company.
R. H. Macy: Most people are familiar with this large department store chain, but Macy didn’t always have it easy. Macy started seven failed business before finally hitting big with his store in New York City.
F. W. Woolworth: Some may not know this name today, but Woolworth was once one of the biggest names in department stores in the U.S. Before starting his own business, young Woolworth worked at a dry goods store and was not allowed to wait on customers because his boss said he lacked the sense needed to do so.
Soichiro Honda: The billion-dollar business that is Honda began with a series of failures and fortunate turns of luck. Honda was turned down by Toyota Motor Corporation for a job after interviewing for a job as an engineer, leaving him jobless for quite some time. He started making scooters of his own at home, and spurred on by his neighbors, finally started his own business.
Akio Morita: You may not have heard of Morita but you’ve undoubtedly heard of his company, Sony. Sony’s first product was a rice cooker that unfortunately didn’t cook rice so much as burn it, selling less than 100 units. This first setback didn’t stop Morita and his partners as they pushed forward to create a multi-billion dollar company.
Bill Gates: Gates didn’t seem like a shoe-in for success after dropping out of Harvard and starting a failed first business with Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen called Traf-O-Data. While this early idea didn’t work, Gates’ later work did, creating the global empire that is Microsoft.
Harland David Sanders: Perhaps better known as Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, Sanders had a hard time selling his chicken at first. In fact, his famous secret chicken recipe was rejected 1,009 times before a restaurant accepted it.
Walt Disney: Today Disney rakes in billions from merchandise, movies and theme parks around the world, but Walt Disney himself had a bit of a rough start. He was fired by a newspaper editor because, “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” After that, Disney started a number of businesses that didn’t last too long and ended with bankruptcy and failure. He kept plugging along, however, and eventually found a recipe for success that worked.
Lets put all this to rest. Lets see them go on the TV show Sharktank where they seek Private Equity investor money; and how they hold thier own with the Sharks, expecially Mr. Wonderful.
Hey Doc, a couple of things that separate the Kevin from the people you mentioned. First Kevin is not successful and never will be, second from everything I’ve read about the people you mentioned none of them were crooks or thieves.
Tony, never mind how success is defined, you make a distinction between him and the people on the list by calling him a crook and a thief. You are not the only one to allege that, but I have yet to see one shred of proof – actual proof – that he is either.Not rumour. Not hearsay. Not innuendo. Do you think Uncle Walt didn’t cost hundreds of people money with his many bankruptcies? And that Henry Ford’s five failures didn’t lose a lot of money for a lot of people. I am ready to change my opinion should some real proof be forthcoming but as yet have not seen it.
OK then, i know how success is not defined as ” not having to sleep with one eye open”
Is Holger Mohr running this company??? Oh nevermind, these guys might actually DO something that’s worth a sh*t.
I think there is some real trust issues here,changing the name and kept them on staff is a kick in the bottom fo everyone who lost out on Big Bear Choppers…………
It’s nice that you stand up for for the Alsop’s Doc. But, the fact is Big Bear Choppers was a success story. It didn’t fail at first. However, in the end they failed due to their business practices. Trying to compare them to people who quite literally failed at first doesn’t give credence to your line of thinking.
Git Real DoC…
Maybe you can write more articles for the scum under a nom de plume.
Git Real
Lets see if the any of the cycle and chopper magazines are more concerned about selling adds or informing their readers about the past history . Are they gonna hype up the choppers of this new chopper company (Rage Hard Choppers), and not mention anything about the previous history of Big Bear Chopper’s ?
There is still time to do the right thing for the Customer. First order of business. Make up for all the previous transgressions. Give the people that placed unfilled orders their money back. Make good on all previous defects and warranties. Then move forward with some degree of integrity. Don’t think it will ever happen, but they could do this right.
Wow, just WOW !!!!
Deport these Aussies, let them go back to kangaroo land and screw over their own kind. how can they start up a new business when they owe out so much $$$$ don’t get it. I guess it’s not who u know,but who you B_ _ W. well anyone doing any type of business with them after well knowing their reputation of past business transactions deserve what ever they get ” BOYCOTT THE KANGAROOS….. “
Bankruptcy screws people! Just ask a GM Bond Holder or Ex-Dealer. Alsop’s learned from the best. Debtors Prisons maybe?
roadrash, where is Kangaroo land? Somewhere you go to buy images of naked small boys?
What do you know of the Alsop’s situation?
You’re just a card carrying wanker, a bandwagon junkie that cant think for himself. What about all the people that defaulted on payments TO BBC? Huh? Didn’t think of that one did you? What about the workers that steal and call in sick and do shit work that has to be recalled, what about landlords that triple the rent when a company shows a profit. What about the other side of the story?
Never been broke yourself? Never had to trot out a few rights under the law to uphold your own situation?
I’ll bet that when the dust settles on this, there wont be a mile long que of people waiting to get get their deposits back, just a pack of snotty nosed glue sniffing nay-sayers with names like roadrash and buddy, still no-one will care what you think.
I WILL AND WE WILL SEE !!!!!!!!!!!
100% for a fact OD and her reply is really Mona Alsop. The Alsops are HYPOCRITICAL bad people. They want you to feel for them while they enjoyed the benefits of Bike deposits never returned to all the hard working people. Apparently she’s got bigger Balls than Kevin Alsop.
Roadrash
As far as I know Kevin is the only Aussie in the new set-up. The rest are Americans. Kevin will be a US resident or possibly a US citizen by now, either way the US law will apply to him.
There is no country called kangaroo land BTW. Calling Australia kangaroo land is as offensive as calling the USA yankee land. I don’t care what you say about Kevin, call him whatever you like but don’t make cheap shots about my country Australia.
Wow…this is like a grown man stealing candy from a young child, then jumping up and down in front of them, laughing, saying “I stole your candy and you’re not getting it back”.
Then you get the idiot friend that jumps in and eats some of the candy too…
Shit comes full circle, and I’m sure OD and her husband (good Lord you can’t even hide behind a nick name you’re so stupidly obvious) will get theirs in short order. Karma’s a bitch, and in this economy, you steal from somebody, people go above the law to handle their shit. Just waiting for that story to break.
How does it feel knowing EVERYBODY can’t wait to hear you fail Mona? Simon how does it feel to realize you just slipped into bed with the motorcycle Madoff and his pudgy wife?
I guess when they started they were unknown and built the business to some success until it went
bad and folks got shafted.
Now they are starting with a bad reputation before the ball even starts rolling which is a certain recipe
for disaster.
What’s that saying, “fool me once shame on you…………. ”
Epic fail.
Kevin and Mona, make sure to say hi to Don Proudfoot.
@ U Say Go
I will second the motion.
All for___________
All against Zero.
Git Real
Just wait tell they start swapping old motors in new bikes again. I saw first hand at the old shop
Rt Raccerx, Heard that’s already happened
So………….. with all this talk, is anyone working to make our industry a better place? Get back to work people and MAKE A DIFFERENCE in a place where YOU have control.
You all sound like a bunch of 7 year olds bitching back and forth.
bleh!
GO TO WORK!
Faar and OD must be all part of the Alsop group, they can’t take the truth. The truth is almost all the entire BBC operation, including the same management, employee’s, Tooling, is now in San Bernardino, Ca operating under the name RageHard Choppers. Allegedly the only deposits they’re honoring are deposits from 3 big bike dealers from Switzerland, Australia, and Ukraine that were received last year in Big Bear Lake, Ca (new purchase orders may have been issued to RageHard in order to fool the bankruptcy) because they are hoping for more orders from those guys when they make good on the old order’s, allegedly.
Yes, you are right Faar, The industry will be 100% better after Kevin and Mona bankrupt Rage-Hard/Big Bear Choppers again and are gone from the industry for good.
DoRt, I gotta agree Faar and OD sound like part of the Alsuc group Oops I meant Alsop but if the shoe fits so be it. And just so you know Faar I’m posting at home after a long day at work in the business. We saw the writing on the wall with BBC and cut them off before they burned us. And the last thing our company sold them was paid for by a personnel check from Mona that we waited to clear before we shipped it.
No brag just fact.
Another interview with the FBI, the end is near for the alaops and ragehardhardons
incredible this as…….do it again just looking at the picture of him and the bi… i want to puke
Raccerx I’m sure you know what you’re talking about since you’ve worked/reported directly to Kevin for years. Deposits are legally considered Trust Funds and should be returned if the bike was not received. The Feds are investigating whether or not the Alsops mishandled those deposits in a fraudulent way.
BUYERS BEWARE!!
The name BBC may be owned by RageHard but Simon Scott who owns RageHard resides 10,000 miles away and has left Kevin and Mona Alsop in charge and their son Robert is a corporate officer and also a signer on the bank account for Kevin’s access to the money so Kevin can write a check anytime he wants.
>>>Why would anyone in the world want to risk their deposit money on a bike where Kevin has access to it???
The Alsop’s will never be successful because they are ignorant and arrogant. I’m sure they are laughing at the fact that they still get to build bikes.
I recently purchased a 2007 Bib Bear Venom and started going to the Big Bear website. I find blogs like this for disgruntled people but it isn’t disgruntled people posting. It is all somebody who knows a guy who’s uncle 3 times removed on his stepmoms side of the family got hosed by the Alsops. If you aren’t the one who lost money or got screwed, get the guy that did to post or just shut the f%$# up because you’re bitter little turd wasting averyones time.
Oldvet72 writes like mona kevin but more intelligent so he’s probably the owner or Ragehard, Simon Scott venting because he lost $250k bike deposit to kevin mona and is now sounding like those two moron losers.
BUYERS BEWARE…..The Bankruptcy court has not closed the book on BBC of Big Bear Lake they may be looking at the new Ragehard//BBC as a continuation business. The court recently sent out letters saying there may be new assets become available for the creditors left holding the bag, Dec17,2012 is the date for creditors to put in their claim…..Knowing this who would want to give these guy’s a deposit not knowing for sure that they would ever receive a bike.
***Buyers don’t loose sight of the many people that already lost all their deposit money***.
We’ve recently heard that Ragehard//BBC contacted a trucking company about moving overseas, maybe to run from the Bankruptcy courts ?? or for cheaper labor??
BUYERS before handing over your money to these guy’s ask yourself…..can they be trusted with my money? will I ever receive my bike? or will I get screwed like the other BBC depositors.
Sounds like a lot of people received the same treatment as me! Bought a bike from a dealer with a 5 year warranty and had all kinds of problems from bike completely shutting off including all lights riding down the rode at night and almost got run over. Had back wheel almost fall off, have belt rub on trans cover, lost just about every bolt on bike(from covers to foot pegs and everything between). I have ridden alot of bikes but this one is a sorry excuse for any. Poor workers or not how does a bike leave a manufacturer with this many bolts loose. More importantly how do they not cover any warranty? The sad part is that most states have lemon laws but motorcycles don’t fall under them because they consider them pleasure rides for taxes purposes.
If any of you feel that they make good bikes or deserve to be in business respond to me and you can buy my BBC. I’ll even throw in the warranty! DON”T BUY ANYTHING FROM THEM!!!!!!
I must be on the wrong forum. Is this the Big Bear hater’s forum. You all sound like a bunch of pussies wining. I have 2 Big Bears, an 06 Devil’s Advocate PS and a 2011 Sled chopper. Love them both. Haven’t had a problem yet.