The Rise and Fall of Orange County Choppers... What REALLY Happened!?

In this video, we go through what REALLY happened to Orange County Choppers from the popular TV show: "American Chopper." Orange County Choppers' (OCC) merchandising division, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy a few years ago. Fans have been wondering what happened to the shop and its employees. We will uncover the poor financial management and sketchy business deals Paul Teutul Sr has made through the years to cause this filing.

Get $20 off your first SeatGeek purchase using code: TUNANOCRUST

DON'T BE CRUSTY! LIKE & SUBSCRIBE, NEW VIDEOS EVERY WEEK!

#OrangeCountyChoppers #PaulTeutulSr #AmericanChopper

[BGInsurgency]

They built mannequins not motorcycles. None, literally none, of their bikes were rideable for more than 25m. All of their bikes were uncomfortable, unstable, safety hazards.

[dlewis]

There's a Youtuber that does bike videos. He has an OCC bike. $80, 000 when new. He picked it up for $8, 000. Called it junk. Jay Leno was just in a MotorCycle centric video on Youtube. Called OCC bikes junk. I believe he said, they ran the engine wiring through the tail light. If the tail light got damaged, the engine would stop.

[briand]

flashy, unrideable machines that cost a fortune and have no utility use whatsoever. What could go wrong?

[anthonymestichelli]

Even Jay Leno says the bike they built for him was junk. It didn't handle good.
and it was just junk

[willbart]

1975- “ I’d rather eat worms than ride a Honda.“

2024- “ I’d rather eat a Honda than ride an OCC.”

[roadrunner_rc]

OCC was just as bad as Pimp My Ride. Producing over the top junk.

[J-EM-E]

I pulled into a gas station a few years back near here and there was a luxury car filling up at one of the pumps. The car was pulled so far forward it was basically blocking the other open pump. I was about to run out of gas so I squeezed in like an inch from their bumper. I remember thinking what a$$hole parks like this at a gas pump... then a moment later a big old dude with a handle bar mustache pops his head out and starts mean mugging me, it was Sr. 😆

[dabprod]

I live one county over from OCC and used to drive through Montgomery NY pretty often. Have seen Paul Sr several times, once driving a Ford Cobra. Then they opened their first showroom in an old A&P grocery store in a plaza down the road from the shop. I used to stop in and look at the bikes for sale. Bought an OCC key ring and mailed it to an old riding buddy in FL for his birthday. Never saw their new showroom over in Newburgh NY. I'm 80 and still ride, Harley Low Rider and a 1968 BSA chopper.

[christopheroconnell]

He stopped taking steroids and his body deflated😂😂😂

[johnfech]

I won't lie, I enjoyed the show for a while waaay back in the day. I thought some of their bikes were neat, but most were generic and m'eh. I've heard they are not good bikes, and watching a few snips from the old shows I can absolutely believe that.

[stzoo]

Just to let you know, OCC bikes are not made to be ridden. And once you break down the product they gave their customers a 100, 000.00 bike that cost OCC $15K to make and they all were junk. Pretty junk, but junk!

[bargeman]

The bikes they built were crap. Young Paul had no work ethic and Sr. yelled at him. Reality TV at it's worst.

[goleafsgo]

I think Sr fell victim to what many folks do. When the money is coming in bigtime they assume it will never slow down or stop all together. Just look at all the professional athletes that show up broke once the big paychecks stop. Would like to think I would do better BUT it claims a bunch of folks.

[lexdunmon]

major motorcycle manufacturers offer superior engineering, greater comfort, by an order of magnitude better safety, & cost a fraction of OCC "customs"; I guess there are enough guys going through a midlife crisis to keep Senior's garage sculpture business open.

[frankierodriguez]

I remember the show very well. To be honest, it was a lot of fun. I'm spanish but I used to live in Ireland at the time and it was extremely popular there. Sometime after, in one trip to the U.S. I did stop by the showroom and bought a couple tshirts which I still have and well, they always bring a smile when I wear them. Some young guys would ask me what are the shirts about and I'd say it's a long long american story 😄

[macriggs]

People finally realized what junk bikes they were selling for way to much money.

[joeblow]

I wouldn't buy any of that junk that he sells.

[MyHighHorse]

They weren’t spectacular bikes.
They were cookie cutter bikes made from pre-fab parts with crap stuck to them and then called a theme bike.
Biker build off had real bikes and builders, OCC was for non-bikers who didn’t know the difference.

[billbresnahan]

I was working just up the street back in 2009. Used to drive through the parking lot daily. Watched a lot of crappy bikes come out of there. Used to see Mikey at the local strip clubs passed out in a corner.

[dadgarage]

When it comes to Paul Sr., if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks likes a duck, it's a duck.