Yesterday evening, many of you watched the 1st episode of #BikerLive, the new Discovery build-off competition opposing 3 builders with viewers using the power of Twitter to determine the winner. The 40Cal Customs Father/Son team (Matt & Edd Harris) helped by Andrew “Carp” Carpenter and Chase Anderson won this first competition, beating Shop 102 and Harlot Cycles. So, what do you think about this new reality TV show, its format to show 3 bikes in process in 1 only hour (minus intermissions, commercials, talk…), the quality of the custom produced by each shop, etc? Does this show benefit the industry? Will TV help these builders roar from the shadows to finally get the attention they deserve? Will you watch #BikerLive again? Share your thoughts with other readers.
#BikerLive. Share Your Thoughts About The First Episode Of The New Discovery Build-Off Series.
Published by May 13th, 2014 in Builders, Customs, Editorial and Events.88 Responses to “#BikerLive. Share Your Thoughts About The First Episode Of The New Discovery Build-Off Series.”
Comments are currently closed.
Somewhat disappointed. It’s impossible to see enough of the bikes to have an opinion. Maximum time spent on each bike must be around 10 minutes or less. I am not interested by who will win but in seeing the bikes in progress.
I liked Harlot’s bike. The 3 shops seem to have subbed a lot of the work to other professionals, engine rebuild, metal fab, etc.
I watched about five minutes 👎
a few minutes of my life that i will never get back…horrible.
Poor editing, poor presentation. No next Jesse James among the competitors.
I don’t have cable so I went to the local tavern to watch. Not much on shop pictures but plenty of hissy fits I presume trumped up by a producer as I don’t see these builders acting like this although I don’t know any of them personally. The winning bike was appealing but is that a sportster drum flipped for what appears to be the only brake on a big twin? I don’t see much difference from some of the other reality shows. Obviously lots of editing with way to much sitting on the milk crate explaining things.Too bad. They’ve lost me already.
OMG. Such a disappointment. Even the producer guy who presented and that Cyril interviewed was quite bad. No passion, no energy in this show.
Nice bikes by all the builders , just goes to show you don’t have to spend 50 or 100 grand to build cool , just have to have talent , vision and a passion for what you do . And a little cash never hurts.Great job to 40 CAL . Hope it all works out for you guys.
Show will not go to a second season except if they change many things. Less talk, more about the bikes, but with 3 bikes to show I think it’s almost impossible.
Bet they all spent more dollars than the $15,000 they received. So, the show is not true to itself. Bikes are fine, I guess. But agree with comments above. Show more of the fab.
is this about bikes or personaes? really tired of the duck dynasty look/behavior.
Now all builders must grow a beard and look like rednecks?
Now, they are all famous at their local family diner.
I got thru maybe 10 full minutes before I just turned it off.
Nate (Harlot Customs) is a pro. Best custom. Should have won. Was the vote manipulated? Winner decided in advance for whatever reason?
Cheers for Harlot for having what seemed like a precise plan of attack and designed a clean scoot…others measured and acted with redneck ingenuity… personality contest AGAIN!
Or maybe I missed something in this NEW generation of builders…
“Each week three garages get a chance to become bike building legends and you get to decide” wrote Discovery.
Failed.
HARLOT… period.
What a friggin’ total waste of 20 minutes of my life (that is all the longer I watched this joke)! Jeeeezzzzz ! Where did they find these clowns, Duck Dynasty? They couldn’t have spent $15K on all three of those POS bikes combined! If there was any doubt from the general public about the intelligence of the average biker in this country that has now been answered, plant life has a higher IQ! Look forward to seeing the Yaffe show, hopefully the upscale crowd will be more television worthy ?????
I made it thru the first 10 minutes. Nuff said.
~ Interest in bike building would be renewed, if they let the clubbers of Priceline’s “Thunder Dragons” build some sano-bikes under the tutelage of William Shatner.
Shatner Sleds are epic.
OMG if you are going for “drama queen’s” then go for REAL drama queens or SHOW the flipping bikes in raw steel. I fell asleep part way thu!!!!
Anyone that has worked at a real bike shop know this is all BS. Typical shop is quiet except for music and hammering/grinding….no yammering going on. If you know anything about cost of builds there is no way they stayed in budget. Straight up they can’t be counting labor cost that’s for sure.
I enjoyed it. It was gratifying seeing real builders doing it without cnc machines and boxes of off-the-shelf parts. I think the 15K budget is a good idea, but the producers are going to have to keep the shops honest. I’d expect to see stock evo drivetrains or tc88s if the budget is real. .
Not what I expected, to much of the personalities and not enough of the bikes and fabrication of them. Almost seemed scripted as well. Very disappointed with all aspects of the show and don’t think it does anything for the industry. Im not sure the general biker society is into garage type built bikes. I think they dropped the ball on this one, but I was very thankful they kept Paul Jr off the show!
Too many bikes, too much hair, bad drama, lets get a build-off that shows a bike a week and what it takes to build it, from the parts, paint and wiring, I’m sure thats what most folks want to see and I believe they will stick around each week to see whats coming next. Us builders want to see it all and will stay-tuned for the next work of art, and by-the-way, all the builders on this first show were very good and deserve a THANKS, to the producers: give us more build and less drama and if your going for drama, HIRE ACTORS!
No doubt that the 3 builders have talent, but the way they were portrayed and filmed didn’t emphasize their skills. A complete miss. The show needs a major makeover.
I’m gonna have to pass on this one . Not that its horrible or even as bad as I thought it might be . Its just from the bikes right down to the production and the over acting on the part of the competitors its not any good either .
Its funny . BBO was such a decent watchable show despite the manufactured deadlines etc . Why no one can take that formula and give it a minor update with bit of a remake is beyond me
The show concept is good. The execution was terrible. Made a big effort to wait for the winner.
Its obvious that crunching 3 builders into a one hour episode doesnt work out to well for viewers who are tring to gain knowledge of backyard building. It leaves out to many details that you have and feel as many builders experience. Comming from Discovery they should have thought this out a little better. On a positive note atleast there is another show on producing a motorcyle in which you as a builder have visioned for yrs to provide the public to see and that this stuff still goes on and will never let the industry die. Its hard to see a contest based off live voting from a tube on your couch. Especially when other builders know how voting goes at most shows nowadays, which is not held to past standards of judgment based on all aspects of a build. For those who lose just remember its like losing a peoples choice and not necessarily the top build. I will continue to watch but will never create a twitter account to vote based of edited footage. You can never have to much knowledge in motorcycles or craftmanship and pick up possible details from turning on a lathe or possibly a few new techniques which may assist you at some point in your building path. You may also pick out things you never want to catch yourself doing, as a reminder there are others that will do it for you. By not really seeing the true craftmanship in person to put that one build one vote closer is a tough call as a garage builder myself to see this turning into the old biker build offs is far from fetch.
Tried to watch and i was so into it fell asleep on the couch!
Now…
Normally…
I’d not say shit about this
It’s bikes on TV and
Motorcycles on TV is good even when bad…
I’d watch Cicero McSyrup and his trusty band of Bosuzuku inspired biker savants try and survive the cutthroat world of medical marijuana delivery in Denver’s hippest hotspots…
So having said that…
I thought it was fine…
Should have spent more time on the fabrication…
Could have at least SHOWN the painters/engravers/leathersmiths/engine builders…
I mean…
I KNOW Otto did the slab cover engraving and a CHANCE to see in Mister Carter’s workshop would have been a real treat…
Don’t tell me how emotionally exhausted you are…show me the work and let me get exhausted from breathing in the details…
I’vE gotten to the point that the TV has become a good reason to start reading again, theres plenty of print out there thats worth keeping up with and shows us whats happening in the custom market, maybe we need a program like “THIS OLD BIKE”!!!!!!!
Not only was there a $15,000.00 build budget but they also received a $5,000.00 talent fee (per shop) so technically there was $20K in the pot for each shop.
Over & Out,
Jeff
In any regular bike show. 1st Harlot Cycles 2- Cal 40 3- Shop 102. What do I know?
1. it was fine. I will keep watching.
2. bikes on tv- good
3. producer guy does NOT fit. find someone else.
4. 3 shops in one hour is too many. couldn’t keep track of who is who esp when trying to watch the show, watch twitter, read the online screen stuff, watch the facebook to if ya want. too much.
5. no twitter. if voting, call it in. twitter is stupid and most bikers don’t.
6. PLEASE MORE ABOUT THE BIKES AND BUILDING AND LESS TALKING. there’s a lot of talent in these guys and a lot of details on the bikes. you’d never know by what we were shown. (maybe goes back to only do 2 shops per show)
7. so if I can vote after the first 7 minutes, then the show really is NOT about the bikes but about the people. lame.
8. suggestion- show us the bike right away and then edit flashbacks to the building process and the cool one-off stuff guys did. I don’t care if they eat lunch or look at other competitors online.
Paul Jr. picked the winners before the show aired? Discovery show videos of Jr. commenting on each back. Looks like it was taped before the show was live.
What Don said. Except number one. It wasn’t really “fine” but I’ll watch in hopes that the show becomes more polished. It felt very amateurishly done.
Enjoyed the show, looking at the bikes, seeing them driven, getting a fix on their builders and their philosophies. It does all come down to how cool is the bike as a unique work of moving art. But the personal drama helps the show along. The on-line voting is a nice wrinkle. BTW: I was sitting in a southern Wisconsin rural tavern enjoying my burger and beer while watching Orange County Cycles; said I wished I could see one in real life. Guy next to me says, then step outside.
#bikerlive feels like a very low budget production. Cheapen the great bikes.
It was like watching a schizophrenic film student video! I have to agree with all Don said above. TOO MUCH TALKING not enough building, TOO MANY builds in the show two is enough. Enough of jr. no one cares about jr. Does anyone who really rides use twitter?? I s it a popularity contest? I’m unsure, but under the current format and announcer this show will die a long slow death.
The idea of highlighting small unknown shops is a great idea, some of the best stuff comes out of small shops. They are passionate about bikes, it’s not a multibillion dollar bolt on extravaganza. I don’t see this show making it past the seven episodes, I won’t be wasting my time watching which is sad because we all long for Great Biker Build programs. PLEASE bring back biker programming, we have nothing left.
Watched Monday’s show, and worst piece of crap I’ve ever seen.
I noticed that someone made mention of Paul Jr. being left off, even though for the most part I agree, lets give credit to the ones that brought custom building to higher visibility (good or bad), that would include Paul Sr, Paul Jr., Jessie James and others, prior to them, when you told someone you built choppers they didn’t always know what you were talking about, now when you say it, most know what you do. I stopped watching those shows because I couldn’t put up with the BS the producers wanted to include, I guess they think we are all to stupid to understand what it takes to build and that everybody only tunes in to see the weird hair cuts and the childish stunts that they do on all these types of shows, and that includes the car builders also. I still say, show us the build, one or two at a time and I think the show stands a better chance of lasting, as far as the personal attitudes, if their not positive and show the enthusiasm it takes to build a work of art and be a winner, LEAVE EM OUT.
And people wonder why bikers have such a bad name? It is shows, such as this, that have caused the “real” motorcycle builders and manufacturers all the headaches with buyers. Building motorcycles is like building cars, it takes rocket science, intelligence and common sense. Obviously not a trait of any of these guys!
Seriously, would you ever ride a bike built by one of these tinker-toy builders? If so, buyer beware! I guess it’s all about drama, fire, ether (pronounced ee-ther), and whining! UGH!
Pathetic. Everything looked bad with maybe the exception of the 3 bikes that we could not really see to appreciate or hate.
From what I’ve read in above comments, the show ain’t going to win an Emmy!
What I didnt understand is why after only 10 minutes into the show they already started showing the voting results…Hell, at that point they didnt even have a bike to judge or vote for yet….Whats that all about?
Too Low…reason why I think the votes were fake. By the way, how do you measure live the number of tweets for each builder? I would like the producer of this Discovery show to explain to us. Waiting…
Was this a bike building show or Real Housewives?
Should cancel this show and replace it by The Redneck Wives Of Kentucky. I would watch longer.
Even though I mostly don’t care for motorcycle build TV shows, I do feel that attention given to motorcycles in general is a positive for us in the business. Also. I like to see folks work hard trying to make a dream come true. Good for them, I wish them success.
That being said, I probably won’t watch the show again, just not my cup of tea.
lots of comments I agree with, but here is what I took away from it….
More about motorcycles, period!
Biker Buildoff was so popular at first because it showed bike building….. it showed some technique, and it showed characters…. but the bikes were first.
I doubt I’ll watch again…. maybe Tivo and burn through like the other shows.
Missed it… daughter had softball game, double-header. As I scroll thru comments, sounds like I didn’t miss too much tho. Damn, whats with the beard & hair hatin’ goin on? Who gives a shit about looks anyhow. Sure glad I went to the game.
ten minutes into the show you can start voting, you don’t even know what the bikes look like, i was excited when they were putting a bike building show back on tv but i could not wait for it to end so i could go to bed, ill watch it again but i didn’t like it, and i hate that producer guy, he is the asshole from goldrush interviews.
The wrong bike got the most votes, nothing against the winning bike, simply put, the wrong bike won and everyone knows it.
This type contest leaving it up to the public to vote never works.
For example, your local bike show is judged by a local Girl Scout troop, guaranteed the bike with flowers or cartoons or the pink bike will win.
In this case, the “Chopper” won simply because that’s what the general tv watcher thinks is the best.
Get It?
Steve Carr
I’m with Hillbilly, I vote for “The Redneck Wives Of Kentucky”. they shoot straighter.
The commercials pimping the show were less than interesting.
(setting the stage for “moronics”)
Only managed to tune in for the twitter-vote solicitation and announcement of the winner.
From the comments, sounds like i didn’t miss much….. thanks for the update.
-nicker-
agree with a lot of the comments above.
scripted and over-produced. more style than substance.
I will dvr cuz it’s bikes on TV and fast forward thru the bullcrap and just look at the bikes like I did on Tuesday.
I watched it and will continue to watch but I would like to see more about the bikes and less TV drama. Maybe next weeks show will surprise all of us.
Sick of watching guys build glittery or ratted-out junk with little or no thought about engineering with regard stability, handling, or function.
I thought i was watching GoldRush.
My two cents, at least there’s something to watch related to motorcycle building, yeah the show could use some “tuning”, I remember Biker Build-Off changed alot from the first show to the last show. I like it because it’s giving us new faces and new ways of looking at bike building. It’s cool if you don’t like it, that’s your opinion, it’s cool if you like it, again, that’s your opinion. Hopefully the producers of the show are reading some of these comments and can make some changes for the better. I will keep watching it because it’s bike building, it’s something new with new faces. Remember as well, there are more viewers wanting to see the “drama” over the actual building of the bike. Those of us wanting to see more building and less drama are the minority.
bikes being built on TV should be a good thing. All this drama would be great if it were the Kardashins or the house wives of where ever building bikes! These guys Made them selves look incompetent. Most builders I’ve met Have plenty of personality to go around while knocking out awesome builds. The twitter vote starting before the finished bike, complete bullshit. Hope the powers that be are watching this blog, maybe they will learn something. one more week maybe it will get better?
Ridiculously opened the voting before the bikes were even 1/4 of the way finished! Absolutely, not enough shots of the bikes. What exactly were we supposed to vote for, best beard? Seriously, another show posing as a show about bikes without the bikes front and center.
Sorry, had to give it up after only a few minutes. The show sadly falls into the category of so many other reality type shows. It’s not real, or at least not representative. After working in the woods, the only way I can enjoy “Axmen” is with the sound muted, and only watch the actual logging. After driving big trucks for 35 years, the same is true with “Ice Road Truckers”.
Simply put, these shows are not targeted for those in the profession, but rather for an unknowledgeable viewing public. The drama and all the disgusting embellishments must be included to hold their interest, since in most cases, the viewer sits down to watch, bringing little or no actual passion concerning the subject with them. Ratings and revenue are Discovery’s passion! Hell, fool ’em at their own game….buy some stock!
Any legal biking activity is good publicity!
Biking benefits from good publicity!
Sounds like the audience wants something like Dale and Matt Walksler competing with each other in a show wher they find an old bike And restore / customize it and let audience pit father and son.
this shit’ll suck the life outta ya
Please Cyril forward these comment on to the person in charge of this “soap opera”. We can only hope and pray they will take heed tweak and tune this show to bring quality bike building back to TV. We do need a positive image and the vast majority of builders out there I have met in person are intelligent, talented, craftsman. Not cartoon caricatures, or stooges.
Our industry and images are all in jeopardy, of this continuing downhill slide into dysfunction, We are not “the real bikers of wherever (pick your city)”. Please restore a sane motorcycle building program back into prime time.
Wow 68 comments allot of folk must have watched it…lol
LoneRider. They read me and your comments.
It could have been worse?But to much talking not enough building…
Meh? I’ll watch it…..my only complaint is that with 3 teams, you never really see the details of each build.
As for the GOLD RUSH host with all teams in one room……not needed….
I don’t have cable so nothing to say about actual show.
Here’s top all the naysayers – Why not do a show for yourself and pitch it to a network?
Doing TV is hard I know I did a TV pilot which had nothing to do with cycling. After a years worth of planning we started shooting after a few months due to everyone schedules we stopped and decided to bury the show because what we had in the can wasn’t worth going any further with. Hundreds of hours worth of time for a great learning experience and will go along way when I try to do it again.
Shooting good TV takes a lot of work and skill and money. Like building a quality build.
DD and all the other reality shows are what I call Junk TV designed to fill you up but offer nothing of nutritional value. Compared to lets say Burn Notice which is satisfying show and a budget that’s 100 time more than Discovery will ever pay for a show. thus you get what you pay for.
I’m with Jimbo – why not shoot a show patterned after This Old House? Take 3 months to show the build progression include factory visits so people can see what goes into fabricating parts. Each factory gets to have there moment of sponsorship time and everyone goes away after three months with a real world knowledge of what it takes to build a custom bike. Of course most network TV won’t give you 12 episodes to show one build as it doesn’t fit their idea of “good” TV.
At least the Redneck Wives of Kentucky give good gum jobs!
Maybe we could do a show on “This New Bike” show real builds and what it takes to make you or your customer very happy, there’s real satisfaction in doing it and seeing it done.
I like the concept of featuring small town, local builders – just way too much “manufactured” drama.
The builders say they want some national recognition, but (according to the script) two of the teams couldn’t get the engines to run? Doesn’t look good…
The original Biker Build-Off formula worked well and helped to get the custom bike industry some positive recognition. Why not follow that same formula and stop trying to re-invent the wheel?
Presenter was dull. They need to hire Brett “Big Schwag” Wagner to inject some energy into the show.
So, how can this be a live show on the West Coast? It comes on at 1 am on the East Coast? Since that would go over like a lead balloon I’m also guessing that means all the votes were from East Coast (and maybe Midwest) people and that’s all.
Needs MUCH more about the bikes, and a lot LESS talking.
Unless they change the format around, I’m out. The narrator is trying to be the next Chopper King and failing miserably.
Shop 102’s “mechanic’s” diagnostic skills when the bike wouldn’t start were epic. Must have gone to Wyotech.
Too much drama. The wrong shop won. 40 Cals’ bike was a Teutel wannabe. If I was gonna have a bike built by one of those three shops, it would be Harlot, hands down.
Plain and simple, It will be good for the industry, if it last. For those of us that make a living in the bike industry, any hype is a good thing. Regardless of bad editing and poor format, anything to push some life back into the industry should help those who make their living from it. Some of the best builders out there are the ones you’re never heard of.
Lightning does not strike twice
that scene is gone dead move on find something else interesting
about the biker life
I think they are running what they know. American Chopper was watched by a ton of nonriders with all the drama and games now that it has gone away they are trying to get these same people hooked on something new. Little do they know there are a ton of bikers out there looking for something good to watch.
RE:
“…American Chopper was watched by a ton of nonriders…”
And they were mostly “Tea-shirt-buyers”……..
It’s really a very simple proposition.
If ya sell 10 million tea-shirts then building scooters becomes a lost leader.
And if acting like a moron sells more dongles & goo-gahs then that’s what you do.
So ya don’t care if the “moron-image” rubs off on the people who are in “the industry” for-real.
The general public doesn’t care……. until, maybe when apply for a job and they find out you build scooters in your garage…..
If you moma didn’t tell you “you’ll be judged by the company you keep”…. she should have.
-nicker-
The days of the well produced Biker Buildoff’s are unfortunately over, yet I wish the shows could get off this “Live” crap, and really produce the shows of the old. Asking viewers to tweat their winning choice moments after the show starts… really? I didn’t even know these shops before the show began. No offense to the shops, the bikes were great as were the builders, but the show just didn’t work for me.
I’d love to see the original buildoff concept re-started, as well Build or Bust. Real builds, rally action, not so “social media / live” controlled. Just my two cents, Jack “House of Choppers Magazine”
jack-
that live social media part is how all tv shows are trying to get live viewers instead of everyone just DVR-ing the shows and watching when they can. sucks. I only watch my DVR as do a lot of people. just goes to show that cable and satellite tv are dying. but I completely agree that well-produced show that gives an ample amount of attention to the bike and building process will fair a lot better than all this live/voting stuff. hope ‘they’ read all the comments here.
One positive…Maybe all the wannabe posers with the Paul Sr. mustaches will start to grow beards now LOL
These shows are so painful to watch for people that love real bike building. It’s like when you used to steal porn on your neighbors cable but the picture would always go fuzzy during all the good scenes. Whole bunch of BS and no money shots.
Best REALISTIC bike show yet. Except for that idiot that has anger management issues and pulled out a tool box drawer and threw it on the ground. If you love what you do, enjoy the good as well as the bad
SO, was there a discussion for the second show, I could’nt find it.