Anyone who watches American Chopper is familiar with iconic custom motorbike builder Paul Teutul Sr., the rugged, mustachioed patriarch of Orange Country Choppers. What people might not know is that genuine OCC bikes are available at eight retailers in Canada, such as at Alberta Cycle Motorsports in Edmonton.
“We are really excited to continue to expand our Canadian network,” said Teutul.
Coming to Edmonton
Michael McGrath, who owns Alberta Cycle with his wife, Monica, organized a fundraising event that includes a trailer full of OCC choppers to demo, OCC bike fabricators to mingle with and a performance of the heavy blues-inspired rock by OCC: The Band.
“We are very excited for our first Canadian appearance,” said Teutul. “Rick Petko, our fabricator, and Jason Pohl, our designer, and our house band OCC: The Band will be present over the course of the weekend to represent Orange County Choppers.”
The proceeds of the three-day event will go to support the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a charity that Monica has promoted and supported for many years.
“You don’t hear enough about (the) Cystic Fibrosis (Foundation),” said McGrath. “Alberta Cycle has always supported cystic fibrosis. Monica is on the board.
“Orange County Choppers has never had a demo days in Canada,” said McGrath. When asked if he was excited to ride an original OCC bike, McGrath got slightly giddy. “I’ve already ridden one,” he laughed.
McGrath said that he spent time in New York state at the OCC shop while organizing the event, and got to know the people, including Paul Sr.
“In the chopper world, there are probably three key people,” said McGrath. “Paul Sr., Indian Larry and Jesse James. Those are the three legends.”
Talking to an icon
Paul Teutul Sr. is a self-made success. Ten years ago, the metalworker cashed in his retirement savings to pursue his passion of custom bike building. Starting out in his Montgomery, New York, basement, Teutul and his sons soon developed a reputation for creating exceptional bikes.
In 2002, Teutul’s company became the subject of American Chopper, a reality show on the Discovery Channel (now on TLC). OCC has since created one-of-a-kind bikes for companies like Microsoft, Coca-Cola and Lincoln.
Choppers for everyone
In 2007 OCC started selling limited-edition production-model bikes through retailers, including one to commemorate 10 years of bike building.
“The design idea for the 10th anniversary bike was to keep it simple,” Teutul said. “Because of the economy and such, we wanted to build a bike that would be more affordable to our fans than our custom choppers. Besides the pricing, the gas tank is hand-moulded and sized for longer rides and the oil tank is an OCC custom horseshoe oil tank hand-constructed to exact dimensions to match the 10th anniversary frame perfectly.”
A modified OCC production bike has been approved by Transport Canada for sale in Canada. When asked what direction his personal aesthetic heads, Teutul responded, “The trends are always evolving with bikes these days, but I’m pretty partial to the old-school style chopper.” Teutul Sr. won’t be in Edmonton this June, but said, “I haven’t really had the chance to ride in Canada yet. I usually go out west in the States to ride. I would love to ride through all of Canada if I could…if it’s not too cold.”
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